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Recent Blog Posts
The Coming TOS Boom.
I admit that I confine my blog reading to the small-batch artisanal blogs. These are blogs that are not supported by advertising, not written for mass consumption, and that are mostly written by a single author who has other things to do with her life.
This means that I miss out on blogs like The Volokh Conspiracy that provide lots of valuable interesting content, much of it from people smarter than me.
How do I know that Volokh has such content, if I don't read it? Because I read Simple Justice. New York criminal-defense lawyer Scott Greenfield is like the liver of the practical blawgosphere - he reads everything, filters out the garbage, and passes the rest on. Which is how I learned that Volokh has new terms of service, in light of the Lori Drew verdict (Drew was convicted of three federal misdemeanors for violating MySpace's terms of service):
Power Doesn't Like Truth
Scott Greenfield got an email critical of his position on marketing, and published it unedited to his blog. In one portion, the writer (Santa Ana, California probate lawyer David Allen Hiersekorn) writes:
Even more disturbing, you actually write on your website that you are better than other attorneys and would get a better result for your clients. Many states actually prohibit those kinds of statements. I know that a good many lawyers would find them wholly undignified. I have a dear friend and mentor, retired New York Judge William Lawless, who wrote much of New York's evidence code back in the 1960s. I had a conversation with Judge Lawless where he went on at length describing the harmful effect of lawyers competing on quality of result. I will summarize Judge Lawless' [sic] argument as it relates to your area of practice. Mr. Greenfield, you diminish the legal profession, because your advertising gives the public the impression that the criminal justice system doesn't determine guilt or innocence. Rather, the result of the legal system is to determine who has the best lawyer, and then reward that person. The legal profession suffers when people believe that an acquittal can be purchased simply by hiring a better lawyer. The converse is true as well. The legal system suffers when people believe that innocent people get convicted simply because they didn't have a better lawyer.Indeed, these things happen. But, they are tragedies of justice, not marketing opportunities.
Rotten Tomatoes or Peeled Grapes for Scott Andringa?
From the website of Clearwater, Florida lawyer Scott Andringa:
After beginning his career as a misdemeanor prosecutor in the State Attorneys Office in Clearwater, Florida he was promoted to Misdemeanor Lead Trial Attorney. He transferred to New Port Richey, Florida in 1995 when he was promoted to prosecuting felony cases. He remained in New Port Richey for nine years, prosecuting many high-profile cases including a landmark dance studio fraud case, death penalty cases and a drug trafficking case that was featured on 60 Minutes, Nightline and in the New York Times. He was also responsible for dozens of other successful prosecutions and was profiled in the St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune.In 2004, he moved to Key Largo, Florida to become the Division Director of the State Attorneys Office in the Upper Keys of Monroe County, Florida. He remained there until 2006. His tenure included a successful prosecution in a high-profile murder case.
Somewhere Napoleon is Smiling
Over two years ago, shortly before the most recent election for the fifteen Harris County Criminal Court at Law (misdemeanor) benches, there was a brouhaha at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center about a politically incorrect email sent by CCCL6 Judge Larry Standley to other judges:
The issue: an e-mail [captioned, "What in the world is this? My God?"] forwarded to at least one of the judges from one of their colleagues. Why it's an issue: It apparently included a poster for the underground short movie entitled Gayniggers From Outer Space. (The movie itself is made by gays from Denmark and is a spoof of sorts; the title allegedly refers to what some gay African blacks in Europe call themselves. You can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAW5NRj2YhE.)
(Houston Press, October 26, 2006 and Houston Chronicle, November 25, 2008.) The story was in the TV news as well as the weekly free tabloid Press at the time.
Matt Shirk, You Are the Weakest Link.
From The Agitator and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina criminal-defense lawyer Bobby Frederick (if I ever get tossed in jail in South Carolina, I'm calling Bobby Frederick to bust me out): Jacksonville, Florida public "defender" Matt Shirk, elected to be tough on crime ("His campaign promises included a vow not to oppose funding cuts to the office he was running for, and a promise to squeeze as much money as possible out of indigent defendants, including a proposal for the postponed billing of acquitted defendants who might later be able to find some employment"), fires ten lawyers, including those who secured a acquittal for a youth charged with robbery and murder in a case that the Sheriff's department had bungled.
