Third time’s the charm?  Senior United States District Judge Richard G. Kopf has twice quit blogging at Hercules and the umpire, but that doesn’t mean his belief in judicial transparency is over.  Judge Kopf returns today to Fault Lines with his post, Why Do Federal Judges Send Criminals To Prison?

We (Lee Pacchia and I, not the royal “we”) couldn’t be more thrilled than to have the judge back in the saddle.  No one has brought more humanity to the judiciary than Judge Kopf.  No one has offered a more enlightening peek under the robe.  And in keeping with our ideal of providing real insight from people who know what they’re talking about, this is about as real as it gets.

And the good judge takes praise and a punch with equanimity. Not bad for a guy confirmed by the Senate for life. Welcome back, Judge. We missed you.

And as if this wasn’t enough. Fault Lines is thrilled to welcome three new contributors to the cause of keeping it real.

Andrew Fleishman, an appellate public defender in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from the Georgia State University College of Law, and spent a year in private DUI defense before entering public service. His twitter handle is @ASFleischman.

Jessica Gabel Cino, an associate professor of law at Georgia State University College of Law in Atlanta, where she teaches courses on forensic evidence, forensic medicine, and contracts. Prior to joining Georgia State, she clerked for Hon. Peter T. Fay, Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. While practicing in San Francisco at Covington & Burling LLP, she focused on white-collar crime and death penalty cases. She also taught evidence and forensic evidence as an adjunct professor at the University of California Hastings School of Law.  She can be found on the twitters @profgabel.

Christopher Seaton, a criminal defense and domestic relations attorney in Knoxville, Tennessee.  He earned his Rule 31 mediation certification and opened his own mediation practice before he earned his law license.  He’s @clsesq on twitter.

And, of course, don’t forget our regular cast of characters, Ken Womble, Jeff Gamso, Greg Prickett, Tamara Tabo, Murray Newman and Matt Brown, each of whom works their butts off to try to bring insight to the law from their unique perspective, and illuminate the issues and problems that matter.