Criminal Law
Indefensible 
The intermittent musings of a pedantic public defender
Post Frequency: 26/day Last Entry: November 20, 2009 at 03:28:00 Recent Entries: 156
By David Feige
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Alexander Cockburn quotes me...
Posted on November 20, 2009how cool is this?!"They will offer these and scores of other persuasive arguments, and it is impossible to imagine they will prevail. As David Feige, a public defender in the Bronx, presaged in a smart piece on the Slate site, these efforts by the defense team will fail and produce bad law...
Another little Slate piece...
Posted on November 19, 2009The real price of trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. - By David Feige - Slate Magazine
Fernando Bermudez Declared Innocent of Murder
Posted on November 16, 2009It's about time.Congratulations to former colleague Michael Risinger and his wife who represented Fernando and were instrumental in his exoneration.
Someone knows how to spell schadenfreude
Posted on November 13, 2009OOPS!: A man blamed a low-flying pelican and a dropped cell phone for his veering his million-dollar sports car off a road and into a salt marsh near Galveston. The accident happened about 3 p.m. Wednesday on the frontage road of Interstate 45 northbound in La Marque, about 35 miles southeast of Houston...
Republicans and Democrats like us...
Posted on October 06, 2009Ok, dear readers, I'd love your analysis of this one:Want to grab a Republican and not in the usual TV places? Try "Wipeout" on ABC. A Democrat? How about TNT's "Saving Grace"?In July, TiVo used Power||WatchTM ratings service -- one that surveys its DVR users -- to examine party affiliations concerning TV programming...
Weird NYT goof...
Posted on September 27, 2009This looks to me like an e-mail from the writer to the assignment editor.
Just once and for all, can we get this straight?
Posted on September 22, 2009Ok, I'm sick and tired of hearing about how you can't release pedophiles and rapists because they all re-offend.Let's once and for all understand what our ownBureau of Justice Statistics says:THESE ARE THE MOST RECENT LONG-TERM STUDY NUMBERS:Of the 272,111 persons released from prisons in 15 States in 1994, an estimated 67...
A must read...
Posted on September 05, 2009Just read this piece. It's called The Rubber Room and it's about education in NYC
Unhappy Ashcroft...
Posted on September 04, 2009A federal appeals court has ruled that former Attorney General John Ashcroft may be held liable for people who were wrongfully detained as material witnesses after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.In a harshly worded ruling handed down Friday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U...
Love the LA Times....
Posted on August 28, 2009Compare this from today with this from just a year ago...
Teddy Kennedy: May he rest in peace
Posted on August 26, 2009A real loss.: "He was a Rabelaisian figure in the Senate and in life, instantly recognizable by his shock of white hair, his florid, oversize face, his booming Boston brogue, his powerful but pained stride. He was a celebrity, sometimes a self-parody, a hearty friend, an implacable foe, a man of large faith and large flaws, a melancholy character who persevered, drank deeply and sang loudly...
It's only taken eight years...
Posted on August 24, 2009But finally there's a little more progress on double blind sequential line-ups. Turns out, Dallas has adopted what they term a pioneering new photo lineup approach, and only 8 years after I filed the first motion on this in People v. Franco.Better late than never...
6 months in jail for yawning -
Posted on August 12, 2009THanks to O for this one:JOLIET, Ill. ? Drowsy spectators in one suburban Chicago courtroom might want to stifle their yawns from now on. Clifton Williams, 33, of Richton Park, is facing six months in jail for making what court documents call a yawn-like sound in Will County Judge Daniel Rozak's court last month...
If poverty tends to criminalize people, it is also true that criminalization inexorably impoverishes them.
Posted on August 10, 2009If you read one thing today, let it be this perfect Times Op-Ed called Is It Now a Crime to Be Poor? In it, the incomparable BARBARA EHRENREICH observes:""The viciousness of the official animus toward the indigent can be breathtaking. A few years ago, a group called Food Not Bombs started handing out free vegan food to hungry people in public parks around the nation...
