Jefferson Wept

I usually enjoy arguing in appellate courts, and one of my favorites is the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The federal appellate courts are, for most people, the most powerful courts in the land. Yes, the Supreme Court is the top of the pyramid, but that court agrees to hear so few cases that for almost everyone else the last stop on justice’s train, at least in so far as federal claims are concerned, is a federal appellate court.
I was in the Second Circuit this morning on the Occupy New Haven case, appearing before a three-judge panel on our motion for a...
April 17, 2012

Occupying the Second Circuit

There is no way of knowing what will happen in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, when the motion for a stay pending appeal in the Occupy New Haven case is argued. All that is certain is the time and place: 500 Pearl Street, 9th floor at 10:00 a.m. The court could decide right then and there to dissolve or continue the stay, ruling from the bench, as lawyers say. Or the court could issue a written opinion some time later.
I am betting on a quick decision. I suspect by the time the three-judge panel takes the bench, a decision will...
April 16, 2012

Joette Katz and Cogito Incognitus

I spent some of the unhappiest years of my life pretending to be something I was not: You see, I was a member of an editorial board. I earned my living writing daily opinions about all matters far and wide. The opinions appeared under the masthead of the Waterbury newspapers, and then under the masthead of The Hartford Courant, which liked to boast that it was "The Oldest Continuously Published Newspaper in North America."
There was plenty about the job that was a dream come true. I was paid to read newspapers and talk to people on the telephone. Especially at the Courant, all manner of...
April 15, 2012

The Bozo at York's Prison Gate

“You’re a lawyer?” The man looked at me with disdain, his paunch creeping out from beneath his bulletproof vest. I had just pulled up to the York Correctional Institution to visit with a client. He sauntered out of the booth acting put upon.
“Yes,” I said.
He gave me a once over, taking in the pony tail, my fleece vest and the interior of a car littered with coffee cops, newspapers and books. I guess I didn’t look very lawyerly to him.
I handed him my driver’s license. He nearly winced when he took it in his hand. He looked at it as...
April 12, 2012

John DeStefano Wants You To Call

April 11, 2012
New Haven's Mayor John DeStefano will be on the Chaz and AJ show on WPLR 99.1 FM on Thursday at 7:30 a.m. His mission? To explain why he did not look...

Naked In The Elm City

April 11, 2012
New Haven’s Mayor John DeStefano took to the air waves this morning to defend the City’s actions yesterday on the New Haven Green....

Justice Aborted Is Justice Denied

April 5, 2012
I stood in a public place yesterday and watched two tearful parents say goodbye to an American hero. The young man was leaving for a year. Odds are,...

The White Devil In The Elm City

April 1, 2012
I saw the White Devil the other day, and it terrified and saddened me. He was reflected in the look of wariness and suspicion in a young man’s...

Playing Ping Pong With Trayvon Martin

March 31, 2012
The claims and counterclaims regarding the killing of Trayvon Martin are flying fast and furious. It’s well past time to get this case into a...

Colonial Ghosts Still Govern New Haven

March 29, 2012
I find it almost impossible to walk away from a fight, which explains, I suppose, my choice of vocation. Trying cases is one of the few places left...

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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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