I have been reflecting on Memorial Day and paying tribute to the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our liberty. We are very fortunate to live in a place where an accused is presumed innocent, and has a right to notice, counsel, proof beyond a reasonable doubt, against compelled self incrimination and against unreasonable search and seizure. We also have constitutional rights to equal protection, due process, and freedom of speech and religion, and against government establishment of religion. Each generation has a responsibility to fight to keep the rights and ideals enshrined in our Constitution alive. As lawyers, we have a special responsibility to give meaning to these rights that define us as a nation of laws and liberties, and we fight in court every day to ensure that the government promotes our rights, and does not encroach on them. We know from experience that many of our citizens take these rights for granted and don’t agree with them…
Memorial Day message
↧
↧
Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Law eJournal
are here. The usual disclaimers apply. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 481 The Federal Circuits’ Second Amendment Doctrines David B. Kopel and Joseph G.S. Greenlee Independence Institute and Independent Date posted to database: 21 Apr 2016 2 319 Like Snow...
↧
ED CARHART HAS PASSED AWAY
This one hurts. We have a lot to say about Mr. Carhart. We will let those who knew him best speak for us by reprinting their comments on FACDL, Suffice to say that there are a few generations of lawyers who never knew that Ed was the best; the best prepared, the best cross examiner, the best criminal defense attorney that there was in our profession. Period. A legend in the SAO. A legend in Miami. A real gentleman. A lawyer's lawyer. We lost the best this weekend folks, and we will start the comments with his close friend, Jim Woodard: We have lost one of the finest lawyers of our time. Ed Carhart, former Chief Assistant to Richard Gerstein and long-time member of the criminal defense bar, diedFriday. His knowledge of the law was unsurpassed and his skill with juries legendary. More importantly, his ability to deal with adversity reminded all that knew him that regardless of how bad things may seem at the moment, he had it much…
↧
"Will Overreach Kill Mens Rea Reform?"
Kent Scheidegger has this post at Crime & Consequences. In part: Yet neither the House bill nor the Senate bill includes recklessness in its defaultmens rea provision. The Senate bill (S. 2298) requires "willfully" and the House bill (H.R. 4002)...
↧
Judge Block’s Curious Parsimony
Eastern District of New York Senior District Court Judge Frederic Block is something of an enigma. In his book Disrobed, he straddles a fence between boldness and, well (and I mean this in the nicest possible way), cluelessness. While Judge Block tells this story to show his boldness, fairness and concern, stepping up to reveal impropriety, it inadvertently reveals that he was totally unaware of what was happening around him. Given that this was well-known by every criminal defense lawyer in the county, it’s disconcerting that he had no clue until he read about it in the paper. It’s as if he means well, but the entire world happens around him and, until someone smacks him in the head about it, just doesn’t register. What makes this even more astounding is that Fred Block, the lawyer, was the guy who won Clayton, giving rise to the motion for dismissal in the interest of justice. It was a huge win, a great win. And Fred Block did it. He’s been a federal…
↧
↧
Europäischer Datenschutzbeauftragter veröffentlicht Jahresbericht 2015
Am 24. Mai 2016 veröffentlichte der Europäische Datenschutzbeauftragte (EDSB) seinen Jahresbericht für 2015. Der Volltext (auf Englisch) sowie eine Zusammenfassung (auf Deutsch) des Berichts sind online abrufbar. Der EDSB hebt in seinem Jahresbericht u.a. Folgendes hervor: (i) Einigung auf die Europäische Datenschutz-Grundverordnung inkl. Empfehlungen des EDSB mittels mobiler App. (ii) Einsetzung eines „externen Beirats für die ethische Dimension des Datenschutzes“ (Ethik-Beirat). (iii) Internet Privacy Engineering Network (IPEN): Fokussierung auf Standardisierungsinitiativen in Bezug auf den Schutz der Privatsphäre, Online-Tracking sowie Privacy Engineering. (iv) Vorbereitungen zur Wahrnehmung der Sekretariatsaufgaben des künftigen Europäischen Datenschutzausschusses (EDPB) sowie von Aufsichtsaktivitäten gegenüber EUROPOL. (v) Stand der Umsetzung der EDSB-Strategie für 2015-2019. Im Sinne eines Ausblicks…
↧
Best of Brand New: Dustin Kaufman "Mask No. 1"
A fantastic piece of art, created out of black, heavy steel pieces, and standing at around six feet, Kaufman's demonic face is striking at first glance.However, the more you stare, the more beautiful it becomes."Housed" in Lovington, right outside the district courthouse to be exact, "Mask No. 1" has a wonderful starkness that is amazing to look at every time I drive to court.You don't have to drive to Santa Fe to see great art. No, Kaufman has brought it to us right in our very hometown.And, a major thank you to Jim Harris, who's article in the Hobbs News-Sun answered so many questions about Kaufman's masterpiece. I wake up every Sunday to get my edition of the News-Sun hoping that another article by Harris answers some question that's been on my mind as I drive around Lea County.He never fails to deliver.
↧
Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Procedure eJournal
are here. The usual disclaimers apply. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 368 De-Policing Stephen Rushin and Griffin Sims Edwards University of Alabama - School of Law and University of Alabama at Birmingham - Department of Marketing, Industrial Distribution & Economics...
