24 September 2007
Bully for Arizona!
The Arizona Supreme Court has held that federal lawyers without Arizona licenses are the same as all other lawyers without Arizona licenses. They don't have the privilege of walking before a State judge whenever they want to.
Dumb Criminals of the Month
Stealing copper from a building the police are using in a K-9 exercise might not be the brightest thing in the world. However, I think the lady who wore the fake bomb to the airport is stupider.
What Can a Man Do?
This poor guy keeps getting arrested because a thug out there has the same name and date of birth.
India: Supreme Court Overturns Contempt Charge
The Indian Court admonishes its lower courts for being too sensitive.
Geez, Rich People Are Spoiled
If your kid commits burglary (breaking into a school to steal tests) should you get upset if all he's facing is a misdemeanor without the threat of jail?
Priests are Sinners Too
Of course, that's just common sense. Nevertheless, you do not expect one to break a bottle of wine over a woman's head.
Law Trumps Doctors
A court says that no matter what the State medical board says, if the law says a doctor must be present at an execution a doctor must be present at an execution.
Fake Bomb at Airport: Art or Stupidity?
Well, she's an MIT student, so she shouldn't be too dumb. However, wearing a fake bomb to an airport makes you wonder if she was trying for a Darwin award.
21 September 2007
KL: KrimLaw?
Y'know, looking at the new graphic with my initials behind CrimLaw, it strikes me that I could have called this KrimLaw.
Hmmm . . .
Naw, too late now.
Hmmm . . .
Naw, too late now.
20 September 2007
Death by Rodrigo
Book rating scale:5: Touched by God - a work which makes Shakespeare look infantile
4: Amazing - Instantly began rereading it and quoting it to friends
3: Worth Every Penny - a solid, interesting read, inspiring some thought and discussion with people who share similar interests
2: I Paid For It So I Finished Reading It - Some interesting parts but if I lose the book I'm not buying another copy
1: Couldn't Force My Way Thru and Burnt the Book in order to send it to the Hell it deserves
I rate Death by Rodrigo a 1.8: it had a core story which could have gotten very interesting if it had been explored - instead it concentrated on peripheral clutter and the story died.
The story is about two lawyers who get themselves in trouble when they agree to represent a foreign drug dealer in federal court, basically taking a lot of money on the promise that they would get him a bond. They can't and credible death threats follow. They also have a local client whom they represent who has his entire criminal enterprise rolled up and is extremely interested in keeping them alive.
At its core, this is a very interesting concept. The problem is that it ends up being an excuse. The focus is on the dysfunctional attorneys. We spend far, far too much time being told of the homosexual lifestyle problems of the primary attorney. I kept wanting to scream "I don't care, get back to something pertinent to the story!" We spend nearly as much time reading about the other attorney's relationships with women. The way the lawyers are described was offensive - one failed the bar twice, the other only failed it once and neither of them bother to keep tabs on the law or write their own briefs (and these were attorneys who looked down their noses at the court appointed attorneys). What they're good at is manipulating the judge. The ads for this book talk about how funny it is, so I guess this stuff was supposed to be caricaturized and bigger than life to add humor to the book It did not work.
I think that this is supposed to be the first book in a series. Hopefully, in the future the author will back away from the descriptions of the characters' lives and concentrate on the story at the core. I kept waiting for it to happen in this book. I knew that, as in all books of this type, I was going to have to wade thru some setup as the characters were introduced. I almost didn't make it, but I kept looking forward tot he moment the story would actually break thru and I'd be reading about the dealer who has threatened to kill them and the local crime lord who is trying to keep them alive and how all that would play out (especially with a smart crime lord who gets an ace in the hole). Had this book been edited to throw out about half the personal stuff and the author been pushed to elaborate on the drama at the core it could have been very good.
17 September 2007
You expect this at a place with a name that ends in Mart
Not at Tarjay (that's Target for those who don't pretend that they know French or that Target is a snooty place to shop).
14 September 2007
Email Request for Help
This request was in my email when I opened it this morn:
John,
Please be advised that I am now a prosecutor and you should take anything I take with a grain of salt. Also, (I have to say this) THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, I have neither done any research nor spoken to anyone about the facts which will be determinative in your case. This is entirely off the cuff and you may want to ask a defense lawyer before you proceed.
