Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. I had a federal drug conspiracy sentencing this week in which I was arguing, based on my client's horrible childhood and his history of being a law-abiding and productive member of society for all but two of his 49 years, that he should not go to prison.The government's argument was, "there are lots of people who

In balloting that would embarrass Kim Jong-Il, the ABA Journal has deprived Scott Greenfield's Simple Justice of its rightful award for Top Crime Blawg.If you've followed a link from the ABA Journal to here, please check out the "Defenders" and "Prosecutors" sections of my blogroll for many blogs that are better than mine.

The latest discussion of the ethics of a factually-guilty person putting the government to its burden, which started with Illinois criminal-defense lawyer Jeremy Ritchey's post here, then bounced to my post here and back to Jeremy's here and onward to Virginia prosecutor Ken Lammers (a good discussion will do that, you know), here, who adjusted the question from one of ethics to one of morality, which didn't

In Sweden, Police are using surveillance cameras and CCTV footage to catch men who visit prostitutes and pay - or seek to pay for - sex.Within weeks of such a visit a letter is sent to the "torsk" - Swedish slang for a male sex customer. If he does not admit to the crime he is taken to court.

Former Harris County Assistant District Attorney The Gruff Marshmallow has joined the Nearby County District Attorney's Office and been assigned to this court.How many of you saw the series finale of The Shield?

In Broward County, Florida, the judge has kicked the whole DA's office off a murder case because two prosecutors had listened to two phone calls between the jailed accused and his lawyer. (H/T Social Services for Feral Children.) The trial started in September; it's "on hold" now (not even a mistrial?).In her order, the judge wrote that ''anyone who has turned on the television in the last

[Co-written by Jennifer Bennett.]The Bombay Metropolitan Magistrate Court Bar Association has adopted a resolution barring its members from representing Mohammed Ajmal Kasab (Law and Other Things blog), the sole surviving November 26th attacker.Lawyers often feel pressure not to represent people associated with unpopular causes. I remember that Doug Tinker (RIP Doug) initially declined to represent Yolanda Saldivar, Selena's killer. But then he came to his senses. It's

1. Anti-Social Behavior Orders (ASBOs)From the Home Office's website:Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) are court orders which [sic] forbid specific threatening or intimidating actions. An ASBO can ban a person from: threatening, intimidating or disruptive actions spending time with a particular group of friends visiting certain areas ASBOs are in effect for a minimum of two years, and can be longer. They are designed to protect specific victims, neighbours, or

Paraphrased actual letter from lawyer to first-time DUI client:Dear X,You have told me that you can't afford to pay me to try your case. This forces me to ask the judge to allow me to withdraw from your case. Three bad things might happen as a result.First, the judge might revoke your bond and take you into custody.Second, the judge might not allow me off your case.

Murray Newman laments what he expects to be the loss of prosecutorial discretion in the Harris County District Attorney's Office under the Lykos / Leitner regime.Murray misses the old days. Ah, those glorious Rosenthal / Siegler days, when prosecutors had discretion -- discretion enough to run amok. . . when 29-year-old misdemeanor chiefs with no life experience were the ones providing critical ethical training to 25-year-old misdemeanor