Simple Justice
A New York Criminal Defense Blog
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ABA House of Delegates: Huh?
The American Bar Association has never carried much weight amongst criminal defense lawyers. Few join, and I can't think of anyone who participate in the House of Delegates. I'm sure there are,
but I just don't know who. Maybe they keep it to themselves to avoid embarrassing questions, like "why?", or "what the heck is the ABA doing?"
The latter question popped into my head when I read the breaking news from the ABA Journal,
that the House of Delegates, in full swing yesterday. announced 9 criminal justice resolutions.
The Moral Frustration Of Charging A Fee
Norm Pattis describes well the inherent conflict that most private criminal defense lawyers feel when a
person in need rings them up.
The contrast between the law's soaring ideals and the more prosaic reality of paying the bills intersect at the moment the attorney-client relationship is formed. Yet in all the great and not so great fiction about lawyers and the law, fees are almost never discussed. . . Why the silence about fees?<< MORE >>
I suspect it has to do with ...
International Criminal Court? No Time Soon
Via Opinio Juris, it appears that the Obama administration, trying its
best to emulate his predecessor, is not inclined to join the international community when it comes to the International Criminal Court.
<< MORE >>
Apparently, the Obama Administration has decided it will not seek ratification of the ICC Rome Statute. There is still no official policy, as far as I know, but this is the latest from Assistant Secretary of State for War Crimes Stephen Rapp. This is not exactly ...
Retaining The New York Legislature
Few New Yorkers realize that our state legislators are part-timers. If you're a populist, you might call them citizen-legislators. If you're a cynic, you might call them scoundrels. But the fact
is that "part-time" assemblymen and senators in the State of New York have outside jobs, and since most of them are lawyers, most of the outside jobs are with law firms and involve representing
clients. Some wags might suggest that their clients don't hire them for their mad lawyering skills.
Following the embarrassing cases of former Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno and Assemblyman ...
<< MORE >>
Following the embarrassing cases of former Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno and Assemblyman ...
Thank Turkewitz and Elefant For Your Freedom
While we're every bit as much lawyers online as off, and the constraints against fraud, impropriety and deception apply to everything we do as lawyers here as well, the fact is that
the disciplinary authorities do not roam the internet looking for lawyers in violation. This leaves us, absent a specific complaint, with a free hand to exercise free speech, both commercial and
pure, without fear of censorship or oversight.
Does that make you happy? If so, send a thank you note to Eric Turkewitz and Carolyn Elefant.
... << MORE >>
Does that make you happy? If so, send a thank you note to Eric Turkewitz and Carolyn Elefant.
... << MORE >>
But For Video: Trust Me Edition
It couldn't be a lot of fun being Gerald McGovern. The 58 year old homeless Fort Lauderdale man had been arrested at least 69 times. This last time, for which he was being held in lieu of $1,500
bail, he was accused of turning violent when he was approached by an undercover deputy. Of course, being homeless and with a rap sheet longer than he was tall, it must be true.
But his public defender, Celine Abram-Schmitt, did the unthinkable. She defended her client, and she did so well. From
<< MORE >>
But his public defender, Celine Abram-Schmitt, did the unthinkable. She defended her client, and she did so well. From
From Laundry Detergrent to Lawyers, The Angry Marketer's Path
When Avvo decided to put on a play in beautiful Seattle, one about lawyer marketing (as opposed to
its roadshow to sell lawyers across the country on the benefits of claiming their Avvo profile and thereby acknowledge Avvo's existence), it struck me as almost as bad an idea as the Get A Life
Conference.
These are the places where lawyers go to take comfort in the fact that they aren't the only scoundrels who care nothing for the client and only for ...
<< MORE >>
These are the places where lawyers go to take comfort in the fact that they aren't the only scoundrels who care nothing for the client and only for ...
250 And Counting
This press release was received yesterday from the Innocence Project.
<< MORE >>In 250th DNA Exoneration Nationwide, New York Man Is Proven Innocent 33 Years After Wrongful Conviction for Rape
Innocence Project releases report detailing all 250 exoneration cases and outlining causes of wrongful convictions
(NEW YORK, NY; Thursday, February 4, 2010) - A Rochester, New York, man who was wrongfully convicted of rape 33 years ago is being exonerated with DNA testing today, in what the Innocence Project said is the 250th DNA exoneration in the United States.
...
A Warm Welcome To New Blawgers: They Lied To You
It's now happened a few times in the past few weeks, where I question a post from some newcomer to the blawgosphere and they get upset about it. The problem is that my reaction to their
post is less than adoring. From their position, less than adoring means I have cruelly maligned their intellect and family. I've hurt their feelings and they let me know it.
