It looks like the Chicago criminal law blogging scene is going to be a barren wasteland again. Marcus Schantz is hanging it up. And I'm not just talking about his blog.I first noticed Marcus Schantz's Chicago Criminal Defense blog two years ago. At the time, I praised his story-telling abilities: Then he starts telling stories. He’s the kind of lawyer who’s willing to tell … [Read more...] about There Goes the Chicago Criminal Law Blogosphere…
Bullys Beware!
The town of Monona, Wisconsin has had enough, and from now on, when kids are bullies, police will issues violations to their parents.As far as I know, most anti-bullying laws -- even with the current level of moral panic -- are directed at forcing school districts to adopt specific disciplinary policies designed to discourage bullying. But in Monona, they've made bullying a … [Read more...] about Bullys Beware!
You No Longer Have the Right To Remain Silent
I've seen a number of distressing decisions come out of the Supreme Court, but this may be the most gut-wrenching I've seen in a long time. Here's how criminal defense lawyer Bobby G. Frederick sums it up: In Salinas v. Texas, decided today, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a suspect’s silence may be used against him in court – the officer can offer testimony about it and the … [Read more...] about You No Longer Have the Right To Remain Silent
Edward Snowden’s Leaks Hit a Little Closer to Home
I'm on the record as not having been impressed with Bradley Manning for turning over thousands of classified diplomatic messages to Wikileaks: Then, of course, there’s the anonymous asshole who was trusted with access to all this stuff and decided to leak it. Leaking this stuff might have been justified if it contained the shocking truth behind the Kennedy assassination, or … [Read more...] about Edward Snowden’s Leaks Hit a Little Closer to Home
NSA Surveillance – Some Technical Speculation
The NSA story is still breaking, so almost anything I write may soon be overtaken by new information, but I thought I'd address one aspect that involves an area in which I have some expertise: Although whistleblower Edward Snowden claims that major tech corporations such as Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and Facebook have given the NSA direct access to information on their servers, … [Read more...] about NSA Surveillance – Some Technical Speculation