Simple Justice
A New York Criminal Defense Blog
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J. Greenfield, Designer (c) 2008
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Simple Justice
Finality or Innocence
In light of Judge John Cataldo's decision in the dismissal of murder charges against Fernando
Bermudez's based upon "actual innocence," State Senator Eric Schneiderman has proposed a bill that would allow judges to ignore procedural roadblocks that would inhibit a defendant from presenting belated evidence of innocence. From the New York Times:
Bermudez's based upon "actual innocence," State Senator Eric Schneiderman has proposed a bill that would allow judges to ignore procedural roadblocks that would inhibit a defendant from presenting belated evidence of innocence. From the New York Times:
Mr. Schneiderman is one of the sponsors of a bill introduced in the Senate last month that would add a provision ...<< MORE >>
Duty To Twit
While the name Justin Bieber draws a total blank around here, apparently he's got something that makes pre-adolescent juices flow. Enough so that about 3,000 young women, with their parents
since someone had to drive them, came to Roosevelt Field Mall in Nassau Count, New York. Apparently, the nice people who run the mall, and were aware that 15 year old Mr. Bieber would be making a personal appearance, were caught unprepared for such devotion.
The police, fearful of the unconstrained crowds, decided that things had gotten out of hand and were, appropriately, ... << MORE >>
since someone had to drive them, came to Roosevelt Field Mall in Nassau Count, New York. Apparently, the nice people who run the mall, and were aware that 15 year old Mr. Bieber would be making a personal appearance, were caught unprepared for such devotion.
The police, fearful of the unconstrained crowds, decided that things had gotten out of hand and were, appropriately, ... << MORE >>
A Blog That Shouldn't (Update)
I'm often attributed with the sentiment that "anyone can blawg; everyone can't."
I've
found an exception to my rule. Amongst the many who seek the attention of more establish blawgers are the newbies, hoping to make it onto our blogroll or, better still, get us to post
about
their existence.
I received a fairly aggressive request from a woman named Stef at a blog called Forward Movement, and in a moment of weakness, decided to take a look. The blog bills itself as a ...
<< MORE >>
I received a fairly aggressive request from a woman named Stef at a blog called Forward Movement, and in a moment of weakness, decided to take a look. The blog bills itself as a ...
When The First 18 Doesn't Count
Judge John Cataldo did something that never happens. Almost never. In the absence of DNA evidence, some sort of hard proof to hang his hat on, Judge Cataldo
nonetheless tossed Fernando
Bermudez's murder conviction after five prosecution witnesses recanted, saying they were coerced and manipulated into fingering Bermudez for the murder of 16 year old Raymond Blount.
Cataldo found that there was no evidence connecting Bermudez with the murder and dismissed the case. It came on the 11th try, and after Bermudez served 18 years in Sing Sing. ...
<< MORE >>
Cataldo found that there was no evidence connecting Bermudez with the murder and dismissed the case. It came on the 11th try, and after Bermudez served 18 years in Sing Sing. ...
Never Too Early To Prepare To Avoid The Death Penalty
Like most parents, I've read books on child rearing in the hope of doing something right. Yet nowhere did I read the part about making sure your child is given an IQ test, just in case
he
is convicted of a capital offense some 30, 40 years later. In Kentucky, this would be a wise thing to do.
Via Turley,
Via Turley,
Donald Giles would appear to have the trifecta of mental incompetence arguments against execution. He is a paranoid schizophrenic with an IQ of 61 and a history ...<< MORE >>
Avvo's Big Three? Not Me, Thanks
The other day, an offer came over from Bryan Jones, the advertising sales manager at Avvo. The subject line of the email was a grabber:
Avvo to Feature Only 3 Criminal Defense Lawyers in New York County. Only three?
Avvo.com is a resource for two million consumers per month who are seeking legal assistance. In New York County alone we had over 2,100 searches last month from consumers researching Criminal Defense Law. I am contacting every Criminal Defense lawyer in your area today to inform them ...<< MORE >>
New York's New DWI Bill: Compounding Stupidity
The vote is in. Hooray! Save the children. Get tough, get tougher. There are no sweeter sounds to the ears of a politician than the applause of their constituents.
And
there are few things constituents applaud more than a tough new law to save the lives of children. Or, at least, seems to do so.