I feel badly about hurting their feelings. I really do. Not so badly that I would take back my post, but badly that they fail to see it as ...
<< MORE >>
I feel badly about hurting their feelings. I really do. Not so badly that I would take back my post, but badly that they fail to see it as ...
Breaking Even
Via Above The Law and, cleaned up some, Volokh Conspiracy, Northwestern Law School Dean David Van Zandt,at the PLI Law Firm Leadership and Management Institute, offered his thoughts on the future of legal education. Included in his speech was
this:
One of his most interesting tidbits was the starting salary that would constitute a “break-even point” for going to law school. In other words, what salary would you have to earn upon graduation in ...<< MORE >>
Learned Hand Doesn't Twit
It was only a matter of time before someone would add two and two and come up with 37. It's part of the devolutionary process, striving to reach the lowest common denominator because the voices
inside your head tell you it's the way to go. And so came the title of this post by Rachel Humphrey Fleet, a Seattle lawyer who attended
Avvocating,
Advanced Online Marketing Training for Lawyers. The title is Tweeting the Judge: How Legal Writing is
...
<< MORE >>
No Secrets Between Friends
That technology has fundamentally altered the means of communication is too obvious for words. Chatting with your pal across the country is as easy as chatting with your pal in the same room, whether
via email, cellphone, instant message, twitter, whatever. But the miracle may soon die at the hands of police, unless you're cool with the end of privacy.
Via CNET,
Via CNET,
Anyone with an e-mail account likely knows that police can peek inside it if they have a paper search warrant.<< MORE >>
But cybercrime ...
Readers Mailbag, Scratching Chalkboard Edition
In the past, I've been viciously attacked for my refusal to comply with the
Rule of Twitter by using the word "twit" rather than "tweet" to describe 140 characters of meaningful thought noise. It doesn't bother me that some people adhere to rigidly to
moronic protocol, and I've got no plans to start calling people "tweeple" or employ any other cute phrases encouraged by today's technology flavor.
But then I received this email.
<< MORE >>
But then I received this email.
I've been reading your blog for ...
A Hearing in Maricopa County
Lost in translation following Judge Gary Donahoe's order that Sheriff Joe Arpaio's disciple, Adam Stoddard, spend
some paid time at the Mesa Hilton, was that the other fine court officers in Maricopa County
came down with a mystery disease that prevented them from transporting prisoners to court. Sickness can be so unpredictable.
The judges of Maricopa County, apparently, decided that they would no longer let the sheriff control their dockets. From the Arizona Republic: << MORE >>
The judges of Maricopa County, apparently, decided that they would no longer let the sheriff control their dockets. From the Arizona Republic: << MORE >>
The Hard Work of "White Collar" Legal Fees
Wayne State Lawprof Peter Henning wrote a piece for the New York Times DealBook on the fee "dispute" by R. Allen Stanford,
left high and dry by the government, who now seeks to collect on a Lloyds of London insurance policy. The policy
would provide $100 million to cover his defense.
Judge David Hittner has ruled in Federal District Court in Houston that under a company insurance policy Lloyd’s of London is responsible ...<< MORE >>
New Guys Don't Make The Rules
Only about 15 minutes after posting The Bully Line did it dawn on me that I had omitted an entire aspect of the discussion
that also needed to be aired. When I opened up shop here at Simple Justice, I wandered around the blawgosphere to get the lay of the land. I learned the ropes. I learned the rules. I understood
that when I put my opinions on the page, chances were good that someone would come along and start shooting at me. Perhaps it would be small ...
<< MORE >>
The Bully Line
Over the past few days, a debate about ghostblawging has been raging (though it was started by David Giacalone in 2004), beginning with Mark Bennett's Social Media Tyro, through new blawger Jamison Koehler (whose
blawg will be an orphan until he gives it a name and tones down the marketing), to Carolyn Elefant at My Shingle. In the course of the debate, a
secondary issue arose, and one that deserves a separate airing. ...
<< MORE >>
Relative Worth
Congress mandated that the victims of crime be given restitution as part of a defendant's sentence. In many instances, the amount of restitution can be ascertained with some precision, even with
some squabbling around the edges. But as the definition of victim expands, and as victims become more aggressive in seeking restitution, the question muddies significantly. Such is the case for
"Misty".
