Given my libertarian views, it's not suprising that I don't entirely enjoy reading blogs by prosecutors. Even those who aren't rabid law-and-order true believers still rub me the wrong way on certain subjects. For example, I've been reading Mark Pryor's D.A. Confidential blog for years. He's a good writer -- see his Holding Hands With Evil series for a taste -- and he … [Read more...] about Why Prosecutor Blogs Are Less Fun
Florida Court Makes it Easier to Unknowingly Commit Crimes
I like to think I know a thing or two about the excesses of the war on drugs, but I had no idea that the legal situation in Florida was this ugly: Florida will remain one of the only two states in the country that sends people to prison on drug possession charges without first proving the person knew what they were carrying was illegal. In a decision that will assure thousands … [Read more...] about Florida Court Makes it Easier to Unknowingly Commit Crimes
When DNA Evidence Doesn’t Prove Much
Some criminal defense bloggers are skeptical of the supposedly high reliability of DNA evidence. Since almost every other form of forensic testing is based on shaky scientific foundations, they figure it's only a matter of time until DNA falls too. I don't share their skepticism, at least not about the basic principles of DNA profiling. Other forensic sciences -- blood … [Read more...] about When DNA Evidence Doesn’t Prove Much
“Happy White Peoples Independence Day”
Jack Marshall is peeved at Chris Rock over this tweet: Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren't free but I'm sure they enjoyed fireworks Jack thinks that's "Ignorant, racist, divisive, unfair, disrespectful, bitter, dumb, and not funny." I'll give him bitter and not terribly funny, but Jack's seriously overreacting to the rest of it. Ignorant...because it … [Read more...] about “Happy White Peoples Independence Day”
The Natural Disaster We’re Having
[Update: I was far too pessimistic about the heatwave. According to Wikipedia, it killed 82 people, far fewer than I was worried about. I guess I am a bit of an alarmist after all.] Over at Breitbart, Joel B. Pollack is trying to use the recent heat wave against President Obama: With much of the East Coast still struggling to recover from recent storms that cut power to … [Read more...] about The Natural Disaster We’re Having