If nothing else, the New York Legislature has shown that it can pass a law as fast as Congress did the USA Patriot Act.
If nothing else, the New York Legislature has shown that it can pass a law as fast as Congress did the USA Patriot Act.
Something crazy happened in Albany this week: The ...<< MORE >>
Prosecutorial Immunity: Sometimes, A Legal Fiction Is Just A Fiction
It's often difficult to understand why a prosecutor who has engaged in the affirmative act of concealing exculpatory evidence, or fabricating evidence of guilt, is clothed with immunity.
Mistake or accident is one thing, but why should they be immune from liability for a deliberate act? The simple, albeit unpalatable, explanation is that the Supreme Court says so.
And so the 2d Circuit in Warney v. Monroe County reversed Judge Latimer in the district court and conferred absolute immunity who withheld the results of a DNA test from a convicted defendant during ... << MORE >>
And so the 2d Circuit in Warney v. Monroe County reversed Judge Latimer in the district court and conferred absolute immunity who withheld the results of a DNA test from a convicted defendant during ... << MORE >>
Kurt Greenbaum: Reporter As Rat
There are lines that should never be crossed, and Kurt Greenbaum, journalist and director, apparently by default, of social media for the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch crossed one.
Kurt Greenbaum blogs at STL Social Media Guy, and is the online news director and now director of social media. On his hard-hitting blog, Greenbaum asked readers: "What's the craziest thing you've ever eaten?" A not especially clever person wrote, "Pussy." Harhar. A moderator deleted the comment. Wanting his voice to be heard, the nit-wit posted again, "Pussy."<< MORE >>
The Virtue of Brevity, Or Mommy Said So
While it would be all too easy to discuss the recurrent theme of genetics in the Ozarks, I will force myself to stay away and note just two salient details from this AP story about Officer Dustin Bradshaw's decision to taser an unruly 10 year old girl.
First, he only did so after her mother, who happens to be the person who called the police for help in dealing with her child's tantrum, told the officer to taser her. The good news is that Mom never ...
<< MORE >>
First, he only did so after her mother, who happens to be the person who called the police for help in dealing with her child's tantrum, told the officer to taser her. The good news is that Mom never ...
Naming Names
Very few names are so unique that you can't find a few hundred, maybe even a few thousand, other nice people with the same name. Sure, your name is special to you, but it's equally special to everyone else who shares your name. What it isn't is a very good way to discern the identity of a criminal.
That lesson should have been driven home the first time Fredericksburg, Virginia, police officers arrested Rodney Maurice Morton, about 13 years ago. Or the second time, in December, 2007. It shouldn't have happened ... << MORE >>
That lesson should have been driven home the first time Fredericksburg, Virginia, police officers arrested Rodney Maurice Morton, about 13 years ago. Or the second time, in December, 2007. It shouldn't have happened ... << MORE >>
Remy Meets His Fate
For those of you who don't know, Ramiro Orozco is a former public defender, now private criminal defense lawyer down Mississippi way. He's a tough guy, and a staunch
defender. Remy, as he's called, is no pushover and has never, to my knowledge, shied away from a fight.
That's why Remy's experience means so much. You see, Remy got pulled over by a cop and, despite everything he is and everything he knows, his reaction is quite telling.
That's why Remy's experience means so much. You see, Remy got pulled over by a cop and, despite everything he is and everything he knows, his reaction is quite telling.
Last night on my way home from the gym I was ...<< MORE >>
Mea Culpa in Maricopa (Update)
Judge Gary Donahoe has issued his opinion in the Adam Stoddard contempt hearing. To everyone's shock, Judge Donahoe held the court detention officer in contempt. Here is the decision.
Nick Martin at Heat City sums it up:
Nick Martin at Heat City sums it up:
But Donahoe rejected that story, saying there’s no way “a reasonable detention officer” would have thought a crime was taking place based on what he saw.<< MORE >>
“There was no immediate or future security threat that would have ...
Go Straight To Jail, Do Not Pass Go
The Second Circuit has decided the Lynne Stewart appeal, and
at
191 pages, it's a doozy. The majority decision was written
by
Judge Sack, with Judge Calabresi writing in concurrence and Judge Walker both concurring and dissenting.