↧
On battling like a flowing river, with unblocking, high vibration, zero limits and non-attachment
Nobody ever said that trial lawyering would be an easy profession. As I have said time and time again, this work is filled with proverbial projectile vomiting, projectile diarrhea, underhandedness by too many prosecutors and police, unfairness by too many judges, and shoveling sh*t. With my devotion to criminal defendants’ rights, I go to the battlefields where my clients are being prosecuted, because my only other choice is to stay on the sidelines, which is not an option. Moreover, in the end, my real path to success for my clients is not trying to change judges, prosecutors, police or anyone else but myself. As my remote teacher Thubten Chodron aptly reminded me only two days ago, the source of our recurring problems is our own ignorance with a mind that misapprehends how things actually exist (minute 18:00). Persuasion starts as an inside job. Some people ask me how I can keep putting up with such challenges, and I often respond that one does not know…
↧
↧
NYT: Dutch Firm Trains Eagles to Take Down High-Tech Prey: Drones
NYT: Dutch Firm Trains Eagles to Take Down High-Tech Prey: Drones by Stephen Castle
↧
Top Ten New Mexico Restaurants: #8, Lotaburger, Statewide.
If you don't know, you should know.Been going there since the early 70's, with my Momma weening me on double green chili cheeseburgers.The ketchup was better back then. They had the best ketchup ever at one time.And the green chile's were hotter, or it could be just my memory.Lotaburger is a New Mexico classic, icon, and forever engraved into our memories.What White Castle is to the East, and In-N-Out is to California, Lotaburger is to the 505 (and, uh....well 575).
↧
Lawsuit Against Use of Police Attack Dog in Routine Arrest Gets Court Approval to Proceed
While there are no statistics readily available, police K-9 apprehensions number in the tens of thousands each year. Excessive police force claims tend to focus on firearms or Tasers but the unlawful use of police dogs to attack suspects has become a significant problem in the “protect and serve” community. It is estimated that as many as 40 percent of the K-9 apprehensions involve dog bites, some of them disfiguring. The federal appeals courts are beginning to take notice and are permitting lawsuits against police departments for excessive force involving police dogs to proceed. One such lawsuit is against Evansville, Indiana Police Department K-9 officer Zachary Elfreich filed by Jamie Becker. Evansville Police Department Uses Attack Dog to Locate Nonthreatening Suspects Officer Elfreich was one of four Evansville police officers who went to the residence of Brinda Becker, Jamie’s mother, on March 11, 2011 to execute an arrest warrant…
↧
Twenty Years of Criminal and DUI Defense
Twenty Years of Criminal and DUI Defense Yesterday was my twenty year anniversary practicing law. May 28, 1996, I was sworn in as a lawyer, meaning that I was officially able to start “practicing” law. It seems appropriate that my swearing in occurred in a courtroom in Van Nuys, California. Since that time, I have appeared in court in Van Nuys courtrooms more than other courthouse. But what does 20 years of criminal and DUI defense mean to you, the potential client? Quite simply, I’ve been doing criminal and DUI defense for a long time now. I am successful and I am good at what I do. Some lawyers simply go through the motions, holding the client’s hand while they walk them down the road to a guilty plea. Real lawyers actually try and work their cases, using the facts at hand and applicable law to find methods of putting their client’s in a position better then when they came to hire their lawyer. Some lawyers talk about…
↧
↧
"Judge temporarily suspends extradition of "El Chapo" to US"
From Jurist: A Mexican judge granted a temporary suspension [El Mundo report, in Spanish] on the extradition of Joaquín "el Chapo" Guzmán to the US on Saturday. The decision comes after Guzmán's lawyers filed [El Pais report, in Spanish] an...
↧
Jotwell Is Now Indexed on HeinOline
Jotwell is now indexed on HeinOnline. This includes all reviews since we started publishing in October 2009.
↧
OR: Two on scope of consent, one suppressing drug paraphernalia found during a courthouse security check
Defendant put her purse through the x-ray at the security checkpoint into a juvenile court facility. There were signs warning about searches for weapons. The security officer opened her purse and found a spoon as drug paraphernalia. The consent was … Continue reading →
↧
Some blogosphere reading for the extended weekend
↧
↧
Top Ten New Mexico Restaurants: #9: La Fonda, Artesia.
I didn't want to like this place. I really didn't. I really, really didn't.I mean I'm into alternative music, jazz, uppity-uppity art, independent movies, and poetry.And this place is so...... Randy Travis, George Strait, and Nickleback.But the buffet is so, so perfect. Small but perfect.And everyday, homemade chiles rellenos.The best rellenos in the world. Large, plump, and hot. Breaded to perfection.Sweet tea, banana pudding, refried beans and rice, and fajitas.I didn't want to like this place. I really didn't. I really, really didn't.But damn, I love it.
↧
E.D.Ky.: No IAC from not challenging a search of some drugs where it wouldn’t even change def’s Sentencing Guideline range
Defendant’s post-conviction petition is denied. He argued that defense counsel was ineffective for not challenging the search of his duffle bag during the search of a house by consent when he was an overnight guest. The merits don’t even have … Continue reading →
↧
Top Ten New Mexico Restaurants: #10; Nellie's Cafe, Las Cruces
So many places in Cruces operate on press releases, but offer little in substance. Oh Roberto's, so much to answer for. But forget those places, as well as Mesilla's old standards (La Posta, Double Eagle, which really have nothing but press releases. Strike that, Double Eagle does have some fine art. But food wise.........)No, there's only one place to go in Cruces that is pure Cruces.Nellie's Cafe. Oh, the double burritos smothered in red.People, this isn't Tex-Mex, this is nothing but Mex.And the best Mex you can get in Cruces.
↧
More Pages to Explore .....
