Simple Justice
A New York Criminal Defense Blog
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J. Greenfield, Designer (c) 2008
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Simple Justice
Book Review: The Odd Clauses
Jay Wexler is a very funny guy. Always was, which is particularly surprising given his tenure at the Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel,
before going rogue and joining the faculty at Boston University School of Law. Even when he blogged at PrawfsBlawg, he was
funny.I bet Dan Markel will never let that happen again.
Aside: I once ...<< MORE >>
Making the Internet Better, One Law at a Time
Naturally, the day after my post about removing an old
post so that a person isn't forever tainted by his worst experience, Walter Olson twits about
the European Commission being set to adopt "formal rules" to create a "right to be forgotten" on the internet.
From Adam Thierer at the Technology Liberation Front:
According to the BBC, the European Commission is apparently set to adopt formal rules guaranteeing a ...<< MORE >>
Mourning the Passing of Geeklawyer
He was outrageous. He was as offensive as anyone on the internet. He was geeklawyer, a pseudonymous British barrister whose vulgar
satirical view of the world reflected the incorrigible days of the blawgosphere, and later twitter.
Via my dear pal CharonQC comes the sad news of Geeklawyer's passing. No, he didn't die. You see, he wasn't real. Geeklawyer was a fun persona that existed only to screw around with the prisses in the profession and online, ... << MORE >>
Via my dear pal CharonQC comes the sad news of Geeklawyer's passing. No, he didn't die. You see, he wasn't real. Geeklawyer was a fun persona that existed only to screw around with the prisses in the profession and online, ... << MORE >>
Reason Number 3 To Go To Cocktail Parties
Lee Pacchia of Bloomberg Law interviews New York Times reporter David Segal, the guy whose
feature articles caused more lawprofs to put fingers to keyboard than any other, not to mention spittle to screen.
There are things he says (and he's written) that strike me as accurate, and things that strike me as just plain wrong, as interpreted from the outside without much ...
<< MORE >>A Man Walks Into A Bank
The crime charged is bank robbery, not ordinarily considered an impulse crime of the sort that can be easily understood as an aberrational act
resulting from either momentary psycho-emotional overload or an altered state of reality. People plan bank robberies. After thinking, they execute the plan. It's a very thoughtful crime.
After Feliz Vega, Jr., was arrested for bank robbery in Georgia, however, his lawyer announced a curious defense. Vega was taking Paxil, ... << MORE >>
After Feliz Vega, Jr., was arrested for bank robbery in Georgia, however, his lawyer announced a curious defense. Vega was taking Paxil, ... << MORE >>
Debt Paid
When a defendant completes his sentence, he's said to have paid his debt to society. Well, that was what we used to say, anyway, before the days of
registries and the perpetual underclass we've created to make sure that no one who has ever done anything wrong will get a chance. For the children, you understand.
In the blawgosphere, however, criminal defense lawyers are occasionally given the opportunity to put their principles to the test. Society at large may ... << MORE >>
In the blawgosphere, however, criminal defense lawyers are occasionally given the opportunity to put their principles to the test. Society at large may ... << MORE >>
East Haven, Arizona
According to the Feds, the East Haven police force is a "cancerous cadre," proving yet again the limits of alliteration as a weapon against police
misconduct. The indictment filed, however, may prove more effective. From the New York Times:
<< MORE >>Following on the heels of a scathing Justice Department report in December that found the East Haven police had engaged in widespread “biased policing, unconstitutional searches and ...
A Computer Gets Keyed
Despite the heated arguments surrounding the case of Sebastien Boucher and the government's efforts to obtain his password to collect evidence
of his possession of kiddie porn, we suffered Boucher-interruptus when Vermont Magistrate Judge Jerome J. Niedermeier's decision never made it up to the Circuit.
The good news is we have bad news to ... << MORE >>
The good news is we have bad news to ... << MORE >>
Cy Confirms: Can't Count on Confessions
The first time the words appeared, it was
in an amicus brief filed in
Williams v. Illinois. Criminal defense lawyers were, to be mild, giddy about it, and could barely contain their delight that New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance put in
writing that the foundations of so many convictions, eyewitness identifications and confessions, were unreliable.
