Legal Concepts/Principles

Bringing the Judge Into A Plea Bargain

May 14, 2012 Law Practice

“That’s as low as my office is willing to go for this type of offense.” This is what the prosecutor tells me. We are talking about the number of hours of community service my client would be required to perform under a plea bargain, and we have deadlocked. This is the only outstanding issue. The [...]

Read the full article →

Dawkins v. United States: How Far Must A Party Go To Preserve Issue For Appeal?

May 6, 2012 Legal Concepts/Principles

In an opinion issued last week, Dawkins v. United States, the D.C. Court of Appeals addressed the issue of how far a party must go in order to preserve an issue for appeal.  The Court also confirmed the long-standing principle that the potential bias of a witness is always relevant in assessing a witness’ credibility. [...]

Read the full article →

The ABCs of “Character Evidence” in a D.C. Criminal Case

May 3, 2012 Evidence

Over 65 years ago, Justice Robert H. Jackson, writing for the U.S. Supreme Court in Michelson v. United States, 335 U.S. 469 (1948), complained about the “helpful but illogical options” available to a defendant attempting to introduce evidence of his good character in a criminal trial:  “We concur in the general opinion of courts, textwriters [...]

Read the full article →

Morgan v. U.S.: Inconsistent Evidence at Trial and “Show Cause” Hearing

April 20, 2012 Criminal Procedure

One of the things that surprised me when I first began to practice criminal law was the notion that you could be acquitted of a particular offense at trial and then have that very same criminal charge – the one on which you were just found not guilty – serve as the basis for being [...]

Read the full article →

Simms v. U.S.: On the Pre-Trial Presumption of Prosecutorial Vindictiveness

April 17, 2012 Criminal Procedure

David Simms was charged with possession of marijuana. On the day of his scheduled trial, the government announced that it was ready to proceed on the charge. Defense counsel stated it was still awaiting discovery on a few matters and, after passing the matter a couple of times, the court eventually postponed the trial so [...]

Read the full article →

Open Guilty Plea = Bad Case + Fair Judge + Unreasonable Prosecutor

April 10, 2012 Criminal Procedure

When faced with a really bad case, one option is to work out a favorable plea agreement with the government to try to mitigate consequences for the client. Another frequently overlooked option is to do an open guilty plea. In fact, the Criminal Practice Manual put out by the D.C. Public Defender Service devotes an [...]

Read the full article →

Entrapment in D.C.: The Legality of Recent Decoy Operations

March 11, 2012 Criminal Procedure

Your client is heading home, minding his own business, when he comes across what appears to be a homeless man sleeping on a bench at the metro station. Sticking out of the man’s coat pocket is a shiny new I-Phone. In a moment of weakness, your client grabs the I-Phone and is immediately taken to [...]

Read the full article →

Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle: Applying the Notion of a “Grace Period”

February 25, 2012 Defenses to Criminal Charges

The judge doesn’t like my idea of a “grace period.”  In fact, he chuckles when I propose it:  “I have never seen any case law on that,” he says. I was not trying to be funny. My client has been charged with both unlawful entry and unauthorized use of a stolen car in which he [...]

Read the full article →

On the Criminal Defenses of “Justification” and “Excuse”

February 21, 2012 Criminal Procedure

How can you not love the criminal defenses? With the government burdened with proving every element of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt, one criminal defense strategy is to challenge the identity of the perpetrator. Yes, says the defense lawyer in an alibi defense. I am sure the crime was committed, and wasn’t it a [...]

Read the full article →

Ray Koehler on “Fiat Iustitia Ruat Caelum”

February 13, 2012 Legal Concepts/Principles

Guest Blog By Raymond Koehler My initial enthusiasm at being invited to write a piece for my brother’s law blog quickly turned to concern.  I am a Latin teacher, not a lawyer, and although I often find myself citing my brother in defense of my subject before the incoming hordes of freshmen – twenty-seven to [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries