Well, that’s one way to reduce crowded prisons. April 21, 2008
Posted by Idta in : Criminal Law, Law Enforcement , add a comment
Imagine if the “fine” for underage drinking was a tour of duty in Iraq! (Watch out, Jenna!) It hasn’t quite come to that, but our desperate military has expanded their definition of “a few good men” to include more people with felony convictions.
Under pressure to meet combat needs, the Army and Marine Corps brought in significantly more recruits with felony convictions last year than in 2006, including some with manslaughter and sex crime convictions.
Client secrets April 20, 2008
Posted by Idta in : Attorney-Client, Constitution, Criminal Law , add a comment Attorney-client confidentiality has been getting a bad rap this week because of the Alton Logan case. (After lawyers for another man came forward to reveal that their client had admitted to them 26 years earlier that he committed the crime, Alton Logan was released this week on bond.)
Capital Defense Weekly reminds us about the importance of Client secrets & keeping your mouth shut.
Man Freed After Lawyers Come Forward April 19, 2008
Posted by Idta in : Attorney-Client, Criminal Law , add a comment I’m sure glad I haven’t had to keep a client’s secret confession for 26 years, knowing an innocent man was in prison for the crime.
Alton Logan’s family took up a collection in the lobby of the Cook County Criminal Courthouse and quickly came up with the $1,000 they needed to post bond.
At first, I loved that people at the courthouse contributed to help pay this man’s bond. (Do you get part of the bond back when you show up for the next hearing?) But then his family rode off in a black SUV to go get steak and lobster dinners?
True to its name: The Winning Brief April 9, 2008
Posted by Idta in : MyBooks , add a comment I posted earlier this week about winning relief for our client recently at the Court of Criminal Appeals.
The book that helped me TREMENDOUSLY in organizing and finishing my brief was
The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts
Why are you here? April 8, 2008
Posted by Idta in : Criminal Law, MyBooks, Quotes , 2comments One of my co-workers asked me today, “Why are you here?” I told him I want to be a better criminal-defense lawyer.
Tonight I finished reading The Best Defense,
The public sometimes has difficulty distinguishing between the noble [defense attorneys] and the sleazy; the very fact that a defense lawyer represents a guilty client leads some to conclude that the lawyer must be sleazy. Being so regarded is an occupational hazard of all zealous defense attorneys.
The late Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter once commented that he knew of no title “more honorable than that of Professor of the Harvard Law School.” I know of none more honorable than defense attorney.
Writ granted. (Note to reporter: Look up *concur*) April 8, 2008
Posted by Idta in : Criminal Law , 1 comment so far Recently, the Court of Criminal Appeals granted a writ and overturned the wrongful conviction of one of my clients. That was a wonderful result, and it was heartening that all of the justices who participated in the decision agreed with us.
BUT, the Associated Press mis-reported the decision as “5 to 3″ when it was really 8 to 0: Five justices signed the majority opinion, and the other three concurred. (One justice didn’t participate.) Contrary to what the newspaper reports suggested, it wasn’t a close decision at all, and there wasn’t any dissent.
Jury finds defendant “innocent by reason of insanity”? March 31, 2008
Posted by Idta in : Criminal Law , add a comment This article about Rusty Yates starting a new family claims that his first wife was found “innocent” of killing their children.
Sloppy reporting like this misleads the public and could hurt people for whom “Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity” would be the appropriate result.
Andrea Yates was found innocent by reason of insanity in July 2006 and sent to a state mental hospital.
Crime doesn’t play March 25, 2008
Posted by Idta in : Criminal Law , add a comment At first I was intrigued by the headline Home Ransacked After Craigslist Hoax and thought maybe the homeowner had committed a hoax online, and someone tracked him down and retaliated. NOPE! Just a pretty mean trick. (And stupid. They’ll get him.)
P.S. Even though it must be awful for the homeowner, it’s hard not to smile as you watch the video.
Dozens of people descended on Robert Salisbury’s Oregon home after ads posted on Craigslist Saturday said his belongings — including his horse — were free for the taking. But the ads were a hoax. When Salisbury returned home, some people refused to stop taking his things.
Prison succumbs to peer pressure March 22, 2008
Posted by Idta in : Criminal Law , add a comment I imagine this is every parolee’s and released prisoner’s recurring nightmare: Officials say error freed ex-SLA radical. The parole board had already decided to let her go. So after some public criticism, they go looking for an excuse to snatch her back?
Criticism that followed Sara Jane Olson’s release Monday spurred a thorough review of her sentence and the timing of her parole, Chief Deputy Secretary Scott Kernan said at a news conference.
Whose side is he on? March 18, 2008
Posted by Idta in : Attorney-Client, Criminal Law , add a comment The headline suggests the rapist himself told the judge that he had HIV, but the story reveals it was actually the defendant’s *lawyer* who revealed that fact to the judge. And it cost the client a longer prison sentence!
That’s longer than he might have gotten usual for a rape conviction, and it’s because his attorney Ernest Staine told the court that Cardenas has HIV.
