Featured Articles

Dow Drops 733 Points; Consumer Spending Down

Mike (Crime & Federalism)
October 15, 2008 21:00

People are starting to realize that it's not an a bank credit freeze that has halted the economy. It's consumer spending, stupid: Despair over the economy sent Wall Street plunging again Wednesday, propelling the Dow Jones industrials down 733 points to their second-largest point loss ever. Stocks...

Are Economists Witch Doctors?

Mike (Crime & Federalism)
November 14, 2008 00:30

Where is $200 a barrel oil? How many other predictions were false? How many forecasts by "experts" were false? False, false, false!Who here knows anything about cold reading? James Randi describes it here. Cold reading works because people don't remember wrong guesses - only right ones. So a...

Recent Articles

Sex Crimes Prosecutor Charged With Rape

Mike (Crime & Federalism)
July 27, 2009 21:56

Bizarre is an overused word. This is a bizarre story: 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.... Gressett's 30-year-old...

More on the Chris Dodd-Countrywide Connection

Mike (Crime & Federalism)
July 27, 2009 21:04

The Associated Press has this breaking news: WASHINGTON - Despite their denials, influential Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd were told from the start they were getting VIP mortgage discounts from one of the nation's largest lenders, the official who handled their loans has told Congress...

Judge Norm Pattis?

Mike (Crime & Federalism)
July 27, 2009 20:08

Alas, it will not be so.Alas, it will not be so.

Tasers and Excessive Force/Section 1983

Mike (Crime & Federalism)
July 27, 2009 06:46

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion I'll need to review later. Here is the Clerk's summary: 081640P.pdf 07/22/2009 Sandra Brown v. Rob Zarrett, etc. U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 08-1640 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Minneapolis [PUBLISHED] [Wollman, Author,...

Ashcroft v. Iqbal: Supervisory Liability Under Bivens and Section 1983

Mike (Crime & Federalism)
July 27, 2009 06:33

In its recent opinion in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, the United States Supreme Court confused the law of supervisory liability. Iqbal's bare majority did not, contra the some gasps in the dissent, overrule supervisory liablity under Bivens or Section 1983. The Court did confuse the law of supervisory...

Does the Aleynikov Prosecution Violate the Equal Protection Clause?

Mike (Crime & Federalism)
July 25, 2009 23:01

If I were Sergio Aleynikov's lawyer, I'd seek to dismiss the case under a class-of-one equal protection theory. Why is Aleynikov, unlike other people who allegedly stole trade secrets from Wall Street firms, being criminally prosecuted? Does AUSA Joseph Facciponti, the attorney prosecuting...

Diversity and Police Abuse

Mike (Crime & Federalism)
July 24, 2009 23:08

The Gates case raises an interesting issue no one wants to discuss. It causes too much cognitive conflict. We are told that we need "diverse" police forces so badly - even if this means discriminating against whites - because more divesity means less police abuse. It means blacks won't be...

Karen Ann Escobar is Unethical Prosecutor

Mike (Crime & Federalism)
July 24, 2009 22:00

Another day, another unethical prosecutor. From United States v. Nobari (here): The defendants raise several claims on appeal, including an allegation that the prosecution improperly presented, as evidence of the defendants’ guilt, testimony that drew generalizations on the basis of ethnicity about ...