Nominations are Open for the 6th Annual Jdog Memorial Best Criminal Law Blawg Post (Closed)

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, Arizona’s Matt Brown and Fishtown’s Leo Mulvihill.

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 past 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.

One important point: It’s up to you, the readers of criminal law blawg posts, to show me that you are willing to put in the effort to give a damn about the blawgosphere by nominating the best posts. If you can’t be bothered, then I can’t be bothered.  You enjoy reading some great stuff about criminal law, so this is the opportunity to let the writers know. And if it’s too much effort to nominate anyone, then it tells me that we’re wasting our time here. See how that works?

Finally, to address the perpetual issue, efforts to bribe me with baked goods will not assure a win. However, it can’t hurt and is defintely worth a try.

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30 thoughts on “Nominations are Open for the 6th Annual Jdog Memorial Best Criminal Law Blawg Post (Closed)”

    1. Patrick Maupin

      Not that I’m the judge or anything, but to my tastes, Milano’s posts are far too simplistic, emotional, and inaccurate. The second one, in particular, has this gem:

      The Government’s defense was; “Yes, we took the money-we shouldn’t have taken it-it wasn’t ours to take- and we won’t give it back. But, we lied about it so you can’t sue us.” Honest to God, that is what they said. And they won.

      Judge Gaughan’s decision soundly rejects the government’s line of reasoning: “The money at St. Paul was not forfeited to the United States but appears to have been secreted away by a St. Paul employee.” Far be it from me to question why the good judge didn’t believe the government when they claimed they had the money — the government witnesses must not be credible, which must be why Milano won that case. Oh, wait…

        1. Patrick Maupin

          Sorry! I’ll just sit over here in the corner, rocking back and forth and muttering to myself, and nobody will notice anything different.

  5. Jake DiMare

    I hereby (and predictably) nominate: http://jakedimare.com/2014/08/04/the-verdict-on-automated-sentencing/ for the ‘non-lawyer category’ as part of the larger Automated Sentencing conversation in 2014 which included blawging luminaries Judge Kopf, Scott, and Windypundit, Mark Draughn.

    Please forgive my selfishness, the excitement of participation has yet to wear off.

    I’d also like to nominate Judge Kopf’s: http://herculesandtheumpire.com/2014/04/18/why-does-kopf-believe-cops-most-of-the-time/

    I’ve long been fascinated by the conversation between you (Scott) and Judge Kopf, and I’d like to see it continue.

  6. ExCop-LawStudent

    “[E]fforts to bribe me with baked goods will not assure a win.”

    SMH. Barbeque, Scott, barbeque. That’s the only proper bribe involving food, plus it tells you all you need to know about their character.

  7. Anonymous

    Jeff Gamso:

    http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.fr/2014/09/close-to-simple-murder.html

    http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.fr/2014/08/because-hes-not-above-or-below-law.html

    http://gamso-forthedefense.blogspot.fr/2014/07/it-seems-competence-isnt-enough.html

    Appelate Squawk:

    https://appellatesquawk.wordpress.com/2014/11/28/lets-solve-the-etan-patz-case-with-a-wrongful-conviction/

    Mark Bennett:

    http://blog.bennettandbennett.com/2014/02/zealous-representation-not-an-option.html

    These posts resonated with me.

  8. Glenn Brockman

    I’m delurking in order to nominate Mr Norm de Guerre for his post “How can I tell if my REAL lawyer is doing a good job?”
    http://chasingtruthcatchinghell.com/2014/02/24/how-do-i-know-if-my-real-lawyer-is-doing-a-good-job/
    I realise that he is a Public Defender, not a criminal lawyer, however there is obviously some common themes here.
    I have enjoyed reading all of his posts and we are all the poorer for his reduced output recently. I hope he’s well…

    1. SHG Post author

      I realise that he is a Public Defender, not a criminal lawyer…

      You didn’t really say that, did you? This may be the saddest sincere comment ever posted here. I, too, am sad that Norm hasn’t been more active. Perhaps this will spur him to write again.

    3. Jeff Gamso

      I suppose that means I stopped being a real criminal defense lawyer when I became a public defender. Good to know how confused I’ve been.

      It’s bad enough having to explain this shit to clients. Sigh.

        1. Glenn Brockman

          Sorry about the gaffe – I meant something more in line with Norm being apparently a state-employed public defender rather than a lawyer in private practice.
          The unfortunate effect of my misstatement has been to draw attention away from the brilliant writing of Mr de Guerre. To have received a public spanking by some of the finest legal minds in the country is a rare privilege, but go read some Norm and support my nomination. The guy writes beautifully and his moral compass is calibrated to five decimal places.
          Season’s Greetings from Bunbury, Australia to you all.

  10. Bartleby the Scrivener

    I love Joel and his books, and have communicated with Felicia a couple of times. While I have nothing to submit to this, I appreciate that you’re doing this.

    Anything to give some sunshine to such a great guy is a wonderful thing.

    Thank you,

    Bartleby the Scrivener
    AKA Dennis Hughes

  15. John Barleycorn

    Does this coveted yearly award have a “What’s a Decade Anyway?” category?

    Front page aggregation of news- du’
    blawgs sorting the canoes…is not the camp mission of a CDL.

    ~~Young lawyers have tons of great ideas for using technology. Most important, we may be on the verge of the next “killer app” for lawyers.~~

    I would like to nominate Dennis Kennedy’s:

    2004 Legal Technology Trends:
    Do We Stand on the Threshold of the Next Legal Killer App?

    For the sub-category of “What’s a Decade Anyway?”. Because this coveted yearly award should have such a category and his past post quote from a decade ago was the first “juicy” one I found from a still active “decade” blawger. Fuck CDL inclusion cash or credit?

    http://denniskennedy.com/resources/products/free-samples/pred2004/

    Cash!

  16. Pingback: Should I Start Law Practice? (Redux)—Origin Stories & Growing Your Practice | Philly Law Blog

  17. Andrew

    In no particular order…

    Mirriam Seddiq:
    http://www.notguiltynoway.com/2014/02/facts-are-not-facts-until-the-jury-says-they-are-facts-got-it.html

    Nathan Burney:
    http://lawcomic.net/guide/?p=2256

    Murray Newman:
    http://harriscountycriminaljustice.blogspot.com/2014/08/an-important-breakfast.html

    Ken @ Popehat:
    https://www.popehat.com/2014/01/15/the-privilege-to-shut-up/

    Robert Fickman:
    http://blog.fickmanlaw.com/2014/11/harris-county-judicial-abuse-of-the-poor-let-them-eat-cake/

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