Causation, as trial lawyers know, is a notoriously difficult subject. We're taught, for example, what scientists know: two events apparently related in time may not be related as a matter of fact. Thus the old maxim: post hoc ergo propter hoc, loosely translated as "after this, therefore because of that." It is a logical fallacy.
Correlation is not causation.
Politicians aren't bound by the canons of science or the rigors of legal doctrine; the political class are tethered to the interests they serve. Beware the assertions politicians make about causation. Often, their claims are...
October 28, 2015
You may not recall the name Bradley Birkenfeld. But, I suspect, if you work for a large bank, a hospital, a defense contractor, or any of the thousands of other corporate entities that are either regulated by federal law or receive federal funds, you will never forget his name once you read this column.
What’s so special about Mr. Birkenfeld? The Internal Revenue Service paid him $104 million a few years ago, this after Mr. Birkenfeld had been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of almost three years for his own tax crimes. It was the bounty the feds paid for his blowing the...
October 28, 2015
I can never really tell when a client is serious about suicide. My hunch is that those who talk about it won’t do it. It’s the silent types who from time to time cross that dark line. It is devastating when they do so. In every case, you look back for signs, cues and portents. Sure, more could have been done to prevent the self-destruction.
In a criminal defense lawyer’s office, however, it is easy enough to understand why folks destroy themselves. The criminal justice system is savage. A minor violation of the law can destroy a person for a lifetime. Too often, the...
October 22, 2015
Some time in or about 2040, Caucasians will become a minority in North America, according to projections from the U.S. Census Bureau. This change in demographics will alter the political landscape; indeed, things are already changing. Consider the concept of "white male privilege."
What is it?
As near as I can tell, it is a claim that a white male enjoys certain privileges simply as an accident of birth. White males, the argument seems to go, cannot possibly understand the world of others, typically women or African-Americans, because they have not experienced the world in the...
October 22, 2015
October 14, 2015
In the end, when our civilization and way of life collapses, it will not be because some foreign enemy laid us low. The rot that will destroy us will...
October 7, 2015
“How did you feel when you got your summons in the mail asking you to come to court?”
More often than not, it is the first question...
October 7, 2015
As of Oct. 5, 754 people, or almost three people per day, were shot to death by police officers in the United States in 2015. This information was...
October 5, 2015
Dr. Lishan Wang doesn’t want to be forced to take medication. His mind is clear. He is prepared to represent himself at trial against the...
September 23, 2015
There’s a rough divide among criminal defense lawyers, distinguishing those who defend so-called white-collar cases from those who defend other...
September 23, 2015
It is difficult for me to understand why U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Meyer thought it necessary to refer attorney Josephine Miller for...