Trial lawyers know a thing or two about the art of persuasion. We make our living, after all, pitching stories to strangers. In that regard, we are much like politicians. But the similarity between jurors and voters is superficial. The 2016 presidential campaign proves it, and last night’s presidential debate illustrates why.
Who won?
The early polling suggests that Hillary, a woman widely regarded as a liar and untrustworthy, prevailed.
Donald, in the meantime, claims victory, and asserts that even if he is not elected come...
October 23, 2016
“No man is a hero to his valet,” an old proverb has it. I think of it often when making a difficult recommendation to a client. Folks want their lawyers to be heroes. Sometimes lawyers are able to fulfill that role; more often, especially in the context of criminal plea-bargaining, reality is far less heroic.
Consider the following cases:
A client is accused of murdering his best friend. The decedent was shot to death while sitting in the front seat of a parked car. Next to him in the passenger’s seat was a confederate, someone eager to learn the dark arts of...
October 20, 2016
Judges, despite their robes and the trappings of majesty — who else enters their workplace to the sound of a uniformed lawman commanding “All rise”? — are just like the rest of us. They are often motivated by high ideals, but, being spun from the same mortal clay as we lesser mortals, their motives can often be venal, even petty.
Most judges crave dispositions. They want the cases on their list of things that need doing, their dockets, to move. Getting between a judge and a closed file can be a risky thing to do. Judicial administrators are closet...
October 19, 2016
Connecticut Chief Justice Chase Rogers believes in committees; she also believes in transparency. So I was curious to see what her committee of judges and journalists was all about. I accepted the invitation to speak to the committee about the pros and cons of plea-bargaining with anticipation.
It was an eye-opener.
The meeting took place at studios of WFSB’s television station in Rocky Hill. There appeared to be about 35 people present. I recognized many of the judges and quite a few of the journalists. It was a friendly group; perhaps too cozy with one another for my...
October 9, 2016
October 8, 2016
Let me see if I get this right: Clowns are now a potential sign of a terroristic threat. Have we lost our minds? Or is it mere nerve that we are...
September 26, 2016
I’ve been offered all sorts of things as a fee for my services. My favorite offer was of a house in Mexico. I turned it down, telling the...
September 26, 2016
Satoshi Nakamoto.
Remember that name. Whether he actually exists or not is an open question. But there is little doubt Nakamoto’s 2008...
September 26, 2016
Satoshi Nakamoto.
Remember that name. Whether he actually exists or not is an open question. But there is little doubt Nakamoto’s 2008...
September 26, 2016
Satoshi Nakamoto.
Remember that name. Whether he actually exists or not is an open question. But there is little doubt Nakamoto’s 2008...
September 8, 2016
I envy physicians their proximity to death. It goes without saying that those who master the ups and downs of the life cycle must learn a thing or...