I've been trying to understand why grand jury secrecy works the way it does, and there are parts of it that just don't make sense to me. At a fundamental level, the idea of the government telling people there's stuff they can never, ever talk about just doesn't seem right. Our right to free speech isn't absolute, but there usually has to be a pretty good reason for an … [Read more...] about Why Are Grand Juries So Secret?
Legal
Je Suis Bronx Defenders
The Bronx Defenders, a non-profit law firm in New York, are taking some heat because two of their lawyers, Kumar Rao and Ryan Napoli, acted in a few scenes of a rap video which were filmed in the firm's offices. The song, "Hands Up," is not my kind of music, but if you want to watch it, here it is:http://youtu.be/BV_FizTIxM4Just looking at the freeze frame should give … [Read more...] about Je Suis Bronx Defenders
DUI Lawyers and Faith In Websites
Matt Brown, a criminal defense lawyer in Tempe, Arizona, has noticed that a lot of local lawyers have websites that get the law on concealed weapons wrong. Every single lawyer website I visited had misstated the law. Fortunately, the law has become more permissive, so nobody who believes what they read on the lawyers' websites will think it's legal to do something that will … [Read more...] about DUI Lawyers and Faith In Websites
Bargaining Power 101
Scott Greenfield posted a story a while back about a conversation he had with a biglaw lawyer who was trying to refer a client on a criminal matter. The biglaw guy apparently wanted Scott to commit to negotiating a deal for the client without going to trial. He didn't even think it was necessary for Scott to do legal research or investigate the case. His explanation for why he … [Read more...] about Bargaining Power 101
Is The Legal Field Ready for CSO?
A couple of days ago, Scott Greenfield was writing about some of the complexities of federal sentencing, when a commenter named Jake proposed a crazy solution: Was there ever a task in the courtroom more ripe for automation? Well, yes, there's tons of administrative crap that can be, or has been, automated. However, Jake had a particular problem in mind that he'd like to … [Read more...] about Is The Legal Field Ready for CSO?