Criminal Law

"The fact that I went to Goodwin Procter doesn't mean I'm not passionate about doing this type of work"

Posted on June 02, 2009
..but it's a pretty good hint. From Law.com:Are Public Interest Lawyers Getting Crowded Out by Deferred Associates? - One recent law grad looking for public interest work notes, 'We don't come with a $70,000-plus salary with benefits intact. Psychologically, it's hard to deal with that reality...

ID: "Idaho can make up any law they want when it comes to the alleged attack on a 5 year-old"

Posted on May 31, 2009
From the Idaho Press-Tribune:Jury trial set for boy accused of assaulting 5-year-old girl in NampaJudge Thomas Ryan... set an August jury trial date for a 15-year-old Nampa boy accused of sexually assaulting and beating a 5-year-old girl... (Trevor) Reizenstein will be tried as an adult...

Atticus Finch, meet Harvey Birdman

Posted on May 29, 2009
John Moe at Monkey Disaster explains in, "A Conversation with Charlie (age 8) About Literature."

ID: "he's a child, and I know that I am not the only one out here that's heart is breaking for him"

Posted on May 29, 2009
Chuck Peterson at Idaho Criminal Defense Blog is following the case of Zachary Neagle, a Canyon County 14-year-old accused of killing his father: Community Support Grows For 14 Year-Old Kid Charged With Murder - Now He Needs A Good Experienced LawyerSupport Grows For 14 Year Old Kid Charged With MurderChannel 7 Interview With Zachary Neagle's Mom - Says She Had No Idea of Sexual AbuseBujak Blinked - Said The "M" Word - "Manslaughter"

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CA: Yolo's cool old hippie retires

Posted on May 21, 2009
From the Sacramento Bee:Yolo County loses best-known employee among exodus of early retireesBarry Melton knows his days as a young rock icon, when he took the stage at Woodstock with a tousle of blond curls, are long past... But at 61, Melton ? the Yolo County public defender who became famous as "The Fish" in the Vietnam-era band Country Joe and the Fish ? leaves at the top of his game as a lawyer...

ID: Lake Overturn, 83651

Posted on May 19, 2009
Could this be the Great Southern Idaho Novel? Here is "Lake Overturn," by Nampa native Vestal McIntyre: To her surprise, the judge was not an old man with white hair. He was a Mexican, and only perhaps in his early forties. He did, though, wear the kind of reading glasses she expected judges to wear, low on his nose...

CA: visiting clients in LA's towers

Posted on May 18, 2009
From Days and Nights with the Unbored, here's p.d. El Cholestero on jail visiting:...I've spent more time in jail facilities than most religious people have spent inside of church. I've heard such stories of sadness, anger, desperation, stupidity, recklessness and pure evil...

WA: in juvy, "poems with power and pain"

Posted on May 16, 2009
From the Stranger:Increasing the Vocabulation, Reducing the Distress - A Poetry Program at JuvieThe audience has been quiet until now ? they know they'll be sent back to their narrow cells if they aren't polite ? but a young man reads a poem that inspires the audience to laugh and cheer and mutter "amen...

ID: does wardrobe malfunction averted = justice malfunction avoided?

Posted on May 14, 2009
From The MountainGoat Report:Wardrobe Ruling In 'Exotic Case'Gender identity won't be on trial this June in Twin Falls County but it is difficult for many to believe otherwise. If you haven't been following the story of Nastaran, or legally Majid, Kolestani, a transgender Iranian refugee accused in the shooting death of the man with whom she shared an apartment in Twin Falls, get caught up here...

ID: wondering if the fix is in for Canyon Co PD

Posted on May 09, 2009
From the Idaho Press-Tribune:Committee selected to find new public defender for countyThird District Administrative Judge Juneal Kerrick has appointed a committee of three local attorneys to consider candidates who want to be appointed the next public defender for Canyon County...

WA: diversion, you know, for kids

Posted on May 08, 2009
From the Tacoma News Tribune:Juveniles: Out of trouble, into better lifeGetting into trouble turned out to be a blessing for Kristen Larkin. A prank two years ago landed the Parkland teen in a diversion program run by the Pierce County Juvenile Court...

Russian emoti-con

Posted on May 07, 2009
From the Moscow Times:Honey, I Killed a Cop. I'm Sorry :((W)e may never know the degree of sorrow felt by a young Novosibirsk woman over the traffic cop she struck and killed with her car while driving drunk... (T)he text message - complete with emoticon - she sent her boyfriend after killing the officer: "Honey, I killed a cop...

Testifrying

Posted on May 03, 2009
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:Sometimes, defendants do the darndest thingsTimothy Lee Williams' lawyer, Frank C. Walker II, stood next to him, powerless. He had advised Mr. Williams not to testify, but his client didn't listen."All I really wanted to do was express myself," the defendant began, launching into an incoherent diatribe about his life and the circumstances surrounding a Hill District homicide...

