Gideon brings us news of a federal case in Vermont in which the judge has refused to force the accused to reveal the password that he used to PGP-encrypt the kiddie porn on his computer, even though the accused had already used the password to show agents what was on the computer. This is, of course, a good ruling for liberty. In a world of sneak-and-peaks and

Apparently Allegedly the difference in Chuck Rosenthal's pension if he leaves now and if he leaves after completing his second term is something on the order of $90,000. A year. [Update: So far I have been unable to confirm the truth of this allegation.]

Hypothetical question: If Chuck Rosenthal resigns, who is in charge of the DA's office? Answer: First Assistant Bert Graham. For how long? Until governor Rick Perry appoints a new DA. Well, who does he appoint? Maybe Pat Lykos. So? So whoever Perry appoints goes into the primary with an advantage. Again: so? So the general feeling among prosecutors is that Lykos would be a disaster as a

It's been pointed out to me by anonymous commenters at Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center that I'm no Dan Cogdell, I'm no Racehorse Haynes, I'm no Gerald Goldstein, and I'm no Pat McCann. Because, of course, I used to believe that I was -- and hold myself out as -- Dan, Race, Gerry, and Pat. So I'm glad AHCL's kind anonymous commenters have cleared

In Open Records 102- Attorney General Edition Robert Guest republishes a FAQ from the Texas Attorney General about the Texas Public Information Act. The AG notes, correctly that "records of the judiciary do not fall under the Public Information Act." For Open Records Week last week I sent public information requests to all of Harris County's 37 criminal-court judges. To get public information (not Public Information) from

George Godwin, the longtime judge of the 174th District Court, is not running for reelection. Four prosecutors are running for that bench. Per AHCL, "Look for the A.D.A.'s to remain awkwardly quiet about this race until after the primary has settled the issue for them." How is the general public to choose among four prosecutors running for the bench? One factor that helps make a good prosecutor

I was driving down 19th Street in the pouring rain this evening when I saw a young man in a flannel shirt crossing the street -- about a block up. He had the sort of odd gait that I associate, for some reason, with brain damage. He started giving the finger to passing cars. As I got closer, I waved to him. He started angrily giving me

Prosecutor AHCL contributes to a vast sea of inanity -- inanity almost beyond belief; a sort of naive inanity that could only ooze from the keyboard of (dare I say it?) a prosecutor -- when she writes about Why I'm Concerned About Writing. After the Cliff's Notes version of George Orwell's 1984 (which she admits never having read), AHCL writes: Well, Big Brother is watching now, and

Harris County prosecutor Vic Wisner writes in public explanation of his dismissal of the grand jury's indictment against Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina: My decision to dismiss the indictments Without violating my ethical restrictions on commenting on pending investigations, I would like to explain the following to the public: Regardless of my personal belief in the merits of a case, I cannot ethically proceed forward if

From the anonymous prosecutor blogging at Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center: "The defense bar of Harris County does an equally good job. They defend their clients rights, and I've never seen a defense attorney who believed in his client's innocence give up without a fight." Well alrighty then!