The gist of the majority is that Lynne must surrender to serve her sentence of 28 months forthwith, while the case is remanded for resentence (which strikes me as a bit odd) for Judge Koeltl to decide whether she committed perjury, a determination he did ...
<< MORE >>
The gist of the majority is that Lynne must surrender to serve her sentence of 28 months forthwith, while the case is remanded for resentence (which strikes me as a bit odd) for Judge Koeltl to decide whether she committed perjury, a determination he did ...
The End of the Duopoly?
In the old days, we had books. Then along came Westlaw with its CDs. Then Lexis with its online search. This was revolutionary, but uncomfortable. First, it meant that we had
a
room full of very expensive law books that were soon to be worthless. Second, it meant that we had to trust search via a computer rather than leaf through the piles of books that kept us
warm
at night.
As everyone knows, Lexis and Westlaw are the way lawyers research. A rather expensive way, I might add, and still rather unwieldy ...
<< MORE >>
As everyone knows, Lexis and Westlaw are the way lawyers research. A rather expensive way, I might add, and still rather unwieldy ...
Scare Tactics
I received an early morning call from a woman who was in tears. Long story short, she made a mistake at the GAP and didn't pay for everything that had been placed in her stroller. After
tendering several hundred dollars for clothing, she was pinched on her way out of the store for a forgotten trinket. Believe her or not, it's not important.
She was in tears because, not being an experienced criminal, she didn't know what to do and decided to search the internet for a lawyer to represent her. Naturally, she called ... << MORE >>
She was in tears because, not being an experienced criminal, she didn't know what to do and decided to search the internet for a lawyer to represent her. Naturally, she called ... << MORE >>
Hope For Federal Court
It's a tough place, federal court. How tough? Check out Bennett's post
about pro se litigants before District of Texas Judge David Hittner. Ouch. Nothing warm and fuzzy there. From the lawyers' perspective, we understand why judges get surly and
annoyed when we waste their time, or try to pull something off on them and get caught. But it's painful to hear a federal judge speak to a citizen with such utter disdain. And it's
painful to hear the same disdain, if not worse, ...
<< MORE >>
A Referendum on Blawgs
Every year, a few folks run beauty pageants in the blogosphere. Some do it to bring attention to themselves, and others do it to bring attention to the blogosphere. For the new blogger,
it's a validation of their existence and worthiness, a recognition that their efforts aren't unnoticed. For the less new blogger, it's more sport than anything else.
It brings the winners vast wealth and prestige. Actually, it brings the winners nothing more than a few new readers for about a week, who will then decide whether to stay or go based ... << MORE >>
It brings the winners vast wealth and prestige. Actually, it brings the winners nothing more than a few new readers for about a week, who will then decide whether to stay or go based ... << MORE >>
Is It Wrong to Draw Lines?
A reader sent me a link to a story from a blawg called Bad Lawyer, written by an anonymous New Yorker who, it appears, is
a criminal
defense lawyer of a certain age. Much like me, save the anonymous part. It's a very good blawg, and I appreciate learning of its existence. Sure, I wish its author would
come out, and join the rest of the blawgosphere, but there's still much to offer there, and I find myself nodding in agreement with the anonymous old coot as I read his stuff.
...
<< MORE >>
...
Too High A Price
Many years ago, before I was admitted to practice law, I worked for someone who was, even back then, considered an old time criminal defense lawyer. He didn't know much about the
law. He was a "trial man," a rough and tumble kind of lawyer who was full of bravado and not much else.
He had a blue collar type of practice, with an emphasis on numbers, small-time drugs and prostitution, the basic vices of uptown Manhattan at the time which provided the primary source of his income.
... << MORE >>
He had a blue collar type of practice, with an emphasis on numbers, small-time drugs and prostitution, the basic vices of uptown Manhattan at the time which provided the primary source of his income.
... << MORE >>
Who Stole Kevin O'Keefe's Brain?
I realize that there are many in the blawgosphere who think Kevin O'Keefe, Lexblog honcho and the Head Cheerleader of Blogging, bears much responsibility for all the really bad blogging that has gummed up the works, cluttered up the blawgosphere and enabled unworthy and incapable lawyers to use the blawgosphere for crass commercialism. I disagree.
