Blog Posts


The World Within: Faith, Hope, Love and Insight

"The four highest achievements of human effort [faith, hope, love and insight] are so many gifts of grace, which are neither to be taught nor learned, neither given nor taken, neither withheld nor earned, since they come through experience, which is something given, and therefore beyond the reach...

Say What? Big Brother's Lists A-OK?

Ken Krayeske is a political activist. He is outspoken. He is brash. And, insofar as Connecticut law enforcement is concerned, he is marked man. Guess what? That's just fine and dandy, according to a recent ruling by a United States District Judge.
Krayeske actively supported Green Party...

Ambivalence and the Plea

I was in the office until about 8:15 last night. My last call of the day was a friend. "You sound exhausted," she said. "What's the matter?"
"I just put a tough criminal case to bed," I replied. "It was that manslaughter case involving a claim of failed brakes and reckless disregard of truck...

A Welcome Verdict In Milan

I am a CIA reject. Almost thirty years ago, I was a candidate to become an undercover operative, or spy. I interviewed with agents fresh from assignments in Moscow and South Korea in hotel rooms at Manhattan’s Algonquin Hotel. I took aptitude tests at an anonymous looking building in Reston,...

Pottawattomie County: A Forgotten Heroine

The Supreme Court will hear argument today in another prosecutorial immunity case, Pottawattomie County v. McGhee. The question is whether prosecutors who manufacture or fabricate trial evidence are immune from a suit arising under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. I will be surprised if the Court decides...

Sunday Rumination: To TLC Or Not?

The poll results are in: Just under half of those responding believe that I should continue to post about the Trial Lawyers College. I'm tempted, but I am going to say "no thanks."
First, even if the poll reflects some broader reality, a dubious proposition given the fact that the comments...

Time To Reform Connecticut Jury Selection

I started picking another jury in a state court proceeding this week. After two days, we had selected three jurors. We need three more, not to mention the alternates. Odds are, it will take another three days to select the eight people necessary to hear this case. Question: Why take five days to do...

Hacker Alert!

Well, I knew I'd stirred a hornet's nest by writing about the Trial Lawyers College. But refraining from writing has stirred an even bigger nest, and attracted this blog's first hacker.
I received a note today from an apparently friendly alum asking why I had seen the need to label a certain...

Lunatic Fringe, I Know You're Out There ...

Go ahead and keep sending nasty posts. I am not going to publish them. Neither are several others folks we both know. I recommend you start your own page.
Note: IP address removed. See above: Hacker alert!

Illinois v. Medill School of Journalism: A Different Take

Prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois, want answers about the students associated with the Medill Innocence Project at Northwestern University. I say, the state should get those answers, but only if it agrees to provide like information to criminal defendants seeking information about police...

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