Criminal

February 28, 2021

https://www.avvo.com/attorney-answers/53548-wi-jay-nixon-1529181/answers.html I had a few deposits over the last 90 days from eBay / PayPal into my account. 700-1500 maybe totaling 8k in 90 days. I attached my PayPal statement that shows 0 balance at time of filing. It was random stuff I sold to help pay for Xmas instead of using credit cards. What’s considered a “large” deposit when a trustee looks at your previous bank statements? Jay’s Answer (Jay Nixon, Bankruptcy Attorney…

On Point

Even if objectionable, testimony doesn’t merit new TPR trial

By Wisconsin State Public Defender

February 28, 2021

S.K. v. S.S., 2020AP277, District 3, 2/26/21 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (briefs not made available) S.S. (or “Susan,” to use the court’s pseudonym) isn’t entitled to a new TPR grounds trial based on her trial attorney’s failure to object to the admission of testimony she argues was irrelevant “other-acts” evidence. Even if […]…

On Point

Defendant forfeited competency challenge to second OWI 1st

By Wisconsin State Public Defender

February 28, 2021

County of Green Lake v. Lori Melchert, 2020AP473, District 2, 2/24/21 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Melchert’s challenge to a prior OWI that was improperly treated as a first offense comes way too late under City of Eau Claire v. Booth, 2016 WI 65, 370 Wis. 2d 595, 882 N.W.2d 738, […]…

Simple Justice

Will Cuomo Get The Benefit of The Biden Rule?

By Scott Greenfield

February 28, 2021

Do you remember Tara Reade? Joe Biden probably does, not that it’s the sort of thing he wants to talk about, and with good reason. As he brought the Title IX Avenging Angel, Catherine Lhamon into the White House and plans to undo the minimal due process created by the DeVos regs, Biden dodged that bullet with the complicity of the unduly passionate who put “believe women” far below beat Trump on the…

Simple Justice

Words of a Different Color

By Scott Greenfield

February 28, 2021

Like many people, I was enthralled by Amanda Gorman’s poem read at Biden’s inauguration, and said so at the time. While it didn’t occur to me, why wouldn’t such a wonderful poem be translated into other languages so that people around the world could enjoy and appreciate it? Then again, it didn’t occur to me that this, too, would be turned into a controversy, another racial sinkhole. A few years back, a white person…

Sentencing Law and Policy

What kind of "behind the scenes" clemency moves might Prez Biden's staff be working on?

By Douglas Berman

February 27, 2021

The question in the title of this post is prompted by a sentence in this Vox piece by German Lopez (strangely) headlined “Biden’s secret weapon for criminal justice reform.” The article is about the power of the President to grant clemency, and I think it a bit strange to call that power a “secret weapon” given all the attention that clemency has received in recent years and given that there has already been a number…

Sentencing Law and Policy

"Reprogramming Recidivism: The First Step Act and Algorithmic Prediction of Risk"

By Douglas Berman

February 27, 2021

The title of this post is the title of this paper recently posted to SSRN and authored by Amy Cyphert. Here is its abstract: The First Step Act, a seemingly miraculous bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, was signed into law in late 2018. The Act directed the Attorney General to develop a risk and needs assessment tool that would effectively determine who would be eligible for early release based on an algorithmic prediction of recidivism. …

Sentencing Law and Policy

Lots of great new reads from various parts of The Appeal

By Douglas Berman

February 27, 2021

There is so much important and impressive content at The Appeal, I know I often miss some great content within the site’s many sections. But I figure I can use this space to make sure others do not miss a few pieces from different part of the site this past week that may be of special interest to sentencing fans: From The Lab “The Carceral Force of Prosecutor Associations, Explained” by Angela…

Red Notice Law Journal

Red Notice removal from INTERPOL, and when NOT to apply

By Michelle Estlund

February 27, 2021

Some Red Notice subjects are surprised when I tell them that they should not hire me to seek the removal of their names from INTERPOL’s wanted list. There are times when the best course of action is not to go to INTERPOL for relief, at least, not as a first effort. This post addresses those situations. For a variety of reasons, the optimal place to resolve a dispute is at its origin. For example, if…

Simple Justice

A Compelling Progressive Paradox

By Scott Greenfield

February 27, 2021

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The “liberal paradox,” simply stated, is that liberals are so tolerant and principled with regard to the inherent virtue of freedom that they defend speech that would end their existence. Why tolerate those who would eliminate you? Because they trust that better ideas will prevail over worse ideas, freedom over fascism. It’s a bit idealistic and, perhaps, self-defeating, but that’s pretty much the point. At the New York Times, Michelle Goldberg tries to usurp the …