"Misty" is the victim of child pornography, appearing in still photographs and videos. That she suffered as no child should is not in issue. But Congress has made those who possess child ... << MORE >>
"Misty" is the victim of child pornography, appearing in still photographs and videos. That she suffered as no child should is not in issue. But Congress has made those who possess child ... << MORE >>
Rights, Wrongs and A Decapitated Head
As far as I'm aware, nobody has come out in support of the actions of two California Highway Patrol officers responsible for the posting of crime scene photographs of Nikki Catsouras'
decapitated body on the internet. I could be wrong about this, given how many sick people there are, but if so, I'm not aware of it.
The family's suit against CHP, however, had some stumbling blocks. The right to privacy is personal, and is extinguished upon death. That leaves the dead fair game, but it was the law. But as ...
<< MORE >>
The family's suit against CHP, however, had some stumbling blocks. The right to privacy is personal, and is extinguished upon death. That leaves the dead fair game, but it was the law. But as ...
A Trial For Years
Much has been made of the Obama Administration's direction to Justice to move the Khalid Shaikh Mohammed trial out of the Southern District of New York due to the onerous burdens it would impose on lower
Manhattan.
<< MORE >>
As a practical matter, holding the trial in New York posed the specter of a dizzying security lockdown — with roadblocks, checkpoints and rooftop sharpshooters — in the financial district and Chinatown.No one, of course, has spoken out ...
How Much Is That Doggy On The Bench?
In the best of times, judicial elections are a goofy exercise of Jacksonian populism. The concept of the popular vote fills the hearts of New Yorkers with pride, believing that they played some role
in democracy. The truth, of course, is that pulling a lever, or detaching a chad as the case may be, is only a small part of democracy. The other, more difficult part is exercising the franchise
intelligently.
When it comes to electing judges, and aside from the handful of friends and relatives of any particular candidate, the tendency ... << MORE >>
When it comes to electing judges, and aside from the handful of friends and relatives of any particular candidate, the tendency ... << MORE >>
Book Review: Targets of Deception
Given that the books sent me for review generally range from the topics of false confessions to executions of the innocent, I was thrilled to receive a fiction book, a spy novel no less. Jeffrey
Stephens' Targets of Deception, published by Variance did not disappoint.
Why Jeffrey Stephens? He's one of us. Jeffrey is a lawyer, a solo practitioner who, like to many of us, opened up shop in Manhattan without a client in his pocket back in the late 1970s, doing civil and criminal litigation. Like so many of us, he made his ... << MORE >>
Why Jeffrey Stephens? He's one of us. Jeffrey is a lawyer, a solo practitioner who, like to many of us, opened up shop in Manhattan without a client in his pocket back in the late 1970s, doing civil and criminal litigation. Like so many of us, he made his ... << MORE >>
Cogito Ergo Blawg
Over at Mark Bennett's Social Media Tyro blog, issue has been kinda joined when
Jenni Buchanan, ghostblogger, responded to his challenge as to the ethics of a lawyer having someone create blog posts under their name.
Thank you for including my company in your blog post yesterday about the ethics of legal ghostblogging. As a (relatively) new form of communication, blogging is still in many ways going through its growing pains, and as more and more professionals ...<< MORE >>
But Kids Are So Much Easier To Push Around
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed
suit against the New York City Police Department over the use of excessive force and wrongful arrests in city schools. As in many cities, New York has used uniformed police to fill the
position of school safety officers in an effort to protect students. And as in many cities, the cops themselves have presented a significant threat to the safety and welfare of the students.
The landmark lawsuit challenges the conduct and behavior ...<< MORE >>
The Slackoisie Take The Lectern
That the seats in our law schools are filled with the Slackoisie is nothing new. But do they own the lectern as well? From Jeffrey Harrison's description at MoneyLaw, so it would seem.
I analogized it to regulatory capture in the sense that faculty who were supposed to govern law schools for the benefit of shareholders — students, taxpayers, donors — actually governed to benefit themselves. The range of questionable activities ran from teaching specialized low enrollment courses because the topic was of interest to ...<< MORE >>
Just Stuff Around the Blawgosphere
Bob Ambrogi has announced that he's completed his sentence at Legal Blog Watch.
Bob's been sharing the writing duties there since before I started, making him the blawger who ignored Simple Justice's existence longer than any other. Following so soon on the heels of
Carolyn Elefant's "retirement", I can only speculate that the burden of keeping up with the energy and humor of Bruce Carton, Carolyn's replacement, was more than Bob could bear. Or it could be keeping up with the hundreds ...
