(Sticky) Nominations Open for 2nd Annual Best Criminal Law Blawg Post
When this happened last year, I had no idea whether it would be great or a complete bust. As it happened, the response was spectacular and gave everybody an opportunity to offer their best and everybody else a chance to read it if they somehow missed it.
Last year's winner was Jeff Gamso. For all you newbies who think that there are too many entrenched blawgs and you can't break in, Gamso was a newbie last year and blew everybody away.
So here's the deal:
I invite anyone and everyone to offer the best the blawgosphere has in criminal law. Spread the word, and let others know that this is their opportunity to show their stuff, get a backlink, and let the rest of the blawgosphere know what they're doing.
Nothing posted at Simple Justice is eligible. The winner will be announced on New Years Day.
Judging will be entirely on my shoulders, and I will be as arbitrary and capricious as I please, so there's no complaining about the choice. That said, I will do my best to select the blawg post that best reflects our finest work, our highest tradition, our deepest thoughts and our best purpose in putting words on a computer screen. For anyone who doesn't trust me to be fair, find a better offer elsewhere.
Best of luck and I look forward to seeing some great stuff.
Update: A couple of additional thoughts. First, blawgers should feel free to nominate themselves, which is particularly important for those who may not yet have the recognition they deserve and provides a good way to get your best stuff out there for others to see.
Second, the "Best" is generally considered to refer to quality over quantity. While there is no limit placed on the number of posts nominated, offering, oh, say 14 posts suggests that the concept of "Best" may be a bit muddled, which is not likely a good reflection on the purposes of the nominator.
Last year's winner was Jeff Gamso. For all you newbies who think that there are too many entrenched blawgs and you can't break in, Gamso was a newbie last year and blew everybody away.
So here's the deal:
Anybody can "nominate" a post for the honor, including their own. SJ posts are off limits. You can nominate them anonymously, with great fanfare, just by name or with a detailed explanation of why you think a post is the best. It can be a post from a criminal defense lawyer, a prosecutor or a non-lawyer, provided it's subject is criminal law. It can even be a post by a lawprof. You can nominate as many posts as you like.And just to be clear, it doesn't matter if you're brand-spanking new or an old hand, a dear friend or a complete unknown. This is all about substance, not popularity, tribes, networking, branding or bonding. If I smell anyone trying to use this as a marketing opportunity, they're out of here. Spam = banned.
For this contest, and for this contest only, I will allow links to be included in comments to the posts (not just the blawgs, but the actual posts) nominated. Spam links will be deleted.
This is a chance to think back over the year and give everyone some great posts to read, to ponder, to discuss and maybe even change some minds.
I invite anyone and everyone to offer the best the blawgosphere has in criminal law. Spread the word, and let others know that this is their opportunity to show their stuff, get a backlink, and let the rest of the blawgosphere know what they're doing.
Nothing posted at Simple Justice is eligible. The winner will be announced on New Years Day.
Judging will be entirely on my shoulders, and I will be as arbitrary and capricious as I please, so there's no complaining about the choice. That said, I will do my best to select the blawg post that best reflects our finest work, our highest tradition, our deepest thoughts and our best purpose in putting words on a computer screen. For anyone who doesn't trust me to be fair, find a better offer elsewhere.
Best of luck and I look forward to seeing some great stuff.
Update: A couple of additional thoughts. First, blawgers should feel free to nominate themselves, which is particularly important for those who may not yet have the recognition they deserve and provides a good way to get your best stuff out there for others to see.
Second, the "Best" is generally considered to refer to quality over quantity. While there is no limit placed on the number of posts nominated, offering, oh, say 14 posts suggests that the concept of "Best" may be a bit muddled, which is not likely a good reflection on the purposes of the nominator.
First, I nominate Mirriam Seddiq's post about the overlap of Criminal and Immigration laws and the importance of understanding our client's situation's from a holistic standpoint.
Link: http://notguiltynoway.blogspot.com/2010/12/if-you-are-not-us-citizen-please-do-not.html
The reasons I believe it is particularly noteworthy include:
1. It addresses a core competency of being a CDL.
2. It demonstrates how other law disciplines can influence (or should influence) our advocacy in criminal justice matters.