While Kevin provides the tools, he also has been a strong advocate for using the tools properly. Granted, he may encourage lawyers to blog for the wrong reason ... << MORE >>
While Kevin provides the tools, he also has been a strong advocate for using the tools properly. Granted, he may encourage lawyers to blog for the wrong reason ... << MORE >>
But For Video: Misplaced Anger Edition
Every once in a while, a mistake occurs and a defendant is released who shouldn't be. When this happens, the evil defendant may make a run for it, hoping that his good fortune will allow him to
continue to pillage. The unaware defendant, however, may chose a different path, like the one that leads straight back to the jail to collect his belongings.
One might suspect that the defendant who returns to the jail, quietly, politely, without the slightest degree of hostility, might be treated with some kindness, having merely done the normal ... << MORE >>
One might suspect that the defendant who returns to the jail, quietly, politely, without the slightest degree of hostility, might be treated with some kindness, having merely done the normal ... << MORE >>
Chatroom Romance Risk Number 37
We're besieged by stories of chatroom romance, usually involving middle-aged male police officers posing as young teenage girls trying to seduce men inclined toward inappropriate
encounters to give it a try. Sometimes, however, a young woman is just a young woman, and a young man is just a young man. Even then, there are risks.
From the Gothamist:
From the Gothamist:
The father of a 14-year-old Connecticut girl filed a missing persons report with police after his daughter left the house Saturday morning and didn't come home that night. The unidentified ...<< MORE >>
Caution: Simple Justice May Be Bad For Your Emotional Well Being
Every once in a while, I stray from legal topics into subject that bring in readers unfamiliar with Simple Justice. Inexplicably, these readers, usually non-lawyers, feel compelled to
explain to me at great length their thoughts and feelings on what appears here. One such reader, Andrew, who is in the business of selling test
preparation, left a comment which included the following:
<< MORE >>
Lastly, swearing and berating those who care enough to spend their invaluable time starting a conversation with you is a great way to publicly demonstrate to others that you have ...
Do It For The Children: "Meep!" Edition
It's about time. 25 students at the Calumet middle school in Chicago were arrested for a food fight.
"You
can take someone's eye out with pudding, you know," I muttered to no one in particular.
<< MORE >>
“My children have to appear in court,” Erica Russell, the mother of two eighth-grade girls who spent eight hours in jail, said Tuesday. “They were handcuffed, slammed in a wagon, had their mug shots taken and treated like real criminals.”Some mother you turned out to be, Erica. No remorse ...
Putting "Political Ideology Ahead of Safety"
Senator John Cornyn of the Great Republic of Texas knows when a man needs killin'. And accused mastermind of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is just such a
man in Cornyn's eyes. Forget all the talk about how safety is jeopardized by putting him on trial in a "civilian court" like a "common criminal." They know better.
The fear is clear. If KSM is tried in the Southern District of New York, liberal Manhattan jurors won't vote to execute him.
... << MORE >>
man in Cornyn's eyes. Forget all the talk about how safety is jeopardized by putting him on trial in a "civilian court" like a "common criminal." They know better.
The fear is clear. If KSM is tried in the Southern District of New York, liberal Manhattan jurors won't vote to execute him.
... << MORE >>
Big Numbers and No Influence
Like it or not, a very large part of Mark Britton's role as CEO of Avvo is to market. It's a social media business, and social media businesses don't survive without finding someone
willing to pay them money. So when Mark takes a position contrary to the every-growing population of social media experts, it means something. And, as Mark puts it, he's letting the "cat out of the bag."
<< MORE >>
...the number of one's Twitter followers has nothing to do with his or her influence. In other words, 9.9 times out of ...
Lessig Blew It
When Harvard Lawprof Lawrence Lessig decided to invite Eliot Spitzer to speak at the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for
Ethics, it could have gone either way. Sure, Spitzer's one-time babe, Kristin Davis, took issue with the fact that she bore the consequences of his lack of zipper control, while he got
to
lecture at Harvard. She asked some very good questions of Prof. Lessig, but as far as I can tell, Lessig . ...
<< MORE >>
Chicago Puts The Brakes On Lidar
There are four ways to tell if a driver is speeding. Two old school, observation and following, and two new, radar and laser, and even radar is considered pretty old school these
days. Laser, also known at Lidar, is the method all the really cool cops use. Except in Chicago.
