Defending People

the tao of criminal defense trial lawyering

Jail Hell

Mark Bennett | September 11, 2009

Randall Patterson’s Houston Press article on conditions inside the Harris County Jail, based on inmate interviews. If you believe the government, this must be a vast conspiracy of defamation conducted by inmates. If you believe the inmates, federal crimes are routinely committed by jailers.
Which story is more credible? Considering that the inmates aren’t even organized [...]

Meet Your Overlords

Mark Bennett | April 7, 2009

A DUI checkpoint in California (audio, H/T Troy McKinney).
A DUI stop in Texas (video from Dallas Morning News).
Phoenix police raid the home of a blogger who has been critical of the department (Photography is Not a Crime, via Simple Justice).
The Harris County DA’s Office answers the age-old question, “what does it take to get a [...]

A Heck of a ($618,000 ) Job

Mark Bennett | December 12, 2008

The city of Minneapolis will be paying at least $618,000 in a settlement to the family whose house was shot up by a city SWAT team last December.
The officers who participated in the botched raid, you’ll recall, got medals.
(H/T Joel Rosenberg.)