Only rarely have I been able to use the Judas Iscariot sentencing argument. I did so today. My client was found guilty of murder, and faces a maximum of 60 years. There is little doubt he will get every bit of that, given the fact that he faces many other charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
So rather than bend a knee and request mercy, we took a "bring it on" posture.
After the jury left the room, the judge asked about a sentencing date.
"We're anxious to take an appeal, Judge," I said.
"Considering this verdict," I continued, "I am mindful...
March 23, 2015
I came home after dark last night to a report from my wife that our emu had died. She spotted him lifeless in the back of an outbuilding in which he seeks shelter. I could not bear the thought of dealing with him last night. It had been too long and too difficult a week.
I went out not long ago to bury him. A dismal sort of task I avoided all day long.
I was suspicious as I walked out to the building in which she saw him. From the barn to his outbuilding were what appeared to be fresh tracks in new fallen show. How could this be?
I walked up to the building, and was overcome...
March 23, 2015
Trial, some say, is a search for the truth. That’s specious tomfoolery. In fact, trial, at least a criminal trial, is guerilla warfare. Some of the most lethal terrorists are prosecutors. Fear and the dark arts of intimidation are common tools.
Consider the case of United States versus John Rowland.
Rowland, as everyone knows, is Connecticut’s former governor. He’s already done one brief term of imprisonment for fraud and something called theft of honest services. It all had to do with receipt of funds to put a hot tub in a small cottage he owned near Bantam Lake...
March 22, 2015
I’ve never understood why folks don’t regard public defenders as real lawyers. Some of the best lawyers in the state are public defenders — I am thinking of New Haven’s Thomas Ullman, Beth Merkin and Joe Lopez, among others. What’s more, many folks accused of crimes would be better off with a public defender at their side than with a private lawyer.
I’ll go so far as to say that the single most important criminal justice reform this nation can undertake would be to appoint a public defender for each and every person accused of a crime.
The...
March 12, 2015
March 8, 2015
Gov. Dannel Malloy is calling for reform of some of the state's draconian sentencing laws, proposing that mere drug possession be a misdemeanor, and...
March 4, 2015
I was sitting with a client, a federal prosecutor and a FBI agent the other night. We were engaged in what is known as a “reverse...
February 27, 2015
At courthouses throughout the state, the public at large is required to walk through a metal detector to gain entrance. This includes criminal...
February 26, 2015
Now that we've abolished the death penalty in Connecticut, at least insofar as future cases are concerned, the fate of those currently on death row...
February 22, 2015
I'm inaugurating a new feature on this blog: quick reviews.
If you're like me, there just isn't enough time to read. I'll post reviews here of...
February 18, 2015
Regulars in the criminal courts develop a certain cynicism. It’s a survival instinct, really. We all know the system isn’t perfect....