An Assistant U.S. Attorney has been referred for disciplinary action after being caught misrepresenting facts before a U.S. District Court.
What is a “suspended sentence” in D.C.?
Jail time that is “suspended” will only be served if the defendant fails to comply with the terms of the sentence.
Is spitting on someone simple assault in D.C.?
Spitting on someone would satisfy the definition of an “offensive touching” provided that the government could prove that the defendant’s actions were intentional and not by mistake or accident.
Can you go to jail for a protective order?
Although a civil protection order (CPO) is a civil matter, not a criminal one, being the subject of a CPO can lead to criminal charges if you are accused of violating the order.
Excessive force is still the standard for self-defense in an APO case
The standard for asserting self-defense in an assault case involving a police officer is still whether or not the police officer used excessive force during the arrest.
Open season on police officers?
According to a plain reading of D.C.’s new resisting arrest statute, you can lawfully resist your own Terry stop.
Can a CPO be denied?
The court may not have “jurisdiction” (i.e., power) to issue the order. Or the court may decide, after holding a hearing, that there is not “good cause” to believe a crime was committed.
“This is great. We’ll take it.”
My wife and I have gone full circle. We started off our lives together in a small rental apartment in D.C. Three kids, four cities, six houses and a lifetime later, we are now back in a small rental apartment in D.C.
What should I do after receiving a hit-and-run letter from D.C. police?
The letter from the Metropolitan Police Department sounds ominous. Your car has been involved in a hit-and-run accident in D.C. You should come in for an interview at a specific time and place.
PDS offers help with criminal appeals
I am sitting with Jimmy Klein and Alice Wang in Klein’s office on the third floor of 633 Indiana Avenue, NW. Samia Fam and Jackie Frankfurter stopped in earlier. This is the dream team of appellate lawyers in D.C. and they are all offering input on an appellate brief I have been struggling with.
Prostitution arrests rise in D.C.
There is good news for D.C. criminal defense lawyers: Prostitution-related arrests can be expected to rise in the coming months.
Trial transcript: impeaching lying witness
Q: Ms. Jones. You realize that when the police interviewed you, they were wearing body worn cameras? A: Actually I didn’t know that. That’s not something I was aware of.
Expunging a drug conviction in D.C.
D.C. Code § 48-904.01(e) provides for the expungement of a drug case in Washington, D.C. upon the successful completion of pre-sentence probation.
Should my CPO hearing “trail” my criminal case?
Although the usual practice is for the CPO hearing to “trail” the criminal case, the defendant/respondent might want the CPO hearing to go first.
Should I file a cross-petition in a CPO case in D.C.?
If you have been served with a civil protection order (CPO) petition in D.C. and you yourself are the victim of abuse, you can file for a CPO of your own.
Do I need a lawyer for a CPO hearing in D.C.?
Although many people proceed without legal representation, a good lawyer can serve as your advisor and advocate, particularly if you decide to litigate the CPO.
Will expunged record show up in an FBI background check?
In most cases, the FBI will – as a courtesy – comply with a state court’s order to remove a criminal record from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
Finding reasonable doubt in a domestic violence case
There is always a defense in domestic violence cases in Washington, D.C.
Difference between domestic violence and simple assault in D.C.
A specific crime (e.g., simple assault) should not be confused with a general category of crimes (e.g., domestic violence).
A Farewell to Tolo
We were not the first tourists to visit the village of Tolo. But we were the first foreign family to spend a significant amount of time there — six months in 1972 followed by multiple summers. And with seven of us in the family, including five children, it was inevitable we would make a lot of friends. Forty-seven years after …
Can I expunge a criminal record for simple assault?
A criminal record for simple assault in D.C. can be sealed either immediately on the grounds of actual innocence or after two years in the interests of justice. A conviction for simple assault can be sealed after eight years. Expunging/sealing an arrest for simple assault There are two different ways to expunge/seal an arrest for simple assault. The first way is …
On finding out people have been plagiarizing this website
My website is making its comeback on Google. But I am troubled to find that people have been plagiarizing the site — in one case, whole paragraphs were lifted from my site and reproduced on someone else’s.
Will I have a criminal record after being arrested for prostitution in D.C.?
