Blog Posts


Can It Be True? Baseball Is Back!

I’ve been strung out and ornery for the past eighteen months. It started with pandemic and a shutdown of the economy, and the shuttering of the courts. All at once, a thriving law practice and all the controversy a contrarian could want came to a grinding standstill.
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Playing With History: Neither A Jefferson Nor A Kinte Be

I have a confession to make: I never watched the television series “Roots,” nor have I read the Alex Hailey novel “Roots: The Saga of An American Family,” on which it was based. This despite the fact that the television series took the nation by storm in the late...

An Open Note to Lex Fridman

The best thing about the pandemic? I’ve discovered podcasts. One of the best is Lex Fridman’s, called, simply, Lex Fridman Podcast.
Fridman is a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology specializing in machine learning. He began the podcast in...

Begging the Question re: the Law of Nature

The problem with natural law theories can be simply stated: They beg the question they need to resolve.
Consider John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. In chapter two, when discussing punishment for violation of the law of nature, he writes: “it would be...

Here's How Trump Can Lose The Impeachment Trial

News that Donald Trump and his impeachment defense lawyers have decided to go their own separate ways raises questions about what will, and will not, take place at the impeachment trial set to begin on February 9 in the United States Senate.
Trump’s five lawyers apparently...

Whether Trump Wins Or Not, 2020 Was A Good Year For GOP

I’ve been troubled and deeply pessimistic about the future of the republic throughout the 2020 campaign season. Last night, I sat up, feeling optimistic, and suddenly hopeful.
This was a fantastic year for the GOP.
If you paid much attention to...

Confessions of a Reluctant Originalist

I was a horrible law student, so horrible, in fact, that I am surprised my school, the University of Connecticut, graduated me, with honors, no less. I wish I could attend law school all over again.
What made me so horrible?
I blame my high school...

Frankenstein: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Evil

Viktor Frankenstein had a vision, a dream, really. Could he create life? He left his hometown of Geneva, Switzerland for a local university. The world learned of his exploits in 1818. Mary Shelley tells his tale in Frankenstein.
I reread the book every so often, and...

An Incoherent Call For Jurors In Connecticut

Does the State of Connecticut have a coherent statewide plan for the resumption of jury trials? If so, it is one of the best-kept secrets in the state. I talk each week to prosecutors in the various courthouses. One would think they would know what’s going on. They don’t.
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The Hidden Promise, And Terror, Of Artificial Intelligence

As I watch the nation transform itself into the Failed States of America, I struggle with what the future will hold. My best guess? Long after the union has crumbled, we’ll be coping with, and relying upon, artificial intelligence (AI).
Indeed, I spend a fair...

© Norm Pattis is represented by Elite Lawyer Management, managing agents for Exceptional American Lawyers
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