Blog Posts


Ghostwritten Blogs? What's The Fuss?

Blawgosphere purists are in an uproar about the practice of some lawyers who use ghostwriters to write material for their blogs. I don't see what the big deal is. Does anyone really protest when a newspaper prints unsigned editorials? It's the masthead that matters.
I confess to a wayward...

The Little Things Really Do Matter

I was standing on line in a courthouse the other day, waiting for my turn through the metal detector. These waits never really bother me. Courthouses can be violent places. I appreciate the job done by judicial marshals to protect my back.
But then someone waltzed by. The marshals said hello....

Sexting A Sex Offense

Three Washington State teenagers have been charged with sexting, sending nude photographs of themselves to one another using the Internet. If convicted, the three will be added to the legions of those required to pose as a sex offender. Since when is curiosity a crime? And do we really need to...

Steven Hayes: The Mob Declares Victory

Steven Hayes was found in his cell this morning unconscious. He is now in a medically induced coma. Prison officials are not commenting on why he was found in that condition. But already, in comments to news stories posted on line, folks are declaring victory -- blood, they cry, and pain, too. Did...

Ten Years Later And Still On The List

In the past couple of weeks I have received several calls from folks who wondered why the State of Connecticut has not taken the initiative to remove them from the state's sex offender registry. It appears as if the state will not take the initiative in removing folks from the list. Will litigation...

Letter To Publisher: Read It And Weep

This will be mailed tomorrow. It speaks for itself, and it speaks volumes about the status of litigation arising under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983.
February 1, 2010

Dear Jeff:
Flattered though I am by your offer to let me participate in creation of the new book on model federal...

Olson's "The Rule of Lawyers"

Walter Olson is a clear and concise thinker. I've read his blog page, Overlawyered, intermittently over the years and have, frankly, been won over by his common sense. There are too many lawyers. We have too much power to disrupt the lives of strangers with impunity. As a society, I am persuaded,...

Gerry Spence Is Dead?

The headline of this piece alone will prompt a spike in readership of this page. Gerry Spence casts a long shadow. He has admirers from one coast to coast. Silent lovers will ponder these words and write secret notes to others. They will ask. Is it true?
Is Gerry Spence dead?
He stepped...

Eichenwald's "The Informant"

I don't get out much, but I do love to read. So while I have yet to see the movie, The Informant, released this past September, I did read the book, published in 2000. The book is fantastic, and I commend it to anyone interested in a sustained look at how the Government puts together a white-collar...

Ninety-Nine Bottle of Beer on the Wall ...

Tomorrow is the thirteenth day of jury selection in a capital felony case I am attempting to try this year. We've got twelve jurors. We are now looking for three alternatives. Jury selection began in the case on January 4, and we have been given several days off to attend to other matters; the...

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