Is Mississippi Safer Because Another Black Man Died? The man lay on his back on the gurney. A portion of the red prison jumpsuit visible above the edge of the sheet which rose and fell with his breathing. Four tubes slithered from the wall and disappeared under the sheet. “Do you have any final words?” […]
READ MOREGeorge Zimmerman and the Presumption of Innocence: Redux
As a NYC Criminal Attorney, I was under the false impression that this would die down after a while, but I forget it is an election year and we still have 24 hour news networks. So, I’ve decided to write this post on the George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin case—mostly, because I’ve found that when […]
READ MORELife in Shambles for New Hampshire Psychiatrist Acquitted of VA Charges
Dr. William Weeks had a life many would envy. He was a prominent psychiatrist, a professor at Dartmouth College, a physician at the local Department of Veterans’ Affairs hospital, a nationally-recognized expert on rural healthcare, the head of his town’s School Board and treasurer of his church. However, as reported by Fox News, his life […]
READ MORECharles Taylor Trial Sheds Light on War Crimes Proceedings
Editorial pages and op-eds worldwide rightfully commended the trial and conviction of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone’s civil war. The deterrent effect of this judgment on civilian and military leaders in third-world, traditionally weak countries run by dictators or despots will reverberate. Taylor had […]
READ MOREJustice Department Defends the Role of Deferred-Prosecution Agreements in Corporate Crime Enforcement
A top attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice recently defended the use of deferred-prosecution agreements (DPA’s) to combat corporate wrongdoing. On September 13, 2012, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Lanny Breuer, spoke to the New York Bar Association and maintained that that the increased use of such agreements has had a “transformative effect” on corporate […]
READ MORESarah Palin E-mail Hacking Case Goes to Jury
Knoxvillenews.com has been intensively covering and elsewhere the trial of David C. Kernell, son of Tennessee State Representative Mike Kernell of Memphis and former University of Tennessee student, who was charged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee with hacking into the electronic mail account of former Governor of Alaska and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah […]
READ MORENew Stats: Violent Crime, Drug Use, Marijuana Arrests
A couple important statistical studies have been released this month. First, the DOJ’s Uniform Crime Report for 2007 was released. Basic take: violent crime is continuing a modest decline. Somewhere, James Q. Wilson is undoubtedly scribbling another editorial explaining why this shows that America is fortunate to be the world’s biggest incarcerator. Second, every year […]
READ MORENew York Senator May Be Retried in Wake of Supreme Court’s “Honest Services” Fraud Decision
New York Senator Joseph L. Bruno was indicted in January of 2009 on eight counts of fraud. A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York acquitted Bruno, who is now 81 years old and the former Republican Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, on five of the remaining […]
READ MORENew York Attorney Salvatore J. Piemonte Acquitted on Federal Charges of Allegedly Aiding and Abetting Drug Dealers
Salvatore J. Piemonte, a former prosecutor for the Onondage County District Attorney’s Office in Syracuse, New York, for seven years, and former a local judge, was indicted last November in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York for allegedly aiding and abetting the sale of marijuana, according to Syracuse.com. The government charged […]
READ MOREAB 259: The Daily Journal Op-Ed on California’s Proposed Salvia Law
Below is the text of an op-ed I published today in the Daily Journal arguing against California’s AB 259, which would ban the sale of salvia to minors. This is not a position I take lightly, because I genuinely do believe it’s important to legislate in a manner that protects kids. But I can’t support […]
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