<< MORE >>
Who Needs A PSR When There's Facebook
Social media has its ups. And its downs. And its downs can do a lot of damage. Via Doug Berman, a tragic
story from the Buffalo News shows yet another great opportunity for young defendants to keep their head low when using
social media.
Ashley M. Sullivan is in Niagara County Jail, and Facebook may be to blame as much as the car crash that killed a Niagara Falls man.<< MORE >>
Sullivan, 17, of Linden Avenue, ...
Miranda Meets The Underpants Bomber
The meme of 9/11 changed everything remains in full force in the hallways of the Washington
Post, where an editorial ripped the handling of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, whom they call the Christmas Day Bomber due to an excess of propriety and lack of a sense of humor.
The background is that after 50 minutes of questioning, the bomber who had sewn explosives into his underpants was given Miranda warning and, accordingly, clammed up. No, the bastion of first amendment testosterone wasn't bothered by the 50 minutes before Miranda. ... << MORE >>
The background is that after 50 minutes of questioning, the bomber who had sewn explosives into his underpants was given Miranda warning and, accordingly, clammed up. No, the bastion of first amendment testosterone wasn't bothered by the 50 minutes before Miranda. ... << MORE >>
Jimmy Dolan's Magic Touch
If you run a fabulously successful business, one that essentially prints money at will, that must mean you're a genius, right? But what if you run it only because daddy owned it? Not
so genius-y? What if it prints money, but could print a whole lot more money if he hadn't botched a myriad of decisions, angering its customers to the point where they were willing to pay the
phone company competition, an entity hated almost as much, more for the same product?
The Dolan family will never go hungry because Chuck Dolan ...
<< MORE >>
The Dolan family will never go hungry because Chuck Dolan ...
Think Angry Thoughts, But Don't File Them
Dan Hull at What About Clients? thinks a lot of angry thoughts. I know because he tells me about some of them. But he knows that when it comes
to representing a client, there's no place for personal vitriol. It's pure self-indulgence. Unlike the Slackoisie, who are of the view that their thoughts, clear or angry, demand an airing, real
men know better.
Sure, there are times when anger can be effectively use to register the depth of a problem, or to shock ... << MORE >>
Sure, there are times when anger can be effectively use to register the depth of a problem, or to shock ... << MORE >>
Catching Up
I'm back. Reading through the 597 posts written by blawgers in my brief absence makes me wonder if there is already far too much being written, and that my efforts are at best redundant and
superfluous, and at worst a total waste of your time. Still, I appreciate the efforts of my fellow blawgers, since I now feel confident that I haven't missed a thing. They do a great job, with a
particular shout out to Gideon, who appears to be back on that stallion at A Public Defender riding at full gallop.
... << MORE >>
... << MORE >>
Gone Fishing
I've got some things to take care of down Caribbean way, where I doubt there will be much internet access. Since I started SJ, I have never really been far out of touch. This time, I don't expect to have any connection, and I could use some quiet time.
Go read the great stuff in the blawgs on my sidebar. Comment if you want, but play nice while I'm gone. Remember the no link policy. No spam. Don't send me any emails, as I expect I'll have a few million when I get back and plan on deleting all of them without looking. Have fun while I'm gone.
Later.
Go read the great stuff in the blawgs on my sidebar. Comment if you want, but play nice while I'm gone. Remember the no link policy. No spam. Don't send me any emails, as I expect I'll have a few million when I get back and plan on deleting all of them without looking. Have fun while I'm gone.
Later.
I Want A Lawyer, And Other Suspicious Acts
Criminal defense lawyers instruct anyone who will listen to do two things upon being stopped by a police officer: Invoke your right to remain silent and say the magic words, "I want to speak
with my lawyer." Great advice, but it backfired on Daniel Sanders of Columbia, Missouri.
From Crime Scene KC,
<< MORE >>
From Crime Scene KC,
Sanders was pulled over several months ago for running a red light and failing to use his headlights — so it must have been surprising when he asked for an attorney almost immediately. ...
Better Safe Than Jewish
Maybe it's because Jews are under-represented in the stewardess corp, the cockpit and the Transportation Safety Administration. Maybe the religious diversity of New York isn't reflected in the
hinterlands from whence those charged with safeguarding us are drawn. Or maybe, just maybe, these people are just too flaming stupid to be allowed to decide anything that affects the life of another
person. And yet we bestow vast power and authority on them to screw with people's lives.
As reported in The Daily News:
<< MORE >>
As reported in The Daily News:
A US ...
