Remember Joseph Rakofsky, who took a murder case straight out of the law-school gate, a mistrial was granted, the judge said mean things about his ineffectiveness on the record, the Washington Post picked up the story, the practical blawgosphere picked up the story, he sued the Internet, and he got poured out (after settling with a law school, seeking counsel on Craigslist, and an absurdist novelsworth of

The law is a self-mocking profession. There's no need to make fun of it or its practitioners because so many of them are doing such a great job of making themselves the subject of fun. They just need a little spotlight for the comedy to come alive. I like to think that from time to time I provide that spotlight, and maybe a little context so that

After Cardan Spencer tried to kill Bobby Gerald Bennett in a gang-related shooting in October, Spencer lawyered up. One of his fellow gang members, Christopher Watson, talked to the police, though, and convinced them that Spencer was defending himself from Bennett, who was menacing Spencer and Watson with a knife. Bennett—who is not a gang member—got charged with aggravated assault. Then the video emerged—a surveillance video taken

Me, October 24, 2013, here: Professor Franks, when I say that you haven’t addressed counterarguments, I mean that. I’m sorry that you find it tedious that you be expected to address why, for example, in light of Stevens’s unambiguous rejection of a balancing test, you continue to insist that some sort of balancing test applies. As for your working paper, I’ve yet to see any counter to

Three things you should read: 1. This Is Why Poor People’s Bad Decisions Make Perfect Sense [update: it’s bullshit]. 2. Harris County Texas: Where the Innocent Must Plead Guilty to Regain Their Liberty 3. Understanding and Working with Students and Adults from Poverty (via Scott Greenfield). I’ve written here time and again about the problem of the working poor in Harris County’s criminal justice system: ((Hyphens are

You get an unfavorable opinion in the appellate court. You file a motion for rehearing. Your adversary files a response in which he says three things: "The amendment to Section 402.010(a) of the Texas Government Code requiring such notice from a party did not become effective until September 1, 2013, after this case was briefed." "In its Third Issue for Rehearing the State admits error…. That admission

Gideon (A Public Defender) recently pointed me toward a little oddity in the penal laws of the Nutmeg State: (a) Any person who (1) wilfully or unlawfully causes or permits any child under the age of sixteen years to be placed in such a situation that…the morals of such child are likely to be impaired, or does any act likely to impair the…morals of any such child…shall

[Update: The DMN corrected its error.] In Houston alone, about 300,000 sex trafficking cases are prosecuted each year. (Dallas Morning News Editorial: Cracking down on sex traffickers). The number is such obvious nonsense that anyone who gave it any serious thought would decry it. (Amy Alkon and Walter Olson got there before me.) But the DMN blithely published it as fact. In Harris County, according to Texas

A person commits an offense if the person has cause to believe that a child’s physical or mental health or welfare has been or may be adversely affected by abuse or neglect and knowingly fails to report as provided in this chapter. An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor…. Texas Family Code Section 261.09. The Harris County DA has charged a high-school principal and

"U.S. forces can only enter Afghan homes in extraordinary circumstances when the life or limb of Americans is at stake." (NewsObserver.com) You know what this means? Residents of Kabul are more secure from US forces invading their homes than are residents of Boston.