Criminal Law

Why can't prosecutors convict cops?

Posted on September 28, 2014
It drives me crazy!  You see the police do something that's just nakedly illegal, it's caught on video, it's morally and legally reprehensible.  And yet there are no charges brought, or if charges are brought they're undercharged.  And even when it goes to trial the case is somehow lost...

Prop 36 - drugs and 3 strikes

Posted on September 07, 2014
I've written before on the fact that I consider propositions to be the scourge of California politics.  I still consider them to be so. In general, I think propositions are WAY overused in California, and they've actually replaced effective governing instead by just going directly to a bunch of uninformed or misinformed voters with a fancily drawn title and promises to make the world a better place with one yes vote...

PD Dude - Back posting again?

Posted on September 06, 2014
Why post?  Why write?  How to keep it up? How to stay relevant?  How to write about things that are interesting to people who look at a specific type of blog and don't necessarily want to see someone pontificating on the rest of society's issues, even though those issues are of great interest to you and you think you have something to write about?  How to keep writing about what seems like a more and more narrow subject even though it's so full of interesting things on a day to day basis?And most importantly, how to pick it up again after dropping it for so long without feeling like a fool, or artificial, or like you have nothing more important to say?I started writing this blog more than a decade ago...

And You Thought You Had a Difficult Case.

Posted on September 03, 2011
In New Orleans, they do things FAST. And some of the details tend to get blurred. Read this newspaper article from New Orleans: The gist of it is that Luhron Gorman was in New Orleans with a friend, and they were running from the police. At one point Mr...

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Connick v. Thompson (2011) and Arizona v. Youngblood (1988) - Linked in Outrage

Posted on September 01, 2011
I wanted to add an issue that I did not address in my last post about Connick v. Thompson (2011). To clarify, the facts of Connick v. Thompson are that D was convicted of an armed robbery. Later, D was prosecuted for murder, and D elected not to testify at his murder trial because of the prior robbery, and the fact that it could be used to impeach him...

Actually Innocent? We Don't Give a Damn.

Posted on August 25, 2011
This is a short post. I haven't posted in a year, so a lot of things happened that I didn't comment on. Here is a big one. In Connick v. Thompson (2011), the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that even though a defendant was the victim of a prosecutor withholding exculpatory evidence, and a jury awarded him $14 million for the many years he spent on death row, he instead should receive nothing...

Another Update on William Richards, FVI00826 - Actual Innocence is a Sham

Posted on August 24, 2011
I posted more than a year ago about an excellent granting of a habeas corpus petition by Judge Brian McCarville. The defendant is William Richards. His case number is FVI00826. The essence of the case is that he was accused of murdering his wife by bashing her head in...

I was fooled

Posted on August 22, 2011
I admit it. I supported Barack Obama. I was fooled. He is a corporatist, and he does not have the interests of most Americans at heart. Don't get me wrong - I am a Democrat, a liberal, a progressive, and I can't stand any of the Republicans running. But I am really and truly disappointed in Barack Obama...

Connect the Dots

Posted on July 17, 2010
I haven't posted in a long time, so let me make a short post to observe a few "connect the dots" observations - I want to connect two pieces of news and sort of juxtapose them, so that people can draw their own conclusions.First, there have been numerous articles about Chief Justice George retiring from the California Supreme Court...

The Marijuana Legalization Initiative on the November Ballot

Posted on May 26, 2010
It's on the ballot for November 2010. It is a great idea, and it is a well-written initiative. The drug war has failed, [Here is the May 11, 2010 AP article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iLZNYd6C9SGpa2oeiZIqT-HKVrCQD9FMCM103 - and here's what Grits for Breakfast, an excellent PD Blog had to say: http://gritsforbreakfast...

Further Reflections on the Marijuana Legalization Initiative in California

Posted on May 26, 2010
I posted in the wee hours (I couldn't sleep) about my beliefs about the coming marijuana legalization initiative on the November 2010 ballot. I haven't found the actual text of the initiative, or even the number just yet, but here is a link to a site called Ballotpedia, a website that seems to have a fair description of the initiative: http://ballotpedia...

Update on William Richards

Posted on May 25, 2010
I posted last year in "DNA Exoneration Close to Home." The defendant's name is William Richards. His case number is FVI00826. I have not been following the case closely. But after reading some of my posts, I realized that I wanted to know what had happened with this case...

Thinking about Kyles v. Whitley

Posted on May 20, 2010
I went to a California Public Defenders Association conference this weekend. It was the first one I had been to in a long, LONG time. It was in Palm Springs, and I had a really good time. It was their 41st annual convention. The speakers were good the first day, but the next day they were AWESOME...

A DNA Exoneration close to home.

Posted on August 12, 2009
An amazing thing happened in my courthouse yesterday: http://blogs.cwsl.edu/news/2009/08/10/california-innocence-project-obtains-reversal-of-12-year-old-murder-conviction/ Here is the text:"Today, 16 years to the day after the murder of Pamela Richards, San Bernardino County Judge Brian McCarville granted the California Innocence Project?s request to reverse the murder conviction of her husband William Richards...