The expectation was that ... << MORE >>
The expectation was that ... << MORE >>
Not So Crazy, And Still Crazy
In fairness, New York City has no shortage of nuts. But then, that includes the NYPD, whose officers aren't necessarily inclined to spend a great deal
of time pondering whether someone stopped really is what he says he is or just left his tin foil hat behind that day. That's what Bellevue is there to do.
Via that bastion of journalistic accuracy and the occasional multi-sentence paragraph, the New York Post: << MORE >>
Via that bastion of journalistic accuracy and the occasional multi-sentence paragraph, the New York Post: << MORE >>
Making Sense of Jones
Since the opinions were released yesterday morning, the blawgosphere has cranked out a ton of posts about what the Jones v. United States decision means. The majority decision was written by Scalia, with concurrences by Alito and
Sotomayor. While it was 9-0 on outcome, it was anything but on rationale.
The shorthand reaction broke it down this way:
The shorthand reaction broke it down this way:
The Scalia opinion had the support ...<< MORE >>
Citizen of the Internet
Kim Schmitz, at 37, who changed his name to Kim Dotcom, was enjoying life. He had a ton of toys and lived large. Why shouldn't he?
He had the money to pay for this life, and it's no crime. Unless the source of the money came from crime, in which case it's a different story altogether.
The indictment, a tedious document replete with the typical surplusage that makes his every ... << MORE >>
The indictment, a tedious document replete with the typical surplusage that makes his every ... << MORE >>
Twitter and the Mentor Delusion
Mentoring has become one of those buzz words in social media that is used to make stupid people stupider. Wrap up interaction in the mentoring box,
tie a pretty ribbon on it, and pretend that the desperate search for validation on the internet is a substitute.
A while back, Venkat Balasubramani noted the "Cult of Positivity" on twitter, where being nice to people
you don't know was repaid by their being nice in return.
The Real See-Through
As a kid, I remember the advertisements at the back of comic books, right next to the sea monkeys, for x-ray glasses. If you believed the picture,
they would allow you to oogle a young woman's underwear right through her dress!!! Back then, seeing women's undergarments was enough to thrill a young boy. We were so naive.
And half a century later, the New York Police Department is nearly ...
<< MORE >>Seattle Loses Control
To be sure, the three police officers represented by Ted Buck are scum. Their conduct can be swiftly summed up:
Nice, huh? There's no question that they did this to Malaika Brooks, though thankfully her child was born unharmed. And who are these ... << MORE >>
—tasing a pregnant woman three times in about 42 seconds after she refused to sign a speeding ticket and get out of her car—
Nice, huh? There's no question that they did this to Malaika Brooks, though thankfully her child was born unharmed. And who are these ... << MORE >>
Losing For Winning
An underlying ethical theme for all lawyers is that our conduct shouldn't bring the legal profession into disrepute. For reasons unknown (well,
not really unknown, but rarely spoken), this concern disappears when someone decides it's necessary to get someone at all costs. Corey Hipscher found that out the hard way.
Via the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Hipscher was accused of fondling young girls.
Via the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Hipscher was accused of fondling young girls.
<< MORE >>Hipscher was accused in July 2009 of ...
A Cop Explains
Much as I seek police officers willing to take a stand and engage with the ignorant masses about why they refuse to challenge their brethren when
misconduct or abuse happens before them, I applaud those officers and agents who acknowledge that the War on Drugs is one of the most destructive and counterproductive initiatives
our government has devised. And that's why I find this post at LEAP, Law Enforcement ...
<< MORE >>
Own It
When Mark Herrmann posts at Above the Law, I read. No, not because it's necessarily
something entirely novel and deep, though his posts usually contain at least one piece that strikes at a level that few of us think about. No, it's because Mark's posts simply and elegantly
state fundamentals about the practice of law about which we need constant reminders. He's done it
again. ...
<< MORE >>
Does This Really Make You Happy?
My plan was to repost this as soon as I saw that former disco diva (and the guy who brought Roller Derby to Pittsburgh) Dan Hull posted it at
What About Paris? I swear. And then the sun got in my eyes, there was a hole in my racket, I'm just big
boned.
