Criminal Defense

Most criminal defendants do not care how they win, just as long as they win. For most criminal defendants, a case dismissal is as good as an acquittal in most respects. Here are some key differences: An acquittal prohibits the defendant from being re-prosecuted for...

Judy Clarke stands behind the late Bob Rose (who is wearing an eyepatch), and two people to the left of my trial law hero Steve Rench. The rest of the photo is here. (1995, Thunderhead Ranch, Dubois, Wyoming); I am pictured around four people to...

My first few years as my own boss, starting in 1998, were immediately filled with joy over achieving my longtime dream of having no boss but myself. A corollary to being one’s own boss is that I have no salary safety net. I am the...

Police run the gamut of very intelligent to having spelling and grammar errors embarrassingly galore on their police reports. Sadly, plenty of otherwise intelligent criminal suspects think they can outsmart police. Even the most unintelligent police officer has the advantage over suspects by not being...

On July 18, I discussed the state of racial injustice and racial justice in America in the aftermath of George Zimmerman’s trial, and said to stay tuned for my views on the criminal defense aspects of the case. George Zimmerman’s complete acquittal has led to...

One day, I called a criminal defense lawyer colleague in another county to ask about how to overcome some procedural hurdles peculiar to his county’s District Court judges in obtaining a trial date postponement. When I did not reach him, I spoke with colleague II in...

If you have not before decided that the United States’ criminal "justice" system is overcriminalized, look no further than the recent San Diego vandalism prosecution against chalk protestor Jeff Olson. How can chalking be a crime, when it just washes away with the rain? How...

Our tax dollars pay extraordinary amounts of money for law enforcement officers and prosecutors to spend countless hours each year to the tune of millions of dollars (if not billions of dollars) to further pursue the drug war that is a failure and an excessive incursion...

Courtesy SunWolf: A criminal defense lawyer’s criminal defense lawyer, showing lawyers the powerful path to humanizing our clients, through storytellng, kindness to all, summoning our inner magic, and a reminder that “reality is no obstacle.” Dr. SunWolf — the great storytelling lawyer who proclaims that...

In criminal law, “three strikes and you’re out” refers to severe mandatory minimum jail sentencing, and not baseball, other than that mandatory minimum sentencing, for the defendant, can feel like being slammed on the skull with a baseball bat and smashed in the eye with a high-speed...