Today I was hired to represent a young man in federal sentencing proceedings whose "trial" lawyer had advised him to plead guilty without explaining why, tried to withdraw from the case because the client wasn't uncritically taking his advice, and then finally on the eve of trial, unprepared, convinced the man to plead guilty because "everybody gets convicted anyway."I don't yet know whether pleading guilty was the

The father of 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell, denied a birthday cake with the child's full name on it by one New Jersey supermarket, is asking for a little tolerance. The family was eventually able to get a cake from Wal-Mart. Adolph's little sister, Joycelynn Aryan Nation Campbell, doesn't see what the fuss is about.(I wish I could make up material like this.)

The exaltation of freedom over safety is part of our national DNA. America was founded, invented, and peopled by those who chose freedom over safety.Ben Franklin:They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.Patrick Henry:Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I

From today's Houston Chronicle:DNA evidence — collected in 2002, but unexamined until now — has cleared [RR,] a Houston man serving a 40-year prison sentence for the sexual assault of a child.The complainant (the Chronicle calls him "the victim", but in this case that term is ambiguous) who identified RR had, when describing his assailant, not mentioned RR's very conspicuous facial disfigurement, caused by a shotgun blast

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.)

From Alex Bunin, Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of New York, comes "Federal Convictions Reversed," this collection (pdf) of summaries of appellate cases reversing federal convictions (not sentences). An invaluable resource to the federal criminal-defense lawyer, but that's to be expected -- the various public defenders' offices are still and likely always will be one of the best resources for training and education for the

A DAY IN COURT By James Kavanaugh © 1979 (From his collection, Walk Easy on the Earth) The unsmiling judge with wet, flapping jowls, Dismissing the tears of husbands and wives, Spitting out consonants, rolling his vowels, Tearing out hearts and carving up lives, Slicing the children apart at their bowels, Believing that justice latterly thrives--- Wiser than Solomon or blinking old owls--- As long as his

C'mon people, this is a travesty. Scott Greenfield's outstanding Simple Justice blog is 38 votes out of the lead in the ABA Journal's balloting for top criminal law blog. Go read Simple Justice. It is hands-down the best criminal blog in the practical blawgosphere.I know that Scott has been encouraging his many readers to vote for another criminal practice blog. Pay no attention. I'm personally very fond

The fun and games at the Harris County District Attorney's Office continues, with demotions following on the heels of firings. Quoth soon-to-be criminal-defense lawyer Murray Newman:[D.A.-elect Pat Lykos] will fire or demote anyone who dared to even look at another candidate during the D.A.'s race. She proved that over the past few days with her administrative decisions that, amongst other things, had her demoting prosecutors from specialty

Following are my comments delivered to an audience of criminal-defense lawyers, juvenile probation officials, two prosecutors and one judge on the occasion of the hanging of the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence in the foyer of the Harris County Juvenile Justice Center:My friends,"Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the residents thereof." That’s the inscription from Leviticus on the bell that hung in