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

I've known Sparta Townson for years, since she was Sparta Komissarova with Martindale-Hubbell / Lawyers.com (in unholy alliance at the time with LexisNexis). I may have done a little business with her for a little while, and then stopped. There were no hard feelings, but she was a salesperson, and she wasn't selling anything I needed. Then Sparta left Martindale-Hubbell (some say she was fired; she says

Yesterday when HCCLA went to Houston's City Hall, we learned (because the Mayor told us) that the City of Houston is working on separating the crime lab from the Houston Police Department.This was a surprise to me; it's excellent news.

Texas’s highest criminal court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, has held, in Stearnes v. Clinton, that a rule barring defense counsel from talking to some witnesses without the prosecutor’s presence “is not only in conflict with principles of fair play, but in direct conflict with defense counsel’s responsibility to seek out and interview potential witnesses.”Murray Newman got the scoop: a memorandum originating from the HPD Chief’s Command/Legal

It’s not that he loves his job:I could have been a contender instead of what I am, a document review attorney. (Twitter.)Nor that he enjoys it:What’s new in the contract attorney world? I hope you guys/ladies having a better time of it than me. (Twitter.)It’s not just that it’s fulfilling:The only reward for being the fastest doc reviewer is quicker unemployment for all involved. (Twitter.)Nor that quality

"Watch this, Mark. I'm going to lie to the judge just to show you that I can." That's not exactly what she said. This morning The Snake was seeking a delay of the trial (set next Monday) of a case in which she's prosecuting a client of mine. This was her second motion for a continuance, but it didn't even come close to complying with the law