A True Test of Whether We Deserve Democracy
It was called the worst decision since Dred Scott by Rep. Alan Grayson (D.
Fl.). President Barack Obama pledged to "work immediately" to develop
a "forceful response. The New York Times calls it disastrous.
With a single, disastrous 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court has thrust politics back to the robber-baron era of the 19th century. Disingenuously waving the flag of the First Amendment, the court’s conservative majority has paved the way for corporations to use their vast treasuries to ...<< MORE >>
All Collars Are Striped
Within the narrow niche of criminal defense, there have long been two discrete groups of practitioners. There are the regulars guys, the trench lawyers, whose speech is occasionally peppered
with colorful phrases and whose conduct borders on the rough. Then there are the ones who call themselves "white collar" defense. They're the ones whose pinkies spring up when drinking tea from china
cups.
My unfair yet lame attempt at humor aside, the primary distinction between the two factions has long been the clientèle to which they appeal. Street crime goes to the trench ...
<< MORE >>
My unfair yet lame attempt at humor aside, the primary distinction between the two factions has long been the clientèle to which they appeal. Street crime goes to the trench ...
With Great Power Comes No Responsibility
Even though the decision on Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Chief Judge Sharon Keller is less than a day old, it has already been roundly excoriated across the blawgosphere. See the posts
by
Jamie Spencer, Grits for Breakfast,
Robert Guest and Jeff Gamso. Each of them have brutally savaged the irrational
conclusion that Killer Keller's conduct was "not exemplary," yet unworthy of sanction.
In his decision, the special master, Judge David Berchelmann Jr., contrasted the purported culpability of Keller and the ...
<< MORE >>
In his decision, the special master, Judge David Berchelmann Jr., contrasted the purported culpability of Keller and the ...
Mutually Assured Failure
Martha Coakley is a mutt. How the Democrats could have chosen her to run for the seat of the Liberal Lion is beyond comprehension. And so she lost the election to Scott Brown.
The political analysts will be busy today, coming up with rationales for why hemlines go up and down. But it's nonsense. The Republican have achieved a 41st vote in the Senate (more if one includes Joe Lieberman, who can be bought for a free lunch), which is sufficient under Senate cloture rules to guarantee that nothing is ever accomplished.
... << MORE >>
The political analysts will be busy today, coming up with rationales for why hemlines go up and down. But it's nonsense. The Republican have achieved a 41st vote in the Senate (more if one includes Joe Lieberman, who can be bought for a free lunch), which is sufficient under Senate cloture rules to guarantee that nothing is ever accomplished.
... << MORE >>
How Many Mouths Do We Feed?
I decided to try an experiment, to Google a title of one of my old posts to see how many times it appeared. It was hundreds. Being a dedicated follower of scientific method, I tried another. This
time more than a thousand. How is that possible?
Clicking through some of the choices, it became immediately clear that there is a vast undergrowth of websites whose business model is merely to aggregate the content of others and sell its value. I've got no complaints about other bloggers linking to my posts; in fact, I ... << MORE >>
Clicking through some of the choices, it became immediately clear that there is a vast undergrowth of websites whose business model is merely to aggregate the content of others and sell its value. I've got no complaints about other bloggers linking to my posts; in fact, I ... << MORE >>
No Food, No Justice in Haiti
At the Daily Beast, Gerry Shargel posts about Haitian criminal justice system, a euphemistic
description at best. Following the quake, the doors to Penitentier National were found wide open, and the joint was empty. About 4,000 prisoners were held there, and they are now free, or
as free as one can be in Haiti.
American lawyers, particularly those who with a Messiah complex, want to believe that this finally offers an opportunity for us to contribute to the cause, a role to play. ... << MORE >>
American lawyers, particularly those who with a Messiah complex, want to believe that this finally offers an opportunity for us to contribute to the cause, a role to play. ... << MORE >>
Living On The Slippery Slope
In his Sidebar column, Adam Liptak offers a survey of predictions by Supreme Court justices, both majority and dissent, about the
dire consequences of the other side's improvident decisions. His point is that the Supremes are notoriously bad at predicting future consequences.
On Wednesday, for instance, it shut down plans to broadcast the same-sex marriage trial in San Francisco partly for fear that witnesses in the case would be harassed if their public testimony were made more public. That conclusion is known in the trade as speculation. ...<< MORE >>
The WSJ Finally Appreciates Sexual Predators
When an editorial about "sexual predators," as those who have completed their criminal sentence are now called to justify their permanent vilification, appears in the Wall Street Journal, the immediate question that comes to mind is whether the
call will be for life imprisonment or life plus cancer. But as today's editorial demonstrates, this cynical view is just a product of federalist bias.
