People can't choose what they desire, but they "choose" what they desire, and should generally be able to do what they "choose."That is, people can't choose to want one thing over another (because what they desire is controlled entirely by their environment and heredity), but it appears to them (illusorily) that they choose the thing that they desire, and they should not generally be constrained from acting

We have heard talk of “justice.” Is there anybody who knows what justice is? No one on earth can measure out justice. Can you look at any man and say what he deserves—whether he deserves hanging by the neck until dead or life in prison or thirty days in prison or a medal? The human mind is blind to all who seek to look in at it

At the request of a colleague out of state, I put the call out on a Texaswide criminal defense listserv for the names of some lawyers who would be good to handle a felony drug case in a faraway Texas small town.As the "I can handle those" responses came rolling in, I realized: that's not at all what I'm looking for. I don't want to know who

Quoth Vincent Bugliosi, in a comment posted by John Kindley:’Everyone is entitled to be represented by an attorney’ is the idealistic chant often recited by defense attorneys as justification for representing even the most vicious criminals in our society. The concept is unassailable, but idealism is rarely what motivates lawyers who represent guilty defendants. They take the work because trying cases is their livelihood, and they are

When you come to an intersection with a sign like this. . . . . .and you want to make a left turn, and the light is green, do not wait behind the stop line for a break in the oncoming traffic. Instead, pull forward into the intersection. If there is another left-turn-yield lane in the oncoming traffic, pull about a third of the way into the

From the mailbag:Apparently because she wanted me to comment on it, someone named Leslie Brodie ("religious leader in the community") sent me a copy of a grievance she filed against California Supreme Court Justice Marvin Baxter. In relevant part:When asked to express an opinion concerning the qualifications of Justice Cantil-Sakauye, Justice Baxter resorted to an extremely rude, unprofessional, and inappropriate description. Specifically, he stated, “I am very

Back in March (sometimes posts percolate for a few months before bubbling to the surface) Norm Pattis wrote something about about Gerry Spence that caught my attention.I recall years ago his complaining that he could not get into court. His cases kept settling. I offered him a chance to come on board in a gang murder. He declined. “I can’t win that case,” he said. I wonder:

For my fellow law geeks:18 USC §921, which defines terms for federal firearms crimes, defines a conviction of a "crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" in terms of state law, so a Texas deferred adjudication probation for a felony is not a conviction, and does not bar firearms possession. §921's definition of "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence," by contrast, doesn't incorporate state law,

I get to deal with a whole lot of crazy at work. The following rules are applicable to lots of flavors of crazy, but I've had a heavy dose of borderline personalities lately. So here are my ten rules for dealing with borderline personalities and other crazy people: If you don't have to deal with a crazy person, don't. You can't outsmart crazy. [Thanks to Lisa J]

I started writing the list that follows just to wrap my head around the array of offenses that can result in sex offender registration in Texas (with more coming every legislative session). While I was writing it, though, (11)-(13) jumped out at me: unlawful restraint, kidnapping, and aggravated kidnapping are sex-offender-registration offenses if they are committed (and if the judge makes an affirmative finding that they were