From the transcript of the hearing on Dontrell Deaner's request to fire Joseph Rakofsky from Deaner's criminal case:It was apparent to the Court that there was a—not a good grasp of legal principles and legal procedure of what was admissibIe and what was not admissible that inured, I think, to the detriment of Mr. Deaner. And had there been—If there had been a conviction in this case,

Joel Rosenberg, father, husband, science-fiction writer, second-amendment advocate, habitué of the blawgoshphere, rouser of rabble, outspoken critic of police misconduct, and all-around fearless proponent of what he knew to be right, has died.I will miss him.

I was otherwise occupied, and didn't write about this at the time, but nobody I follow did either, so I figure it's worth a small post:When TSA let three boxcutters through security at JFK and onto an airplane,[TSA] Spokeswoman Davis was quick to put the embarrassing incident behind her, assuring the traveling public that the TSA is still ahead of the curve: There have been a number

Send this to San Felipe by Express night & day To The People of Texas and All AmericansCommandancy of the Alamo— Bejar, Fby. 24th 1836— To the People of Texas & all Americans in the world— Fellow citizens & compatriots—I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna—I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost

What do you do if you're a U.S. District Court judge who's concerned that the people handling security at a high-school prom might molest high-school students?You order a "TSA certified person" to supervise, of course. Because TSA-certified people would never grope high-school students? Because TSA-certified people pat people down only when there are reasonable grounds? Or because our kids should get used to being molested the US

Kashmir Hill writes:Republican Dan Patrick, who was the sponsor of the bill in the Senate, withdrew it when he realized he would not have the votes he needed to pass it. “There was a time in this state, there was a time in our history, where we stood up to the federal government and we did not cower to rules and policies that invaded the privacy of

The other J-Dog, at Restoring Dignity to the Law, opines that Joseph Rakofsky is also a symptom of one of the fundamental problems of attorney oversupply and writes:I'm ultimately your ally, Joseph, because you're a victim, just like most of our generation of law graduates. To make it into and through law school, you obviously have higher than average intelligence. And it's clear that you have an

When courts summon everyone who meets the minimum requirements for sitting on a jury – that they are county residents at least 18 years old and not convicted felons – there’s a potential of “diluting” jury pools, said Athens attorney Harry Gordon, who served as district attorney for Clarke and Oconee counties for nearly three decades.“There’s a possibility (the new law) could open up jury service to

On Monday, I was hired by a man's father to represent the man on a serious felony case.When I say, "I was hired" here I mean that the father and I agreed on a fee for my representation, and the man approved my representation. We had, in other words, a contract. It was not a written contract, but this is Texas, where we do business on our

In a great and rare example of real judicial activism, the Indiana Supreme Court has, without even being asked, outlawed something that hundreds of years of common law have allowed and the Indiana Legislature has explicitly authorized.And the law of England has so particular and tender a regard to the immunity of a man’s house, that it stiles it his castle, and will never suffer it to