Criminal Defense
Defending retch-inducing child pornography and child sex solicitation cases
DEFENDING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND SOLICITATION OF SEX WITH CHILDREN. By Jon Katz “Why do you want to defend such a case?” asked one of the most amazing and effective trial consultants/psychological professionals, whom I visited for ideas on defending a man caught distributing multiple images...
Don’t hold your breath to see any expansion of Miranda
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), must be kept sacrosanct, so that law enforcement will properly advise suspects in custody of their right to remain silent, and honor that right, so that the Fifth Amendment has real meaning in assuring that one not be...
4th Cir.: Only the four corners of the court record may be used to make a crime of moral turpitude determination for immigration purposes
When a criminal defense lawyer consults with a qualified immigration lawyer conversant with adverse immigration consequences from criminal convictions, expect to hear the immigration lawyers’ analysis include risks from crimes of moral turpitude and aggravated felonies. Praised be the majority on the Fourth Circuit panel...
Fourth Circuit affirms suppression of fruits of the poisonous tree
Prosecutors often will try to overcome bad searches by claiming such factors as inevitable discovery, and intervening events that cure any taint. Praised be the Fourth Circuit recently, 2-1, for not buying the prosecutor’s arguments over an unconstitutional stop of a car, without which the cops would...
Fourth Circuit reverses for on-the-street peek and entry into arrestee’s underwear
Bill of Rights (from the public domain) Praised be the two-judge majority that today reversed a drug conviction, finding that the police on-the-street peek into an arrestee’s underwear — and subsequent cutting off the string attaching a bag of cocaine to his penis — amounted...
Using the First Amendment Against the Criminalization of Free Expression
Beware when a judge sees the First Amendment’s free speech clause as a hindrance to judicial administration, perhaps emphasizing that the First Amendment is not absolute and does not protect the right to cry “fire” in a crowded theater. (As it turns out, a Supreme...
Mistakes by sleepy police and drug dogs’ schnozes
Police are mere humans, and are thus bound, collectively, to make frequent big mistakes. In their true nature, dogs are here to run at large, and not to be police employees pushed and rewarded to try ferreting out drugs; that alone sets them up to make big mistakes...
Always err on the side of protecting the First Amendment right to free expression
Bill of Rights (from the public domain) Praised be Maryland federal trial judge Roger Titus for recently dismissing a prosecution for engaging in a “course of conduct that caused substantial emotional distress” to the alleged victim, through posting messages on Twitter and other websites. Not...
Needing a more human and compassionate criminal justice system
At least for those with jailable criminal cases against them, a large percentage of them enter the courthouse in fear. Those running and operating the courts try to maintain a sense of normalcy — at least superficially — amidst all this fear, but it remains. Some...
A jury cannot eyeball a trial transcript
A jury cannot eyeball a witness to determine his or her credibility and demeanor by merely being read the complaining witness’s testimony from a prior proceeding. For a criminal defendant, letting such a transcript into evidence can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the defense...