Blog Posts

Death, we like to say in the law, is different. Hence, the evolution of differing standards for capital cases. But the application of these standards is steeped in the same hypocrisy affecting non-capital criminal cases. The criminal justice system remains what it has always been: a farce with...

"The testimony in this case reveals a crime of singular atrocity. It is, in a sense, inexplicable; but it is not thereby rendered less inhuman or repulsive. It was deliberately planned and prepared for during a considerable period of time. It was executed with every feature of callousness and...

Herewith a debate of sorts on the morality of the death penalty and the rule of law in the Connecticut case of State v. Steven Hayes. Is killing the killer every justified? Listen to the discussion. The debate took place on WPLR on September 23, 2010: http://wplr.com/av/podcasts.html

There was quiet rumbling in the office of the United States Attorney when the new regime seized power. “Beware the Southern District,” some folks whispered; “lawyers feed on their own in Manhattan.” There is an ambitious new kid on the block. David Fein, Connecticut’s...

Was anyone really surprised that 15-year-old Omar Khadr was lied to and threatened with what amounts to sadistic torture by U.S. interrogators? Our courts condone police lying. Police departments tolerate it. Officers do it all the time, and then lie about doing it. Only defendants are held...

The United States Government huffed, puffed and blew an elected governor out of office in the State of Illinois. But at the end of the day, all prosecutors have to show for their efforts in the prosecution of Rod Blagojevich is a single count of making a false statement. The jury could not reach a...

I would not normally write about the voir dire of a prospective juror. I respect how difficult it is to answer questions in open court in the presence of strangers. But I am going to make an exception just this once. I am going to make an exception because the prospective juror is a public...

Little people get screwed more often than not. Big business wins. The wealthy win. And now, the Supreme Court has applied a liberal dose of Vaseline to the wrong end of a gavel. Bend over, America. Big Brother now wins, too, even when he loses.
How else to construe the unanimous ruling of the...

Check out the behavior of United State's Representative Bob Etheridge, as reflected on You Tube. When my clients do stuff like this, they are charged with simple assault or breach of the peace. What are the odds this whack job will get a free pass?

Want to see what the country looks like when law enforcement goes hog wild? Check out the CATO Institute's Raid Map.