Granted, there hasn’t been a lot of criminal law news around lately, save the Fieger trial that Norm Pattis has been following (in a Gerry Spence-obsessive sort of way).  But three days of no verdict is hard to post about.

The academics keep writing, though they steer clear of the practical blawgosphere as much as possible.  As one lawprof recently told me when I asked him why he neglected the practical blawgosphere in discussing a particular issue,

Generally, I try to avoid polluting my pure ivory tower head with practitioner thoughts, lest I come up with something of use to the world.

He’s a very funny guy.  But there’s been a definite ebb around the practical blawgosphere lately.  Mark Bennett,  Texas Tornado, has been pretty quiet.  Gideon’s had very little to say, other than to let me know when he thinks I’m making a big deal out of nothing.  And one of the best blawgers around, Anne Reed, is almost awol since the new year.  It breaks my heart.

What gives?   

I suspect that there’s a wave of burnout happening amongst the trench people.  Without any big news, something to grab their attention and make them want to write, they’re getting tired of sitting at the computer.  It’s not like the spirit of Kevin O’Keefe resides in each of us.  Some need extra motivation to get their mojo working.

With that in mind, I pose a challenge to my brethren in the practical blawgosphere.  Unless you want to see the lawprofs and nutjobs (note that they are two separate groups in my mind) seize control, fight.  No, you don’t have to post as much as I do.  I just like to write.  It’s my therapy, but it doesn’t have to be yours.  Just don’t let inertia take hold.  Once you walk away from the computer, it’s hard to get back into the flow.

The practical blawgosphere is one of the best things that’s happened to the discussion of criminal law.  We’ve sparred with one another, agreed with one another, but expanded the understanding and debate far beyond anything that existed in the old days.  New lawyers can come online and learn from the mistakes that old lawyers made.  My personal depth of understanding has increased enormously thanks to the insights of others.

Don’t let this fade away.

I’ve watched as some have silently disappeared from the scene, finding the burden of post too much.  Others have learned that the payback for blawging can’t be counted in cash as easily as they hoped.  Still others are so devoid of anything worth reading as to be unworthy of being called a blawg (I received an email yesterday from some twinkie who is the “editor” of one that I criticized for this reason, informing me that she was removing Simple Justice from their blogroll. Nuts.)  What will be left?

I know that you people care about the world, about the law and about people.  Everyday brings new thoughts and ideas worth pursuing.  Remember what Dan Quayle said, “what a waste it is to lose one’s mind or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is.”

Don’t be wasteful.