The Patriot Act and its sickly progeny have been used for all sorts of decidedly unpatriotic things in the past few weeks. The Government is, for example, seeking account information about Twitter users. It flashed a subpoena at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco ten days before Christmas: Turn over records but don't tell anyone we asked, the Government demanded. Only cowards and tyrants hide their tracks with threats. Twitter stood its ground, and the truth can be told: Uncle Sam is wetting himself because WikiLeaks has told the truth about what he does when he thinks no one is...
January 8, 2011
Yes, I live in Connecticut. But my heart belongs to the University of Michigan's football program. It all started with a trip to the Big House in Ann Arbor when I was in junior high school. I've been a fan of the Wolverines for decades, even though I never attended Michigan. My blood runs maize and blue, and I've been bleeding sorrow for the past few years. The Wolverines have been playing football as though they are an endangered species.
So I greet the news that head coach Rich Rodriguez has been fired with a certain terrified fascination. We haven't beaten Ohio State in years, a fact...
January 6, 2011
Let's set the record straight: Robert Chatigny's nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, one of the most prestigious federal judgeships in the nation, did not fail because of excessive partisanship. It failed because Chatigny was temperamentally unsuited for the position. Chatigny is not a victim. President Barack Obama should seize the opportunity created by Chatigny's failure to appoint a trial lawyer to the court. Such a move is long overdue.
Chatigny was appointed to serve as a United States District Court Judge by Bill Clinton long ago. At the time...
January 6, 2011
The California Supreme Court doesn't think there is any real difference between a crumpled up cigarette package, the clothing on your back or your cell phone: All three are intimately associated with you. Hence, should you be arrested, police officers can search all three items under an exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement known as "search incident to arrest." A majority of the elected high court in California so ruled this week in People v. Diaz. The ruling reminds me once again that we get the government we deserved.
California from time to time tries to opt out of...
January 5, 2011
January 3, 2011
Reading Chief Justice John G. Roberts call for an end to partisanship in the selection of federal judges felt alot like watching professional...
January 2, 2011
The new year has scarcely begun, but already battle lines are drawn in what will be one of the most significant struggles of 2011: Welcome to the...
January 2, 2011
In recent weeks, I've noticed an accelerating trend: Increasing numbers of folks looking for a lawyer are boldly asking me if I will accept their...
December 31, 2010
"Why the defense of those accused of crimes?" It is a natural enough question. I stop to ponder it today after being accused of a species of...
December 30, 2010
There is a great line dividing Americans: On the one side, and tipping the scales of justice, are those who have never been accused of a crime; on...
December 29, 2010
At year's end news organizations like to mark time by doing such things as selecting, and commenting upon, the year's top stories. Some, like Time...