Via Kevin Underhill at Lowering the Bar, the Chicago Trib reports that speeding tickets based on Lidar are being tossed:
days. Laser, also known at Lidar, is the method all the really cool cops use. Except in Chicago.
Via Kevin Underhill at Lowering the Bar, the Chicago Trib reports that speeding tickets based on Lidar are being tossed:
Within the past year judges in Cook County Traffic Court in Chicago determined that speeds captured by lidar were not ...<< MORE >>
The View Through The Bars (Update)
Amongst the many emails received daily with news, videos, stories and promotions that are floating around out there (most of which I can't possibly post about, much to the consternation of readers and publicists), came this installment from the Ann Arbor Chronicle, Washtenaw Jail Diary: Chapter 3. Largely because the sender made no effort to hype the content, I took a chance and read the article. It was worth my time, and I hope worth yours.
This articulate and introspective view by an anonymous detainee, that started as twits and developed into a narrative, with the anticipation that ...<< MORE >>
This articulate and introspective view by an anonymous detainee, that started as twits and developed into a narrative, with the anticipation that ...<< MORE >>
Fear of Flying
When Steve Bierfeldt, the Campaign for Liberty Staffer, was stopped and held for carrying $4,700 while going through airport security, the TSA explained that he violated their basic rule: Just do what you're told. If people would just cooperate, it would make our government's job so much easier.
Quietly, the TSA backed off after suit was filed by the ACLU on Bierfeldt's behalf. As reported by the Washington Times:
Quietly, the TSA backed off after suit was filed by the ACLU on Bierfeldt's behalf. As reported by the Washington Times:
The new rules, issued in September and October, tell officers "screening may not be conducted to detect evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security" and ...<< MORE >>
Threading the Needle in Marikafka County
Jameson Johnson, a Phoenix litigation support guy, tells me that Radley Balko's name for Maricopa County, Marikafka, has become part of the local lexicon. The division between the criminal defense side, those who have even the smallest expectation that law will prevail over order, could not be more clear than the image painted of the courtroom in the continued hearing of Adam Stoddard by Nick Martin at Heat City.
Maricopa County Judge Gary Donahoe looked out on a courtroom divided cleanly in half on Tuesday, all the way back through the gallery. On one side was ...<< MORE >>
Zero Tolerance For Three Strikes
The New York Times has once again figured out that zero tolerance policies in schools is disastrously harmful and foolish. Stop the presses? Hardly.
Congress took a reasonable step in 1994 when it required states receiving federal education money to expel students who brought guns onto school property, but states and localities overreacted, as they so often do. They enacted “zero tolerance” policies under which children are sometimes arrested for profanity, talking back, shoving matches and other behavior that would once have been resolved with detention or meetings with the students’ parents.
This ...<< MORE >>
There's No Atheists On A Hard Drive
The continuing discussion of how the Fourth Amendment applies to developing technology, raised by Orin Kerr's "technology neutral" approach, an approach with which I'm somewhat less than thrilled, takes an interesting turn in digital forensic examiner Larry Daniels discusses the applicability of traditional legal concepts.
Orin takes the position that traditional concepts, developed through the caselaw over generations, should be applied by analogy to new and developing technology. My view is that we need to come up with new concepts rather than try to fit square pegs into round holes. At DFI News, Larry explains how, for all the very ...<< MORE >>
Orin takes the position that traditional concepts, developed through the caselaw over generations, should be applied by analogy to new and developing technology. My view is that we need to come up with new concepts rather than try to fit square pegs into round holes. At DFI News, Larry explains how, for all the very ...<< MORE >>
Not A Good Day In The Neighborhood
It started out with an email from an in-house lawyer at ALM. She wanted to know what became of my battle with the scummy scraper website, US Law dot com, a commercial enterprise built on the premise that it could take the content from legitimate blawgs, republish them, duplicate their image with their own logo superimposed on the face and sell advertising for their efforts.
