Racist or Misanthrope? You Make The Call

The NAACP claims I posted a racist image and has called me out for it. The accusation has made the news. Now bloggers have weighed it. So am I a racist?
I guess I am if you think that being a racist means not recognizing the claims of people of color for special treatment on account of their unique history in the United States.
I guess I am also a misogynist if you think that means I don’t recognize the claims of women for special treatment based on their unique history. But the broader truth is that I am a misanthrope.
I don’t trust folks of all races, genders,...
January 11, 2019

Saying Farewell To Facebook's Digitopia

It turns out that I am not the only person to notice the recent increase in Facebook censorship. Just yesterday I learned that a lawyer in California who posted something about his willingness to defend people's right to bear arms had his post removed because it violated Facebook's opaque standards. Are we entering a period of "Latte Liberalism," with 20-somethings deciding what is and is not acceptable from a cocoon in Silicon Valley?
Under pressure from Congress and others after disclosures that Facebook has sold the data it harvested from its users to various entities,...
January 10, 2019

I Got 99 Problems And Esdaile's NAACP Ain't One

Folks: The Connecticut NAACP condemned me today for re-posting a photo of a group of beer cans wearing hoods and surrounding a brown beer bottle on Facebook. Ku Klux Coors, I called it. It was sent to me by someone who could not believe that Facebook censored it as violative of the site's community standards.
I wrote the following about Scott Esdaile of the NAACP in 2006 on a blog page called Crime and Federalism. I stand by the assessment today.
Just Call Me Mark Furman April 10, 2006
In this morning's New Haven Register, the president of the Connecticut NAACP...
January 8, 2019

To Facebook, Or Not To Facebook, That Is The Question

I like to say the following to folks after one of my all-too-frequent displays of bad temper: “I’m sorry. I’m in AA. That outburst was totally in character. I am trying to recover.”
Generally folks pause for just a moment, reassessing me, and taking in the news that I am a recovering alcoholic.
Before they get too comfortable with that reassessment, I spring the punchline on them.
”I am not referring to Alcoholics Anonymous, mind you.” I pause to make sure I’ve got their full attention. “I am referring, of course, to...
January 3, 2019

Three Years Later, Yale Expels Student Found "Not Guilty"

January 2, 2019
It did not take a New Haven jury long in March of 2017 to acquit Saifullah Khan of the raping a classmate at Yale University one Halloween night....

Fukuyama Offers Insight Into The World To Come

November 12, 2018
There’s not a whole lot written about identity politics and immigration that makes much sense. From the right come claims of...

Jill Lepore's Almost Brilliant American History

October 9, 2018
Jill Lepore’s These Truths: A History of the United States, promises to be just the book we need in divisive times. It sets out to...

Will Kavanuagh Sue For Defamation?

September 16, 2018
We now know the name of the woman who accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault in an anonymous letter to California Senator Diane Feinstein...

Who Wants $100,000?

June 6, 2018
Remind me never to piss off John Uustal. Or, if I do, remind me that I should get him angry at someone I don’t like. The...

Cosby's Appeal Comes Next

April 26, 2018
There is a special place in Hell for those who cheer sending a person to prison, so mark today as a special day for the keepers of the roll...

Visit His Websites

Pattis & Smith Law Firm
Norman Pattis
RSS Feed
Become a patron

Press Videos

Books

Taking Back the Courts
Norm Pattis Taking Back the Courts

The Wizard of Oz was one of my favorites movies as a kid. Little did I know judges were so much like the wizard, hiding behind empty trappings of power. This book tells you things you need to know about what really goes on in court. Read it, weep, and then demand that the courts do better.

In the Trenches
Norm Pattis In the Trenches

Plenty of lawyers write about the law, but few who write try cases. Judge for yourself whether I talk the talk and walk the walk in this collection of occasional essays about life in the law's trenches.

Juries and Justice
Norm Pattis Juries and Justice

How prepared are you to take seriously the notion that 'we the people' are, in fact, sovereign? Discover the secret, and unused, power of jurors. 'Ask why; then nullify.'

Norm Pattis

About Norm

Norm Pattis is a Connecticut based trial lawyer focused on high stakes criminal cases and civil right violations. He is a veteran of more than 150 jury trials, many resulting in acquittals for people charged with serious crimes, multi-million dollar civil rights and discrimination verdicts, and scores of cases favorably settled.

© Norm Pattis is represented by Elite Lawyer Management, managing agents for Exceptional American Lawyers
Media & Speaker booking [hidden email]