Scott Greenfield of Simple Justice wrote a complimentary piece about this blog earlier this week. While I was very flattered to be described as “one of the newest and brightest additions to the blawgosphere,” Greenfield continued to encourage me to change the name of this blog. Wrote Greenfield in a postscript: “Jamison, attempting to straddle the marketing blawgosphere and the …
One of my favorite episodes from the old T.V. show Taxi included the scene in which the Reverend Jim Ignatowski, the character played by Christopher Lloyd, accidentally burns down the apartment of Louie DePalma, the character played by Danny DeVito. The Reverend’s father is a millionaire. When the father finds out that his son has burned down the apartment, he …
Norfolk, Va. — Before starting law school, I read a number of books on how to survive your first year. One book dealt with law school etiquette. Top among its rules was not to discuss an examination with friends afterwards. There is no point to doing this, the book said. Both sides – the side that did well and the …
Last summer, my 19-year-old daughter decided that she wanted to come see me in court. I had just given notice of my intention to resign from the Defender Association of Philadelphia effective at the end of the month, and she thought this might be the last opportunity to see me working as a public defender. I was running the list …
A couple of weeks ago, I complained about the lack of criminal law blogs done by women. I also bemoaned the fact that, with a few exceptions, there do not seem to be many public defender blogs that don’t sound preachy, sanctimonious, and put-upon. Yes, you’re a public defender. Yes, the caseload is overwhelming. Yes, the pay is pitiful. And …
A good friend of mine, a former prosecutor in Massachusetts and Virginia, has criticized my blog for its defense-centric viewpoint. The actual words he used, if I recall correctly, were “criminal apologisms.” Since I will be need to take some time off over the next couple of weeks to prepare for the Virginia Bar Examination, I have offered him the …