ALM, publishers of such titles as American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, and blogs such as the AmLaw Daily and Law.com, just became aware of USLaw's scraping their content. They were not pleased, and have put ...<< MORE >>
ALM, publishers of such titles as American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, and blogs such as the AmLaw Daily and Law.com, just became aware of USLaw's scraping their content. They were not pleased, and have put ...<< MORE >>
'Cause The Bible Tells Me So
One of the jurors later confirmed that reference to scripture played a part in his deliberation. In his view, "the Bible is the truth from page one to the last page".How many peremptories does it take to keep true believers off a death qualified jury in Texas? Don't bother answering. It rhetorical. But then, how many Bibles must there be in a jury room to aid in the deliberations. In Khristian Oliver's case, the number is four.
One of the jurors testified that about 4 Bibles were in the jury room. Key passages were highlighted ...<< MORE >>
Child Lifers: Get There By Camel
If a camel is a horse designed by committee, the Justices seem to be bent on trying to send kids to prison on a camel of their own design. From Adam Liptak at the New York Times:
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. suggested a compromise approach that did not involve categorical distinctions but would instead require consideration of the offender’s age in deciding whether the sentence was proportional to the crime case by case.
“We know from Roper that death is different, and we know from Roper that juveniles are different,” the chief justice ...<< MORE >>
The Good Life
As the Supremes prepare to hear oral argument in Graham v. Florida and Sullivan v. Florida today, one has to wonder why. The underlying issue is whether life without parole is a constitutional sentence to impose on a juvenile for an offense less than homicide. As Liptak states in the New York Times,
There are just over 100 people in the world serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed as ...<< MORE >>
The End of Arizona Week
Clearly, I've had Arizona on my mind this week. Apparently, so has Stephen Colbert, making this a fitting end to Arizona Week at Simple Justice.
H/T Grits For Breakfast.
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| www.colbertnation.com http:>The Word - The Green Mile | ||||
| ||||
H/T Grits For Breakfast.
The Path of Least Resistance
We all have darn good reasons for what we do. At least they seem darn good to us. At least they seem darn good to us at the moment. It tends to be the path of least resistance, but our minds tell us that it's the road we should take if we want to fight another day.
In retrospect, we don't always make the best choices, if we're fair about it and reasonably honest to ourselves. Sure, we can rationalize it otherwise, provided we're alone in a room and nobody else is around who might be a bit more ...<< MORE >>
In retrospect, we don't always make the best choices, if we're fair about it and reasonably honest to ourselves. Sure, we can rationalize it otherwise, provided we're alone in a room and nobody else is around who might be a bit more ...<< MORE >>
Just A Diligent Kinda Officer
The continuation of the contempt hearing for Adam Stoddard, Maricopa County's finest, was held yesterday before Judge Gary Donahoe, although much of it happened without prying eyes after he closed the courtroom at the insistence of Tom Liddy, with the County Attorney's office.
To my great disappointment, Nick Martin was unable to attend yesterday's hearing, leaving us with only the Arizona Republic version of events. Given its anemic coverage of the last hearing date, it's a rather sorry substitute.
To my great disappointment, Nick Martin was unable to attend yesterday's hearing, leaving us with only the Arizona Republic version of events. Given its anemic coverage of the last hearing date, it's a rather sorry substitute.
"Going to," "steal" and "money."<< MORE >>
We Almost Made It To 5
As Doug Berman notes, the 5th birthday of the Supreme Court's Booker decision is approaching. Ah, it seems like only yesterday that the Sentencing Guidelines were mandatory and any defendant who didn't rat was going down the river forever. So naturally, the alternative to slavish consistency, reducing judges to 3rd grade mathematicians and grid readers, is back on the table.
In the Wall Street Journal, Amir Efrati lobs a grenades into the system to mess with our heads. He offers two anecdotes in his law column to suggest that we're back to playing spin-the-sentencing-wheel: ...<< MORE >>
In the Wall Street Journal, Amir Efrati lobs a grenades into the system to mess with our heads. He offers two anecdotes in his law column to suggest that we're back to playing spin-the-sentencing-wheel: ...<< MORE >>
If Only Half True
With all the wrong that appears from the surface of the American criminal justice system, the stuff that can be seen, occasionally appears on videotape so that the deniers can't deny, none of it compares to the allegations of Craig Murray, the rector of the University of Dundee in Scotland and until 2004 the UK's ambassador to Uzbekistan:
...the CIA not only relied on confessions gleaned through extreme torture, it sent terror war suspects to Uzbekistan as part of its extraordinary rendition program.
