Blog Posts

Once upon a time, a mighty man lived atop a windswept mountain. He was feared throughout the land. His words flew on death-dealing wings.
But he was alone when darkness fell. He filled his days with warring words and the press of combat. He lived by day, but at night he cowered. There were no...

New Haven Public Defender Thomas Ullman has never been one to pull a punch, but he did last week. He wants an investigation of who was leaking material about the murder of Annie Le to the press. But he’s asking that the investigation stop at the door of the local police station. Ullman...

I still can't tell whether I just heard one of the best closing arguments of my career or whether it was one of the worst arguments conceivable. The jury is, literally, still out.
My client was accused of murder, attempted murder and assault. He shot two women in his kitchen one night. The...

The news hit me like a bullet, stopping me cold and numbing me.
"Are you still there?" my secretary asked.
She had just finished telling me a long-time client killed himself today. His blood had hardly dried before the press calls started. He walked out onto the grounds of his property, put...

Closing argument is one reason people go to law school. The fantasy has it as follows: A client's life hangs in the balance. Through eloquence, wit and penetrating intellect, you save the client's life with words that will echo through the ages. Realty is a sleepless night and stubborn...

Who are the top ten donors at the Trial Lawyer's College? As of June 2, 2009, the leaders of the charitable pack are as follows:
1. Paul Luvera, a lifetime grand total of $205,250, with $25,000 contributed thus far this year.
2. Morris Dees, a lifetime total of $125,000. Dees last...

Once upon a time, a princess's beauty bewitched a king. He broke a spell to win her as a bride, but fell upon a curse all his own. The king and his betrothed would have a son. But the son would not find happiness until the son learned a painful truth: his nose was too long.
In due course, a son...

I've been in trial in a murder case for the past few weeks. Because we are in Connecticut, picking the jury inevitably lasts longer than presentation of evidence. It took eight days to pick jurors: under state law, we question each potential juror outside the presence of the others. We needed 12...

I sometimes have trouble explaining to clients that there really is no such thing as the State of Connecticut. The concept is an abstract noun, a legal fiction. The state is something akin to a necessary placekeeper in a vast equation. Like God, it is ever present and always absent.
But it...

Lawyers who travel from one state to another impress me, but I can't help but wonder if they are effective in foreign courts. So much is nuance in a courtroom.
I keep making the rounds of the same old cities in my tiny state to try my cases: One month it might be Bridgeport, another it might be...