Judging Crimes
"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 Practice • Criminal Justice • Prosecutors • Judiciary • Prosecutor
Recent Posts from Judging Crimes
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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:…
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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…
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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…
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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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399. My, aren't we special
I think it's probably coincidence that these two items appeared within days of each other. But I don't think their results aren't coincidental. First, from D.C. federal court: The Federal Trade Commission cannot force practicing…
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398. Regal condescension
Over the summer New Scientist reported on research by Don Moore about the effect of the advice-giver's confidence on the willingness of humans to accept the advice: EVER wondered why the pundits who failed to…
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397. The power of the wig
In the cinders of Victoria, Australia, "The Hon. Rob Hulls MP, Attorney-General and Minister for Racing" (what makes you think I'm making fun of his titles?) gave a speech in which he said: I challenge…
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396. Settlement authority
My computer and I have taken turns being sick recently. The computer, though, was under warranty, because it was a replacement for the one that ran afoul of the Death Panel. How well I remember…
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395. No P.A.I.N., no reform
Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness (and even a blogger, sorta), gave a talk at the Pop!Tech conference a couple years ago in which he explained why humans have such a hard time appreciating…
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394. Without consent
The ever-present (for lawyers) danger of thinking that legal categories have real-world significance (see post 392) is shown again by Emily Bazelon and Rachael Larimore's Slate article about false accusations of rape. The author's never…