Everyone who has been arrested for a criminal offense in Washington, D.C. has some type of criminal record. This would include being arrested for prostitution/sexual solicitation.
Patience. Not drama.
At a recent trial, I called my client’s mother as our only witness. I regretted this almost immediately. We had interviewed her. We had subpoenaed her. We had prepared her. And I should have left her sitting in the hall outside the courtroom as I rested my case.
How long does it take to seal/expunge a criminal record?
The process after filing normally takes four to six months after filing in D.C. This includes a 60-day period for the government to respond.
Can you seal/expunge a felony?
The first option for sealing a felony arrest in D.C. would be to file a motion immediately on the grounds of actual innocence under D.C. Code § 16-802. The second option would be to wait two years to file it under D.C. Code § 16-803.
What happens when a criminal record is expunged or sealed?
The court will typically order all relevant prosecuting offices, law enforcement agencies, and pretrial, corrections or community supervision agencies to remove all publicly available records that the person was arrested, charged and/or convicted in the case.
On “skyscraper pages” and Google
Tyler tells me to be patient. A couple of months ago I complained about how my Google rankings have tanked, and Tyler Suchman – my website guy from Tribalcore– has been working with me to try to reverse the trend.
The difference between expunging and sealing a criminal record
“Expungement” of a criminal record suggests that it is destroyed, thereby restoring the person to the position he/she occupied before the arrest. “Sealed” records still exist. They are just hidden from public view.
Can you get in trouble for sending dirty pictures of someone?
Yes. Most jurisdictions now have some form of a law to deal with the issue of “nonsensual pornography” (also known as “revenge porn”). There are three forms of the criminal offense in Washington, D.C.
The difference between a leading and non-leading question
“What is your name?” That is a non-leading question. Compare that with “Your name is John Smith, isn’t it?” That would be leading. It basically tells the witness what his answer should be.
On the true meaning of “tragedy”
A man is charged with soliciting a prostitute. He is a Lyft driver who, on the night in question, drops off a customer in D.C. A female undercover officer approaches the car while he is pulled over. What happens next is contested.
Leaving After Colliding in D.C. requires proof of mens rea
In Crawford v. D.C., the Court of Appeals confirmed that the Leaving After Colliding statute requires the government to prove mens rea.
Analyzing D.C.’s “Revenge Porn” Statute
In enacting the statute to criminalize the behavior commonly known as “revenge porn,” the D.C. City Council created “three separate offenses aimed at capturing the three primary forms of non-consensual pornography: (1) unlawful disclosure; (2) first degree unlawful publication; and (3) second degree unlawful publication.”
The difference between “concurrent” and “consecutive” sentences in D.C.
Concurrent sentences are served simultaneously. Consecutive sentences are served in sequence (i.e., back-to-back). One sentence does not begin until the other sentence has concluded.
“The man who represents himself has a fool for a client”
The man standing at the bar of the court is a nicely dressed, middle-aged white guy. He looks like a lawyer. That’s because, as it turns out, he IS a lawyer. He is seeking the court’s permission to represent himself.
Should I enter into a “CPO without admissions” in D.C.?
A person who has been served with a CPO petition in D.C. can enter into a “consent CPO without admissions.” The CPO is granted to the petitioner without a hearing. In exchange, there is no adverse finding of facts against the respondent.
“Nobody read me my rights”
When are police required to read you your rights? The answer actually is never. That is, not unless the suspect is in custody and is being subjected to interrogation (hence the term “custodial interrogation”) and only then if police want to use the statements against him in court.
Can a witness’s own statement be hearsay?
Yes. If a witness testifying at trial made a prior statement that a party would like to introduce and that statement was intended as an assertion and is now being offered as substantive evidence to prove the truth of the matter, then the statement would still be hearsay. It is immaterial whether or not the witness is present in court to be cross-examined with respect to the earlier statement.
Can hearsay be used to impeach?
Whether or not an out-of-court statement is hearsay depends on the purpose for which it is offered. If it is offered to prove the truth of the matter, it is hearsay. If offered only to impeach (i.e., discredit) a witness, then it is by definition not hearsay.
Are depositions hearsay?