The question in U.S. v. Comstock is whether sex offenders who have already completed their federal criminal sentences may then see ...<< MORE >>
Jets Fan in the First Degree
Just despicable conduct by the San Diego police in arresting a Jets fan, apparently for the crime of rooting for the wrong team. Kudos to the San Diego Chargers fans who stood up for the Jets fan, one to his personal detriment as he was forced to leave by a cop who, to his credit, didn't taze the guy for the audacity of being noncompliant.
Hope the police apologists show up to "explain" why the cops were right. And without a video, would you believe this happened? Would it have the same impact?
Hope the police apologists show up to "explain" why the cops were right. And without a video, would you believe this happened? Would it have the same impact?
The Price Is Right
Brian Tannebaum tells an apocryphal tale
about the "big money" criminal case. You know the one, the case that every young criminal defense lawyer dreams about. The one that will make your rich and bring fame and glory.
It was 6 years ago. I was representing someone under investigation. He paid me a small retainer to communicate with the prosecutor during the investigation and do all the other things criminal defense lawyers do during investigations.<< MORE >>
I ...
Is There A Lawyer Tax? Should There Be?
Nathan Koppel at the Wall
Street Journal law blog took a look back at Mayer Brown partner Joseph Collins following his sentence to 84 months incarceration for aiding and abetting the $2 billion Refco fraud.
That struck us, frankly, as a whopper of a sentence. Lawyers, a la Marc Dreier, have gotten worse when they have been primary violators in fraud. But we can’t think of another attorney who drew anything like 84 months for aiding and abetting fraud.<< MORE >>
...
The Square n00b Answer
Ever wonder how all the old-time lawyers jump online and screw it all up overnight? It could be those bar association CLEs teaching how to be a blogger in 30 seconds or less, taught by lawyers
who have never been closer to a computer than when they stop at the secretary's desk to ask for a coffee refill. Or maybe it's reading something like this Corporate Counsel post at Law.com by Doug Wood from Reed Smith.
Yes, that Doug Wood, the man who launched a thousand twits and blogs with his ... << MORE >>
Yes, that Doug Wood, the man who launched a thousand twits and blogs with his ... << MORE >>
The Coakley Condition
Over at Volokh Conspiracy, Kenneth Anderson questions whether it is ethical for a prosecutor, as part of a deal to
reduce a sentence for one defendant, can condition agreement on a criminal defense lawyer's concluding his representation of another related defendant. A bit too dry, maybe professorial, to
interest you? What if the prosecutor was Martha Coakley, and the case was Amirault.
<< MORE >>
The Wall Street Journal’s Dorothy Rabinowitz has an op-ed today reminding readers of the inglorious role that ...
Schools Have Rules: Better Safe Than Sorry Edition
For the most part, over-reactions by school administrators tend to be based on some bizarrely misguided application of a zero-tolerance rule that was initially born from a well-intended cause.
At the very least, we can attribute the harm done by some grocery clerk with a checklist to something concrete, like strip-searching a teenage girl for killer Ibuprofen to prevent a heroin epidemic.
But the mindless harm caused by school administrators veers off the beaten path when the basis for the over-reaction is . . . mere ignorance, as happened in San ...
<< MORE >>
But the mindless harm caused by school administrators veers off the beaten path when the basis for the over-reaction is . . . mere ignorance, as happened in San ...
All Talk, No Responsibility
A couple of my favorite blawgers, Houston criminal defense lawyer Mark Bennett and corporate litigation wunderkind and Deliverance body
double, Dan Hull, have chosen to ban anonymous comments from their blawgs. Their rationale is simple. Either take responsibility for your words or
get lost. The issue is similarly clear in Doe v. Reed, a case in which the Supremes granted cert.
Liptak at the New York Times provides the overview:
Liptak at the New York Times provides the overview:
The new case arose from an ...<< MORE >>
Haiti: No Call For Lawyers
The people of Haiti need many things now. Water. Food. Medicine. Heavy equipment. It's a long list. Lawyers aren't on it. Yesterday, I tried to make my point via twit:
<< MORE >>
Notice how important Doctors Without Borders is in a disaster. Notice there is no Lawyers Without Borders?Naturally, there were numerous responses that there are indeed organizations bearing the name Lawyers Without Borders. Even in French, there is a group of that name. It wasn't about the name. Anyone who repeats their responses here will ...