Then Judge Carton posted it at Legal Blog Watch, which is about as humiliating as it ... << MORE >>
Then Judge Carton posted it at Legal Blog Watch, which is about as humiliating as it ... << MORE >>
Corey Maples Won't Die. Yet.
There was no question, none, where the good went bad. Sullivan & Cromwell took on Cory Maples' appeal as a gesture of noblesse oblige, and handed it to their younguns for practice. Lives are for only good for practice,
before letting baby biglawyers work on important cases for corporations. It didn't go well.
<< MORE >>When ...
Quod Approbo Non Reprobo
Many websites and blawgs will be blacked out today in protest of laws pending before the House and Senate, the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, SOPA/PIPA.
I've decided not to go dark in protest, while websites such as Wikipedia and Reddit, focal points on the web, bring home the point that these laws threaten the existence of ...
<< MORE >>
Another Bottom: Jeff Zarzynski, the Bully
The "it" epithet, Bully, isn't used in the nouvelle sense here of anyone who hurts one's feelings, but in the old school sense of taking your lunch
money by force, and that's exactly how Milwaukee lawyer Jeff Zarsynski means it. His choice, not mine. Yet it smears all of us.
<< MORE >>
<< MORE >>
It's Not Like Blogging is Journalism
While not a legal blog, TechnoBuffalo.com may well appreciate some of the issues raised in defense of the First Amendment now that it finds itself on
the back end of an Illinois decision compelling it to give up the identity of its source. Via the Chicago Sun-Times:
<< MORE >>It’s become the legal and philosophical debate in the digital age of journalism: Does a blogger have the same legal ...
But For Video: Vicious Old Man Edition
So the child super-predator myth hasn't held up to scrutiny very well. Big deal. What about the 66-year-old knife-wielding,
aggressive-walking, triple-bypass, demented predator? Huh?
<< MORE >>
<< MORE >>
601,055 Isolated Incidents a Year
Getting frisked in New York City is all about nuance, according to John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor Eugene J. O’Donnell. From the
New York Times:
<< MORE >>To Eugene J. O’Donnell, a professor of police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the case underscores how officers sometimes struggle to articulate nuances in the laws they must apply.
Law enforcement, Professor O’Donnell said, “demands that you know the ...
Best in Breed, Jamison Koehler
The ABA Blawg 100 crowned a new Best Blawg in criminal law, and the honor goes to
Jamison Koehler and his modestly named Koehler Law Blog. While the competition may not be my cup of tea, that doesn't mean that winning isn't
a significant achievement, and reflects the respect and dedication of readers. Jamison has attained that respect and earned the prize.
Jamison, a former Philadelphia public defender, struck ...
Ch, Ch, Ch, Ch, Change (Turn and Face The Strain)
At MoneyLaw, Louisville Law Dean Jim Chen wrote what few
lawprofs wanted to read, that the denials and protestations within the legal academy aren't winning any converts:
Let me begin with the angry deniers. For my part, I do not believe that law professors and law schools do themselves any favors, in an age of indebted students, unemployed law school graduates, and laid-off lawyers, to trash these criticisms as a "hatchet job" or (better ...<< MORE >>
Sense and Sensibility
With turmoil aplenty in the blawgosphere over the past week, stemming from the discovery of settling Rakofsky v. Internet defendants Lori Palmieri and Martha Sperry, and from there flowing downhill at a remarkable and disturbing pace. No need to discuss the harm done to ...
<< MORE >>The DOJ is Alive
It's not that the Eric Holder had an epiphany, discovering that he's a Democratic Attorney General and that the people who elected his boss had an
interest in the Department of Justice supporting adherence to the Bill of Rights. Then again, the cause may not be entirely lost.
Via the Baltimore Sun:
Via the Baltimore Sun:
The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has urged a federal court to side with ...<< MORE >>
Allocating Scarce Resources on Life or Death
There isn't enough money. There are plenty of people who require a free lawyer, as they just keep arresting people without asking their net worth, but
then they have to be given that free lawyer. And that takes money. And there isn't enough
In Orleans Parish, Chief Public Defender Derwyn Bunton came up about $2 million short, out of budget of $9,500,000. He just didn't get the money he needed because somebody decided not towaste it on ...
