Criminal Law

Art is my weapon, court - appointed lawyers are my targets

Posted on February 26, 2008
Remember, "HELL has no furry" like a public defender hater with a camera phone: NOBODY Goes To Court To Support AVONEBig screed. Lots of surreptitious in-court photos. Poor Avone.

"I'm so thin and frail / Don't care, want another rail"

Posted on February 26, 2008
Audio and book "exceprt" from Fresh Air and NPR:Memoirs of Meth Addiction from a Father and a SonDrug addiction doesn't just affect the addict, it changes the whole family. Journalist David Sheff and his son Nic join Fresh Air to talk about Nic's addiction to methamphetamine...

Dogs run free, but not at DOC

Posted on February 24, 2008
Took Annie to the off-leash dog park in Lakewood today, then took the long way home. We drove through Steilacoom in time to watch the prison ferry arrive from McNeill Island, our own Puget Sound Alcatraz. I've always thought of the boats as an interesting form of prisoner transport; this was the first time I've stuck around to see who disembarked...

I can has detention

Posted on February 22, 2008

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ID: ???????? / tragedy

Posted on February 21, 2008
A sad task ahead for my honorable former co-counsel Marilyn Paul, from the Twin Falls Times-News:Parents of child who died from burns charged with manslaughterA court interpreter and public defender shuffled between Inna Gorbenko, 28, and her Russian-speaking boyfriend, Stepan Kutran, 31, as both were charged Wednesday with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one misdemeanor count of injury to child...

Welcome, libertarians!

Posted on February 21, 2008
Being linked to by Cato at Liberty, the official blog of the Cato Institute, is a blast.Being noticed by Timothy Lynch, the director of Cato's Project on Criminal Justice, is an honor.

WA: for runaway kids, "detention should not be used as a substitute for services, treatment and care"

Posted on February 20, 2008
From the Yakima Herald - Republic:* Jailing runaways - judge says state services are lacking Maria Ochoa was a 15-year-old chronic runaway in foster care when Robert Inouye, Yakima County's juvenile court commissioner, took the unusual step of sentencing her to jail for a total of three months(, a)lthough running away is not a crime...

VA: rubber chickens, rats and bricks

Posted on February 19, 2008
In this profile of Central Virginia capital defender - to - be David Baugh, could somebody in the comments please explain to me what this is supposed to mean:?You can be a rat and a public defender and God?s going to give you a good seat up front near the floor show with Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King...

FL: when it comes to caseload, "'manageable' is, apparently, a relative term"

Posted on February 19, 2008
"Why Would Anyone Want to Be a Public Defender? Perhaps it's for the low pay, long hours and questionable clients..." From Orlando Weekly:The Defense Never RestsWelcome to the public defender?s office of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, serving Orange and Osceola County...

WA:

Posted on February 18, 2008
From the Seattle Times:State crime-lab chief to resignThe embattled director of the State Patrol crime labs has resigned, accepting responsibility for allegations of sloppy work and fraud that jeopardized more than 100 DUI breath-test results in the past year...

IN: Indy p.d., underage allegations

Posted on February 18, 2008
From The Dreamin' Demon:Ryan Snyder Is Allegedly BustedRyan Snyder, 29, is an up-and-comer with the Marion County Public Defender?s Office. He?s also allegedly an up-and-comer with underage girls. Since Ryan is a defense attorney, I?ll be using the word ?allegedly? a lot more than normal in this article...

No hugs please, we're public defenders

Posted on February 18, 2008
From Rural Michigan Public Defender:No hugs, please!I am pretty sure that most public defenders do not get hugged. I do. There are three public defenders in my county and the other two are men. They don't get hugged. The huggers are sneaky about it, too...

ID: keeping DP defendants on pins and needles

Posted on February 18, 2008
Prosecutors not seeking the death penalty in borderline cases rather than risking having to withdraw a request later? Even Republican legislators are questioning why that would be a bad thing. From the Idaho Statesman:Idaho prosecutors want to extend death penalty decision deadlineIdaho prosecutors want lawmakers to give them an extra 60 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty in capital cases, a move opposed by one of the state's top public defenders...

Happy Valentine's Day

Posted on February 15, 2008
(since it's been a while since one of my fur family has been featured in the blog)

"If the bullet comes, I take the hit"

Posted on February 15, 2008
More of the good stuff from Simple Justice, one of the undeniable advantages of going into private practice:Like Your ClientsDan Hull at What About Clients? is absolutely right. Lawyers should only represent clients they actually like. Now this isn't always an option, as public defenders and assigned counsel aren't given an option as to whom they represent...

Another Rodney Dangerfield

Posted on February 15, 2008
From Nelly's Crazy Talk:I could tell he had a bad day at work... I guess one of his clients said to him, "I bet you are super excited to pass the bar so you don't have to be a public defender!" Poor Dave... no respect!

