Another Step Away from Bad Science – a Review of the History and Science of “Shaken Baby Syndrome” in People v. Rene Bailey (December 16, 2014, Monroe County, NY)

In the early '90s, in my hometown of Rochester, N.Y., there was a rash of "Shaken Baby" cases, in which it was alleged that the defendant had violently shaken a young child, causing injury or death.   From that time to […]

NAPD Case Management System Comparison

In this day and age fully functional case management systems are a critical tool to have in the field of indigent defense.  The strain of huge caseloads compounded with busy schedules and ever increasing electronic discovery, public defenders need all […]

Thriving in the Law: Your Blueprint for Burnout Prevention

"Burnout is the biggest occupational hazard of the 21st century.  It’s a phenomenon that has been increasing everywhere – growing like a virus.”   Drs. Christina Maslach and Michael Leiter Burnout stopped my law practice in its tracks.  I burned out during the last year […]

Reports from the NYPD Slowdown

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is back to arresting people for quality of life offenses like open containers and taking up two seats on empty subways, and already  public defenders are nostalgic for the slowdown. There are two […]

Can We Stand for Each Other?

Je suis The dust is settling as the Bronx Defenders’ Executive Director, Robin Steinberg, begins a 60 day suspension and two staffers look for new jobs.  But before we close the book on this topic, perhaps we should think about […]

Forgive Yourself Without Becoming Complacent; Dream Without Becoming Discouraged

An interesting and important discussion has been taking place thanks to several NAPD posts that prompted the online magazine, Pacific Standard, to publish an article entitled Public Defenders: Heroes But Human.  I appreciate the title, lest anyone think there is some debate […]

Police Disonnect and Community Relations

This past weekend the Washington Post ran an article about a police involved shooting (link below).  17 months ago, a police officer shot and killed John Geer.  At the time the officer killed Mr. Geer, it was undisputed by all other witnesses that Mr. […]

How Public Defenders Struggle with Ethical Blindness

The National Association for Public Defense (NAPD) has triggered a critical debate as to whether public defenders with excessive caseloads can provide quality representation to their clients. (See articles by Andre Vitale and John Gross here, here and here.) Citing Professor Norman Lefstein’s exhaustive study, Securing Reasonable […]

We are the Ones Who Defend the Constitution

Often, as I hear individuals discussing events as they unfold in other countries, statements such as “that wouldn’t happen in the U.S.”, “it is a ‘police state’, we are lucky here” are thrown around with pride and an almost superior […]

Thanks For Helping A Child Know That Her Family’s Lives Matter

I am not a lawyer. I got involved in the struggle to reform criminal justice for very different reasons; personal reasons. When I was five years old my father went to prison for ten years. He was convicted of crimes […]