The firings came eight years to the day after the acquittal. Maybe the timing is mere coincidence. Or maybe not. Here's one of the fired lawyers:
Look on the Bright Side: This Way You Can Do It on the Clock
Down at the criminal courthouse, the prosecutors are hard at work: updating their résumés. All Harris County Assistant District Attorneys, from the lowliest misdemeanor four to the most entrenched division chief, have been told by the incoming management to do so. (I couldn't make this stuff up.)
Wow! That'll be great for morale!
I will be offering my résumé-editing assistance for a fee. Here's a free sample for my friends in the Office: in the 21st Century it's important to show an understanding of modern media, so make sure to mention that you are an avid reader of the Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center blog. (I made that crack to a prosecutor, who responded, deadpan, "what's a blog?")
I will also be sending glowing letters of recommendation for all of the prosecutors. There's no charge for this service - I want to help. If you'd like me not to send a letter praising you, send me $100 via PayPal. Make it $200, and I'll send a letter reviling you.
Memo to Non-Criminal Defense Lawyers
My Civil (and Prosecutorial) Friends,
I know times are tough. The Republicans have gutted the civil justice system through tort deform. Family law and probate law and real estate law clients don't have the money that they once had to spend on lawyers. Even in Houston, the economy is slowing down. I sympathize. Really, I do.
But if you aren't an experienced criminal-defense lawyer, please stay out of the criminal courthouse unless you have experienced, competent supervision.
Any idiot can hold himself out on the internet to be a criminal defenselawyer or a DUI lawyer - all it takes is a website with the rightkeywords; no actual experience is required. People will call you, andsome will hire you if your price quotes are low enough. But if you are just in itfor the money, and don't care whether you're doing it well or badly,please reconsider. Not because I will call you out here like Jason Laas-Sughrue (though you can depend on my doing so) but instead because what you do down at the criminal courthouse affects people's lives in ways that you have no experience with.
Nothing to Do with PDs and Private Lawyers
A post from Minneapolis public defender Mariam's Accident Prone blog:
Dear Private Attorney,I know you think you know more than I do. Hell, maybe you do. I know that you think dispensing legal advice without, oh I don't know, "reading the file" or "knowing about what the evidence is" is a good idea. In the future, if you're not going to do either of those things, please do not tell my already deluded client that he "should be able to get" a misdemeanor disposition from a felony. Or else, take the damn case and get what he "should be able to get" for him. Oh wait, what? You can't/won't/don't have a valid legal license to do so? Then shut the f&*$ up!Warmest Regards,Mariam
New York lawyer / blogger Anthony Colleluori: thinks the problem is that hired lawyers are better than PDs:
Gen Y Not as Savvy as They Say?
For all the talk of Generation Y's technological savvy, I'm surprised that more young Houston criminal-defense lawyers don't have websites or blogs. Most of them haven't even taken the free step of claiming their Avvo profiles.
Can anyone explain to me why that would be? Are they all spending their online energy on MySpace (where I don't set foot unless I'm investigating some thug who has falsely accused one of my clients)? Are they practicing law in Second Life? Are they defending dwarves in World of Warcraft?
I'd really like to know.
What if They Gave a WOD and Nobody Came?
The New York Times suggests a solution to the problem of insufficient funding for indigent defense:
With states struggling to come up with financing for schools and hospitals, we fear politicians are unlikely to argue for significantly more money for public defenders' offices. To solve the immediate crisis, new sources of support would have to be found - quickly. One approach would be for states to increase the registration fees charged to lawyers. The private bar also must significantly expand pro bono representation. Such efforts alone cannot fill the gap. Ultimately, government must take responsibility. All defendants, rich or poor, have the right to competent legal counsel.
(Brother Greenfield responds, with Twitterworthy conciseness, "Bite Me.")
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