Blog Posts

Although I am not much of a fan of legal blogs, I make an exception for Defrosting Cold Cases. It celebrates its first anniversary today. I have actually spoken to the author once, although I cannot recall the occasion. The page is always well written and informative. Vidocq, the author, has a...

The first volume of Mark Twain's much-anticipated autobiography arrived the other day. At 700-plus pages, there is a telephone directory-like feel to it. It was the work of the second half of the author's life. He conceived it as an experiment, trying to determine whether he could be completely...

History has an uncanny way of repeating itself, especially personal history. In high school, I tried and failed to find a group in which I was comfortable. I was a bad athlete, so the jocks scorned me. The situation in my home was, to say the least, a little chaotic, so I did not study; the nerds...

I took a younger partner in a while back. He is a brilliant lawyer; a raw talent that requires only time and effort to be burnished into a gem. I took him in and did my best to nourish him. But last week, we parted ways. There's a lesson in that, I suppose. I will learn it when the sorrow...

More than once I have heard a prosecutor in trial urge a judge to admit contested evidence: "The state cannot prove its case without this evidence, your honor," the argument goes. To which I typically respond: "So what?" The rules of evidence require reliable evidence. The trial deck is not...

I note the irony for what it is worth: On this, the 666th post on this blog site, I am announcing a change to a new blog site: http://www.pattisblog.com/. I am sure that some will regard this incarnation as welcoming a new anti-Christ into the blawgosphere.
I will post at both locations for...

My new blog site will up and running tomorrow. I am electing to cease taking public comments. I've also decided to avoid the use of statistical tracking packages. Bottom line? Much though I enjoy writing and hope for readers, the online community is a little too quirky to suit me. I'm not willing...

I will be switching to a new service for publication of this blog in the next couple of days. Among the questions on my mind as I make ready for the switch is whether the comments section to the blog serves any real purpose.
I am aware of the "engage" theory of blogging: encourage comments,...

Do real lawyers engage in all the tomfoolery associated with social media? The answer is yes. I am a real lawyer, and I blog and I Tweet. I also think that there should be a broader public understanding about what trial lawyers do. Hence, I write about my work. No crime there, I hope.
I am a...

Here's something I have never understood. In a criminal case, the government has the burden of proof. It must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. To do that, all jurors must agree. In other words, it takes a unanimous verdict to convict a man. Anything less amounts to a failure on the part of...