A deposition is a witness’s out-of-court testimony that is reduced to writing (usually by a court reporter) for discovery purposes or for later use in court. As such, it would appear to be quintessential hearsay (i.e., an out-of-court declaration that is asserted for the truth of the matter) and would only be admissible if (1) it were offered for a non-hearsay purpose or (2) it satisfied the “prior recorded testimony” or some other exception to the hearsay rule.
Is a receipt hearsay?
Whether a receipt constitutes hearsay would depend on the purpose for which it is being offered. If it is being used to prove the value of an item, it would be hearsay.
Court-appointed lawyers do not get paid more for a plea
I have worked with this particular court-appointed client now on a number of cases, and I guess he is beginning to feel more comfortable with me. “Give it to me straight, Mr. Koehler,” he says to me over the phone. “You get paid more money if I cop to a plea on this case, don’t you?”
Can Silence Be Hearsay?
There might circumstances in which a person’s silence could be interpreted to communicate something. For example, silence in response to the traditional challenge “speak now or forever hold your peace” during a wedding ceremony could be interpreted to communicate assent. If offered to prove that the “declarant” endorsed the union, it could constitute hearsay, thereby requiring the proponent of the evidence to introduce it through an exception to the hearsay rule.
Can a Photograph be Hearsay?
Conceivably, yes. Hearsay is as an out-of-court assertion that is offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. If the evidence in question satisfies all three conditions (that is, it is out-of-court, it is an assertion, and it is offered for its truth), then it would be hearsay and could only be admitted through an exception to the hearsay rule.
“Past Recollection Recorded” versus “Refreshing Recollection”
“Past recollection recorded” is frequently confused with the “refreshing the recollection” of a witness. The former is an exception to the hearsay rule. The latter isn’t. In both cases, a witness is presented with something after failing to recollect a material event. In the case of refreshing recollection, that something can be virtually anything: “a line from Kipling or the dolorous …
Handling a U.S. Citation Case in D.C. Superior Court
Here is what every lawyer appearing in D.C. Superior Court should know about handling an arraignment for a U.S. citation.
Reflections of a Google Has-Been
I used to be King of Google for criminal defense in D.C. Traffic to my site was both wide (many visitors each day) and deep (visitors would stay for a long time, clicking on multiple pages each visit and then dwelling on them). More importantly, my site ranked number #1 for a number of important search terms that could lead to potential business: “simple assault dc,” prostitution solicitation dc,” “destruction of property dc,” “theft II dc,” “unlawful entry dc,” “expungement/sealing of criminal records dc,” and so on.
Laying the Foundation for an “Excited Utterance”
Q. Officer. When you arrived, the altercation was still on-going, right?
A. That’s right.
Q. So you have no idea how it started?
A. No, I don’t.
Q. When you arrived, my client had a bottle in her hand?
A. Correct.
Q. And he had a piece of wood in his hand, right?
D.C. Superior Court Criminal Calendar: 2019 Judicial Assignments
Felony 1 Calendar Judge Ronna Beck, Room 316 Judge Danya Dayson, Room 318 Judge Craig Iscoe, Room 313 Judge Milton Lee, Room 302 Judge Juliet McKenna, Room 215 Felony 2 Calendar Judge Steven Berk, Room 321 Judge Kimberley Knowles, Room 319 Judge Michael O’Keefe, Room 310 Judge Robert Okun, Room 216 Judge Michael Ryan, Room 217 Judge Robert Salerno, Room …
Police Officers as Neutral, Disinterested Witnesses
I like most of the police officers I work with. Access to body worn camera footage has also given me greater respect for what they do: I have seen them deal with volatile and potentially dangerous situations with sensitivity and respect. But this notion of police officers as neutral, disinterested third party observers who testify impartially on behalf of the government is ridiculous. The officers do pick a side – and it is the government’s.
