Give Richard LaPointe A New Trial

Richard LaPointe is one very lucky man. It might strike you as odd to say that of a fellow serving what amounts to a life term for the rape and arson-murder of his wife’s 88-year-old grandmother. But, 20 years after a jury found him guilty as charged, he’s won the right to a new trial. That is because a group of concerned citizens never stopped believing in his innocence.
When Bernice Martin was found dead in her apartment in 1987, suspicion quickly turned to LaPointe. He lived nearby. He had visited the victim earlier the day she was murdered. He was seen in the vicinity...
October 9, 2012

The Gift of Immortality

The news did not surprise me, neither did it devastate me. It simply left me hollow, spent and empty. You see, Mark Kravitz died since this paper last went to print. He was 62 years old, and he suffered from Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
We all knew his death was coming. The disease from which he suffered is remorseless. I wrote about watching him waste away some months ago. He was one of my favorite federal judges. Appearing in his courtroom was a feast of both mind and spirit. He had a way of bringing out the best in me. I cried private tears when I realized the news was true and that...
October 4, 2012

Do You Believe In The Presumption Of Innocence?

Do you believe in the presumption of innocence? I doubt it. But don’t feel bad. Lawmakers don’t believe in it either. The sad fact is that once someone is arrested, they’re guilty in the eyes of their neighbors. Pick up the paper to learn that the fellow next door just got busted for some infamous crime: you’ll never look at him the same way again.
This is especially so in cases alleging sexual misconduct.
Despite the lurid and often quite troubling allegations in such cases, we just can’t seem to get enough of them. Daily newspapers report on them with...
October 4, 2012

The Joy of Circuit Riding

Lawyers ought to be required to ride circuit, to travel to different regions of the country and appear in courts and before judges they do not know. The forms of justice aren’t rigid and ossified. Justice, if that is what we truly do in a courtroom, comes in many forms. There just isn’t only one way of doing things.
I am reminded of this by the presence just now in Connecticut of visiting federal judges. We no longer have anywhere near a full complement of federal judges on the bench in Connecticut. Death, illness and elevation to the appellate court have thinned the...
September 28, 2012

Long Live The 'Living Constitution'

September 26, 2012
Never doubt for a moment that law is at its core politics. If you do doubt it, then read Jeffrey Toobin’s latest book, “The Oath: The...

A Failure of Nerve in East Haven

September 25, 2012
I know a thing or two about suing police officers. Indeed, I paid for a few college educations with the proceeds of money earned in the well of the...

Special Rules for the Family Courts?

September 21, 2012
A funny thing happened in the court the other day. I notified my adversaries I intended to call an expert or two. The other side asked for a hearing...

Does Your Prophet Wear Army Boots?

September 17, 2012
The literal and figurative firestorm erupting worldwide over the YouTube film “The Innocence of Islam” provokes the sense of despair one...

Should Juries Decide Custody Disputes?

September 13, 2012
If you doubt for one moment our membership in the animal kingdom, spend some time in family court in a high-conflict case. I swear you can all but...

The Mayor's Two Hats: Hysteria In Lancaster?

September 9, 2012
The general counsel of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College has some explaining to do. As general counsel and board member of the college, R....

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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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