I’ve haven’t been writing very much lately, but other people are keeping busy, and I thought I’d share a few items with you folks.
- Ken Lammers at Crimlaw has written a fascinating series of posts about how the criminal justice system (at least in his Virginia) determines the value of a stolen item for purposes of charging and sentencing. He covers items with a fairly obvious price tag, items without a price tag, and intangible property like music and software. It seems like a fairly thoughtful balance between an economically meaningful valuation and the need to have bright lines for making clear decisions.
- Meanwhile, over at Popehat, Ken is posting a multi-part series about his investigation of someone who tried a fake invoice scam on him: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3. [Update: Chapter 4] He shows how much information you can get about someone like this with simple, inexpensive online tools.
- And here’s the important op-ed of the day, by Orin Kerr. Looks like the government is about to get its wish and make us all guilt of something.
(Hat tip: Greenfield)
It is not often that you hear “thoughtful” and the Virginia criminal justice system in the same sentence. Having practiced first in Pennsylvania and then in D.C., expanding my practice to Virginia has in most cases been a rude awakening.