40,000 to be released in CA
Posted on August 06, 2009What a perfect synopsis: The massive 750% increase in the California prison population since the mid-1970s is the result of political decisions made over three decades, including the shift to inflexible determinate sentencing and the passage of harsh mandatory minimum and three-strikes laws, as well as the state?s counterproductive parole system...
The Bridge:
Posted on July 10, 2009Finally...Roadside Camp for Miami Sex Offenders Leads to Lawsuit
Pick A Number: What does Madoff get?
Posted on June 27, 2009Thanks to the promptings of my friend Randy, I've been thinking about the Madoff sentencing...Here's the problem as I see it. The magnitude of his crimes are virtually unprecedented, and his lifespan is quite short, so in truth I think that almost all of these discussions are academic...
Bail for NJ Blogger Accused of Threatening Judges - NYTimes.com
Posted on June 25, 2009No Bail for NJ Blogger Accused of Threatening Judges
We Find the Defendant Not Guilty (if That's O.K. With Everyone) - New York Times
Posted on June 22, 2009It's kind of funny to look back at this piece as we, in the RTB writer's room begin to ponder our season finale (RTB 215). I suppose it's a nice metric by which to judge one's own show. I wrote this for the New York Times back in January of 2006.....
Jerry Kellerman (jerrykellerman) on Twitter
Posted on June 15, 2009Just for fun, you can follow .Jerry Kellerman (jerrykellerman) on Twitter
RTB Season Two Premieres Tonight!
Posted on June 08, 2009Tune in for Season Two of Raising the Bar10 PM on TNT!And leave comments below to let me know what you think.I look forward to any and all of them...
Jail Term Sought in Medical Marijuana Case - NYTimes.com
Posted on April 23, 2009Government lawyers are expected to ask a federal judge to impose a five-year sentence on the owner of a marijuana dispensary.H. Marshall Jarrett, the director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, on Friday sent a letter to United States Attorney Thomas P...
What Music Should Be...
Posted on April 13, 2009No reason to post this, except that the Counting Crows Rock just totally rock the house...
Moses is Departing Egypt: A Facebook Haggadah
Posted on April 02, 2009Hat tip to my friend Mitch who sent me this brilliant bit
More Repulsive Tripe from Caitlin Flanagan
Posted on March 21, 2009In this Op-Ed Caitlin Flanagan (voted one of MSN's 13 Women who make us cringe) is once again cringe-worthy with this absurd argument about Sarah Jane Olsen. As usual she gets it back-asswards cloaking her argument for forcing SJO to serve her parole in California in the rhetoric of racial equality...
Most Immigrants In Detention Do Not Have Criminal Records
Posted on March 15, 2009"The data show that 18,690 immigrants had no criminal conviction, not even for illegal entry or low-level crimes like trespassing. More than 400 of those with no criminal record had been incarcerated for at least a year. A dozen had been held for three years or more; one man from China had been locked up for more than five years...
RTB en Italia...
Posted on March 15, 2009I came across a listing for "Avvocati a New York" And what it is? Yep, RTB.Here's the awesome auto translation of the description..."The series tells the stories of private and professional group of young lawyers of the Big Apple, the court rivals, but friends in private life...
Top Judge in Texas Closes Early to Insure Execution...
Posted on March 07, 2009Evil judge KellerAnd what kind of Judge is she? In 1998, she wrote the opinion rejecting a new trial for Roy Criner, a mentally retarded man convicted of rape and murder, even though DNA tests after his trial showed that it was not his semen in the victim...
ColorLine's 2009's Innovators
Posted on January 14, 2009Guess who made the list? You guessed it. The Bronx Defenders!
Thank you Canada...
Posted on January 04, 2009So it seems we're getting a very warm reception in the dead of winter north of the border.This, today's nice nod from the Globe and Mail...CTV Raising the Bar (Jan. 9) Shades of Perry Mason: There are still signs of life in the TV legal drama. First broadcast on the U...
