By Mani Dabiri | Published June 30, 2017 | Posted in Civil Business Litigation and Investigations, Federal and State Criminal Defense, White-Collar and Regulatory Defense | Tagged Tags: billofrights, dueprocess, fifthamendment, juryinstructions, sixthamendment, witnesses |
The New Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Now that Neil Gorsuch has been sworn in, we’ll begin to find out how he wields the law as a member of the highest court in the land. Some say he’s a natural successor to the Justice whose seat he fills, Antonin Scalia. Here is a profile of Mr. Gorsuch that compares his views to those of Mr. Scalia Read More
Read MoreDo You Care About Justice?
Speaking of lies, there’s no shortage of them in an election year, but if you’re looking for a constructive way to sound off to the presidential candidates, here’s one. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has sent each of the four candidates—Clinton, Trump, Johnson, and Stein—a questionnaire with fifteen questions about their views on the criminal-justice system. The NACDL has created Read More
Read MoreHow to Assert Your Miranda Rights
Here’s a guide to your Miranda rights on the occasion of their 50th anniversary. It’s a rough composite of the current state of the law, but you should always consult a lawyer about your specific situation before consenting to an interview with law enforcement. The first thing to understand is that the police don’t have to give you Miranda warnings Read More
Read MoreThe 50th Anniversary of Miranda
“The quality of a nation’s civilization can be largely measured by the methods it uses in the enforcement of its criminal law.” This month marks the fiftieth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s seminal decision in Miranda v. Arizona. To commemorate the occasion, here’s a great write-up on why the case matters so much and how we Read More
Read MoreSCOTUS Stands Up for the Sixth Amendment
We’ve asked this question before. What if the government charged you with a crime, and you wanted to defend yourself but couldn’t—not because you didn’t have any money, but because the government had blocked all access to it? Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court said the government can freeze your money before trial if there’s probable Read More
Read MoreThe Importance of Public Defense
Many people observed National Public Defense Day on March 18. Yes, there’s a day on the calendar for everything, but this one’s important. It honors the day in 1963 that the Supreme Court decided Gideon v. Wainwright: the case of a poor defendant who believed the Constitution promised him an effective lawyer if he was accused of a crime. The man had just Read More
Read MoreA Postscript to Last Week’s Open Letter
Following up on last week’s post, readers should understand the timeline of events that brought the misconduct to light. Here are the highlights. In January 2013, a defendant in a murder case filed a motion to get some important information from the prosecution. The trial court found good cause for the motion and granted it, but the district attorney’s office Read More
Read MoreAn Open Letter to the District Attorney of Orange County
Mr. Rackauckas: Just what is going on in your office, sir? I’m not talking about the fight that broke out in a county courthouse three weeks ago between one of your investigators and a defense attorney. Never mind that if a defense attorney did this to a cop, he’d be arrested so fast his head would spin. (Full Read More
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