Four Nominees For Federal Judge In Connecticut

Even if you are in mourning about the results of the presidential election, and I am not, you will agree that there is one occasion for rejoicing: With the elections safely behind us, both President Obama and the Senate can now turn their attention to fully staffing the federal judiciary. The judiciary was all but the forgotten branch in the run up to the general election, an odd occurrence, given its importance in our lives. Nationwide, there 82 vacancies on the federal bench, according to Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts website. Only 34 candidates have been nominated to fill these...
November 8, 2012

The Rhetoric Of Accountability Backfires On Prosecutor

I did not get a chance to head out to Milford to watch any of the trial of Jason Anderson, the former Milford police officer involved in the high-speed collision that killed two teenagers. Frankly, I don’t like watching other lawyers try cases; it’s sort of like watching ice melt. When you try a case, all moves quickly, there are many decisions to make all at once: how to frame the next question, how to read the jury’s attitude, how to anticipate what a judge will do next — all this in the context of the high-stakes of trial where someone’s life is on the line....
November 8, 2012

I Don't Feel Like Much Of A Sovereign Today

I did not feel like much a sovereign when I walked out of the polling place this morning. No, I felt as though I’d just been tossed from a fast-moving car after a six billion dollar – the sum spent on political advertisements this year – joy ride. Oh, yes, I cast a ballot in favor of a presidential candidate. I also voted in the race to fill a seat in the United States Senate. And, true to many years’ custom, I wrote the name "Clarence Darrow" into the slot for House of Representatives: although the famous American trial lawyer has been dead for many years, I at least...
November 6, 2012

Just South of Crazy

I’ve a brand-spanking-new lawyer reporting for duty this week. Freshly minted and admitted to the bar, she’s eager to show the world what she can do. I need her to help stay atop the chaos that comes of representing people in crisis. But how can I prepare her for what she’s about to see? She’s been trained about a world peopled with rational actors, folks who make cost-benefit decisions, who bargain in the law’s shadows. Nothing in her education prepared for the world most lawyers call home – the world just this side of crazy.
The law deals easily...
November 4, 2012

Let F. Lee Bailey Practice Law Again

November 1, 2012
F. Lee Bailey appears this week before the State of Maine Board of Bar Examiners to request permission to once again practice law. I am rooting for...

Surviving Sandy

October 30, 2012
I tried, I really did, to write about something other than Hurricane Sandy, the Frankenstorm, the Storm of the Century, that was to drive us to our...

Want A Better Criminal Justice System? Eliminate Plea Bargaining

October 25, 2012
Here’s a not-so-modest proposal that will reduce the prison population, improve the performance of the criminal justice system, and yield...

Updated: Bullies With Briefcases

October 24, 2012
In the end, the choice of whether to take a criminal case to trial or to enter into a plea agreement with the government belongs to the client, and...

Why No Pardon For Connecticut Witches?

October 19, 2012
What’s it going to take to correct an injustice committed 400 years ago? Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy says he is powerless to act....

Judicial Pay Raises Long Overdue

October 18, 2012
Several years ago, I was approached about the prospect of becoming a federal judge. I confess, it appealed to me, at least for a couple of months....

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Taking Back the Courts
Norm Pattis Taking Back the Courts

The Wizard of Oz was one of my favorites movies as a kid. Little did I know judges were so much like the wizard, hiding behind empty trappings of power. This book tells you things you need to know about what really goes on in court. Read it, weep, and then demand that the courts do better.

In the Trenches
Norm Pattis In the Trenches

Plenty of lawyers write about the law, but few who write try cases. Judge for yourself whether I talk the talk and walk the walk in this collection of occasional essays about life in the law's trenches.

Juries and Justice
Norm Pattis Juries and Justice

How prepared are you to take seriously the notion that 'we the people' are, in fact, sovereign? Discover the secret, and unused, power of jurors. 'Ask why; then nullify.'

Norm Pattis

About Norm

Norm Pattis is a Connecticut based trial lawyer focused on high stakes criminal cases and civil right violations. He is a veteran of more than 150 jury trials, many resulting in acquittals for people charged with serious crimes, multi-million dollar civil rights and discrimination verdicts, and scores of cases favorably settled.

© Norm Pattis is represented by Elite Lawyer Management, managing agents for Exceptional American Lawyers
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