The wisdom of pardons -
Posted on December 24, 2008This first person account highlights both the importance of pardons and the continuing tragedy of Bush's failure to use them.
Defiance Rocks...
Posted on December 23, 2008img src="http://images.apple.com/moviesxml/s/paramount_vantage/posters/defiance_l200802011259.jpg"br /br /I just watched the screener of a href="http://www.defiancemovie.com/"DEFIANCE,/a and it's terrific. Nothing I love more than some bad-assed fighting jews, struggling with moral questions in a forrest during the second world war...
I guess we're headed to Canada
Posted on December 20, 2008a href="http://channelcanada.com/Article2584.html" RAISING THE BAR Premieres Fri., Jan. 9 on CTV/abr /br /Kinda cool eh?
The most hilarious christmas song ever...
Posted on November 28, 2008.cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url('http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-over.png') !important;}.cc_links a{color:#b9b9b9;text-decoration:none;}.cc_show a{color:#707070;text-decoration:none;}.cc_title a{color:#868686;text-decoration:none;}...
Nightmare at Day Care
Posted on November 28, 2008Over the years, I've read several accounts of the Wee Care case, but but this one, by Lona Manning does a fine job of exposing the reality of these awful cases.
Scooter Libby Pardon Countdown Clock...
Posted on November 17, 2008With his approval rating hovering at historic lows, Bush 43 has little to lose by doling out political favors to his allies as he walks out the door. And if there is anything we've seen time and time again from this administration, it's the naked political rewarding of friends and punishment of enemies...
Citing Workload, More Public Defenders Are Refusing New Cases
Posted on November 08, 2008As the economy continues to go south, and budgets continue to get slashed, we're in for a long hard fight to try to maintain even the barest of minimum standards. What's strange, of course, is that politicians don't see how arrest and enforcement patterns are the problem...
That's all folks...
Posted on November 03, 2008Tonight marks the end of Season 1 of Raising the Bar.Hope some of you enjoyed it. We've got 15 more on the way...
Been a while...
Posted on October 30, 2008Sorry for the delay in posting. It's been a busy few weeks--a week in California breaking stories and starting to figure out the longer character arcs for season two. There has also been lots of work at the law school getting next semester's courses staffed and scheduled...
The Man Behind the Whispers About Obama
Posted on October 12, 2008Turns out the guy's a raving anti-semite...
Kenya Detains U.S. Author Critical of Obama - NYTimes.com
Posted on October 07, 2008Paperwork can take a while. So I wonder whether they'll deport him on, say, November 6th or so.
Remembering Paul Newman, By Dahlia Lithwick
Posted on September 27, 2008Here's why Dahlia Lithwick is one of favorite writers. She wrote this and this the same day.
Thanks...
Posted on September 18, 2008Obviously, the feelings that current and former PD's have about the show are important to me. As I've said here, and in comments on other blogs, I has always been my goal to finally portray a public defender who (long hair or otherwise) actually cares about the clients he represents, and show clients as what they really are: human beings with complex lives, who have sometimes done terrible things...
Season Two!
Posted on September 16, 2008Yes, it's true, we've already been picked up for a second season!As the LA Times reports it: "After just three episodes have aired, TNT has ordered a second season of "Raising the Bar" Steven Bochco's legal drama, starring the controversial long locks of Mark-Paul Gosselaar, premiered this month to 7...
Very Funny...
Posted on September 12, 2008Old, Grizzled Third-Party Candidate May Steal Support From McCain
Hilarious Hat Eating from the New York Post...
Posted on September 10, 2008You just gotta love the New York Post when it tries to explain why Raising the Bar worked even though they dissed it. The piece begins with an admission: "TNT's new legal drama,"Raising the Bar," did something very unusual last week - it succeeded." Of course what follows is a pan in the form of an apology...
Week Two Performance...
