Criminal

By Scott Greenfield on September 18, 2019

It wasn’t remotely surprising that right out of the box, someone like Michelle Dauber would find some way to spin it. The legal profession does not care about sexual assault and lawyers will protect each other and the profession pretty much no matter what. The problem was that she was constrained to attack an unattackable voice, the Notorious RBG. Obviously, it couldn’t be that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a rape apologist or misogynist,…

Simple Justice

Offending Maeve

By Scott Greenfield on September 18, 2019

The Pantheon of female comedians runs from the indomitable Carol Burnett and Phyllis Diller to the banal but foul Samantha Bee. It used to include Sarah Silverman, but her name can no longer be mentioned. And then there’s Maeve Higgins. “Who,” you ask? You don’t know her name because she’s been canceled, but she would have to matter before anyone would bother to cancel her. And she doesn’t matter, except to the New …

Schantz Law Office Blog

The War on Drugs: Failure or Success?

By Marcus L. Schantz on September 17, 2019

Let me begin with a question. Did anyone in the government at any time believe that law enforcement would reduce drug availability and drug use? Was it believed that more arrests and more convictions would make a real difference? I say no. And if anyone did believe as such, they were either ignorant or exceptionally naive. The fact is this: directed law enforcement operations (and related necessities) since 1971 have cost US taxpayers over $1Trillion.…

Sentencing Law and Policy

“Tinkering With the Machinery of Death: Lessons From a Failure of Judicial Activism”

By Douglas Berman on September 17, 2019

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Kent Scheidegger now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: The Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on capital sentencing is a mess. That may be the only proposition that draws a consensus in this sharply divisive area. Critics and supporters of capital punishment agree that the system created by the Court fails to achieve its goals, although for different reasons. The entire body…

Sentencing Law and Policy

“U.S. Prison Population Trends: Massive Buildup and Modest Decline”

By Douglas Berman on September 17, 2019

The title of this post is the title of this notable new briefing paper authored by Nazgol Ghandnoosh who is a Senior Research Analyst at The Sentencing Project. The short paper is full of great charts and data, and here is the start of the text: By yearend 2017, 1.4 million people were imprisoned in the United States, a decline of 7% since the prison population reached its peak level in 2009. This follows a…

Red Notice Law Journal

INTERPOL and Red Notice removal- does it do any good to write to the CCF?

By Michelle Estlund on September 17, 2019

A reader sent in this message: “I have a red notice of Interpol but I didn’t commit any crime… I am trying to find any information possible or anybody who can help me… I already wrote to the CCF, but as you may know… it is pointless…” Actually, I am happy to report that this reader is incorrect. The CCF routinely evaluates requests to remove Red Notices. More frequently than one might think, the CCF…

Simple Justice

Fear of the Flies

By Scott Greenfield on September 17, 2019

A comment by Skink the other day reminded me of a guest post that never happened. Out of the blue, I heard from a lawprof friend who sought to push me to write more about what was happening internally within the New York Legal Aid Society. I was sent a bunch of internal emails which were graphic and appalling.* I replied that I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. If there were problems at…

Sentencing Law and Policy

Noting efforts to apply reduced sentencing rules under New York’s new Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act

By Douglas Berman on September 16, 2019

This press release from May 2019 reports on the signing of New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act and describes the law this way: The Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act … codifies more meaningful sentence reductions for domestic abuse survivors in the criminal justice system and a key initiative in the Governor’s 2019 Women’s Justice Agenda. Current law allows judges to administer indeterminate sentences for domestic violence survivors who have committed a crime only in…

Wisconsin Trial Lawyers Blog

When Can I Pursue Compensation for an Injury from a Dangerous Product?

By GRGB Lawyers on September 16, 2019

In 2011, former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed the Omnibus Tort Reform Act, which changed preexisting state laws related to product liability. In particular, Chapter 895 of the Wisconsin Statutes was altered extensively. These changes placed a greater burden on plaintiffs when filing a personal injury lawsuit against a manufacturer or distributor of a potentially dangerous product. The Reason for the Law Change The legislative history of Wis. Stat. §895.046 reveals that the legislation was…

Sentencing Law and Policy

Just some (of many) perspectives on Felicity Huffman’s sentencing

By Douglas Berman on September 16, 2019

Lots of folks have lots of views on what we should make of the the sentencing of Felicity Huffman late last week to 14 days in incarceration in the college bribery scandal. Here are just a sampling of some of the pieces that caught my eye: From CNN, “John Legend says prison is not always the answer after Felicity Huffman’s sentence“ From Walter Palvo at Forbes, “Felicity Huffman And America’s Failing Criminal …