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Judging Crimes

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"A view of the bench from the trenches," from the standpoint of a longtime prosecutor in a state with a high violent crime rate.

Author: Joel Jacobsen is an assistant attorney general representing the prosecution on appeals in New Mexico and prison wardens in federal habeas corpus actions. He says he has prosecuted 50 murder cases.

Blawg Related Categories: Appellate PracticeCriminal JusticeProsecutorsJudiciaryProsecutor


Recent Posts from Judging Crimes

  • 409. Let Sarah be Stephen

    Sarah Palin has been getting a lot of unfavorable fact-checking attention for her insta-book, proving yet again that there's no such thing as bad publicity, unless you're a news-gathering organization and must explain why you…

  • 408. Conventions

    It's hard for any professional to question the conventional wisdom of his or her field. It's hard even to perceive the things one takes for granted.  The tendency is easiest to see in fields in…

  • 407. Gomorrah (Camorra optional)

    Roberto Saviano's Gomorrah has been celebrated as a brave book, and an eye-opening one, and as a beautifully-written one, and even (though this will never stop seeming improbable to me) as the basis for a…

  • 406. Recognition

    In the CBS interview (see post 405), David Lisak described one way in which rapists choose their victims, or as the rapists themselves prefer to see them, their conquests.  Writing in the London Review of…

  • 405. Consent defense

    CBS News interviewed the psychologist David Lisak about "non-stranger rapes."  In just a few minutes he says a number of very interesting things.  For example, what if we prosecuted other crimes--say, auto theft--the way we…

  • 404. The highest standards

    The last post described the crisis in Slovakia's judiciary, where ethical charges are being imposed to punish politically inconvenient judges.  The purge is being carried out by the Justice Minister of the governing coalition, which…

  • 403. Le droit, c'est moi

    From The Slovak Spectator, news of an open letter from 15 judges protesting disciplinary proceedings against one of their number.  Well, of course they don't like it, right?  But this story comes with a twist:…

  • 402. Mating habits of the domestic judge (eastern specimen)

    Rhode Island is small.  Very small.  But small enough to require semi-retired justices of the state supreme court to move in with the deputies who double as their drivers?  The state's longtime Chief Justice Frank…

  • 401. Mating habits of the domestic judge (western specimen)

    A judge without dignity is like a wet cat or a newly-shorn sheep.  And by far the most effective way for judges to denude themselves of dignity is to take the stand in their own…

  • 400. How it's done

    This blog has periodically asked what it takes to fire a judge.  (See post 60 and post 185.)  It's also frequently pointed out the extremes many judges have to go to before attracting the attention…


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