Posted on September 09, 2008Episode 2 aired last night. Here's the early news..."RAISING THE BAR continued to perform extremely well in its second week, delivering an audience of 5 million viewers, 4 million households, 1.6 million adults 18-49 and 2.2 million adults 25-54.After two weeks, RAISING THE BAR?s average of 6...
A conflict comes to light?
Posted on September 05, 2008With the questions about conflicts of interest in our fictional world of Raising the Bar, it's rather instructive to read about a guy about to be executed after being convicted in a trial in which the prosecutor was, what'dya know? sleeping with the judge...
RTB video from the press line...
Posted on September 04, 2008TNT's Raising the BarUploaded by tvguide
Indefensible Tip...
Posted on September 03, 2008Just FYI, it appears that Amazon is now sold out of the book--but you can still find it cheap at Barnes and Noble.com
'Raising the Bar' and Clearing It in the Ratings
Posted on September 03, 2008WaPo sings a different tune today...Steven Bochco set a new record Monday when his premiering TNT lawyer drama, "Raising the Bar," clocked 7.7 million viewers. It was the biggest audience ever for a new-series launch on an ad-supported cable network.Bochco's show, co-starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and his hair, beat the record set in 2004 by USA's launch of "The 4400...
How'd we do?
Posted on September 02, 2008Stephen Bochco court drama scores highest viewer, household totals of any new basic-cable show ever; best 18-49 numbers of year for any new basic-cable series.We done good.Thanks to all.
The PD's weigh in...
Posted on September 02, 2008Some love it,some hate it. More accurately, lots of PD's hate it, and most for similar reasons. I understand. And here's what I have to say (this is from my response to Seth (link above):Seth,It being 1 am, I'm too tired to attempt all ten questions...
TNT Uses Tolls In TV Marketing Ploy - 08/29/2008
Posted on September 01, 2008TNT Uses Tolls In TV Marketing Ploy
At least he gets it...
Posted on September 01, 2008Not a rave, but at least a guy who got the point. And just BTW, I actually spent today in arraignments up in the Bronx.
Steven Explains how it all happened...
Posted on August 31, 2008...Bochco also noted his relationship with David Feige, his co-creator on the series. ?David had just published a book called ?Indefensible? and wanted to get it to me, as there had been some interest in the television community. I read it, and I thought it was wonderful, the book really chronicles up to 15 years of his life as a public defender in the Bronx...
Today's LA Times...
Posted on August 31, 2008Can Raising the Bar raise Steven Bochco to Emmy glory again? - Los Angeles Times
My Library...
Posted on August 31, 2008Who Knew The New York Post Cares about what I Read?"IN MY LIBRARY: DAVID FEIGEWe all remember what Steven Bochco did for the image of New York cops (they look like Dennis Franz); now he's turned his attention to New York lawyers and public defenders (they look like a long-haired Mark-Paul Gosselaar)...
Bikers and barristers | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/31/2008
Posted on August 31, 2008"Everyone on this show is ambitious and overworked. They're all trying to make the best of a legal system that is irretrievably broken, a bureaucracy that continually misses the forest for the thorny underbrush.On Raising the Bar, urban criminal law is a blind and brutal assembly line covered with tears and blood...
They're coming fast and furious...
Posted on August 29, 2008Steven Bochco is still intent on raising the bar - The Los Angeles Times
Warriors for Justice - WSJ?
Posted on August 29, 2008Interesting that the Wall Street Journal sees it this way...
The good, the bad and the ugly...
Posted on August 22, 2008Well this guy thinks that Raising the Bar may be the worst show I have seen in the 2+ years I have been writing this column. John Leonard ain't much happier: "Raising the Bar is professional television, but no more than that." But out there somewhere is a mom who "will be tuning in this Fall along with my husband who enjoyed watching it...
More Cool Press...
