Recent Articles

OUTRAGE!!!

November 08, 2008 06:51

Arizona authorities have charged an 8-year-old boy with two counts of pre-meditated murder. This is so outrageous on so many levels, I don't even know where to begin. They interrogated an 8-year-old child (whose father had just been murdered) without an attorney or parent present. He is EIGHT YEARS...

Frustration

October 22, 2008 05:38

You know what is frustrating? When you spend forever arguing, begging, pleading, and using all your other tools of persuasion to get a prosecutor to give you a particular deal, but the prosecutor will only offer you X years. So, you go talk to your client and explain what the offer is, and your...

The Problems with Eyewitness IDs

October 22, 2008 05:32

The Dallas Morning News did a very interesting investigative series on the problems with eyewitness identification and how they were major factors in the wrongful convictions of 18 of the 19 DNA exonerees in Dallas County. It is a MUST read for anyone involved in the criminal justice system. I...

One Xanax Pill

October 22, 2008 05:22

Update: Morning of trial and super-longshot motion to suppress . . . prosecutor agreed to recommend year and a day with the statement that the defendant's violation was de minimis and make no further argument on sentencing and we could argue for an exceptional downward sentence (one below the...

Why Just Having the Right to a Jury Trial Matters

September 17, 2008 17:35

Recently, I had a jury trial that reminded me why having the right to a jury trial matters, and why it is blatantly unfair that juveniles do not have that right, and yet their convictions from juvenile court can count significantly in sentencing decisions for crimes they may commit as adults.My...

Long time, no blog . . .

September 11, 2008 22:49

Yeah, I know you've heard that before. I apologize. Circumstances have conspired against me. So, here's an update:I have moved from juvenile court to adult felonies. I was really torn when I was asked to make the move. It was considered an advancement in the office, but I had really grown to...

Kiddie prison post coming soon . . . and that Duke thing

June 19, 2007 18:51

I took a fascinating tour of three of the state's juvenile institutions last week, and I am working on a nice, long post about it all. The short story is that they weren't as bad as I thought they would be, but still not someplace we should be sending kids except in extreme circumstances. In the...

18 Years Later, Tiananman Square Remembered

June 05, 2007 01:39

This is a photograph of a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong marking the 18th anniversary of the Tiananman square crackdown. China still remains an oppressive regime that regularly violates the human rights of its citizens. But hey, they make great trading partners!

Trial Frenzy

May 31, 2007 15:06

It seems like I was here for months before I finally tried my first case. I had a couple go to the brink of trial, only to be pulled back by a last-minute offer too good to turn down. Then, finally, one trial. A couple months later, another. And now I am preparing to go to trial for the fifth...

Why YouTube is the Best Website Ever

May 29, 2007 17:22

Do you remember when you used to go to work or school and someone would tell you about something funny that happened on live TV the day before or you would curse yourself for having missed it? Something, like, say, Miss USA falling on her ass at the Miss Universe pageant? Now, with YouTube, you...