No one has the slightest clue how New York’s bail reform law is working as yet. Neither statistics nor anecdotes* prove anything. It’s far too early to make any determination. If there was a cause and effect connection, it wouldn’t be discernible so quickly. But since we all know correlation does not imply causation, the contention that crime has risen (January over January) since the bail reform law has gone into effect is more likely due to unseasonably warm weather this January than bail reform. And frankly, the new bail law didn’t really change all that much.

While the bail reform law enacted isn’t what I would have done, as one-size-fits-all laws are no more effective for the reformers than their tough-on-crime adversaries, it’s the law, for better or worse. Sure, it was “invented” in the middle of the night by legislators who have little clue how the legal system works and believed in fantasies, but then, it’s also not wildly out of sync with any other approach. Cutting a guy loose ROR who would have gotten $500 bail before just isn’t a big societal deal, except to the guy who can’t afford $500 bail. Continue reading →

It says so right in the headline, which may not have been written by the author but reveals much about the perspective:

UConn, in a compromise, will give a student it suspended in a sexual misconduct case a chance to defend himself

How nice of UConn to “compromise” by giving the male student a chance to defend himself.

In a compromise filed in U.S. District Court, the university agreed to allow the male student, identified in court as John Doe, to submit to its disciplinary process a second time, but unlike the first time, present a defense. The agreement applies only to this case.

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When they ran the early morning take-down of Roger Stone, weapons in hand and cameras on, heads spinned. After all, it was Roger Stone, the cartoon character political operative of the vuglar and amoral, but still, it was Roger Stone, who would have walked in to surrender upon request. What else would he do?

Sides shifted, paradigms went spiral and schadenfruede became the flavor of the day. Roger Stone will do that to people. Trump will too. And damn if they didn’t do it again.

In an extraordinary decision overruling career lawyers, the Justice Department recommended an unspecified term of incarceration for Mr. Stone instead of the prosecutors’ request of a punishment of seven to nine years. The move coincided with Mr. Trump’s declaration on Twitter early Tuesday that the government was treating Mr. Stone too harshly.

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The new discovery rules requiring prosecutors to turn over an expanded array of discovery within 15 days of arraignment, with an additional month for the asking, are now the law. Whether it’s doable, given certain systemic limitations such as lab reports, additional investigation and police intransigence, remains a mystery, but now that it’s the law, it’s the law.

And regardless of whether this is the best way in which to reform New York’s discovery law, there has been no question for the past 50 years that the law as it previously existed was bad, ineffective and grossly unfair to the defense. No one seriously argues that the law wasn’t in dire need of reform.

But the Kings County District Attorney, Eric Gonzalez, supported reform and had been held up as an example of how the law was doable. According to public defenders in the trenches, open file discovery was the norm in Brooklyn, and it showed that prosecutors could comply without the pain and undue expense so many claimed would destroy the system. So what happened? Continue reading →

While Title IX advocates decry the soon-to-be-released regulations that are putatively intended to permit colleges to afford the accused minimal due process at campus sex tribunals, they’ve quietly scored a “win” with the Department of Education by convincing it to delve into an area of law for which there’s no authorizing law, no competence and no connection between the problem and the sole purpose of Title IX, affording educational opportunity without discrimination on the basis of sex.

It’s not that it isn’t a problem, but that it isn’t a Title IX problem.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s pending rules on sexual misconduct at the nation’s schools and colleges will include provisions to shore up protections for victims of stalking and dating violence, a response to lethal attacks that have underscored the weakness of current policies. Continue reading →

I admit it. I watched the opening out of curiosity about how they would handle the absence of a host, there being no one pure enough, correct enough, to get the gig. Minor wardrobe malfunction aside, it was auspicious.

On the red carpet, stars did what they could to express themselves. Continue reading →

What if they held an essay contest at the University of Montana in honor of Martin Luther King Day and all the entrants were named Karen?

The contest was seen as an opportunity to engage students of various backgrounds and spur dialogue across the campus about the life and work of the late civil rights leader. But the plans backfired when the university announced, and proudly promoted, the four winning essays — all penned by white students.

There are three ways of looking at this, that it’s wonderful that white students felt strongly enough about MLK to write essays about him. That it’s less than wonderful that black students did not. That whatever happened in real life isn’t what was supposed to happen and therefore something must be done. Guess which way the students at the University of Montana decided to go? Continue reading →

Ed. Note: Chris Halkides has been kind enough to try to make us lawyers smarter by dumbing down science enough that we have a small chance of understanding how it’s being used to wrongfully convict and, in some cases, execute defendants. Chris graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Ph.D. in biochemistry, and teaches biochemistry, organic chemistry, and forensic chemistry at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.

At James Otto Earhart’s trial for the murder of Kandy Kirtland, compositional (comparative) bullet lead analysis (CBLA) was used to conclude that the bullets seized from his home and car were “analytically indistinguishable” from one found with her body. FBI agent John Riley testified that he could determine whether or not bullets are from the same box of ammunition. Continue reading →

When I was a kid, I woke up every morning filled with wonderment. What would happen today? Who would I meet? What would I do? I didn’t know what my future would hold, but I dreamed it would be good. No, great. Why would anyone dream otherwise?

The other day, the American Dream came under attack. I understood why, as many young people believe that no matter what they do, how hard they try, how closely they hew to the “rules,” they will never be able to achieve it. They may have a fancy degree, but they won’t be able to afford a home. They struggle with their relationships, as intimacy crumbles under the weight of demands and expectations they never seem capable of meeting. Continue reading →

My old friend Alan won an Oscar. Not a “big” one, but a technical award. He kept it on a shelf, and the first time I picked it up, I was shocked by how heavy it was. Unfortunately for Alan, his win didn’t translate into fabulous wealth and success. He ended up opening a studio and getting a contract to produce some shows to air on BET.

The shows failed and he got stiffed. He was deep in the hole with some unsavory characters who were not interested in why he couldn’t pay his bills, and since he had a new baby and needed both his arms, I loaned him a not insignificant amount of money and bailed him out.

He never recovered, and every effort he’s made since to regain his faded glory has fallen in the toilet. He told me he always wanted to pay me back, and some day he would. It’s been 30 years and I’ve never seen a dime. Maybe Polonius was right, but we make our choices and live with them. Continue reading →