Blog Posts

I'll bet a lot of folks charged with federal white collar crimes are feeling more than a little betrayed today. That's because the government has bared its teeth at claims of private wrongdoing while turning a blind eye to the suspected criminals in its midst.
John C. Yoo and Jay S. Bybee...

What happens when the reality of people's lives becomes detached from institutions attempting to govern? In isolated cases, we diagnose psychosis and call for medication. And we label some behavior deviant and prosecute it as criminal. But what happens when there is wholesale dissonance? When the...

Are we prepared, as a society, to pay more than lip service to the presumption of innocence? If we are, then it's time to we offered to pay for the legal defense of anyone accused of a crime. Anything less amounts to the most regressive tax of all, a tax which devastates the middle class while...

Are we prepared, as a society, to pay more than lip service to the presumption of innocence? If we are, then it's time to we offered to pay for the legal defense of anyone accused of a crime. Anything less amounts to the most regressive tax of all, a tax which devastates the middle class while...

If there is a lawyer alive in New York City surviving on $75 per hour in legal fees, he's probably selling pencils on the side and sleeping in the IRT subway. A ten hour day at such a rate yields $750; a five day week would produce $3,750 at such rates. You can't pay the rent, a secretary,...

If there is a lawyer alive in New York City surviving on $75 per hour in legal fees, he's probably selling pencils on the side and sleeping in the IRT subway. A ten hour day at such a rate yields $750; a five day week would produce $3,750 at such rates. You can't pay the rent, a secretary,...

While the United States Supreme Court has held that the indigent are entitled both to representation when charged with a crime and to the services of certain experts, those guarantees ring hollow to the middle and lower-middle classes.
Ake v. Oklahoma, 460 U.S. 68 (1985), held that when the...

One thing that attracts me to the criminal law is the sheer romance of it all. Just me and my wits standing between my client and catastrophe. "Bring it on," I say, although in the well of the court, a judge's steely eyes replace the glare of high noon, and thinking fast is more important than...

John Kindley over at People v. State has named the living lawyer who best exemplifies the ideal of a crusader standing tall for the accused. Kindley's choice? J. Tony Serra. Check out People v. State: http://www.peoplevstate.com/.
Serra is a legend. He may well be the best people's lawyer...

One thing that attracts me to the criminal law is the sheer romance of it all. Just me and my wits standing between my client and catastrophe. "Bring it on," I say, although in the well of the court, a judge's steely eyes replace the glare of high noon, and thinking fast is more important than...