Posted on August 20, 2008What do you do when the entire culture thinks you're a bunch of crappy lawyers in bad suits who can't get better jobs?Change the culture. Tell the people. This one makes me proud...Mark-Paul Gosselaar got a real-life dose of the public defender's world before assuming the role on TV, in Steven Bochco's TNT "Raising the Bar" series that debuts Sept...
MPG, JB & Me...
Posted on August 20, 2008The Wisconsin State Journal (more on that soon) dug up this picture of me on the set...
Let the Reviews Begin...
Posted on August 20, 2008Ok, sorry to be such a crappy blogger of late. I've been packing up my west coast apartment, and moving back to NYC (with an absolutely amazing trip to Paris and Namibia in between). But I'm back, getting settled in the old apartment, picking up at the law school, and watching as the RTB tide begins to rise...
Crimes and Misdemeanors...
Posted on July 27, 2008This interactive Venn diagram from slate allows you to see the case for the prosecution of Bush Administration officials. Mouse over a person's name for information on how each person is involved. Mouse over the title of each circle for specifics about the particular scandal...
Steven Says...
Posted on July 18, 2008So now that I've got a little more time (the show wraps tomorrow), I'll be a little better about blogging and linking to show related stuff like the little interview below.TCA Video: Bochco on ?Raising the Bar? - TVWeek - News
Off with her leg!
Posted on July 18, 2008In 2006 an inmate?s leg was amputated after an infection beneath a cast went untreated. Read the charming details in the federal report on the Poor Conditions at Cook County Jail.
I look like who?
Posted on July 17, 2008The RTB media train is just getting into gear...And what better place to start than with this piece from St. Louis that says I look like Patrick Warburton, and this hilarious photo from the red (actually orange carpet. What I truly love about this photo is the caption...
Customs can look through your laptop just for fun
Posted on July 17, 2008I'm not kidding. According to this decision from the 9th circuit, they can look at anything they want without probable cause.
One Way to Solve the Deficit Crisis...
Posted on June 10, 2008Man accused of trying to cash check for 360 Billion dollars
Charitable Giving...
Posted on May 29, 2008As you know, I generally only put in plugs for The Bronx Defenders, my alma mater and the finest public defender office in the world, but today, a quick departure from that general rule to encourage readers to donate to Peter Wagner's Prison Policy Initiative, an impressive organization devoted to exposing the social costs of our prison policy...
Dancing on the graves of the poor
Posted on May 24, 2008Want to know what judges do when they're thinking about getting elected? They slam poor people convicted of crimes.A study in Pennsylvania by Gregory A. Huber and Sanford C. Gordon found that ?all judges, even the most punitive, increase their sentences as re-election nears,? resulting in some 2,700 years of additional prison time, or 6 percent of total prison time, in aggravated assault, rape and robbery sentences over a 10-year period...
We Rock Estonia
Posted on May 23, 2008This from the hollywood reporter: "Olle Mirme, director of programming and acquisitions at Kanal 2 in Estonia, liked the new Steven Bochco-produced legal drama "Raising the Bar" Very Nice.
Left in her cell for four days...
Posted on May 22, 2008An innocent woman who was left in a courthouse cell for four days won't be prosecuted. Wow. Seriously here's the announcement : A woman who was forgotten in a courthouse holding cell for four days without food or water will not be prosecuted on the charge that landed her there, a prosecutor in Fayetteville said...
A whirlwind...
Posted on May 14, 2008Jets, stars, green rooms and sweet suites.The last 24 hours have been astonishing. I sat on the floor of the Hammerstein Ballroom under a massive screen and watched TNT's "Upfront" presentation this morning. The upfront is where the network sells ad-space on their upcoming shows and so it's also where they previewed our show...
You wonder why they hate the police...
Posted on May 06, 2008This interesting piece in the New York Times claims that newly released data Shows an Increase in Street Stops. That alone is interesting, but here's the bit that gets me:The 145,098 stops from January through March ? up from 134,029 during the same quarter a year earlier ? led to 8,711 arrests...