<< MORE >>
In Orleans Parish, Chief Public Defender Derwyn Bunton came up about $2 million short, out of budget of $9,500,000. He just didn't get the money he needed because somebody decided not to
IDs Are Different
When Associate Justice Antonin Scalia asked the question at oral argument, hearts filled with hope. Well, mine anyway.
<< MORE >>Why is unreliable eyewitness identification any different from unreliable anything else?—Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, at oral argument in Perry v. New Hampshire,
Yet again, Justice Scalia says what needs to be said, clearly and decisively. Why indeed? Of the many burdens placed on ...
An Innocent Tourist Gets "A Break"
In the early days of my career as a lawyer, I spent a lot of time in the 34 Precinct. The cops had a curious relationship with the residents, where everyone was a perp. Eventually. Things have
quieted down quite a bit since then, after the crack days of cold bodies appearing in the park every morning, but it apparently hasn't done much to change the attitude.
Via Jim Dwyer at the Times, a Christmas tourist,
Aaron Vansintjan, from Belgium by way of McGill University in Montreal, wanted only to meet his friends at ...
Lori Palmieri, The Stink of Pathetic (Update)
It was discovered purely by chance. There was a note in the Rakofsky court file rejecting his attempt to get an Order to Show Cause signed, with the
lone remark, "papers are incomprehensible." Not
exactly a good thing for a person fighting allegations of incompetence.
And then, quietly nestled in the file, was another paper, entitled stipulation, between Joseph Rakofsky and a defendant ... << MORE >>
And then, quietly nestled in the file, was another paper, entitled stipulation, between Joseph Rakofsky and a defendant ... << MORE >>
Schools Have Rules: No Good Deed Edition
There's a good reason for the maxim, stercus accidit. Despite best efforts, careful preparation and thoughtfulness, sometimes something
undesired, unanticipated occurs. And the honorable thing to do is to come clean, acknowledge that it happened and follow the rules. And for being honorable, for having no improper intent, for
doing absolutely, positively nothing wrong, yet honoring he compact, you will be thanked, appreciated and, in a perfect world, get a balloon or some similar reward, ...
<< MORE >>
From the Ministry of Excellent Excuses (Update)
They went in for battle in Ogden, Utah, and that's what they got.Radley Balko gives the TL;dr version:
But the gist is that a veteran who apparently grew marijuana to self-medicate for anxiety and depression apparently shot and killed one cop and wounded several others during a nighttime raid on his home. This is the same narcotics task force, by the way, that shot and killed a man wielding a ...<< MORE >>
Cop Haters
I was talking to a cop. Yes, I talk to cops. In fact, I know quite a few, and have some I count as friends. This will not only come as a shock to
some, but will repulse a few. They're the enemy. They're evil. Maybe not as people, out of uniform and playing ball with their kids, but strap on a gun and shield and they're the
personification of a blue monster that subjugates ordinary Americans. ...
<< MORE >>
7 Years Lost in Gitmo
In the New York Times, Lakhdar Boumediene tells of the seven years he lost in Guantánamo for nothing.
In a decision that bears my name, the Supreme Court declared that “the laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times.” It ruled that prisoners like me, no matter how serious the accusations, have a right to a day in court. The Supreme Court recognized a basic truth: the government makes ...<< MORE >>
Race to the Bottom Continues: The Legal Arena
Whoever sent out the special invitation to Catherine Mulcahey, telling her she was "selected" to be one of the first lawyers so honored,
probably didn't anticipate that she would send it over here to ask what I thought. But she did. Bummer.
|
You're Invited to our "Soft" ... |
Pulling The Trigger
The reaction to a headline of police killing a middle school students is visceral. No reasonable person reacts well to a child being shot dead. But
it isn't always that simple.
In Brownsville, Texas, police shot and killed Jaime Gonzalez.
<< MORE >>Police shot and killed an eighth-grader in the hallway of his middle school Wednesday after the boy brandished what looked like a handgun and pointed it at officers. It turned out to be ...
All The News That Fits
It's a big internet. Really big. Big enough to have room for pretty much anything and everything that wants to be here, and that means the good, the
bad and the ugly all have their place. It's a feature, as well as a flaw. For those of us who spend a decent amount of time here, it presents a dilemma.
