Retraction – Not Drooling

In a blog post dated May 5, 2014, I referred to the criminal justice system as a "voracious, drooling monster." This was an error. The word "drooling" connotes a sense of innocent passivity, like a drooling baby, or someone napping with their […]

Unequal Justice

I know that somewhere inside I am angry but all I can feel tonight is profound grief at the news of the NY grand jury no bill in the homicide of Eric Garner.  That the trained officer did not intend […]

A System Cannot Fail Those It Was Never Built to Protect

“A System Cannot Fail Those It Was Never Built to Protect” – Vann Newkirk Ferguson burned.  But it never should have. And it was so avoidable.  And while the violence and arson are very regrettable, how much can we ask people to […]

It costs more to pay less

Most public defender programs face the challenges of high workloads, low salaries, large turnover. There are reals costs to these realities. A Florida report spells the costs out. Public safety depends on many critical factors. One of those factors is […]

SF Public Defender’s Statement on Grand Jury Decision

As San Francisco Public Defender, I am deeply disappointed with the grand jury’s failure to indict Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. A series of questionable, and in my opinion, biased legal and ethical decisions […]

Motion to be Given the Same Treatment and Protections as White Police Officers.

A suggestion from Kristin Wenstrom – Hey Public Defenders– start drafting for each of your clients a Motion to be Given the Same Treatment and Protections as White Police Officers.   Some initial ideas I have are: 1. Acknowledge and […]

Awakenings

It was a Wednesday morning was like any other.  Running around to make appearances in several different courts for calendars scheduled at the same time.  When I arrived in Part V, I was exhausted, frustrated, ready to call it a day, and […]

This is Just Wrong

James Prater clearly has a problem.  He’s an addict.  He was charged in southeastern Kentucky with manufacturing methamphetamine.  Meth has been a problem in Kentucky, particularly the rural counties, for the last 15 years.  The Kentucky legislature passed laws making the manufacturing of meth […]

We Are All Criminals: Part 2

At the 2012 COD Conference, Minnesota State Public Defender John Stuart mentioned a project called “We Are All Criminals” that I wanted to promote through the NAPD network. The premise is this: “1 in 4 people in the US has […]

More on Serial Podcast: The Opposite of Prosecution

“Lawyers gotta learn to tell the story of the expert, you should write about that for your next blog post.” With that my friend went off to order another round of beer, and I began scribbling notes like, “How can […]