Report: 400,000 weed arrests...
Posted on April 30, 2008Finally a report documenting what we've all known about for years: The absurd flood of weed cases, many of which are charged as misdemeanors rather than violations because the cops coaxed someone into giving up the joint rather than discovering it during a search...
Another review...
Posted on April 25, 2008Weird thing about books is they stick around (even after being remaindered). Another review of INDEFENSIBLE from march of this year. Who knew?
My Latest Op-Ed...
Posted on April 19, 2008"Pursuing the polluters" ran today in the Los Angeles Times
Prosecutor seeks 3 years in prison for Wesley Snipes
Posted on April 16, 2008I've said it before and I'll say it again: . Wesley Snipes is going in
Just too funny...
Posted on April 12, 2008I know this is old, but I just came across it (thanks to blonde justice) and I couldn't help but re-post it.
A Must Read.
Posted on April 10, 2008This piece is one of the finest bits of expository writing I've come across in a long time. It's an phenomenal times Op-Ed by Taylor Branch called The Last Wish of Martin Luther King. Just one little tidbit to get a taste of his delicious writing... "we have encased Dr...
Sentence First Verdict Afterwards: Plea Coercion In Brooklyn
Posted on April 06, 2008Michael Brick?s ambitious piece in today?s New York Times about the wide ranging narcotics prosecutions in the housing projects of Brooklyn omitted some important details which suggest that the ?historic conspiracy? referred to by the Brooklyn District Attorney?s office was not the series of drug transactions being prosecuted under the false flag of an overused conspiracy law, but rather one between Mr...
I'm a Philandering Blogger...
Posted on April 02, 2008So in addition to posting my own thoughts about things here (where my personal reflections on writing, being in hollywood, and doing the show get a bit of air), and Huffington Post (Where I occasionally post random legal and other musings), I've been asked to participate in a very smarty-pants legal blog at Slate...
TNT spins out dynamite TV...
Posted on April 02, 2008This from today's Los Angeles Times. It was the front page of the calendar section...
Hot off the presses?
Posted on March 25, 2008Do me a favor: Compare Adam Liptak's article in the NYT Today in which he reports on Samuel R. Gross's upcoming rejoinder to Justice Scalia's opinion in Kanas v. Marsh, Gross.with this piece from the Boston Globe published in 2006 (by me). I think Professor Gross does some fine work, but the fact that his rejoinder is coming out now--literally years after Marquis's crap was published, and years after it was cited approvingly by Scalia--just confirms all my unfortunate feelings about the sclerotic nature of much of legal scholarship and almost all legal academic publishing.
RIP Popeyes
Posted on March 25, 2008Loved that Chicken...The creator of one of my favorite restaurants died today--of cancer of the salivary gland. That seems fitting for the man who created Popeyes.
The Wire and Jury Nullification...
Posted on March 18, 2008While the last episode of "The Wire" may not have wrapped up as many of the plotlines as some closure-loving commentators may have liked, the final act of the writers-captured not on screen but on the pages of Time Magazine-may represent the high water mark of a politically engaged Hollywood...
I spun the wheel
Posted on March 08, 2008I was going to blog a bit about the astonishing stupidity of the ADA who picked the jury in the islander case, but instead I'll simply say: Tonight I spun the wheel on the Price is Right!Yes, that wheel.
"I can learn!" whines Wacko Judge
Posted on March 06, 2008Remember wacky judge Cheryl Aleman? The one called an "Evil Unfair Witch" by Sean Conway? (Conway--a hero to readers like us-- also described her ?ugly, condescending attitude? and exposed how she forced lawyers to choose between unreasonable trial dates or waiving the right to a speedy trial...
Raising the Curtain on "Raising the Bar"
Posted on March 04, 2008So according to this interesting article, TNT Plans Dramatic Increase in Original Programming, Setting the Stage for a Major Primetime Shift And guess who is right in the middle of that schedule... The article provides a cool overview of their thinking and overall plans...
