Blog Posts

The single most important criminal justice reform within reach in each statehouse is the elimination of mandatory minimum prison sentences and consequences. The ends of justice require it. Sound economics counsel it. Only anger and fear stand in the way of meaningful reform.Law students are taught,...

The single most important criminal justice reform within reach in each statehouse is the elimination of mandatory minimum prison sentences and consequences. The ends of justice require it. Sound economics counsel it. Only anger and fear stand in the way of meaningful reform.
Law students are...

A law student I admire sent me a note not long ago asking, in effect, whether those calling for the reform of sex offender legislation were opposed to punishment for those engaged in real acts of sexual misconduct. The hypothetical case she used as an example was that of a 50-year-old man who...

In a better world we could all be prosecutors, at least some of the time. I know I wish I had the experience of prosecuting a person accused of a crime. I was reminded of this by reading the post of a law student, Laura McWilliams, who has decided that she wants to land on the state's side of the...

A question from the floor at yesterday's conference on reforming sex offender legislation surprised me. I wish I had the chance to answer it all over again. But I am back home now. The conference continues today and tomorrow in Washington, D.C.
The question went something like this: Although...

Criminal defense lawyers have two reactions to cases involving possession of child pornography: either the lawyer does not take such cases as a matter of principle, or the lawyer takes the case with a sense of foreboding approaching despair. The law involving possession of child pornography is...

Criminal defense lawyers have two reactions to cases involving possession of child pornography: either the lawyer does not take such cases as a matter of principle, or the lawyer takes the case with a sense of foreboding approaching despair. The law involving possession of child pornography is...

It was reassuring to see the United States Supreme Court chip away at the collateral consequences doctrine in Padilla v. Kentucky. By ruling that criminal defense counsel have an affirmative obligation to advise their clients about the immigration consequences of a plea, the Court moved one step...

It was reassuring to see the United States Supreme Court chip away at the collateral consequences doctrine in Padilla v. Kentucky. By ruling that criminal defense counsel have an affirmative obligation to advise their clients about the immigration consequences of a plea, the Court moved one step...

When Michael Moore visited Wall Street to try to figure out where our bail out money went, he got stonewalled. So he went back with the intent to make a citizen's arrest of the thieves on Wall Street. Although the Catholic Church didn't send Swiss Guards to help perfect the attempted arrests,...