Ron Paul has got a "Rain Man" vibe—not that that is a bad thing. Watch how he presses on regardless of the boos when he challenges the conventional 9/11 story.

There are people out there who want to kill us.Newt Gingrich (via Reason.com).As a people, we are not widely traveled. The great majority of Americans have never traveled outside of North America. It’s no surprise to me at all that a passenger on a Denver-to-Detroit Frontier Airlines flight would, seeing two Indian passenger going several times to the restroom, conclude that OH MY GOD THEY’VE GOT A

Only in California, I suspect, would it be "unlikely" for a good lawyer who is not a media whore to be representing someone on trial for his livelihood, his freedom, and his future.When asked, I did my best to explain that there is no positive correlation between being a high-profile criminal-defense lawyer and being an excellent criminal-defense lawyer. Indeed, there is often a negative correlation: our clients

Have you ever wondered about the "IRS Circular 230 Notice" language you often see at the bottom of lawyers' emails? Here's a sample, from the email of a criminal-defense lawyer: IRS CIRCULAR 230 NOTICE: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (or in any attachment) is not intended or written to be used,

What does the transportation of oxycodone and cash have to do with transportation security? Reuters:Three Transportation Security Administration employees, a police officer and a state trooper were among 20 people arrested and accused of running an interstate prescription drug ring, officials said on Tuesday.This case stands not only for the proposition that TSA employees are not incorruptible, and shouldn't be trusted with our personal property (part of

This post was contributed by Robb Fickman. Robb is a criminal-defense lawyer and a leader of the Houston criminal bar. He is a past president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association. No disclaimer applies. I agree with Robb.

In an editorial that newspapers across the US (including the Houston Chronicle, where it made the front page), mistaking it for a news story, picked up and published, AP editor Lisa Benac leads off with:We are safer, but not safe enough.The first part, if true, is a fact. The second part is a) an opinion that b) is controversial and c) is wrong.

If you get a "Statement" from UST Development, Inc.—an invoice like this one:(from here)—do not pay it. It's a scam. You probably don't owe UST Development any money because they haven't provided you with any "preventative maintenance."Ken at Popehat got the same statement; he didn't pay it, but he's calling UST Development (and likely its principles, David Bell and Branden Tomeric Bell) to the attention of federal

Professor Neil McCabe, who markets himself as "the smartest lawyer John O'Quinn knew" (I'll buy that, but I suspect that O'Quinn didn't know Brent Newton), joined the discussion in the comments here about Texas civil liability for barratry. Now he's written a blog post on the same subject. In comments and in the blog post, Professor McCabe has, like any scary-smart (or even scary smart) lawyer, decided

I started this blog on 19 March 2007, but I started blogging on 13 August 2004. I never really found my voice during that go-round, and I abandoned the effort in June 2005.I've moved those posts (all seventeen of them) over to Defending People. Here are the 2004 posts, and here are the 2005 posts. The motivation was that, with the tenth anniversary of 9/11 approaching, I