All about parity...
Posted on February 26, 2008Parity...So this is why the only proper way to insure funding for PD's offices is to pass a law (concomitant with the creation of any state-wide system) which requires PD funding to be directly correlated to the budget of prosecutor's offices. That way when the prosecution gets more money the defense gets more money...
Here we go...
Posted on February 26, 2008Until a friend of mine forwarded this to me (thanks ANB) I had no idea it all looked so real. Better get back to work...
The Road to Perdition...
Posted on February 18, 2008Seat 4D. That?s in the first class compartment. The one where you sip cocktails before take off. Where the nuts say ?Gourmet Nuts? on them, where a fabulously gay steward notices that you?re reading a script and is just dying to hear about your new project...
Gosh, what a shock!
Posted on February 16, 2008A prosecutor who deleted a bunch of e-mails in violation of a subpoena, and whose other e-mail messages included endearments to his executive secretary, sexual and racist jokes and pornographic videos. It it really a shock that this jack-ass was not just a prosecutor, but a tough-talking militant guy who has incarcerated folks for a living since 1977? Just another disgrace to a generally disgraceful profession...
An excellent Expose of Bush's Hardheartedness
Posted on February 04, 2008It's a piece called Begging Bush?s Pardon which documents just how awful the administration has been on the compassionate part of conservatism--presidential pardons. A Pardon Notice from the Roosevelt Administration
How Likely Are Sex Offenders to Repeat Their Crimes?
Posted on February 01, 2008Like many hysterical folks over the last few years, Fox News (like the Wall Street Journal) has said of child molesters, ?Not only are they almost certain to continue sexually abusing children, but some eventually kill their young victims.?As it turns out, the numbers don?t bear this out...
Kick at your peril...
Posted on January 24, 2008On the day he took office, Jan. 14, State Representative Douglas Bruce, a Republican delivered a swift kick to the knee of a photographer for The Rocky Mountain News who was snapping his picture during a ceremonial prayer. Bad Idea.
Prosecutorial Misconduct
Posted on January 19, 2008And yes, this is the sort of thing they do all the time.
An Interesting Op-Ed
Posted on January 13, 2008John Farmer, has written an interesting Op-Ed arguing for special terrorism courts. What is striking about his argument though is his candid recognition of how deeply terrorism cases have subverted the rule of law and undermined some bedrock principles of our justice system...
The Huffington Post
Posted on January 01, 2008David Feige: Nifong, Gitmo and the Topless Undercover: The Top 10 Criminal Justice Stories of 2007
Nifong, Gitmo and the Topless Undercover: The Top 10 Criminal Justice Stories of 2007
Posted on January 01, 2008If there is one truism about America it is this: we are obsessed with crime and punishment. Every lurid tragedy produces calls for tougher laws and harsher punishments and these days, when calamity strikes, someone goes to prison (except for #9 below)...
I'll show you mine if...
Posted on December 30, 2007This astonishing story is a perfect coda to a year of awful criminal justice stories. It turns out that our bizarre sex obsession in not limited to posting cops in airport stalls to play footsie.These days, Columbus, Ohio is posting topless sunbathers in public parks to flirt with guys...
127 Striking Writers With Pilots Pending Write Xmas Letter To Hollywood Bigshots
Posted on December 25, 2007127 Striking Writers With Pilots Pending Write Xmas Letter To Hollywood Bigshots
Is Judge Alemán an "Evil Unfair Witch" and is it wrong to say it?
Posted on December 21, 2007So one thing is very clear. A lot of people don't like Broward Circuit Judge Cheryl Alemán. Her temper and tempermemnt have been the subject of so many complaints that she is now essentially on trial as a result.Witch Judge?Now a strange side note to this whole thing is that one of the lawyers who complained about her, now may lose his license for a blog entry he wrote...
Bye Bye!
Posted on December 18, 2007Two inmates tweak warden by leaving a holiday note in the cell after escape.
