While the ABA Journal is busy checking out blogs in bikinis, it’s time for the Practical Blawgosphere to once again honor the dedicated efforts of criminal law blawgers in bringing illumination to the substance of criminal law. As explained last year,
This is no beauty pageant, but a chance to accomplish two things. First, to open the door to the best substantive content on the subject of criminal law, and second, to expose the excellent efforts of the best group of blawgers to people who might not otherwise have seen it.
This year, the award is being dedicated to the memory of Joel Rosenberg, a dear friend to the criminal law blawgsphere, a brilliant writer and a voice of wit and reason amidst the noise of anger and ignorance. Hereinafter, it will be known as the Jdog Prize, the name Joel used to write and comment online, to remember and honor Joel’s contributions and impact in the lives and thoughts of so many criminal law blawgers.
Past winners of the Best Criminal Law Blawg Post are Ohio’s Jeff Gamso, Connecticut’s Gid eon and last year’s winner, Houston’s Mark Bennett. Illustrious company.
And 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 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.
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. If I smell anyone trying to use this for inappropriate purposes, it will end up backfiring. Trust me. Some have even called me abrasive when dealing with impropriety in the comments.
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 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.
I would like to nominate this post from A Public Defender regarding State v. Fourtin from Connecticut: http://apublicdefender.com/2012/10/09/why-we-cant-just-make-stuff-up-as-we-go-along-or-due-process/
Popehat also has an excellent take on the case, as Gideon himself acknowledges.
I am submitting a post from back in January that discusses the trade-off between security and free expression in the context of the Terek Mehanna terrorism case.
http://juryboxblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/weaponization-of-belief-tarek-mehanna.html
Every post by Matt Brown is pure gold. However, this one is particularly insightful: http://brownandlittlelaw.com/2012/07/26/real-justice/
Or, if you prefer, Jeff Gamso’s ability to say what the press and advocacy groups seem incapable of saying: http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/2012/12/mourning-in-america.html#comment-form
Gideon – The New Criminal Justice Experts: The Public
http://apublicdefender.com/2012/09/11/the-new-criminal-justice-experts-the-public/
Gamso – I lied. And that’s the truth
http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-lied-and-thats-truth.html
A whole bunch by Appellate Squawk. But especially:
Maples v. Thomas: The Movie
http://appellatesquawk.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/maples-v-thomas-the-movie/
The Bambi’s mother school of criminal defense
http://appellatesquawk.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/the-bambis-mother-school-of-criminal-defense/#comments
And you thought you had a hard day in court
http://appellatesquawk.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/and-you-thought-%EF%BB%BFyou-had-a-hard-day-in-court/#comments
My four nominations (in chronological order) are: Justice Scalia’s Inferno (http://thetrialwarrior.com/2012/01/19/justice-scalias-inferno/) from Nino Pribetic; To Plead or Not to Plead (http://apublicdefender.com/2012/03/21/to-plead-or-not-to-plead-a-critical-question/) from Gideon; Is Prosecutorial Misconduct a Product of a “Few Bad Apples,” or is the Barrel Mostly Rotten? (http://www.theagitator.com/2012/08/29/is-prosecutorial-misconduct-a-product-of-a-few-bad-apples-or-is-the-barrel-mostly-rotten/) from Radley Balko; and Passionate? I’ll Pass (http://unwashedadvocate.com/2012/09/23/passionate-ill-pass/) from Eric Mayer. Not only are these four outstanding posts, but collectively these represent a cross-section of what’s probably the last vibrant area of the blawgosphere. Not all are by criminal defense lawyers, notably, but this area in particular regularly attracts solid commentary from worthwhile bloggers of non-CDL backgrounds (including your award’s namesake, the much-beloved and missed Jdog).
(I hope this isn’t a double, as Firefox crashed on me before)
http://matthaiduk.com/2012/09/07/representing-yourself-in-traffic-court-tips-for-success-from-a-pimp/
is my nomination. Matt Haiduk is a former Public Defender in the Chicagoland area that is now in private practice.
His blog entries are always sharp and clever, but not clever for the sake of being clever. There are enough snarky JDs writing snarky blog posts to satisfy the 20-something set for eons.
Rather, Haiduk manages to capture your attention while also informing you. This is not the dull blog post discussing law review articles, or the overly cute blog post opining on which Supreme Court justice is hotter. The writing is whipsmart and the legal commentary is first rate.
Actually, I would nominate a few of his posts, but this one is a great example.
Can I nominate my partner Leo for worst criminal defense blogger? Is that a thing?
Joking aside, I also nominate Matt Brown. He should blog more.
No, it’s not. Leo says you’re a very smart lawyer. I’m awaiting evidence.
