Blog Posts


Updated: Green Haven Will Be Back, Count On It

If you are confused by the recent actions of Bethany’s Planning and Zoning Commission, here’s an attempt to decode them. The commission’s vote last week to deny the Green Haven application for a change in zoning regulations to permit what amounts to condominium development in...

So Long To An Attack Dog

I wasn’t surprised to learn that United States Attorney David Fein tendered his resignation and will soon step down from his latest incarnation as United States Attorney. Word on the street has always been that he would be a one-term occupant of that office. His eyes were said to be on a far...

Why Do We Permit Police To Play Games With The Truth?

Perhaps the most telling moment in Ken Burns’ new documentary on the Central Park Five case is when a juror explains why he voted guilty.
The kids confessed to the brutal rape of a jogger in Central Park in 1989. Why, he wondered, would innocent kids confess to something they did not...

Now Is The Time To Kill Green Haven
(Update)

Update: The Bethany Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to reject Green Haven's proposed zone change last night, with Patricia Winer abstaining. Ms. Winer observed she was unhappy with public comments directed toward her. My, my, Ms. Winer. The kitchen wasn't that hot, was it?
We...

Michael Skakel and Amanda Knox -- What's Just?

Trial is an imperfect vehicle for finding the truth. We all know that. Juries and judges make mistakes. We permit clients to seek a new trial when a judge commits legal error. Why don’t we permit defendants to ask for a new trial when they believe juries make factual mistakes? In the United...

The Siege of Boston, 2013

Before leaping to the conclusion that lawmen in Boston worked a miracle last week by locking the city down as they searched for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, consider the following: It was only after folks were told they could leave their homes that a private citizen spotted a trail of blood that led to the...

Scalp Hunting in the Second Circuit

I fail to see why the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit went out of its way to tomahawk Attorney John R. Williams. But there it is in cold print: An unsolicited attack on a barrister whose been a role model and inspiration to a couple of generations of lawyers.
In case...

White Flag Over Boston?

If it takes a village to raise a child, then what kind of society spawns a 19-year-old terrorist? We can explore "foreign" influences on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev all we want, but my hunch is we’d have better luck looking in the mirror if we really want to understand him. What motivated the young man...

What Next for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev?

It appears as though the manhunt is over. Law enforcement officers report they were looking for two suspects. Two brothers are now either dead or in custody. What next for the man-child suspected not just of placing a bomb or bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, and then engaging in...


© Norm Pattis is represented by Elite Lawyer Management, managing agents for Exceptional American Lawyers
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