I Like Fire and Brimstone

News that the Supreme Court reversed the conviction of a former client of mine was a delightful surprise. He was convicted of sexually abusing a young child. At trial, we won acquittals of the most serious charges, but the jury convicted on two counts, enough to yield a six-year sentence on judgment day.


At trial, I objected to everything save the sight of my own shadow. My adversary, Danbury’s sharmese Hodge, and I went toe-to-toe on the tender years exception to the hearsay rule, the scope of the constancy of accusation doctrine, the extent to which there is...
November 18, 2013

An Annotated Pslam 23 for Trial Lawyers

"The lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."
Oh, that it were true, that there were a shepherd to stand beside me in the well of this court, when I want so much, so often, and with such desperation. I have become the good shepherd to the man beside me. He has placed his entire trust in me, and I, I am left alone with nothing but my wits as the maelstrom descends.
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters."
What green pasture? What still water? This courtroom is as still as death, and when it is not still, the waters roil, yielding...
November 17, 2013

Why We Encourage The Innocent To Plead Guilty

How many innocent men and women are sitting in prison? No one knows, exactly, and few care. A person who’s been found guilty by a jury had their trial, right? And if they’ve lost their appeal, well, doesn’t that settle it once and for all?
We know better, of course. The Innocence Project has helped to prove that. Scores of men have been released from prison after DNA evidence conclusively proved their innocence. Many of these men were convicted on the basis of eyewitness testimony.
But what about those who pleaded guilty in open court? Don’t they deserve...
November 14, 2013

Border Collies and Trial Lawyering

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about my dogs, Odysseus and Penelope, but I swear they have been giving me tutorials in the law, teaching me about loyalty and zealous advocacy, the two most important qualities any criminal defense lawyer must have. I’ve learned more about lawyering from my dogs than I have from any book.
They are wonderful companions, and true friends. They turn nine this month. They are both part of the same litter, a frolicking and rambunctious pac of six border collies born on or about one Thanksgiving Day in Pennsylvania.
We settled on...
November 7, 2013

The Emperor, the Thief and the NSA

November 6, 2013
St. Augustine reports the following conversation between Alexander the Great, who struggled to drive pirates from the Mediterranean Sea, and a...

Rape Trauma Gibberish

November 1, 2013
Expert testimony, we are taught, is intended to assist juries in deciding difficult factual issues. We permit the opinion testimony of folks who...

The New Skakel Standard

November 1, 2013
Word of a new trial for Michael Skakel, a distant member of the Kennedy clan, spread quickly through the Connecticut bar. Some folks gloated over the...

Inside Baseball on Michael Skakel

October 24, 2013
Those skeptical about the efficacy of habeas corpus petitions in the State of Connecticut will be watching the Michael Skakel case carefully. Judge...

Public Defenders for All

October 24, 2013
Keep an eye on the case of State v. Lishan Wang, soon to be argued in the Connecticut Supreme Court. It has the potential to force significant and...

Welcoming Home A Killer

October 17, 2013
It’s hard to understand why some folks are outraged by the decision of the Connecticut Board of Pardon and Parole to grant clemency to Bonnie...

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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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