Crime and Punishment

A few months ago, I was a juror on a criminal case where a guy was accused of attacking a cop. The cop was the only witness to the attack, and the defendant said he didn't do it. We the jury thought the defendant's story had too many problems, so we disregarded it and then convicted him based on the cop's more-credible testimony. I bring this up again because Scott at Simple … [Read more...] about An Especially Tricky Case to Prosecute

Long before I got fascinated by legal blogs, I was fascinated by legal novels. Neither is a substitute for receiving actual instruction in the law, but both are cheaper. I've learned a few things. Reading Scott Greenfield's rant about informants reminded me of A Cinderella Affidavit by Michael Fredrickson. I'm not going to go into the details of the plot---they're not that … [Read more...] about A Cinderella Affidavit

In 1982, Andrew Wilson confessed to his lawyers, Dale Coventry and Jamie Kunz, that he had robbed a McDonald's on Chicago's south side and killed security guard Lloyd Wycliffe with a shotgun. Bound by the confidentiality of attorney-client communications, the lawyers were unable to tell anyone about Wilson's confession. They remained silent even as another man, … [Read more...] about Attorney Client Privilege: Worst Case Scenario?

The Revolution Is Coming! The Revolution Is Coming! Well, I can hope, can't I? … [Read more...] about A Shot Heard ‘Round the World?

In February, rookie Cincinnati Police Officer Elizabeth Phillips responded to a pair of car crashes but didn't ticket anyone. That omission annoyed her boss, so Phillips wrote a pair of tickets. The drivers were long gone, however, so she decided to forge their signatures on the ticket and throw away their copies. This made it appear that both drivers had signed a promise to … [Read more...] about It Must Be Nice To Have a Union…