Time To Revisit Ex Post Facto Clause For Sex Offenders

Scores of folks have sent me emails generated by a group called Citizens for Change, America. They want me to hear their cries for justice, and to sign on to the fight to have the courts declare retroactive application of the federal sex offender registration act unconstitutional. My first response to the emails was a weary sigh. The ex post facto clause is tricky, and most folks don’t get just how it has been gutted by the courts.
The last time the federal Supreme Court heard an ex post facto challenge to sex offender registration was in 2003, involving an Alaska decision....
February 7, 2011

Shaken Babies, Shaken Justice

One of the most terrifying cases I ever handled involved the state’s decision to seize a child upon birth and to place it in the care of strangers. The theory supporting this cradle-robbing was predictive neglect. Because the parents were suspected of having shaken another of their babies and causing injury to it, the state thought it was justified in seizing any newborns before harm could come to them.
The parents denied ever having caused harm to the injured child. But because the infant suffered a constellation of symptoms consistent with deliberate injury, the state...
February 6, 2011

Plea Bargaining At The Altar

"I am confused," a client told me a long, long time ago. "You are telling me I should take the deal, but you are also telling me you are prepared to fight the case." We were standing on the courthouse steps, preparing to begin jury selection in a high-stakes criminal case. "Which is it?," the client asked. The answer was simple -- both.
There is little in legal fiction or even in the musing among lawyers about the drama of plea negotiations. Plea bargaining is the silent and ever present reality of the criminal justice system. But it is neglected because it lacks the visible sport of...
February 5, 2011

Why Not Responsible Juries?

My sense of things is that most jurors struggle to do the right thing. They work at the decisions we ask them to make. They try to follow the law. There are failures, to be sure. But in general, I trust a jury far more than I trust the weary eye of a judge. Lay jurors bring common sense and a fresh perspective to conflict. Judges have seen it all, and too often, to rely on common sense.
But I worry that by forcing juries to act in a vacuum, we deprive them of the right to make a reasoned moral response to the conflicts we ask them to resolve. This is particularly...
February 2, 2011

Leo Tolstoy and Tony Serra

February 1, 2011
I have a secret. I think Leo Tolstoy might be reincarnate and practicing law in California. I’m not sure how far I want to go with this...

The Joy of Anarchy

January 30, 2011
I read this morning's newspapers with more than the usual fascination. The sight of protestors on the streets of Egypt thrills me, even though I do...

A Lobotomy For Emmett Hanger?

January 28, 2011
One of the legislative geniuses in the Virginia State Senate thinks he has found a sure-fired way to reduce the cost of dealing with violent sex...

Gov. Malloy: You Can Make A Difference In The Courts

January 27, 2011
Governor Dannel P. Malloy should be bold in proposing reform in the state’s courts. It is not that the judiciary is opposed in principle to...

A Lawyer, A Client and Bad News

January 24, 2011
I am in the business of offering hope, but there are hopeless situations, cases in which there is nothing that can be done. Accepting that is hard...

Minimum Fees For Criminal Defense Work?

January 22, 2011
The economic slowdown has finally trickled down to street lawyers. Clients now struggle to pay even modest fees. There is little by way of easy...

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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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