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Criminal Law

Law Of Criminal Defense

News, information, ethics opinions and analysis relating to criminal defense, legal ethics and professional responsibility.
By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Post Frequency: 11.2/day

Last Entry: March 25, 2011 at 18:32:28

PA: Can't decide on scope of work-product

Posted on February 03, 2010
On Law.com: PA S.Ct. can't decide on scope of work-product privilege: As the U.S. Supreme Court collects briefs from parties interested in the work-product doctrine debate in Textron v. United States, Pennsylvania's high court couldn't come to an agreement on a similar issue involving attorney-client privilege...

"Masturbatory hand gesture" lawyer reports to jail

Posted on February 03, 2010
The second most viewed posting on this website in nearly seven years is 90 days for masturbatory hand gesture to judge affirmed. The Austin Statesman-American reports that he entered jail last night. Admit it: We've all thought that or worse about judges...

Law.com: Aquitted lawyer claims vendetta by DA

Posted on February 02, 2010
On Law.com from Fulton County Daily Report: Attorney Says Prosecutors Engaged in Vendetta to Ruin Him / Ga. lawyer acquitted of money-laundering and drug conspiracy charges says troubles started with his zealous defense of drug trafficker by R. Robin McDonald: It was in 2006 that Columbus, Ga...

?Good , fast, cheap; pick any two? applies to us

Posted on February 01, 2010
Business analysts say this rule applies in the service industries, and it applies to lawyers. I've been applying it for years, and telling the clients. You want it good and fast? It won’t be cheap. You want it fast and cheap? It won’t be good...

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E.D.Cal.: Gov't motion for partial waiver of A-C privilege in 2255 granted

Posted on February 01, 2010
Government seeks and gets a waiver of attorney-client privilege as to the allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel. United States v. Garcia, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7114 (E.D. Cal. January 8, 2010): When a petitioner in a habeas corpus action raises a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, he waives the attorney-client privilege as to the matters challenged...

Darrow on Freedom: "You can be free only if I am free"

Posted on January 31, 2010
You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free. —Clarence Darrow, Closing argument in "Communist Trial," People v. Arthur Person (1920), in Attorney for the Damned, Clarence Darrow in the Courtroom 122 (ed...

Anatomy of a Murder: "The Lecture"

Posted on January 29, 2010
Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Murder Ch 5, 37–38 (1958): [To the client]“… [T]here are only about three basic defenses: one, that it didn’t happen but was instead a suicide or accident or what not; two, that whether it happened or not you didn’t do it, such as alibi, mistaken identity and so forth; and three, that even if it happened and you did it, your action was legally justified or excusable...

Update: Attorney wears a wire on client in jail

Posted on January 28, 2010
From Jan. 5th is this post: Attorney wears a wire on client in jail. The media and some other blogs just discovered the story. See WSJ Blog, Legal Ethics Forum, Legal Profession Blog, and the ABAJ post in the following post.

ABAJ: Wired lawyer and clients; lawyers fixing cases plead guilty

Posted on January 27, 2010
ABAJournal.com: After News Lawyer Wore Wire to Jail, Inmates Ask, What About My Counsel? Also, Judge Can’t Figure Out Why Lawyers Thought DWI Scheme Was a Good Idea: "Two North Carolina lawyers are headed to prison after pleading guilty in a scheme to get drunken driving cases dismissed...

Jack Litman (1943-2010)

Posted on January 23, 2010
Jack Litman (1943-2010), a great criminal defense lawyer, former founding member and President of NYSACDL, and a friend of mine, died after a several year battle with cancer this morning at home in Greenwich Village in New York City. He tried the Preppy Murder case in NYC in the 1980s.

ABAJ article on lawyer depression

Posted on January 22, 2010
On ABAJournal.com: Depression Is Rising as Lawyers Lose Jobs and Sense of Entitlement, linking to NYT's No Longer Their Golden Ticket.

"Judge Allows Lawyer to Testify Against Former Client on Tampering"

Posted on January 22, 2010
On Law.com today: Judge Allows Lawyer to Testify Against Former Client on Tampering: A Queens, N.Y., judge has allowed a defense attorney to testify against his former client regarding the client's alleged intent to pressure his wife against testifying that he attempted to kill her with a meat cleaver...

Tacky language in motion to suppress gets rebuke from judge

Posted on January 22, 2010
Posted on FourthAmendment.com is a case where the Judge rebukes defense counsel for language about the police in a motion to suppress, and then proceeds to credit the officers' testimony to sustain a consent search. See another similar post here from November.

Idaho attorney lets police wire office when witnesses seek bribe

Posted on January 17, 2010
In today's paper from Idaho: T.F. lawyer's office wired in perjury, extortion probes. A criminal defense lawyer told the police potential witnesses were seeking bribe money to change testimony: Twin Falls police wired a criminal defense lawyer’s office at least twice last year in perjury and extortion probes connected to two of his clients, court records reveal...