"I'm talking of people being raped with ...<< MORE >>
Prosecutorial Indiscretion
Whether it's by way of charging authority, as under the pre-Booker Sentencing Guidelines, or plea bargaining policy, prosecutors want more than to merely charge a defendant. They want to impose their ideal of justice, leaving as little discretion to the judge to go all soft and mushy as possible. It may not be merely a lack of faith in judges to exact a sufficient punishment, but an exertion of power to prove who's really in charge.
Via Turley, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Bill Higgins decided a little pre-plea shaming was just the ticket for Evelyn Border, 55 and her daughter, Tina ...<< MORE >>
Via Turley, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Bill Higgins decided a little pre-plea shaming was just the ticket for Evelyn Border, 55 and her daughter, Tina ...<< MORE >>
An Unsuccessful Conversion to the Cause
The office phone rings. Caller ID says "NRA". Nonetheless, I pick it up.
I'm calling from the NRA with a poll about how the United Nations wants to eliminate gun possession in the United States. I have a message from NRA vice president Wayne LaPierre to explain the poll.
Do I need to hear a message from Wayne LaPierre to answer a poll question?
Well, I think he wants you to hear his message.
Well, I don't think I want to hear his message.
...<< MORE >>
Save the Connecticut 5?
Carolyn Elefant is pissed. That doesn't happen too often, so it's certainly worthy of attention when it does. At My Shingle, Carolyn asks why the blawgosphere hasn't erupted in outrage at the persecution of the Connecticut 5. The first reason is that most people have never heard about the Connecticut 5. That's easily remedied.
Yet the Connecticut Disciplinary Counsel, in its Order of Probable Cause and Complaint (H/T to Ben Glass of Great Legal Marketing for publicizing the order) against five innocent lawyers who participated in the Total Bankruptcy.com cooperative advertising website (one ...<< MORE >>
Just Part of the Crowd
The Richmond Rape, in which a 15 year old girl was gang raped for more than two hours in front of crowd of fellow high school students, has received surprisingly little attention in the blawgosphere. Not only did the crowd do nothing to stop the horrific crime, but they cheered it on.
The phenomenon has been explained as the "bystander effect," the anonymity of the crowd, a reflection of the death of morality and responsibility of our youth.
The phenomenon has been explained as the "bystander effect," the anonymity of the crowd, a reflection of the death of morality and responsibility of our youth.
Although shocking, the "bystander effect" is a common social phenomenon that occurs when more than one person ...<< MORE >>
The Poisoned Water of Maricopa County (Update)
Not that there hasn't been enough about Phoenix lawyers around here lately, but when Nick Martin of Heat City posted a video of a detention officer Adam Stoddard, during a sentence in Maricopa County Superior Court, rifle through defense lawyer Joanne Cuccia's file behind her back, quietly lift a paper out of the file and hand it off to fellow officer Francisco Campillo, who then spirited the paper away, it can't be ignored.
Radley Balko opened the bidding first, asking
Radley Balko opened the bidding first, asking
….so any attorneys want to explain to me what happened in this video? ...<< MORE >>
A Naked Boulder Rolls Downhill (And A Related Twit)
Via Radley Balko, the good people of Boulder, Colorado, can sleep well on Halloween, secure in the knowledge that human genitalia will not be flailing about, demeaning the sensibilities of those without any.
For nearly a decade, naked pumpkin runners did their thing unmolested, stampeding through the frigid dark past crowds of admirers who hooted, hollered and tossed candy. But last year the run attracted more than 150 participants, and Police Chief Mark Beckner fears things are getting out of hand. "It's a free-for-all," he says.
So he intends to stop it. ...<< MORE >>
Sullivan & Cromwell Gets a Seat At The Execution
Imagine how fortunate a death row inmate must feel when he learns that his cause will be taken up by the best and brightest lawyers at one of the most prestigious big law firms in the nation, Sullivan & Cromwell. Hallelujah! After all, these are the whizkids, the ones with all the resources. Their staff has staff. A thousand laboring oars, all to save one man from execution.
Cory Maples must have thought he hit the lottery when he found out. From Above the Law:
Cory Maples must have thought he hit the lottery when he found out. From Above the Law:
More than a decade ago, Cory Maples of Alabama murdered two ...<< MORE >>