In response to my noting that the Florida Supreme Court has approved the state's policy of convicting people of possessing drugs without proving they did so knowingly (a problem not unique to Florida), someone named Paul Murray comments, Surely all that's needed is to get a pickpocket to plant some grass clippings on these judges. Yeah, I'm convinced that one of the reasons … [Read more...] about Towards Shifting the Judicial Balance
Why Prosecutor Blogs Are Less Fun
Given my libertarian views, it's not suprising that I don't entirely enjoy reading blogs by prosecutors. Even those who aren't rabid law-and-order true believers still rub me the wrong way on certain subjects. For example, I've been reading Mark Pryor's D.A. Confidential blog for years. He's a good writer -- see his Holding Hands With Evil series for a taste -- and he … [Read more...] about Why Prosecutor Blogs Are Less Fun
Florida Court Makes it Easier to Unknowingly Commit Crimes
I like to think I know a thing or two about the excesses of the war on drugs, but I had no idea that the legal situation in Florida was this ugly: Florida will remain one of the only two states in the country that sends people to prison on drug possession charges without first proving the person knew what they were carrying was illegal. In a decision that will assure thousands … [Read more...] about Florida Court Makes it Easier to Unknowingly Commit Crimes
When DNA Evidence Doesn’t Prove Much
Some criminal defense bloggers are skeptical of the supposedly high reliability of DNA evidence. Since almost every other form of forensic testing is based on shaky scientific foundations, they figure it's only a matter of time until DNA falls too. I don't share their skepticism, at least not about the basic principles of DNA profiling. Other forensic sciences -- blood … [Read more...] about When DNA Evidence Doesn’t Prove Much
“Happy White Peoples Independence Day”
Jack Marshall is peeved at Chris Rock over this tweet: Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren't free but I'm sure they enjoyed fireworks Jack thinks that's "Ignorant, racist, divisive, unfair, disrespectful, bitter, dumb, and not funny." I'll give him bitter and not terribly funny, but Jack's seriously overreacting to the rest of it. Ignorant...because it … [Read more...] about “Happy White Peoples Independence Day”