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

Have you ever noticed that when the mainstream media produce stories about TSA agents humiliating the elderly, abusing children, and otherwise behaving badly, they hide the identity of the agents? Why do they do that? These are public employees, paid with public funds, in positions requiring them to deal with the public. When they violate the public trust, they should be personally accountable like any other bureaucrats.

When Chicago criminal-defense lawyer Marcus Schantz got a not guilty from a jury last week for a guy accused of assaulting a couple of cops, I was pleased for him. It looked like a bad case; and any time we put the government to its proof and the jury agrees with us, it’s worth an attaboy or two.Not everybody agrees.Schantz, via Twitter, pointed out this post and

Allentown, Pennsylvania prosecutor Juliet L. Dowling and criminal-defense lawyer David A. Nicholls get in an argument outside the courtroom. Dowling says that Nicholls has a conflict of interest, and tries to bar him from the courtroom. Nicholls yells, cusses, and points his finger at Dowling. Nicholls gets charged with disorderly conduct for his trouble. Nicholls, sixty-two years old, should be better able to control himself. There's no

Why don’t we all join Rocket Lawyer, enabling it to provide more forms to more clients for cheaper?Because, like Sam Glover says in the comments, we’re not selling forms, we’re selling our good judgment. Criminal-defense lawyers—by way of example—earn our reputations in trial, but we earn our keep helping clients decide whether to go to trial. (“Knowing where to tap: £99.”) It’s not just the trial lawyers

One of my favorite statutes, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 21.15:Art. 21.15. MUST ALLEGE ACTS OF RECKLESSNESS OR CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE. Whenever recklessness or criminal negligence enters into or is a part or element of any offense, or it is charged that the accused acted recklessly or with criminal negligence in the commission of an offense, the complaint, information, or indictment in order to be sufficient in

Some lawyers think ambush is the better tactic; I frankly would rather not be accidentally prosecuting someone who might be innocent, and I'd rather have your insight upfront. That's a Harris County prosecutor, responding to my pointing out a couple of the problems that I saw with the case against my client.I wrote years ago about NLSes, or Nasty Little Surprises. An NLS is something about the