Yesterday, Ken at Popehat wrote about the Ashton Lundeby lie, the one where a fairy tale was ... << MORE >>
Yesterday, Ken at Popehat wrote about the Ashton Lundeby lie, the one where a fairy tale was ... << MORE >>
Danger(ous), Will Robinson
When one takes the helm of so august a group as the American Bar Association, it's wise to pick one's enemies carefully. It's not like there aren't
plenty of darn fine choices, assuming getting invited to official
cocktail parties isn't your primary goal, in which case the enemies list gets much smaller.
However, one group of people that you really don't want to piss ... << MORE >>
However, one group of people that you really don't want to piss ... << MORE >>
When Lawprofs Troll
Utah Lawprof Michael Teter posted something funny over at PrawfsBlawg. The title was Campos is Right, but it has absolutely nothing to do with scamblogging hero Paul Campos. It was just to troll.
I’m going to let you in on a secret. Those of us who guest blog here measure our success by one criterion alone: whether we get the mainstays of the Prawfs family to comment on our posts. Only when ...<< MORE >>
The Year of the Flawg
Mere hours into a new year, and spit is shooting from Brian Tannebaum's mouth.
But yesterday, the first day back for most lawyers, brought out the rash of shit that is the failed and former lawyers, and those with no business advising anyone in the legal profession, going on and on about why lawyers need to “get on board,” with social media and shiny toys. It was like they were holding their breath for ...<< MORE >>
Dearly Deported (Update)
Don't blame ICE, the cool acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Blame Jakadrien Turner, the 14 year old girl who ran away to Houston, got caught stealing
something (a loaf of bread?) and gave the coppers a fake "Spanish" sounding name that just happened to be the name of a 22-year-old Columbiana illegal, who had some warrants and a seat on the
next flight out.
... << MORE >>
... << MORE >>
40,000 New Reasons to Say "I'm Sorry"
Via Radley Balko, MSNBC reports:
<< MORE >>About 40,000 state laws taking effect at the start of the new year will change rules about getting abortions in New Hampshire, learning about gays and lesbians in California, getting jobs in Alabama and even driving golf carts in Georgia.
Many laws reflect the nation's concerns over immigration, the cost of government and the best way to protect ...
Justice Thomas' Horseradish Vision
A few days ago, the New York Times had an
insipid editorial deriding the failure of prosecutors to honor their obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence pursuant to Brady v. Maryland. The impetus for the editorial was the
Michael Morton DNA reversal in Texas, where it only took 25 years to learn that then
prosecutor, now Judge, Kenneth Anderson, withheld evidence.
While that was ... << MORE >>
While that was ... << MORE >>
A Blight on our Legacy
On the last day of 2011, a Saturday when people were more inclined to think about who they would kiss at midnight than what part of our American
heritage was thrown away, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act.
Via Jeralyn Merritt at TalkLeft:
Via Jeralyn Merritt at TalkLeft:
<< MORE >>President Obama today signed into the National Defense Authorization ...
Deportation, The Last Cesspool
As awful as one might view the sausage-making in a criminal courtroom, it's downright sanitary compared to the slaughterhouse of immigration
court. For United States citizens, even those whose backsides have left a permanent imprint in the courtroom bench, there's little concern about it. After all, they're immigrants. They're not
"real Americans," so what difference does it make what happens to them.
As states craft laws and send out police to further harass anyone ... << MORE >>
As states craft laws and send out police to further harass anyone ... << MORE >>
Godwin's Law, Corollaries 92 & 93
For the fellow Luddites who read this, you're going to need to know what Godwin's Law is in order to understand what follows. Also known as
Reductio ad Hitlerum, Godwin's Law states:
"As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1."
Put less mathematically, it means:
Godwin observed that, given enough time, in any ...<< MORE >>
Schools Have Rules: Karma Edition
Karma may be the cosmic law of moral causation, but in Pinellas County, Florida, its apparently grounds for arrest. As Radley Balko reduced it to a
twitter equation:
Zero tolerance + anti-bullying backlash + Internet = Criminal charges for an innocuous Facebook post.Via Tampa Bay Fox,
<< MORE >>Allie Scott is a junior at Osceola High School. The 16 year old says it ...