Blog Posts

"If we feel our way into the human secrets of the sick person, the madness also reveals its system, and we recognize in the mental illness merely an exceptional reaction to emotional problems which are not strange to us."
C.G. Jung
I keep reminding myself that Jung is right. The line...

Alexandra Natapoff's new book on the use of informants in criminal proceedings is a must read. Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice, (New York University Press, 2009) It is not that she tells us anything new and really startling; what impresses is that she has managed...

From United States v. Reeves, decided last week by the Second Circuit:

"This appeal requires us to consider the validity of a condition of supervised release [following a prison term for possessing child pornography] that obligated Reeves, upon entry into a “significant romantic...

You big city types who long for the simplicity of small-town life, take note: All is not rosy in Mayberry.
I practice law in Connecticut. By the standards of Chicago, Detroit and New York City, the locales in which I spent 24 of my first 27 years, Connecticut is paradise. From my office, I can...

Worse case scenario? I lose the trial and my client is sentenced to three consecutive life terms, plus sixty years. The stakes could only be higher were the state seeking the twisted pleasure of killing the defendant. With stakes these high, one would think no effort to give the man a spare trial....

Regular readers of this column know that consistency is not just the hobgoblin of little minds, it is also a sworn enemy of mine. I change course from time to time. And I make no apologies about it. So it is with a certain bemused self-consciousness that I write here of my delight that Richard...

I don't know whether to breathe a sigh of relief, or gnash my teeth: But the Supreme Court has dismissed without decision the case of Pottawattamie County, et al., v. McGhee, et al. (08-1065). That's because the parties settled the case for a reported sum of $12 million. By dismissing the case, the...

Legal blogs come and go. Here's a new one to check out: http://raysipsa.blogspot.com. Tell him Norm sent you.

Victories in the war on sexophrenic hysteria are few and far between. The fight, however, is eternal. Those of you in need for a little satire to lighten the load are encourage to check out the following web site: www.badflasher.com.
Warning: The material posted there isn't for everyone. You...

Watching another lawyer try a case is a lot like watching ice melt: I know something is happening, but it I just can't see it. Even when I watch lawyers I admire, it's hard to enthuse about the show. Trial, a multi-dimensional game of chess to the participants, is not exactly riveting. Except on...