Criminal Defense
Criminal defense is unconventional warfare
At my best, I march to the beat of my own drummer, neither joining the crowd just to be accepted nor to earn more money, nor shunning the crowd merely to identify as an individual. After returning from my 1986 plum Japan/Hong Kong assignment during my year working...
My Duty as a Fairfax criminal lawyer is to win
My duty as a Fairfax criminal lawyer is to sin. A client recently remarked how he was impressed to see me good-naturedly bantering in the hallway with the same police against whom I did not let go of during cross examination at trial an hour...
On using the golden rule and silence with police
It is not always easy to be calm towards abusive police, but it is best for a suspect to complain later with the help of a qualified lawyer, rather than to address the matter more than necessary with the abusive police officer. As a Fairfax...
Supreme Court oral argument season starts with critical Fourth Amendment case
Usually I am in trial court when Supreme Court oral arguments are held. Somehow, ordinarily with trial date continuances, court proceedings ending unexpectedly early, and matters scheduled for the afternoon (leaving me available for morning Supreme Court oral argument), I get a chance to observe at least...
Documents and links for my clients
Here in one location are some essential links and documents that my law firm uses to assist our clients: –General information release form. – HIPAA release form. –Sign-in log for attending such self-help groups as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. – Suggestions for taking mouth temperature, for challenging the Intox EC/IR...
Treating criminal defendants as individuals: The military court and immigration consequence examples
Too many criminal court judges and prosecutors see criminal defendants more as numbers than individuals. To treat them as individuals might incline them to allow more time for each case in the face of bursting court dockets, and will make them have to more directly confront...
Va. Supreme Court reverses sentence that eviscerated convict’s Fourth Amendment rights
Praised be Virginia’s top court for reminding the lower courts that even the most heinous crimes do not rob convicts of all rights against government searches while on probation. Last Friday, the Virginia Supreme Court reversed a child rape convict’s probation conviction allowing police and...
Staying connected to why I attended law school in the first place
Law school is not for everyone. I found law school in large part to be a necessary, time-consuming and money-consuming pain in the ass — and sometimes worse — for finding a way to use the law to help make the world a better place....
Michael Brown and the subsequent events in Ferguson, Missouri
I was on vacation and not following the news as much as otherwise when Michael Brown, unarmed, was shot dead in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9. I posted a handful of Twitter entries about events in Ferguson, and here make a few observations about Mr. Brown’s...
Of empowering storytelling, restorative justice and listening
The cashier who recently sold me a lemonade at a carryout restaurant told me simply to return the cup to the cashier for a free refill. I returned around thirty minutes later requesting a refill to the now-different cashier. She went off into a mantra that the...