Wow, what a long time

Posted on August 05, 2009
I have been very busy with life, so I haven't posted in 6 months. I see that PDDude hasn't posted either.I am very burned out with being a deputy public defender. I used to enjoy the job, but now I don't. Suffice to say that I am an employee, and an employee who has been taught to fear for his job...

The Meltdown Continues

Posted on January 02, 2009
Two articles sum up what's going on with the prison crisis in California. The prison crisis is best understood when we juxtapose our ridiculous sentencing policies, such as 3 Strikes, with our ongoing unreality of finances in California. They are both part and parcel of denial of reality by those who really run this state - the People of the State of California...

The Mental Health System

Posted on December 10, 2008
I mentioned in my last post, a month ago, that I am doing a new area of criminal defense. I'm still a PD, but I now handle those defendants who have been found Not Guilty by Reason of Inasanity (NGI), and are being held within the web of the criminal mental health system...

Has it Really Been THAT Long?

Posted on November 16, 2008
Awesome election results. The senate races in Alaska, Minnesota, and Georgia are all still pending. I hope that Lieberman loses his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Panel, but I won't hold my breath.I haven't posted in months because I have been killing myself with work...

Deeper Musings About Sara Palin

Posted on September 08, 2008
The polls are shifting not so well for Obama (Tremors!) and there are lots and lots of theories. I am swayed by the idea that Sara Palin is having an impact on the race. Conservatives love her, and they are rallying around McCain in response. I will give an additional critique of Palin to add to what PD Dude has said...

Musings about the Sarah Palin thing

Posted on September 02, 2008
It feels a little like shooting fish in a barrel, or piling on, or something of the sort, but there is just so many places to go with this Sarah Palin pick as McCain's VP pick, that I just don't know where to begin. And I just can't leave it alone, because some of it is too glaring...

About the Aquittal of Former marine Nazario

Posted on September 02, 2008
Just before the weekend started, the federal jury in the trial of former Luis Nazario found the former marine not guilty. Good for him, I suppose. As a public defender, I enjoy hearing when the DA loses a case. I like it when someone is found not guilty, and a jury stands up for the rule of law...

A Not-So-Quick Rant on the Drug War in America

Posted on August 29, 2008
I watched Obama's acceptance speech last night and I thought it was wonderful. The best I have ever seen. Just now, I started thinking about a few things. How about a brief, and I do mean brief, moral discussion? About the drug war? Please, please, let there be some law and order types to sign on and discuss this...

Only in California - Pregnancy is Great Bodily Injury

Posted on August 29, 2008
So California has a rule which says that if you commit a crime against someone and cause them great bodily injury, then you get an enhancement. The law says that it has to be a significant injury, and has to be intentionally caused. Here's the rub, while it only adds 3 years to a sentence in most circumstances, in the last 14 years, it has also made any crime a "strike" (you all have heard of 3 strikes, right?)...

I certainly like Biden more than Palin

Posted on August 29, 2008
Give me a break, does McCain think that Hillary supporters were so desperate for a woman that they'd vote for him if he chose one as VP? Even if she's anti-abortion? Even if, prior to her unimpressive 2 years as governor of Alaska she was a mayor of a town of 8,000? At least we don't have to hear McCain talk about how experienced he is for the job anymore...

I do like Joe Biden

Posted on August 28, 2008
I guess it's just the contrarian in me, even to a fellow PD. Sorry Dennis, I know he can be ponderous, and this really has nothing to do with strong policy or principle issues, but I do like him. Was he Obama's best choice? Who knows, there's others I might've chosen, but he certainly could've chosen much worse, and some of the names out there didn't thrill me...

I don't like Joe Biden

Posted on August 23, 2008
There - I said it. I'm still going to vote for Obama, but I will do so less enthusiastically.Biden, also known as the "Senator from MBNA" because of his overwhelming support for the credit card industry (and banks and insurance companies, etc.), is a rotten choice for a "change candidate" like Obama says he is...

Whoa - There is a GOOD Initiative on the Ballot

Posted on August 23, 2008
My last post was about Proposition 6, on the 11-4-08 ballot. It is called the "Son of Three Strikes," and it is bad, bad, bad. Well, there is another bad initiative on the ballot, and it is likewise bad. Proposition 9, also known as "Marsey's Law," was created and supported initially by Henry Nicholas, who gave more than $4 million to get the ball rolling...

Here it Comes Again - the "Son of Three Strikes" - Prop. 6, is on the November Ballot

Posted on August 21, 2008
They are calling it the "Stealth Initiative" because no one, not even me, saw it coming. Here's an article on Prop. 6, on November's ballot: http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=d01148783101be65ceadfc3d57ee9944Proposition 6 is called the "Safe Neighborhood Act" and it is a doozey...

A Shout Out to DalyKos

Posted on August 21, 2008
This is my favorite website. http://www.dailykos.com/I go there whenever I have a chance. DailyKos will keep you informed about all things political, and there is a fresh, progressive spin on what is said. There are multiple writers, not just the Markos Moulitsas the site is named after...

More Speculating about Phil Spector

Posted on August 20, 2008
Iona Trailer responded to my last post, and I was writing a response to her. But it got too long, so I decided to make it into a new post altogether.I am not privy to any particular information about the Spector case - I only know what I read in the news...

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