Criminal Law

Wherefore art thou o first amendment?

Posted on May 26, 2013
A judge denies bail over facebook comments? This is really troubling...

My directorial debut on the NYT

Posted on May 22, 2013
Very proud of this piece. It is the beginning of my work on the subject. Hopefully this will let Lisa and I find the funding we need to build this into the full length doc we're hoping to do.Check out the placement and let me know your thoughts...

My new Op-Ed in the NYT: Waiting and Waiting for Justice

Posted on May 02, 2013
The times just posted my new Op-Ed. It's about...justice. Or more accurately injustice, and how we can make the endemic delay in the criminal justice system more tolerable....

My Father in the New Yorker...

Posted on April 24, 2013
The Financial Page this week starts:"When we all finished filing our tax returns last week, there was a little something missing: two trillion dollars. That?s how much money Americans may have made in the past year that didn?t get reported to the I.R...

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Oregon Juror Jailed for Texting During Trial

Posted on April 18, 2013
Oops...

Bronx Defenders Opens Reception Center in Melrose

Posted on February 28, 2013
Terrific piece in the times on our expansion! Go BxD!

Lippman Lauds Bronx Group's Nonprofit Approach to Bail--Judge Fabrizio Smacked Down...

Posted on February 11, 2013
After four long years, the Chief Judge of NY State smacked down Judge Ralph Fabrizio and his decision on the Bronx Freedom Fund.This should stand forever as his moment of shame and should (hopefully) forever preclude his advancement.  It is sad that it took us so long to overturn his vindictive decision...

Ex-DA Denies Misconduct in Wrongful Conviction

Posted on February 08, 2013
So it's nice to see that every once and again a DA is asked to face the terrible consequences of withholding Brady material--in this case 25 years in prison for an innocent guy.  But something really struck me about what happened down in texas.....

Judge Lippman's State of the Judiciary Address...

Posted on February 05, 2013
Really proud of this.Today, the chief judge of the highest court in the state talked about the work we've been doing over the past few years......This, from his state of the court's address."At the same time, we should also be testing whether we can take the profit motive out of bond making...

New York's Chief Judge Agrees: Bail is Busted

Posted on February 05, 2013
Nice nod from the Village Voice

Occupy Offshoot Aims to Erase People?s Debts

Posted on November 14, 2012
I love this idea!!

Election Prediction...

Posted on November 05, 2012
Election will be called for Obama at 10:17 PM EST.Eventual Electoral Vote Total: Obama 332, Romney 206Post your guesses in the comments below:  Prizes for closest to time announced + closest to electoral vote totals.

The truth about kleptocrats...

Posted on November 02, 2012
So here's that non-partisan economic analysis of the Bush tax cuts--the one that Republicans had withdrawn from the Library of Congress because they didn't like its conclusions...(No really.  Check out this article on it...)Here is what the report was addressing: "Advocates of lower tax rates argue that reduced rates would increase economic growth, increase saving and investment, and boost productivity (increase the economic pie)...

Here Comes The Flood...

Posted on October 29, 2012
Here Comes The Flood...

Director of anti-Obama film, resigns... Di-Screws up...

Posted on October 20, 2012
"?I had no idea that it is considered wrong in Christian circles to be engaged prior to being divorced,?OOPS!!!The deep irony of the L'affaire D'Souza is that as it turns out, when it comes to his personal morality, he is a liberal.To most progressives, his claim (If true) that he'd been separated for two years, prior to engaging in this new relationship would seem perfectly plausible...

BIDEN 2012!!!

Posted on October 11, 2012
FUCK YEAH!!

A must watch: Three Strikes of Injustice

Posted on October 09, 2012
Three Strikes of Injustice

A little radio interview on The Takeaway

Posted on September 25, 2012
Trial by Plea Bargain - The Takeaway

New Gridiron Hero--Chris Kluwe

Posted on September 09, 2012
Okay, one of the more hilarious and incisive letters on the subject of gay marriage. This from Chris Kluwe--punter for the Vikings:And yes, it just begs to be re-published in it's entirety...Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo has spoken out in favor of a Maryland ballot initiative that would legalize gay marriage...

OUR BAIL BILL PASSES!!

Posted on July 23, 2012
Finally, after almost three years of work, the New York State Legislature has passed our bill allowing charitable bail funds.  This is a big step toward alleviating one of the more tragic consequences of poverty in the criminal justice system--being forced to plead guilty because you can't afford bail...

The more things change the more they stay the same...

Posted on May 25, 2012
I was just realizing it's been almost exactly 10 years since I wrote this piece for the NYT, and here we are again, 10 years later, with California on the cusp of a big push to substitute passive death for active death. Meanwhile, three strikes, endemic overcrowding,Draconian sentencing policies and racist enforcement practices remain rampant...

Bail is Busted: How Jail Really Works

Posted on April 26, 2012
A piece about bail that is very much worth a read.

Did the cops plant the drugs?

Posted on January 23, 2012
Interesting video in which the cops seem to plant drugs on a guy...

C.O.P.S The Real version...

Posted on January 17, 2012

Avoid Chase Credit Cards!

Posted on January 02, 2012
Astonishing as it may seem according to a TECHNICAL SUPPORT SUPERVISOR there is NO WAY to download a year's worth of credit card activity on a Chase-issued card. They only make 90 days worth of statements available.HOW FREAKING STUPID IS THAT?Makes them useless at tax time and useless for any accounting purposes.

Nasty, Georgia Judge Accused of Misconduct Will FINALLY Resign...

Posted on December 21, 2011
The Honorable Amanda Mc. Nasty WilliamsJudge Amanda F. Williams was so nasty she once jailed a defendant for using the words baby momma, oh yeah she also detained offenders ?indefinitely? without access to lawyers, Well now she's OUTTA HERE...According to the commission?s 14-count list of charges against her, she sentenced drug-court defendants to ?indefinite? detention ?until further order of the court...

Prosecutor fighting charge of rape - SFGate

Posted on December 01, 2011
How much do you love a prosecutor who allegedly rapes a woman while waiting for a jury in a molestation case? Seriously!This from California:As Michael Gressett waited for a jury verdict in a molestation trial, the Contra Costa County sex crimes prosecutor had what he called a "nooner," bringing a fellow prosecutor to his Martinez home for intercourse...

Firm stuff...

Posted on October 04, 2011
This from MIPCOM 2011: The head of the Moralto crime family is dead, 10 years have passed since the denoument of The Firm, and Mitchell McDeere and his family have spent it in the wilderness of the witness protection program. Now they want to rejoin the real world.

Kids v. Corporations..

Posted on August 22, 2011
This fine op-ed is worth a read. Here's the basic idea: Throughout history, societies have struggled with how to deal with children and childhood. In the United States and elsewhere, a broad-based ?child saving? movement emerged in the late 19th century to combat widespread child abuse in mines, mills and factories...

Tax Me! Says Warren Buffett

Posted on August 15, 2011
What a phenomenal piece "Last year my federal tax bill ? the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf ? was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income ? and that?s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office...

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