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Welcome to my workaday world…
When people in their late twenties and early thirties gather to drink and converse in public, “What do you do for work?” is the typical ice breaker question. Oh, so you’re a consultant. And you’re a...
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Meet Your Neighbors
Here’s a fun exercise for you readers in California. Go to this link: http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/search_main.aspx?searchtype=zipcode&lang=ENGLISH And when you do, enter your ZIP code in the box to...
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Tales of Moral Hazards – Part I (of many)
“In short, America’s indigent defense systems exist in a state of crisis.” – U.S. Atty General Eric Holder Fifty years ago this week, a man named Clarence Earl Gideon achieved something remarkable for...
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Dear Norm…
Dear Norm: How do you defend people when you know they are guilty? Sincerely, Gill T. Dear Gill: Believe it or not, I appreciate this question. I appreciate it every time it is asked, because it gives...
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Transcript of His Honor’s Handwashing Liturgy, or The Defendant’s Romero...
Under California’s Three Strikes law, defendants with two or more serious or violent felony convictions receive a minimum sentence of 25 years-to-life for a third serious or violent felony. However,...
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Thoughts From the Event Horizon
My client is facing trial for stabbing a rival gang member. In court, his neck tattoos and gang colors do him no good. Since he was the only other person at the scene besides the victim, he must...
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To The Wolves…
A client of mine was recently sentenced to 19 years in state prison. His sentencing took place a handful of days after his 18th birthday. Prior to that, and all during the time I represented this...
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A Modest Proposal for the Looming California Prison Crisis
In order to comply with a federal court order, Governor Jerry Brown must release 10,000 more prisoners by the end of this year. Over the past 15 years, California’s prison population has ballooned by...
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Criminology 201: Selected Topics in Disorganized Crime
Criminology 201: Selected Topics in Disorganized Crime In my last post, I discussed a client whose life experience failed to square with the accepted narratives that are taught to police, probation,...
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Dear Norm: How Do You Defend Those People? (Part 3,223)
Dear Norm: How do you defend those people? No, I don’t mean “how can you live with yourself ensuring due process for people who have done really really bad things” or anything like that. I mean, how do...
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