713-224-1747
Recent Blog Posts
What I Learned Last Weekend
Heat stroke (sun stroke) represents the complete breakdown of the heat control process... This is a true emergency.... The patient will be confused, very belligerent and uncooperative.... Spray with water or other suitable fluid and fan vigorously to lower the core temperature through evaporative cooling. This is the one time in medicine when it may be justifiable to urinate on your patient.
Strange Traffic Pattern
Yesterday I received a couple of complaints that Defending People was loading slowly. I looked at my traffic stats, and saw that, while my overall numbers weren't high enough to explain the slowdown, I was getting three times as many total page loads as unique visitors; usually it's less than twice as many page loads as unique visitors. How do you account for that?
More Truth About Fear
When I pointed yesterday to the fact that Kelly Siegler's advice to other prosecutors to "make people afraid" it was intended to be a Sunday-afternoon placeholder until I had time to deal with Kelly's admonishment in more depth.
Judge Caprice Cosper says that there are people whom we punish because we're mad at them, and people whom we punish because we're afraid of them. Make people afraid isn't about empowering them to act on their fear. It's not "play on people's fears" but "make people afraid." Manipulate them, in other words, by causing them to feel fear that they wouldn't otherwise feel.
I've written before about The Power of Fear (how governments, through their prosecutors, use fear to increase their power), The Opposite of Fear (how the People, through their defense lawyers, have to use something other than fear to counter the government's use of fear and thereby preserve their power), Spreading Fear or Safety (how governments maximize power by trying to convince us that the government is doing all it can to keep us safe, but that we aren't entirely safe), and The Abandonment of American Ideals (about how our fear is turning America into something else). So the point of yesterday's post was not that I was surprised that prosecutors use fear to get juries to do what they want.
New Way to Subscribe
Email delivery of Defending People through Feedburner is slow - posts are sent out in a daily digest, so there might be almost a daylong lag between when I post and when subscribers receive it via email. So I'm trying something new: the Subscribe2 plugin for WordPress. There's an email subscription box in the sidebar; try it out and tell me what you think.
Thanks.
Works on Voters, Too.
The Chronicle reports that, "in a 2002 trial skills presentation in Austin, [Harris County DA candidate Kelly] Siegler's worksheet on final arguments included, ‘Make jury afraid.'"
Mean, True, or Both?
Anonymous blogger AHCL writes a critique of my mood:
He's darker. More angry. More morose.....Where he starts getting mean is in the comments.
he argues that Kelly Siegler "bought" Steven Hotze's support.
he states he thinks its "fair" for Kelly to pay for Chuck's sins (obviously not thinking that "mere presence" applies when it comes to politics).
he notes that posters on his website are very savvy, except for those that come to him from this website, citing them as being "a bit dim". (Now, granted, he and Anon C got into a nasty little war of words during the comments, so I can understand him being angry about that).
and he insinuates that the prosecutors support Kelly solely based on fear of losing their jobs.
Sometimes it's hard not to bruise people's feelings, especially when we're talking about something of desperate importance to them. I do try not to be mean, though.
Why We Must Keep the Church Out of Government
In my first Blog Against Theocracy 2008 post I discussed why little-r-religion - people's religious beliefs, as opposed to big-R-Religion (the Church) - is inevitably a part of criminal justice policy.
Most churches have something to recommend them: they provide guidelines for how humans should behave in relation to each other. Don't murder, don't steal, don't adulter, don't bear false witness, don't covet. Love one another, turn the other cheek, defend the poor and fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and needy.
So why, if religious belief is inevitably a part of criminal justice policy, and if Religion provides laudable rules that satisfy Kant's categorical imperative, should the Church not be part of the State?
The natural tendency of entities - plants, animals, humans, corporations, churches, governments - is to seek more power. Plants grow toward the sun, animals eat and reproduce, corporations grow market share, churches attract members and influence their thoughts. Each seeks monopoly - monopoly of sunlight, of food and mates, of money, and of ideas.
Subscribe to Comments
When I get a new magazine, the first thing I read is the letters to the editor. And when I find a new blog, the first thing I read is the comments. Sometimes I go to Simple Justice just to read the comments. One of the reasons I switched to WordPress was so that I could have a "recent comments" widget like Scott's.
If you enjoy comments like I do, now you can subscribe to comments on Defending People (feed).
Next Time, Avoid Eye Contact
From the "You Mean You're Not Supposed to Do That?" files:
Lawyer held in contempt for simulating masturbation in court.
Why religion is Unavoidable
As my first post for Blog Against Theocracy 2008, I'd like to point out that there are implicit religious assumptions that underlie every position taken in every discussion of criminal justice policy. For example:
One of the fundamental questions of criminal justice policy is why we punish people. There are five possible reasons to do so:
To deter them (specific deterrence);
To deter others (general deterrence);
To make it impossible for them to break the law again (incapacitation);
To help them avoid breaking the law again (rehabilitation); or
To "hold them accountable" and "get even" with them and give them their "just deserts" (retribution).
Most people can probably agree that the first four goals of punishment are acceptable. There is a tremendous gulf, however, between those who think that retribution is a worthy goal of our criminal justice system and those who do not. Which side of that gulf we fall on informs our feelings about punishment across the board. For example:
Contact Us if You're
Ready for a Better Future
Schedule a consultation today by filling out the form below or calling our office at 713-224-1747. We look forward to representing you.
The use of the Internet or this form for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.
I have read and understand the Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.
From our office in Houston, we represent clients throughout Harris County and across the state of Texas. We assist with criminal cases in Conroe, The Woodlands, Kingwood, Bellaire, Friendswood, Highland Village, West University Place, Cypress, Willis, Austin, Dallas, For Worth, Arlington, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Beaumont, Tyler, Plano, Spring, New Caney, Porter, Humble, Atascocita, Aldine, Cloverleaf, Pasadena, South Houston, Pearland, Fresno, Missouri City, Sugar Land, Pecan Grove, Richmond, and Katy.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
917 Franklin Street, Fourth Floor, Houston, TX 77002
713-224-1747
