Criminal Defense
In the criminal defense battlefield, expect the unexpected
If a court case were cut and dried, then fewer unexpected turns of events would occur, and the cost of the defense could be better contained. However, if a criminal defendant wishes to maximize his or her chances of obtaining as much success as possible,...
Enough is Enough – Fatal Police Shootings in Baton Rouge and Minnesota
I would have hoped that the only similarity between the Khmer Rouge and Baton Rouge/Red Stick, would be the word "rouge"/red rather than deadly abuse of power. We don't need nor merit police using excessive force with red sticks, blue sticks, guns, fists, tasers, nor...
How to persuade a hard-line judge or jury to see the case on its own merits
It can be scary for a criminal defense lawyer to place the fate of his or her client in the hands of the judge and jury. However, the effective criminal defense lawyer does not simply hand the defendant to the jury.
A how-to for police suspects, starting with the power of “no”
Go and enjoy the rest of the Fourth of July weekend, and remember that Independence Day has less meaning when criminal suspects do not assert their rights to remain silent with the police and to refuse police searches.
Policing is an undemocratic, militaristic culture
Policing is a necessary evil that is antithetical to a free, open and democratic society. Policing is a poison on society and the body politic when our society is overpoliced, which it has been for decades,
The lawyer is there for the client to lean on, not vice versa
If a person wants to see people stripped of their happy-face/can-do armor and stiff upper lip, practice criminal defense. If my criminal defense client was not already in a personal mess of sorts that led to his or her arrest (remembering that innocent people get...
On the Orlando Massacre and Brock Turner’s Sentence
If my blog reacted to every extreme act of violence and every controversy over court cases, my blog would cover nothing else. The Western press repeatedly focuses on violence against Westerners -- and in particular massacres -- more than against those in the rest of...
Winning at trial by embracing the evidence and law as our own
In the abstract, much in the law world is unexciting, mind-numbing and sometimes maddening, but when practiced on the side of the angels and for people in true need, is exciting.
The audience is a gift- Engage the audience
Stagefright interferes tremendously with performers, persuaders and salespeople from benefiting from the gift of an audience. A live audience provides the actor with instant feedback that is not available to a musician in a studio, a politician in front of a camera in his or...
Criminal defendants must be well-groomed and properly dressed for court, and never be in jail attire
Virginia's Supreme Court affirmed a felony theft conviction by a jury, accompanied by a five-year prison sentence, despite defense counsel's protestations that the defendant was in in the courtroom in jail clothes and a jail identification bracelet.