Bronx Bomb--New Courthouse Unfit for Use
Posted on December 17, 2007As usual, it wasn't the community, nor the interests of Bronx residents that stopped today's move into the new Bronx hall of Justice. Instead it was some Bronx Supreme Court clerks and judges who halted the process.And so goes the half a billion dollar boondoggle designed to streamline the incarceration of ever more poor Bronx residents...
Comedy Writers are Funny...
Posted on December 12, 2007Among the funny WGA strike related things isthis Zagat-Style Guide To WGA Picketing Hit tip to the dazzling Nikki Finke.
Excellent News on Retroactivity
Posted on December 11, 2007The US Sentencing Commission finally make crack reductions retroactive!
Vick Gets 23 Months, Black 6.5 Years
Posted on December 11, 2007Michael Vickgot 23 months and a lecture today for dog fighting while Conrad Black got 6 1/2 years for his role in a multi-million dollar fraud. It was the same day the Supreme Court loosened the reins on federal judges, allowing them much broader discretion to sentence defendants to below guideline numbers...
'Loony' lawyer in a Bronx courtroom
Posted on December 08, 2007Yes indeed, according to the New York Daily News, Mark Brenner, the guy who sued me for saying he once kicked a client in open court "has been barred from taking any court-appointed work" Why? Because he kicked the client.What I find amazing about this is that according to Brenner's lawyer the disciplinary committee investigated and cleared him...
Finally a Window into what Really Happens...
Posted on December 07, 2007Recorded on a Suspect?s Hidden MP3 Player, a Bronx Detective Faces 12 Perjury Charges Wow, a lying cop? A Bronx detective who falsely testifies about an interrogation? Say it isn't so!This is the kind of story that should be required reading for manhattan jurors.
New Time for New Orleans?
Posted on December 05, 2007Not if the judges there can help it. The stuff that's going on down there is absolutely unbelievable. Judges, used to doling out attorney assignments as patronage are getting pissy with the public defenders who have gone down there to try to fix the atrocious system...
Here come the thought police...
Posted on December 04, 2007A Wisconsin Teacher was arrested fora Blog Comment in which he praised columbine and yes, the police came a knockin' and the DA didn't just dismiss the case as absurd. Oy! What is this country coming to?
Public Defender Finds System 'Indefensible'?
Posted on November 27, 2007Who knew there was a Kansas City Jewish Chronicle?
New York City Taxi Fare Finder
Posted on November 26, 2007Ok, This is wickedly cool. It tells you how much the taxi fare should be from any two points in NYC, making it much easier to figure out if you've been scammed. (Which it turns out, I haven't)
The University of Chicago Magazine?
Posted on November 25, 2007Of all the places to be profiled, your own alumni magazine is pretty great.
World Bridge Championships...
Posted on November 14, 2007This you won't believe! These Women might be banned from Bridge for their sign.Welcome to Conservative Correctness
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On 08-28 at 21:13PM
Ten months later, Fed must reveal names of emergency lending recipients #FOIA
On 08-25 at 19:02PM
Squeaky Fromme, would-be Ford assassin and Manson devotee, released from prison
On 08-14 at 15:19PM
Likely unintended consequence of cash-for-clunkers stimulus is dampening of 2010 spending
On 08-14 at 14:34PM
Palm seeks to halt Palm Pre Android theme on copyright and trademark ground
On 08-12 at 17:30PM
Congressional investigation demonstrates Karl Rove lied about his active role in US attorney's firing
On 08-12 at 16:20PM
Family of New York City swine flu victim to sue city for failure to secure school #nyc #swineflu
On 08-12 at 12:59PM
Real Network's DVD copying software deemed to break DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions
On 08-12 at 12:57PM
Prepaid funeral operators indicted for $100 Million fraud
On 08-12 at 12:53PM
NY Jets join Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay, Houston & Seattle #NFL teams offering branded state lottery games
On 08-12 at 12:43PM
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