Note the title of the prize, “blawg post.” Matt is a person. “Person” and “post” both start with “P” and have an “s” in them, but the letters are otherwise different.
I nominate the Huffington Post.
Actually, in all seriousness, I nominate this:
http://www.dorfonlaw.org/2012/10/the-centrality-of-ex-post-facto-clause.html
Probably the most informative post I’ve read in a few…umm…somethings.
Eric Mayer’s “AVVOcalypse Now.” http://unwashedadvocate.com/2012/11/23/avvocalypse-now/
Boom. Contest over.
As much as I admire that post (and I do), it’s a bit south of criminal law. If only there was a Social Media Tyro award…
I also would submit this insightful post from Radley Balko:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/11/jail-abuse-nick-christie-pepper-spray-florida_n_1192412.html
Then maybe an award for best “damning with faint praise” comment?
While Radley’s Agitator posts are certainly fair game, his regular HuffPo articles don’t qualify as blog (or blawg) posts. That’s journalism, in the paid-for sense.
If only that was Murray.
Silly you — you don’t await evidence; a good lawyer manufactures it. The best move production offshore and manufacture in China . . . Or so I’ve been told . . .
Ditto for Appellatesquawk, although some tech glitch prevents me from leaving comments for squawk.
Post, not blawg. Post. Without a link to a specific post, Squawk gets no love.
http://appellatesquawk.wordpress.com/2012/10/04/judge-wools-judicial-horoscope/
I am still working on figuring out if I should be insulted by this comment.
Yes.
The Squawk! The Squawk!
And since I can follow the rules (except the Rule Against [in? about? over? because of?] Shelly’s Case, which I never did understand though I get the one about fertile sextuplets – see why I don’t do property law) I have an actual post to nominate:
So the jury saw and heard the witnesses – big deal.
http://appellatesquawk.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/so-the-jury-saw-and-heard-the-witnesses-big-deal/
From Gideon at A Public Defender:
http://apublicdefender.com/2012/09/27/dont-be-a-part-of-the-problem/
I was going to nominate something from Prawfs Blawg, but you said “best,” and “substantive” and “content.”
I just read all the nominated posts so far. Wow! There is a mess of talent out there.
And none of it involves how to become a fabulously wealthy lawyer by using the internet, branding or an ipad.
.
Branding?? Isn’t that what they™ do to cattle?? And in North Carolina, their slaves?? . . .
And don’t underestimate the power of an iPad. One of my best pickup lines, after a couple of adult beverages, is: “iPad®, YourPad™, or MyPad™??” More often than not, I’m successful, depending on the mark’s BAC . . .
.
You call ’em “marks”; the marketers call ’em “leads.”
He might have been talking about your BAC. Would you please blow into this little straw?
Oh, no. I’m not falling for that one again.
Nothing substitutes better for proper foreplay than a high BAC . . .
Disclaimer: BAC must not be so high that “mark” or “lead” is incapable of legal consent.
Brian Tannebaum, Criminal Defense: Today I Become Juror 885: http://criminaldefenseblog.blogspot.ca/2012/05/tomorrow-i-become-juror-885.html
Matt Brown, Tempe Criminal Defense: When Justice is Corruption and Injustice is the Law: http://brownandlittlelaw.com/2012/11/23/when-justice-is-corruption-and-injustice-is-the-law/
Mark Bennett, Defending People: Trayvon Martin: Strange Bedfellows: http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2012/03/trayvon-martin-strange-bedfellows.html
Gideon S. Trumpet, a public defender: Judge finds Reid method oppressive http://apublicdefender.com/2012/09/13/judge-finds-reid-method-oppressive/
Another nomination – for Matt Brown.
http://brownandlittlelaw.com/2012/12/10/a-waste/
Here are my five nominations. From Marc Randazza’s “The Legal Satyricon” – my favorite blog right now after it spread so much recent holiday cheer. Most of the posts on his blog are not criminal law in nature but these ones were and, at least to me, very good posts at that:
Marc J. Randazza:
http://randazza.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/police-brutality-spam/
Contributed by Jonathon C.A. Blevin:
http://randazza.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/why-audiovideo-recording-law-enforcement-is-necessary-and-protected-by-the-first-amendment/
Contributed by J. Malcolm DeVoy IV:
http://randazza.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/world-of-warcraft-promulgates-epic-7th-circuit-opinion/
Contributed by Charles Platt:
http://randazza.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/statutes-of-limitations/
Marc J. Randazza:
http://randazza.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/civil-liberties-thrown-out-with-the-child-porn-laden-bathwater/
http://brownandlittlelaw.com/2012/04/11/andrew-thomass-disbarment/
Gamso’s July 4th post http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.com/search/label/Declaration%20of%20Independence