Blog Posts

I'm inaugurating a new feature on this blog: quick reviews.
If you're like me, there just isn't enough time to read. I'll post reviews here of things I've enjoyed. Perhaps it will help you to identify what to read next. I'd appreciate your returning the favor.
All The Light We Cannot...

Regulars in the criminal courts develop a certain cynicism. It’s a survival instinct, really. We all know the system isn’t perfect. We protect ourselves against the devastating truth that innocent men and women are convicted by strict dedication to procedure. If everyone plays his...

No sooner had news broken that Craig Hicks was accused of killing three young Muslim college students in North Carolina than calls erupted for a federal hate crime investigation. The Justice Department promptly obliged.
Where was the hue and cry for such an investigation when Ali Muhammed...

If you are looking for a compelling reason not to elect judges, look no further than the State of Alabama. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy S. Moore openly thumbs his nose at the federal courts. He was ousted from office a decade ago after defying a federal court order to remove a monument to...

It is perhaps too much to assert that Hartford attorney Dan Klau plays a role roughly akin to conscience in my life, but he does try to correct the error of my ways. Thus, his emails recently tweaking me for writing in opposition to the Connecticut Supreme Court's ruling requiring Cassandra C. to...

A couple of decades ago, I paced the halls of the federal courthouse in Hartford for days awaiting a verdict in a police misconduct case. My client was the son of a New Haven police officer. One night, as the nightclubs were closing in New Haven, an officer struck the client in the head with his...

Most lawyers don’t talk much about legal fees with members of the general public. Why should they? It’s rare that good news brings a person to a law office. More often than not, crisis drives the need for a lawyer, and a lawyer’s request to be paid for his or her services is...

I've been reading the press reports about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's jury selection in Boston with a growing sense of ambivalence. Tsarnaev, you will recall, is the surviving suspect in the 2013 bombing at the Boston Marathon.
I have for decades been opposed to the death penalty, and the specter of...

Power, Moises Naim tells us, is everywhere on the decline: whether in the realm of corporations, the effective military reach of the state, or religion—leaders don't have the unquestioned clout they once enjoyed. This presents great opportunities for innovation and creativity. It also...

Dying scares me less than suffering. Perhaps that’s because I’ve reached an age at which I attend more funerals than weddings. But I can imagine nothing more terrifying than to be forced to suffer. So my heart goes out to Cassandra C., the young 17-year-old kidnapped by the state and...