The Rise of Criminal Court User Fees in North Carolina (Part 3): Making the Machinery of Justice Work for All

This article was co-written with Kevin Murtagh. Kevin J. Murtagh received his J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law in May 2016, and he is licensed to practice law in North Carolina. His main interest is criminal law, and he […]

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Establishes a Sixth Amendment Right to a Pre-trial Challenge to Systemic Underfunding of Public Defender Offices

In Kuren v. Luzerne County (September 28, 2016), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court joined a growing number of courts that have established a Sixth Amendment right to challenge systemic underfunding of state or county indigent defense services by way of an […]

The Problem with Simplified Miranda Warnings

As attorneys we understand the significance of a “right”, especially a right bestowed upon us by the United States Constitution. The 5th and 14th Amendments to the US Constitution assure us that no one can be compelled to bear witness […]

Sentence Calculator

I am a paralegal at the Legal Aid Society and an expert in both software application development and state and local criminal sentencing.  So I  developed "Sentence Calculator" a fully automated web-­based and mobile software that is the first of […]

Remembering Bob Spangenberg

The following are the remarks of Stephen F. Hanlon at the memorial service of Robert L. Spangenberg, held at Grace Episcopal Church in Newton, MA on September 17, 2016.  Bob Spangenberg was the the father of the modern indigent defense […]

Money before Dignity

Her father was dying, but Maria wasn't allowed to leave the state to go visit him.  Not because Maria did not want to see him, or that she did not have family who were going to help her get to […]

I Do Not Want to be Writing This Post

I do not want to be writing this post. I do not want to be writing about the senseless and avoidable shootings of Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott. I do not want to be writing about the protestors in […]

Snohomish County GAL Scandal

This blog was written by Melinda L. Drewing and Flint Stebbins, in collaboration with Adam Ballout and ABC Law Group, LLP. Most people don’t associate the phrase Guardian ad Litem (GAL) with perjury, theft, fraud, retaliation, and bias so severe […]

Trauma’s Hidden Ripple Effects

During an end-of-summer family vacation (self care!), I paddled around a lake in a kayak. Every once in awhile a motorboat would skim across the other side of the lake, causing my kayak to wobble on the waves the motorboat […]

A Warrior to the End

Howard G. Franklin July 26, 1940 – September 11, 2016 Howard G. Franklin was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1940, to Benjamin J. and Melba R. Franklin. He died at home, surrounded by his loving family, on the night […]