LexMonitor

Public Defender - What People Think I Do

Hiatus

The blog is five years old now. It's had a few good years, and a few years of gentle steady decline. It's given me a place to post about representation, depression, transitions, and a few odd obsessions (and post about the kid, dogs and cats). It's made me some excellent new friends and brought me...

"From Time Out to Hard Time"

From the New York Times:12 and in PrisonThe editorial was prompted by the release of “From Time Out to Hard Time: Young Children in the Adult Criminal Justice System” by Michele Deitch of the LBJ School at the University of Texas (homeland of Grits for Breakfast). The whole report is here (pdf...

WA: the war at home

From the Olympian:A second chance for vets - New Program: County Veterans Court helps those in trouble with PTSDThurston County Veterans Court offers a second chance to current and retired service members who commit crimes while struggling with war-related psychological wounds, notably PTSD and...

"Trial it is then"

Brother PD Scoplaw speaks a weary truth:Denial, Perspective, Jail House LawyeringI'm not talking about innocence or guilt - I'm talking about the pratical realities of what's going to happen in a court of law...

CA: don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge

From the Ventura County Star:Public Defender's Office close to edge - Any death penalty cases will trigger need for more help, says Dammeyer I just liked the message in the headline, I guess.

Hope for community corrections

In this month's Washington Monthly:Jail Break - How smarter parole and probation can cut the nation’s incarceration rateIf we want to end the era of mass incarceration and replace it with a regime of less punishment and less crime, drug testing is only one of the ways to apply the central lesson of...

ID: felony murder rule results in remand

From the Times-News:High court overturns conviction in '05 shotgun slaying - Gambrel drug charges could complicate Pina retrialThe conviction of Juan Carlos Fuentes Pina, one of two men convicted for the slaying of Jesse Naranjo, was vacated on appeal by the Idaho Supreme Court on Wednesday. The...

CA: East Bay "resident elocutionist" retires

From the Contra Costa Times:Contra Costa public defender retires after 35-year career speaking for indigent defendantsIn his 10 years as Contra Costa County's top public defender, David Coleman ruffled the feathers of more than a few prosecutors, yet they say they'll miss him... Coleman... will...

WA: new chief PD in Port Orchard

From the Kitsap Sun:Kitsap Hires New Top Public DefenderKitsap County has hired a Wenatchee attorney to head its division of public defense... Clarke W. Tibbits, 41, currently a partner in a private practice, has worked as a criminal defense attorney in district and superior courts, as well as for...