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The 2010 ABA Journal Blawg 100

The 2010 ABA Journal Blawg 100

These are this year’s 100 best legal blogs, as chosen by the editors of the ABA Journal.

Welcome to the fourth annual ABA Journal Blawg 100—the best legal blogs as selected by the Journal's editors.

Each year, we scour the Web to bring you the best and brightest law bloggers in a variety of categories, and this year is no different.

Read the full intro and magazine version here.

Voting is now closed.

Criminal Justice: These bloggers track the latest to come out of the justice system, and those who practice discuss their day-to-day ups and downs in criminal law.

59
votes

Not Guilty No Way

As Associate’s Mind blogger Keith Lee puts it, Takoma Park, Md., solo Mirriam Seddiq “has no filter. Sure, that might mean her blog might occasionally be NSFW for language, but it’s worth it to read her honest and frank opinions of criminal law and running a small law practice. She might not be the most frequent updater of her blawg, but I read every time she makes an update.”

58
votes

What the Judge Ate for Breakfast

At What the Judge Ate for Breakfast, Wichita Eagle courts reporter Ron Sylvester blogs about his beat; some posts are from his “Common Law” series, which includes two-minute videos about the inner workings of the courts. He also live-tweets trials he’s covering from the courtroom.

48
votes

D.A. Confidential

“Mark Pryor of D.A. Confidential is like the Jerry Seinfeld or Jay Leno of the criminal law blogosphere: He can be funny, original, interesting and entertaining without using obscenity or going for the jugular,” wrote Koehler Law blogger Jamison Koehler. “And, as a former journalist, he knows how to write. It is also helpful to get the perspective of a prosecutor, even if his position constrains him a bit in what he is able to write about.” Pryor is also a novelist: His mystery, The Bookseller, just came out.

43
votes

Simple Justice

Manhattan criminal defense attorney Scott Greenfield has his finger on the pulse of the blawgosphere. His early morning posts offer biting commentary, often uncovering by breakfast what we’ll be talking about for the rest of the day. Although he announced his retirement in February, by March he was back in business. “Truth be told, I was bored,” he wrote.

42
votes

Defending People

“My colleagues and I defend mental-health respondents in civil commitment and involuntary treatment cases. Mark Bennett’s Defending People blog often has good ideas that we can adapt to better represent our clients and preserve issues for appeal,” wrote Laurel Spahn of the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission. “I also appreciate that he stands up to judges and opposing counsel and does not permit bullying or intimidation.” Houstonian Bennett also ran for the Texas Supreme Court as a libertarian this year.

39
votes

Sentencing Law and Policy

Ohio State law professor Douglas Berman notes congressional hearings, scholarship and general trends related to sentencing, and sometimes handicaps the sentences that can be anticipated by those convicted in high-profile criminal cases. Unlike most criminal law bloggers, he writes with a fairly objective tone.

37
votes

Crime & Consequences

“For a prosecutor or anyone else who believes that people are responsible for their own actions and that justice for victims is at least as important as mercy for criminals, this blog serves up the good news.” —Dennis J. Skayhan, Berks County (Pa.) District Attorney’s Office

21
votes

A Public Defender

"Gideon" writes about Connecticut criminal cases, the plight of public defenders nationwide and death penalty perspectives. He also occasionally live-blogs legal TV shows.