Hearing that the mob was going to storm the jail and lynch Tom Robinson, the fictional Atticus Finch stood at the doorway to block their entrance. Among criminal defense lawyers, Atticus Finch is revered as a paragon of honor. Not all lawyers saw it that way. Continue reading →

Radley Balko picks up yet another incredibly sad story borne of the inherent conflict between protect and serve out of Hillsborough County, Florida.  From the Tampa Bay Times :

Allen Daniel Hicks Sr., 51, was found stopped in his car on the side of Interstate 275 by a sheriff’s deputy and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper the morning of May 11, 2012. Passers-by had called 911 after they saw Hicks’ Chevy Cavalier swerving west into a guardrail, records of the incident show. Continue reading →

Remember when the word “wilding” was introduced into the general lexicon so that we would have a word to capture the “super-predator” gangs of youths who were intent on destroying society?  It came out of the  Central Park Five case, and produced a huge shift in our approach to juvenile prosecution and punishment.

“Justice,” people cried. They demanded justice. Don’t let these super-predator kids destroy our world with wilding.  Continue reading →

In thermodynamics, entropy is the measure of how things go from order to disorder. Its application is far broader, however, applying to life in general. For those of us, like me, who strive to maintain order, it is the enemy.

My ability to do what I do, to function, depends on my maintaining order. In a world of chaos, it’s a constant battle. No man is an island, and so almost every function relies to some greater or lesser extent on interactions with others. In order to prepare an affidavit, Continue reading →

George  Zimmerman was acquitted on a Saturday night. Keyboards were pounded. Reporters reported. Pundits opined. And the jury in the court of public opinion rendered its verdict.

Almost no criminal lawyer, prosecution or defense, saw a second degree murder conviction coming. Education and experience condemns us to view evidence and law with detached logic, so there is no emotionalism, no reliance on “common sense,” to fudge the proof. Continue reading →

Sheriff’s deputies in Clark County, Ohio, have been given dispensation to wear “pocket cameras” on the job. Not because someone decided it was a good idea for them to video their interactions with member of the public, which is not only a perfectly fine thing to do, but one that has been embraced by other department. According to the Dayton Daily News :

Clark County Sheriff’s deputies are wearing pocket cameras that record their work to help their cases and to protect themselves against accusations of misconduct. Continue reading →

Via John Wesley Hall at Fourth Amendment, a decision out of the 10th Circuit that puts an end to the pressing question of whether second hand smoke presents a sufficient justification to circumvent the 4th Amendment and enter a home without a warrant.  Lest you think this is too ridiculous to be worthy of consideration, bear in mind this is on appeal, the district court having denied suppression. Continue reading →

A squad of 18 deputies in Cook County were very aggressive in trying to collect money from deadbeat dads, using whatever methods they needed to bring these culprits to justice.  When they put a gun to 77-year-old Merien Macon’s head, however, they messed with the wrong person. From the Chicago Tribune :

When the unit arrived at the Macons’ home, two weeks before Merien’s arrest, officers had two outstanding warrants for couple’s son, Derrick Macon, then 50, Continue reading →

Many criminal defense lawyers studiously ignore cases that catch the public’s attention. They just aren’t that legally interesting, even if the facts or issues give rise to popular passion. And so it’s been for the trial of George Zimmerman for murder 2º in the killing of Trayvon Martin.  Aside from John Steele’s having  raised the question of the ethics of overcharging, there hasn’t been a whole lot to write about.

Now that the trial is coming to a close, however, an interesting question, both legal and tactical, has arisen: would it be best for the defense to take an all-or-nothing approach, murder 2º or acquittal, or a split-the-baby approach, charging the jury on the lesser-included crime of manslaughter.  Continue reading →

If I was hoping to court the legally-ignorant, politically conservative reader, yesterday would not have been a good day for me.  While lawprof Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit, couldn’t be  bothered to learn about the criminal justice system before opining about how to fix it, he had time to write about how mean I was to him. Not terribly surprising, given how lawprofs tend to be a bit sensitive. Continue reading →