ID: Mark Lankford, guilty again

Posted on February 14, 2008
The local sites don't seem to have posted this AP item yet; it's fairly significant, from the Houston Chronicle:Former Idaho Death Row Inmate Convicted in Retrial of Murdering Texas CoupleA jury has convicted former death row inmate Mark Lankford of killing a Texas couple in 1983 in north Idaho...

Lawyer and the chocolate factory

Posted on February 13, 2008
A sweet suggestion for Blonde Justice and others, from the Kansas City Star:Passing the bar: Former criminal defense lawyer turns artisan chocolate maker

Støt Danmark!

Posted on February 13, 2008
We're doing our part to support Denmark - for Joe's spring break, we're going to LegoLand! LegoLand California, but still...

CA: in dependency court, "the 'submit culture' ultimately poses a threat to the health and safety of children"

Posted on February 11, 2008
It's always a good day when the hard-working public defenders in dependency and child protection get some appreciation. This is not one of those days. From the San Jose Mercury News' Broken Families, Broken Courts series:- Broken Families, Broken Courts Day 1: How rushed justice fails our kids- Broken families, broken courts Day 2: A timid advocate for parents' rights- Overworked defenders: Sacramento attorneys struggle to keep up- Lawyer reconsiders how clients are defended- Deputy public defender stepped in for foster momHeck of a job, ASFA.

"Why would I lie?"

Posted on February 10, 2008
Think it's just you who's feeling under-trusted? Check out the latest post by Woman of the Law:on being a public defender: apparently we're all liars.It's strange how much judges and prosecutors really believe that we lie, lie, lie all the time...It's not just in trial or motion practice...

WA: more ripples from DUI tox lab snafu

Posted on February 10, 2008
From the Olympian:County to scrap DUI evidence - Toxicology laboratory?s drunken-driving breath tests considered questionableThe Thurston County Prosecutor's Office has decided not to use breath-test evidence that was called into question by problems at the state toxicology laboratory, affecting an unspecified number of local drunken-driving cases...

WA: no drunk - driving checkpoints

Posted on February 10, 2008
From the Seattle Times:DUI-roadblock bill dies in Olympia(T)he plan encountered strong, bipartisan resistance in the Legislature. Critics said the Washington constitution's privacy protections, which are stronger than those in federal law, prohibit police searches without a greater degree of suspicion...

WA: your friendly neighborhood caucus

Posted on February 09, 2008
Just came back from our local exercise in partial democracy. Our mayor went for Obama. Our city council person went for Clinton. Our precinct went Obama 70 (seven delegates), Clinton 36 (three delegates). Our household went Obama 1, Clinton 1.Bonus Link goes to Kaukasus Blog.

ID: brother's testimony problematic in Mark Lankford re-trial

Posted on February 09, 2008
From the AP wire, via the Times-News:Lankford's brother sticks to original testimony in ID killingsBryan Lankford testified that it was his brother, Mark, who beat a Texas couple to death in an Idaho campground, and that numerous other versions he told in the 25 years since then were to protect himself from prison violence...

KY: p.d. on attacker - "I don't feel any ill will toward him"

Posted on February 07, 2008
I know you saw the video of the in-court sucker punch on the public defender, but did you read this? From Kentucky.com:Assaulted attorney says he holds no grudge - no charges filed against defendant who slugged him(Doug) Crickmer returned to work Tuesday and went to the jail to make sure Hafer was being treated properly...

WA: only 10 cases after only one p.d.-judge "intimate encounter"

Posted on February 07, 2008
From the ABA Journal:Banned Lawyer Gets Reprieve re Alleged Affair With JudgeThe ban has been lifted against a Washington state lawyer ordered not to appear on behalf of indigent defendants at his local courthouse, after a judge reportedly blabbed about their alleged affair...

NV: public defender mugshots

Posted on February 07, 2008
From KVBC in Las Vegas:Two public defenders arrestedNews 3 has learned two public defenders were arrested over the weekend...Damn shame, but not bad-looking mugshots, considering. I hope they'll be able to keep their careers on track; the female p.d. was admitted in Nevada in 2004, the male p...

Miracle of forgiveness

Posted on February 07, 2008
Unflappable public defender Doug Cricker on TV:He'd be willing to represent his attacker again, however, "I definitely think there's a conflict of interest there now."More at Beliefnet.

ID: Lankford murder re-trial opens

Posted on February 06, 2008
From the P-I:New trial begins for Idaho man after two decades on death rowThe evidence against former death row inmate Mark Henry Lankford is overwhelming, and he will be convicted again, Idaho County Prosecutor Kirk MacGregor predicted in an opening statement Monday in Lankford's retrial...

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