3. It is logical, but not overly pedantic.
4. It is well written and entertaining, as her posts often are.
Second, Charlie Thomas over at Felonious Monk had a wonderful opening-blog-salvo with his "Letter to Potential Clients."
Link: http://feloniousmunk.com/2010/11/15/an-open-letter-to-potential-clients/
The reasons I believe it is particularly noteworthy include:
1. Again, appraising and initially advising potential clients is a core competency.
2. He nails it on a number of points, to include "I went to law school, not Hogwarts."
3. His post is part snarky, part pissed-off, and all informative. Great combination.
4. For us CDLs, it is a post that makes us both laugh and cry.
Third, and final, Brian Tannebaum's post about needy/demanding clients entitled "This Isn't Burger King."
Link: http://criminaldefenseblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/this-isnt-burger-king.html
The reasons I believe it is particularly noteworthy include:
1. It's written in the verse of Brian Tannebaum. Always entertaining in his prose.
2. It addresses an area that makes many of us, myself included, really uncomfortable. Through the post, he injects us with confidence and permission to defend ourselves when dealing with certain flavors of client.
3. This was a close call, as I felt that 3 of his posts this year were particularly excellent.
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My three nominations for the 2nd Annual Best Criminal Law Blawg Post are as follows (and in no particular order):
1. Mark W. Bennett, Defending People:The Hunting of Justice (An Agony in Eight Fits): Link: http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2010/08/the-hunting-of-justice-an-agony-in-eight-fits.html
2. Rick Horowitz, Probable Cause: "A Broken Fence": Link: http://www.rhdefense.com/blog/police-state/a-broken-fence/
3. Gideon, a public defender: Equal Justice for All": Link: http://apublicdefender.com/2010/02/15/equal-justice-for-all/
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I’d like to submit nominations for Jeff Gamso and Norm Pattis but that is going to take a little while longer (there are so many good entries to choose from). In the meantime, here are some of my other personal favorites from the past year:
Gideon
http://apublicdefender.com/2010/06/17/life-without-possibility-of-redemption/
Mirriam Seddiq:
http://notguiltynoway.blogspot.com/2010/12/if-you-are-not-us-citizen-please-do-not.html
Public Defender Revolution
http://pdrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/10/this-is-public-defense.html
Matt Brown
http://brownandlittlelaw.com/blog1/2010/11/12/the-goal/
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Norm Pattis
http://www.pattisblog.com/index.php?article=Howard_Stern_and_Legal_Fees_2835&limit=10&page=recent
http://www.pattisblog.com/index.php?article=Words_Are_Weapons_Salem_Revisited_2813&limit=10&page=recent
http://www.pattisblog.com/index.php?article=Twittering_Nabobs_of_Death_2799&limit=10&page=recent
http://www.pattisblog.com/index.php?article=Darkness_Before_Noon_2750&limit=10&page=recent
http://www.pattisblog.com/index.php?article=On_The_Stand_2722&limit=10&page=recent
Brian Tannebaum (despite myself)
http://mylawlicense.blogspot.com/2010/12/do-you-want-more-more-clients-or-more.html
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Jeff Gamso
http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/2010/01/criminal-defense-lawyer-and-crime.html
http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/2010/01/death-row-celebrity.html
http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/2010/05/sausage-factory.html
http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/2010/08/because-they-really-dont-give-shit-ohio.html
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I nominate these posts which are part of a continuing series of practical advice columns for criminal defense attorneys by Jill Paperno:
http://newyorkcriminaldefense.blogspot.com/2010/12/tactics-to-consider-in-trying-child-sex_18.html
http://newyorkcriminaldefense.blogspot.com/2010/05/particularized-review-of-bill-of.html
http://newyorkcriminaldefense.blogspot.com/2010/09/prosecutors-have-no-standing-to-object.html
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I want to nominate the blog by Professor Sam Sommers, who teaches as Tufts University. His blog, The Science of Small Talk, is uniformly excellent. In this particular piece, he talks about his experience as an expert witness in a case involving shaky eyewitness identifications. He is always witty, instructive, clear and concise in his explanations. Good stuff.
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More to come, I think. But here's a couple that moved me deeply and provided some serious substance.