NY lawyer disbarred for running prostitution service

Posted on January 15, 2010
Those of us in the second oldest profession cannot also make a living off those in the first oldest profession, says NY, disbarring a lawyer.

MN lawyer embezzled from firm convicted and disbarred; NJ lawyer pocketed firm check

Posted on January 14, 2010
A Twin Cities lawyer pled guilty to embezzlement from his law firm and was summarily disbarred. See Twin Cities lawyer disbarred after pleading guilty to theft: The lawyer had been charged with with 10 counts of felony theft by swindle allegedly for stealing $124,258 from the firm to spend on iTunes, jewelry, flowers and personal trainers...

Defending People: How do you defend guilty people?

Posted on January 11, 2010
Here is The Question: Why do you defend people who you know to be factually guilty? The Seven Answers on Defending People.

New article on unethical waivers in pleas

Posted on January 11, 2010
“Waiving the Integrity of the Criminal Justice System," Criminal Justice” magazine Winter 2010, by Vince Aprile.

"Justice for All: Challenges of the Mentally Ill in the Legal System"

Posted on January 10, 2010
New book by Dr. Sherrie Bourg Carter: Justice for All: Challenges of the Mentally Ill in the Legal System published by NITA. The abstract: Representing clients with mental illness is a challenging task that requires specialized skills and knowledge that few attorneys receive in law school...

AZ: Destroyed client trial note gets bar beef

Posted on January 09, 2010
An "interesting" bar discipline case in Arizona is reported on Legal Professional Blog where a criminal defense lawyer in a capital case was tired of the two superannoying defendants passing notes to each other and to the lawyers and tore one up. That led to a court security officer getting interested and then the lawyer getting a beef for destroying evidence...

"Public defender worker used job to have sex with boyfriend in Pinellas jail"

Posted on January 09, 2010
A Florida PD's investigator was arrested for having sex with a pseudo client in the jail. He was actually represented by retained counsel, and it was her boyfriend. Cops: Public defender worker used job to have sex with boyfriend in Pinellas jail. She was charged with "official misconduct...

Michael Jackson's Dr. lawyers up

Posted on January 09, 2010
In the Chicago Trib, Michael Jackson's doctor hires criminal defense lawyer because of a possible manslaughter charge.

NC: "Sexting" client gets beef

Posted on January 08, 2010
A criminal defense lawyer has accused by the NC bar of "sexting" a client, including oral comments. Hat tip to Legal Profession Blog.

Criminal defense lawyer pleads to money laundering

Posted on January 07, 2010
A criminal defense lawyer pled guilty in Columbus to money laundering. "He was charged with receiving $100,000 in cash as a payment from [convicted drug dealer] Leonard Barnhouse in 2007 and not reporting it to the federal government as required by law...

E.D.N.Y.: Proffer not IAC where defendant lied to gov't

Posted on January 06, 2010
A lawyer defendant did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel from his criminal defense lawyer letting him proffer to the government where the defendant lied. Reich v. United States, 07-cv-2406 (Dec. 31, 2009). Direct appeal: United States v. Reich, 479 F...

Blog on Situation Ethics

Posted on January 06, 2010
There is a blog on Situation Ethics with a post on the situation of legal ethics. There is a link to the law review article “Why Good Intentions are Often Not Enough: The Potential for Ethical Blindness in Legal Decision-Making” on SSRN.

Attorney wears a wire on client in jail

Posted on January 05, 2010
In Omaha, an attorney worked as a wired informant for the government against his own client recording conversations in jail. Suspected drug lord duped by Todd Cooper: More than 30 times this year, investigators say, Shannon Williams orchestrated a multimillion-dollar marijuana ring from inside the Douglas County Jail...

Judge to Philly appointed counsel: Work faster or not get appointed

Posted on December 29, 2009
In the Philadelphia Inquirer: Judge's message to lawyers: Work faster by Nancy Phillips and John Sullivan. Seventy percent of all serious felonies take longer than a year to dispose of, lower than the national average. Cases fall apart and the defendant goes free...

VT: Explanation of counsel not required for PCR Anders brief

Posted on December 29, 2009
In an Anders-post-conviction case, defense counsel was not required to explain what the deficiencies of the case are to get relieved, since there is no right to counsel in a post-conviction proceeding, which is a civil case. In re Bailey, 2009 VT 122 (No...

ABA Book on vouching

Posted on December 28, 2009
A good book on sale at ababooks.org: Vouching: A Defense Attorney's Guide to Witness Credibility, Law and Strategy (2008), a must have book for criminal defense lawyers.

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