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?
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.
Public Defender Haiku February 3, 2008
Posted by Idta in : Attorney-Client, Constitution, Criminal Law , 1 comment so farPublic Defender Haiku
Through trial or plea
Even if you are guilty
I will defend you.
People often ask
How can you defend those folks?
Criminal lawyer.
Defend the accused?
Imagine if I didn’t.
There’d be no justice.
Court Sentences Rape *Victim* November 16, 2007
Posted by Idta in : Attorney-Client, Criminal Law , add a comment Sometimes it seems to be a national hobby to criticize American criminal justice as overly-concerned with the rights of the accused and indifferent to the rights of victims. Well, for contrast, take a look at Saudi Arabian ‘justice’.
Reports of the story triggered debate about Saudi Arabia’s legal system, in which judges have wide discretion in punishing a criminal, rules of evidence are shaky and sometimes no defense lawyers are present. The result, critics say, are sentences left to the whim of judges.
U.S. probes banned briefs found at Gitmo September 14, 2007
Posted by Idta in : Attorney-Client, Criminal Law, Law Enforcement , add a comment Although probing briefs sounds like another Senator Craig joke, the fact they accuse the defense lawyers of bringing contraband in to Gitmo is pretty serious.
Whenever I need to give a document or anything to one of my clients, I ask a guard to hand it to him.
An inmate that is caught with contraband has a lot of incentive to protect his source. Who better to blame than the court-appointed attorney? If he loses one lawyer, he’ll get another one, but his contraband source might be harder to replace.
I want a new drug. September 14, 2007
Posted by Idta in : Attorney-Client, Criminal Law , add a comment In my short career as a criminal lawyer, I’ve already been fortunate to tell two defendants that the State dropped the charges against them. Both times, I’ve delivered the news in person rather than by sending a letter.
Someone in my office asked, “Why do you have to go there just for that?” Well, I’m trying to become addicted to the euphoria on a defendant’s face when we win.
When is the best time to schedule a client meeting? August 6, 2007
Posted by Idta in : Attorney-Client , add a comment A CNN article suggests there is a best time of day to do just about anything. Unfortunately, it doesn’t suggest what is the best time of day to meet with a new client.
Best time of day to take a nap — 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Doctors used to think afternoon sleepiness was the result of a big lunch. “But we’ve found that in the early afternoon there’s a dip in body temperature, which causes sleepiness[.]”