That said, if your county has one, I'd advise going to your local law library and getting a look at one of the books containing statutes (or maybe a law school library). They usually have short synopses of cases after the statute which give information about how courts have done things in the past. If you don't have a law library near, you might look through Virginia's free listing of cases (which can be found thru FindLaw) or you might try one of the online legal services. WestLaw and LexisNexis are probably too expensive (might as well hire a lawyer) but I think that a service like Versuslaw might be affordable (the only reason I site it by name is because I used it when in private practice, there are others which might be better, I don't know); you would probably have to search for "reckless driving" and spend time slogging through a whole bunch of cases. Personally, I would recommend going to a library if at all possible.
If you cannot afford a lawyer, you may want to ask for a court appointed attorney. The advantage there is that he knows the law and the judge and the prosecutor. He'll know if the argument you want to make has been tried 17 times and shot down by the judge each and every time, or if the judge has kicked out 3 cases in the last week for the exact same reason as you think yours should be thrown out. That kind of knowledge can't be gained through research, you just have to be the person who's in court every day.
ken
Hi KenMy answer:
I came across your blog today in researching reckless driving, specifically the charge: 46.2-852.
Do you know how I can research case law on overturned or dismissed reckless driving cases for this Virginia code section? What I did was not reckless driving and I would like to argue this myself. I just don't have the funds to pay for an attorney to defend me on this.
I know I want to read Powers v Commonwealth and Kennedy v Commonwealth, but do you know how I can find more cases to help me build a defense?
Sincerely
John Smith
John,
Please be advised that I am now a prosecutor and you should take anything I take with a grain of salt. Also, (I have to say this) THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, I have neither done any research nor spoken to anyone about the facts which will be determinative in your case. This is entirely off the cuff and you may want to ask a defense lawyer before you proceed.
That said, if your county has one, I'd advise going to your local law library and getting a look at one of the books containing statutes (or maybe a law school library). They usually have short synopses of cases after the statute which give information about how courts have done things in the past. If you don't have a law library near, you might look through Virginia's free listing of cases (which can be found thru FindLaw) or you might try one of the online legal services. WestLaw and LexisNexis are probably too expensive (might as well hire a lawyer) but I think that a service like Versuslaw might be affordable (the only reason I site it by name is because I used it when in private practice, there are others which might be better, I don't know); you would probably have to search for "reckless driving" and spend time slogging through a whole bunch of cases. Personally, I would recommend going to a library if at all possible.
If you cannot afford a lawyer, you may want to ask for a court appointed attorney. The advantage there is that he knows the law and the judge and the prosecutor. He'll know if the argument you want to make has been tried 17 times and shot down by the judge each and every time, or if the judge has kicked out 3 cases in the last week for the exact same reason as you think yours should be thrown out. That kind of knowledge can't be gained through research, you just have to be the person who's in court every day.
ken
12 September 2007
Found on Craigslist
Hello,
I have 420 shrubs for sale. They are from Arizona and have a very nice pungent smell and citrus like flower to them. Available by the quarter acre plot for 60, half acre plot for 100 and whole acre plot for 180. Also would consider BARTERING for finer shrubs. No phone. Please email.
Thank you
Juan
Four twenty, four twenty
Location: near Trenton, NJ
Why not just put an ad in saying "Please come arrest me." Police can read and use the internet, y'know.
I have 420 shrubs for sale. They are from Arizona and have a very nice pungent smell and citrus like flower to them. Available by the quarter acre plot for 60, half acre plot for 100 and whole acre plot for 180. Also would consider BARTERING for finer shrubs. No phone. Please email.
Thank you
Juan
Four twenty, four twenty
Location: near Trenton, NJ
Why not just put an ad in saying "Please come arrest me." Police can read and use the internet, y'know.
We're in Good Company
It looks like human males aren't the only ones who do stupid, dangerous, and illegal things to impress females. Chimps steal in order to give gifts to and get attention from "females of reproductive age."
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