ID: Canyon Co low-bid defense? No

Posted on April 30, 2009
From Dennis at SCOIDBlog:Canyon County & State of Idaho Sued Over Public Defender ServicesThe Canyon County Public Defenders have sued the State and Canyon County. Wiebe and Fouser, P.A. currently holds the public defender contract, but recently the county invoked a 90-day termination provision and then sought bids...

WA: Grant County gets it in gear

Posted on April 24, 2009
From the Wenatchee World:Public defense pilot project posts dramatic results in Grant CountyTwo years ago, 93 juveniles arrested for crimes in Grant County pleaded guilty at their first court appearance before an attorney was even assigned to them. Last year, only one child did...

ID: another proud to be from Idaho moment

Posted on April 22, 2009
From the Idaho State Journal:Inmate duct tapedThe first hint that Nicklas Frasure's hearing was going to be unusual came at the outset when the man attempted to fire his court-appointed counsel. It eventually culminated with the man's mouth bound with duct tape in an attempt to quell his frequent and irrational outbursts...

Babes in Apprendi-land

Posted on April 21, 2009
Recommended by a listserv I'm on:Rethinking the Constitutional Criminal Procedure of Juvenile Transfer Hearings: Apprendi, Adult Punishment and Adult Process by Jenny E. Carroll, University of Cincinnati College of LawThis article makes valuable new contributions to the burgeoning scholarly discourse on Apprendi v...

Reclaiming futures, one blog at a time

Posted on April 17, 2009
By request ( and by professional and personal interest ):Reclaiming Futures Launches Blog Dedicated to Substance Abuse and Teens in the Juvenile Justice SystemReclaiming Futures Every Day is a professionally-staffed blog that aims to keep people informed of the latest happenings in juvenile justice and substance abuse treatment...

DA: "someone must stand with the accused against the might of the state"

Posted on April 16, 2009
NPR turns its attention to us:Report Calls Out Flaws In Public Defender SystemAnd the block quote they run with on the web page is from a prosecutor??We're not there just to convict. Our job is to find justice. And I need a person standing with the defendant to help me do that...

MN: p.d. attacked by client doing better

Posted on April 14, 2009
From the Minneapolis - St. Paul Star-Tribune:Public defender attacked by client is out of hospital The client "was about ready to sit in his chair in the courtroom when he suddenly lunged at his own attorney," a Hennepin County sheriff's office spokeswoman said Monday...

WA: cut indigent defense now, pay later

Posted on April 14, 2009
Local paper recommends county shut the barn door; horses already given pink slips. From the Olympian:Cuts to public defenders could prove costlyThurston County commissioners need to be cautious when cutting attorneys from the county Office of Assigned Counsel ? the lawyers who represent indigent clients...

UT: feds try therapeutic court

Posted on April 13, 2009
From the Salt Lake Tribune:Federal court program helps mentally ill convictsRakeem Ali Shabazz bounced in and out of prison as he struggled to meet his parole conditions while dealing with schizophrenia. Now 48 and free again, the former gang member is determined to walk the straight and narrow...

ID: bad week for Idaho juvies

Posted on April 13, 2009
Idaho can be hell on kids and teenagers, particularly on those caught up in the system. Two crim law blogs report: - Idaho Criminal Defense Law: A Tale of Two Teens And Life In Prison - Murder of ParentJudge Michael McLaughlin sentenced Derek Lewis to life in prison with twenty years "fixed...

Happy Easter

Posted on April 12, 2009

ID: "while a person's clean and sober we should be helping them with options"

Posted on April 12, 2009
From the Times-News:Program progression - Twin Falls County Jail tries treatment to ease crowdingA rare look at the Twin Falls County Jail and a new drug program that will be available for those serving time for drug crimes...

Chicago after dark

Posted on April 09, 2009
From timesonline.co.uk:Bob Dylan on Barack Obama, Ulysses Grant and American Civil War ghosts - Listen to an exclusive track from Bob Dylan's new album, and read his views on US politics and history, exclusively on Times OnlineBill Flanagan: In that song Chicago After Dark were you thinking about the new President?Bob Dylan: Not really...

Context is everything

Posted on April 09, 2009
There are a number of ways to read this UPI headline:Public defender chosen for porno teacherOf course I picked the wrong one. My apologies to the former colleague I thought had been chosen to teach this.

Greetings from Chicago

Posted on April 05, 2009
Law butcher for the world, city of Andrea Lyon's shoulders, my family and I are enjoying your company.

Facebook face

Posted on April 03, 2009
This post from the blog "My day is better than yours" put me in mind of that great p.d. investigator and social network authority, Sancho Villa:... and do you have a Facebook?When our office takes a new case, we send our investigator out to the client to...

CA: pretty fly for a p.d.

Posted on April 03, 2009
The public defender summer internships are starting to shape up. Here's Kendra with the Santa Clara County report:My moot-court partner in crime, Lauren, is also working... with another awesome PD who is - wait for it - a BELLY DANCER!!! attorney by day, sassy dancer at night...

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