From Mirrisam Seddiq, http://notguiltynoway.blogspot.com/2010/11/it-really-was-great-in-theory.html
From Gideon,
http://apublicdefender.com/2010/06/17/life-without-possibility-of-redemption/
And can I nominate Bennett's entire string of posts on scope and grope? [Edit. Note: No. Only a post, not an "entire string."}
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I’d like to submit a nomination for Jamison Koehler for the following post:
http://koehlerlaw.net/2010/08/on-identical-twins-perspective-and-line-ups-at-the-cfcf-in-philadelphia/
I always enjoy reading what Jamison has to say, and this post is one of my favorites.
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http://normpattis.blogspot.com/2010/05/something-for-mothers-day.html#links
http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2010/07/happy-revolution-day.html#more-2856
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I nominate "A no-pardon Justice Department" by Sam Morison, which appeared on the LA Times blog "Blowback" section on Nov. 6, 2010, http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/06/opinion/la-oew-morison-pardon-20101106.
The piece describes publicly for the first time the deep-seated institutional bias of the Justice Department against the exercise of executive clemency, which has contributed to its sharp decline. P.S. Ruckman at Pardon Power has described the post as a "landmark in public dialogue regarding the president's pardon power," http://www.pardonpower.com/2010/11/landmark-letter-re-pardon-power.html.
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Gideon wrote the best non-Greenfield criminal law post of the past year; I just have trouble saying which one it was.
Looking back over the criminal law posts I collected in 2010, I managed to distill around three dozen which were particularly memorable and from these approximately a dozen which would not be out-of-place on anyone's end-of-year "best of" list. I suspect that when I look over others' nominations I'll see many of those posts represented.
Of my own top dozen, five were Gideon's. The two best were "The Presumption of Guilt" (http://apublicdefender.com/2010/04/04/the-presumption-of-guilt/) and "Life Without Possibility of Redemption" (http://apublicdefender.com/2010/06/17/life-without-possibility-of-redemption/). Forced to choose, I'd probably opt for the latter. Thankfully, though, I don't have to choose. We nominate, you decide. I for one don't envy your situation!
"The Presumption of Guilt" was a wake-up call for anyone who remains complacent about the injustice of our justice system: "It’s a catchy phrase: “innocent until proven guilty”. It nicely ties in the other core principles: the burden of proof is on the State; the defendant has a Constitutional right not to testify; each and every element must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.... It’s all a lie. A big, bold-faced, wool over your eyes lie. The presumption of innocence is dead, at least in practice. The real presumption, if you must, is that of guilt." All in all, it's a peek behind the scenes for those of who don't work in criminal defense. Like many of Gideon's posts, what he shows us here doesn't justify the faith many of us once had in the system.
"Life Without Possibility of Redemption" was an example of what Gideon does better than any other blogger -- he invites us to see things from his clients' viewpoint. He doesn't argue; he invites us to understand. He doesn't list all the reasons we should sympathize with his clients and others on the wrong side of the justice system; he shows us their humanity and the injustice of the system and leaves us to draw our own conclusions. He wrote: "I do not believe that there is anyone who will not change, who will not repent or grow out of their childish bravado. Yet we send scores upon scores of our fellow human beings to these warehouses with no meaningful review of their development and growth for decades and decades. Maybe it’s a self-fulfilling prophesy. They cannot change because we don’t let them. Because if we did give them the tools to “better” themselves and they did, our draconian system of punishment would seem barbaric. We cannot be wrong. We are never wrong. We are not them....I could be snarky and say that visiting a prison cell should be required for all prosecutors and judges. Or I could be honest and say that it should be required for all defense counsel. We need to see where the people we represent live and how they live."
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Thanks for hosting this! I look forward to reading the entries.
Although I don't limit my blog to Criminal Law topics, I do have a couple of relevant posts you might enjoy:
1. Did Cop fire at passing car in self-defense?
http://trial-technology.blogspot.com/2010/01/did-cop-fire-at-passing-car-in-self.html - A detailed response (with demonstrative graphics) to an article published on The Jury Expert (http://www.astcweb.org/public/publication/article.cfm/1/22/1/Law-on-Display), which is from "Law On Display," a book by Neal Feigenson and Christina Spiesel. Ms. Spiesel also shares her comments to the blog post.
