Legal

So you're thinking of going to law school, eh? Apparently, lawyering is not the great job it once was. If you can't land the job you want—especially if you're from a bottom-ranked law school—you'll probably have to find some scutwork to help pay off those massive student loans. That means work in a legal sweatshop as a temporary attorney, probably helping a dozen … [Read more...] about Legal Sweatshops

Yesterday, officials at MySpace refused to turn over the names of users who were registered sex offenders to the attorneys general of several states. According to a USA Today story: Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday blasted MySpace for refusing to share the information and said no subpoena is needed for MySpace to tell the attorneys general how many … [Read more...] about Crybaby Attorneys General

My long tale of last year's jury duty (Voir Dire, Testimony, Verdict, Reflections) just drew a comment from a public defender named Bill: [Note: In all accounts of this trial, I'm using fake names for the people and locations.] While I can't second guess your decision, since I didn't hear all of the evidence, it surprises me how important you felt that Jose claimed the cop … [Read more...] about Jury Duty: Followup

Connecticut criminal defense attorney Norm Pattis is ready to fight for YOU! … [Read more...] about Stormin’ Norman

Over at Crime & Federalism, Norm Pattis has been explaining why defense attorneys are not much interested in the guilt or innocence of their clients. In a followup, he defends the adversarial process against the accusation that it leads to disrespect for truth in court proceedings. I have only a layman's familiarity with the legal system, but I know a little bit about … [Read more...] about Truth In Trial