True Justice Demands that We Must Stand Up and Be Heard

No other job as a lawyer demands the amount of sacrifice and dedication required to serve as a Public Defender. We give a voice to people who many times society has forgotten or ignored. We provide each person with a […]

Government Mental Health Evaluations of Our Clients

The United States Supreme Court in Kansas v. Cheever reaffirmed the rule set forth in Buchanan v. Kentucky that the government does not violate a defendant’s Fifth or Sixth Amendment rights by offering testimony from a court ordered psychiatric evaluation to rebut a mental […]

The “How We Met” Story

Last week in a fit of desperation, I asked a client facing a domestic violence related charge how he met his ex-girlfriend, the complainant. The man, who had tried to fire me on the last court date, softened his expression. […]

Remembering Ross Shephard

I did not know Ross Shepard well. I met him only toward the end of his career as a public defender Chief and then as defender division staffer at NLADA. The October 30, 2013 obituary in The Register Guard filled […]

A smarter, less costly approach to crime is no longer an ideological divide

Leaders at both ends of the political spectrum see a need for commonsense reform. Conservatives argue for a smarter, less costly criminal justice approach focused on community based solutions. The Conservative Case for Reform is a project of the Texas […]

Learning Organizations

That great resource Wikipedia describes a "learning organization" as follows: "A learning organization is the term given to a company that facilitates the learning of its members and continuously transforms itself. Learning organizations develop as a result of the pressures facing […]

It Really Isn’t Rocket Science – Forensics Discovery

Mishandling of DNA Evidence Is Found in Over 50 Cases at Crime Lab, Chemist Pleads Guilty In Massachusetts Crime Lab Scandal, Former SFPD Lab Tech Sentenced for Drug Possession, North Carolina’s Crime Lab Scandal Remains Unaddressed are just a few of the recent headlines […]

An Unlikely Verdict

It was the kind of case that made me wince.  Deep Eastern Kentucky.  Two outsiders from the city involved in drug trafficking, murder and robbery.  African American defendant, white witnesses.  Years ago, the chances for an unjust would have been […]

Sway! THE NEW ART OF PERSUADING PREDICTABLY IRRATIONAL JURORS

persuade (per•swad’), v. 1. To move a person to do something; urging. 2. To induce to believe; convince. 3. Using communication power to produce effects on others by intangible or unseen means. See, MAGIC. THE MOST CHALLENGING AND PERVASIVE TASK […]

It’s Time to Start Treating Kids like Kids, Regardless of What They Did

Last month, Washington’s Supreme Court heard arguments on whether Miller v. Alabama, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 2455 (2012) should be applied retroactively to juveniles who were sentenced to life without parole in Washington. In Miller, the U.S. Supreme Court determined […]