It’s that time of year again! Time to recognize the effort and thoughtfulness of criminal law blawgers with our annual Best Criminal Law Blawg Post, which has been dedicated to the memory of our dear friend Joel Rosenberg.
Unlike the other Beauty Pageants in the blawgosphere, the idea here is to provide a platform to revisit the excellent work done over the past year. Past winners of the JDog prize are luminaries of the blawgosphere, Ohio’s Jeff Gamso, Connecticut’s Gideon Strumpet, Texas’ Mark Bennett and Arizona’s Matt Brown.
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 its subject is criminal law. It can even be a post by a lawprof. You can nominate up to five posts.
- Nominations can only be made in the comments here. No emails, phone calls, text messages, fruit baskets or lovely cards with deeply personal messages.
- For this contest, and for this contest only, I will allow links to be included in comments to the posts (not the blawgs, but the actual posts) nominated. Spam links will be treated harshly.
- 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 here at Simple Justice is eligible, so don’t waste time with it.
The winner will be announced on New Year’s 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.
Finally, to address issues that arose last year, efforts to bribe me with baked goods will not assure a win. However, it can’t hurt and is definitely worth a try.
My nominations in no particular order:
Mark W. Bennett- Defending People: http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2013/01/curse-you-bill-of-rights.html
Rick Horowitz – Probable Cause: http://www.rhdefense.com/2013/11/13/pulling-it-out-of-their-asses-and-sticking-it-in-ours
Gideon: a public defender: http://apublicdefender.com/2013/03/18/gideon-at-50-a-stolen-promise-and-the-search-for-a-soul/
Guest Post By Robb Fickman, on Mark Bennett’s blog:
http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2013/11/guest-post-by-robb-fickman.html
Nomination 2, also written by Robb Fickman, this time on his own blog, The “Meaning” of America:
Harris County Texas: Where the Innocent Must Plead Guilty to Regain Their Liberty
http://blog.fickmanlaw.com/2013/11/harris-county-texas-where-the-innocent-must-plead-guilty-to-regain-their-liberty/
I hate to do this, but I’m nominating Leo’s post “The Plea.” It might be the best thing anyone has written on our blog.
I know, it’s self serving in a sense, but I was really impressed with what he wrote.
http://phillylawblog.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/the-plea/
There were many great posts by thoughtful lawyers this year. This one stuck with me: http://kennedy-law.blogspot.com/2013/11/standing-up-to-coercive-bonding.html
I’m nominating 4, leaving an open spot in my five max on the chance that something spectacular catches my eye in the next few days. In the order in which they were posted over the course of the year. (And damn I hate to give Jordan the satisfaction of agreeing with him that Leo nailed it.)
Gideon, A Public Defender: “They Have Always Been Us.” http://apublicdefender.com/2013/01/21/they-have-always-been-us/
Paul Kennedy, The Defense Rests, “Stepping Back from Stop and Frisk.” http://kennedy-law.blogspot.com/2013/08/stepping-back-from-stop-and-frisk.html/
Norm DeGuerre, Chasing Truth, Catching Hell, “Transcript of His Honor’s Handwashing Liturgy, or The Defendant’s Romero Motion Is Denied.” http://chasingtruthcatchinghell.com/2013/04/15/transcript-of-his-honors-handwashing-liturgy-or-the-defendants-romero-motion-is-denied/
Leo Mulvihill, Philly Law Blog, “The Plea.” http://phillylawblog.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/the-plea/
Matt Brown, Tempe Criminal Defense, “Except for That, of Course.” http://brownandlittlelaw.com/2013/07/18/except-for-that-of-course/
Pingback: 5th (and Final?) Annual Criminal-Law Blog Post of the Year » Defending People
To echo the above:
Norm DeGuerre, Chasing Truth, Catching Hell, “Transcript of His Honor’s Handwashing Liturgy, or The Defendant’s Romero Motion Is Denied.” http://chasingtruthcatchinghell.com/2013/04/15/transcript-of-his-honors-handwashing-liturgy-or-the-defendants-romero-motion-is-denied/
Leo Mulvihill, Philly Law Blog, “The Plea.” http://phillylawblog.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/the-plea/
Wow. I have to admit that as much as I’d like one of my posts to make it, I “third” the nomination of Norm DeGuerre’s “Transcript.”
I’m going to have to start reading that blog more regularly.
I nominate Mr. Bennett’s 10/17 (?) Post – “Are Revenge Porn Statutes Constitutional.”
With Much Fanfare.
I was wise to leave that open spot. The Squawk came through, as I rather thought he might, with “Prosecutor’s junta gets coal in its stocking for Christmas,” http://appellatesquawk.wordpress.com/2013/12/24/prosecutors-junta-gets-coal-in-its-stocking-for-christmas/
[Ed. Note: He?]
I second squawk.
The junta is an it.
Popehat Clark’s “Burn the Fucking System to the Ground.” http://www.popehat.com/2013/12/23/burn-the-fucking-system-to-the-ground
Ignore Bennett’s theory that the nominations are light this year because nobody cares. There are some obvious strong contenders this year, and they were all nominated early. Still, I’ll add
Norm DeGuerre. Chasing Truth. Catching Hell.“To The Wolves…” http://chasingtruthcatchinghell.com/2013/08/19/to-the-wolves/
Gideon. a public defender. “The cost of your conviction.” http://apublicdefender.com/2013/02/21/the-cost-of-your-conviction/
Matt Brown had an excellent post about the thirst of society for retribution. I think you’ll agree with me that Matthew did a fantastic job on this one.
http://brownandlittlelaw.com/2013/10/23/what-the-hell-do-they-want/
Scott-
I don’t like pompous law professors (pleonastic?);
I don’t like people in authority who ain’t exactly honest;
I don’t like people who try to swipe our rights; and
I don’t like mayonnaise & I don’t people who like it.
That’s 4 people I do not like. Mark Bennett, my eventual cell mate, penned a blog that hit on 3 of 4. I ain’t sure on
the mayo issue. Notwithstanding the
” Unresolved Mayo Issue”, the mayo Issue , Mark’s blog on the three is
right in the teeth.
Please consider Mark’s blog post,
“Lying Lawprof Lies.”
For Blog of the year.
Thanks for your good work. Get you a good hat & boots.
Robb Fickman
Born again Birther
See: Rafael “Ted” Cruz
US Senate Pinhead from Canada
Trying to bribe me with a good hat and boots? I like it. You already know my hat size.
It’s an honest bribe.
I’m nominating Judge Kopf’s honest and fascinating post about sentencing a man who went on to become a circuit court clerk as much for the comments as for the post itself. It’s so incredible to read an honest conversation between a judge and defendant.
http://herculesandtheumpire.com/2013/08/08/shon-hopwood-and-kopfs-terrible-sentencing-instincts/
Nomination: “Advice to a Young Lawyer” by Russ Bensing:
http://www.briefcase8.com/2013/04/advice-to-a-young-lawyer.html
This one stuck out to me, because it strikes me as one that even older lawyers can keep coming back to.
Justin Webb’s post on the Wisconsin Revenge Porn bill failing to include a scienter requirement pointed out something in the legislation that a lot of people missed and I found the hypotheticals to be well thought out.
http://www.cybercrimereview.com/2013/11/wisconsins-revenge-porn-bill-goes-too.html