2.Jurors and Technology in Trial: What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
This article features the use of visual evidence in two high-profile Criminal Defense trials by M. Gerald Schwartzbach: People v. Robert Blake and People v. Dr. Hootan Roozrokh:
http://trial-technology.blogspot.com/2009/08/jurors-and-technology-in-trial-what.html
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Like reflective introspection combined with razor sharp insight? Then you might enjoy...where everyone from Biglaw administration to our Commander and Chief is at the mercy of this social, political, and environmental cage rattler. Blogger, attorney, rainmaker, vegetarian, and boss.....Scott Abeles
I'm pleased to nominate his post on the tone-deaf pageantry of President Obama's turkey pardons, a goofy, outdated presidential snub of proper pardon candidates: A Singularly Stupid Thanksgiving Tradition, http://www.smabeles.com/2010/11/singularly-stupid-thankgiving-tradition.html
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After a quick scan of The LexBlog Network, here's three posts I was able to pull out:
http://www.wacocriminallawblog.com/2010/03/articles/habeas-corpus-and-appeals/death-watch-waiting-for-the-call/
Walter Reaves on the then-pending execution of Hank Skinner and the difficulties that come with being a death penalty lawyer.
http://www.theiowaedict.com/tort-reform-tort-deform-special-interests/the-lawyer-cant-get-you-into-heaven-fact-is-we-arent-even-trying/
Steve Lombardi with a rebuttal to the chastisement that criminal law attorneys often face.
http://www.idahocriminaldefenselaw.com/2010/04/articles/trials/jury-instructions-do-not-instruct-they-confuse/
Boise attorney Chuck Peterson voicing his frustration with jury instructions.
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First let me thank my assistant for following orders, and then Scott for doing this. I don't get to spend nearly as much time reading blogs, particularly outside my practice area (like this one) as I would like, so "best of" type lists are particularly valuable to me.
I've got 2 nominees. Norm's one-of-a-kind Gerry Darrow series warrants a special shoutout, so I'll go with his "opening remarks" to the Senate Jud Cmts:
http://www.pattisblog.com/index.php?article=Gerry_Darrow_s_Opening_Remarks_Before_Senate_Panel_389&limit=10&page=year&q=2010
And I just really liked this post by Bennett on Empathy and Cross-Examination -- practical and insightful:
http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2010/10/empathy-and-cross-examination.html
Happy New Year.
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Johnny Gardner
http://lawandbaseball.com/2010/03/24/the-death-penalty-im-all-about-it/
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One more.
Eric Mayer on what's wrong with justice.
http://militaryunderdog.com/2010/09/09/justice-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/
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The nice thing about being late to the party is that a lot of other folks already pointed to some of my favorites; the bad thing is that I've got to work a little to find some that I know affected me.
Putting another agenda aside -- with pleasure -- for a moment, I think that Matt Brown's http://brownandlittlelaw.com/blog1/2010/12/30/a-new-social-media-strategy-maybe hits a very long ball on the whole SEO thing, largely because of its lack of emotional involvement, either way. Much of the discussion about online presency stuffology reminds me of writers (most things do) talking about word processors in the early days.
That got to my head. (I don't have any gut investment in SEO stuff, either way.)
This one, back when I read it, though, hit me in the gut: http://brownandlittlelaw.com/blog1/2010/07/23/no-life-experience-needed/
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While a violation of this nomination process, I would not be uncomfortable having my nomination be "anything Jeff Gamso wrote."
But to be more specific, here are my specific post nominations:
When Innocence Isn't Enough:
http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/2010/07/when-innocence-isnt-enough.html
Because Everyone Wants To Be Texas: The California Edition:
http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/2010/12/because-everyone-wants-to-be-texas.html
Selling Out The Client: Part V:
http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/2010/08/selling-out-client-part-v.html
Eric Mayer: Why I Defend:
http://militaryunderdog.com/2010/07/18/why-i-defend/
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Thank you, Brian, sincerely. But I've written some absolute drivel and you know it.
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Who asked you?
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http://www.defrostingcoldcases.com/forensics/zeigler-part-xiii
http://www.defrostingcoldcases.com/forensics/despondent-about-so-much-political-meddling-and-apathy-amongst-the-populous-for-accepting-it
http://www.defrostingcoldcases.com/forensics/dna-a-civil-right
http://www.defrostingcoldcases.com/forensics/who-really-killed-mrs-bernice-martin
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one more:
http://www.defrostingcoldcases.com/forensics/zeigler-part-xvi
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