Impeachment on Personnel Records
Q: If you lost your body worn camera, you could get written up for that, right? A: Yeah, if you lost it, yes. But in this situation, it was knocked off or fell off, whatever have you – Q: Right. A: I mean, it’s not exactly my fault in this situation but I still need to report the camera is …
Lists
I sit across from a colleague in her office at the Public Defender Service in D.C. A list of names from the jail is on her desk. Some of the names have been crossed out. Others have been highlighted or checked. “Names are naked things,” my father once wrote. Lists are “an alphabet not intimate like words.” Our flesh moves …
Imperfect Impeachment and Kamala Harris
It is my Kamala Harris moment. You recall her questioning of Brett Kavanaugh at his confirmation hearing. She sets him up carefully: Q: Judge, have you ever discussed Special Counsel Mueller or his investigation with anyone? A: Well, it was in the news every day. Q: Have you discussed it with anyone? A: With other judges, I know, uh – …
The Rule on Witnesses at a D.C. DMV Hearing
DEFENSE: Before I begin my argument, I’d like to invoke the rule on witnesses. HEARING EXAMINER: The what? The rule on witnesses? DEFENSE: Yes, sir. The sergeant has concluded his testimony. He will be a witness against my client at trial. I would ask that the sergeant be excused while I make my argument. HEARING EXAMINER: Something could said that he needs to …
The Reconstituted CJA Panel in D.C.
Every four years, D.C. Superior Court re-establishes the panel of criminal defense lawyers who are eligible to accept court appointments. The first re-establishment occurred in 2010 and the second in 2014. Chief Judge Robert Morin just issued his most recent order re-establishing the panel for 2018-2021. Unlike the 2014 process in which the Court reduced the number of eligible …
Your Desk, By The Window
“I am in.” This is what my niece Meg says as she forces open a window on the first-floor and crawls into the building. She comes around to the front door to let the rest of us in. I am horrified. I am also impressed. I follow my sister and daughter into the building to join her. We have just …
“He does not see the bend, behind, that will take him from view”
This is not a Disney movie. That impassive face with the dull eyes never once brightened to see me. He never confided in me, even when his defense depended on it.
“No questions, your honor”
When it comes to cross-examination, I consider myself a minimalist. I figure out what I need from the witness. I tell my version of the story. And I ask the witness to agree with me. Some lawyers have the witness repeat the testimony from direct. This is inconceivable to me. It was bad enough to hear the bad facts the …
I didn’t say, “Simon says”
Q: Officer. You testified on direct that my client was talkative when you first approached his car. A: Yes. As I began speaking with him, he was repeating himself quite a bit, wasn’t really answering my questions, just kept repeating himself. He kept talking and talking and just wasn’t really cooperative at the time that I walked up to the …
An Ethical Prosecutor Confronts Her Own Witness
BY DEFENSE COUNSEL ON CROSS Q: Ms. Smith, do you have an email account? A: Do I have an e-mail account? Q: Yes. A: I do. Q: Is it a Yahoo account? A: No. Q: What is your e-mail? A: It’s – Q: Actually, let me ask you this way. Are you familiar with an e-mail account Tamara1540@yahoo.com? A: I …
At Least There Are No Spelling Errors
The President of the United States has access to the best minds in the country. Presumably, this includes people with a basic grasp of grammar and syntax. “Despite this substantial income figure and tax paid, it is totally illegal to steal and publish tax returns.” This is an 18-word sentence from a statement issued recently by the White House. First, …
You Can’t Plead Guilty Without Admitting Guilt
I am watching a guilty plea from the gallery. The prosecutor reads out the alleged facts from the police report, and the defendant says, yes, that is what happened. The colloquy continues. The defendant then tells the judge that she is not actually guilty. The only reason she is taking the government’s deal is because her lawyer made her. And, …
Love Letter to a Prosecutor
Perhaps I should not admit it, but I like the Assistant U.S. Attorneys in D.C. They are generally smart, reasonable and decent people. They know the law. And, like defense attorneys, they are just trying to do the right thing. My introduction to prosecutors – the assistant district attorneys in Philadelphia – was not a positive one. My experience in …
“When Beggars Die, There Are No Comets Seen”
My wife believes in helping out those who are less fortunate. I believe that if everyone would stop giving money to the panhandlers who frequent every major traffic intersection in Baltimore, the panhandlers would be gone within a week. If I were to ever run for office, I would have two planks on my platform. The first would be for …
Body Worn Cameras in D.C.: Watching Events Through the Eyes of Police
On the morning of trial, I stick my head into the small room outside the courtroom where the police officers are assembled. I have spent hours watching and indexing footage from the body worn cameras three of the officers activated on the night of the arrest. So I feel as if I know each officer very well. Officer Palmieri is …
“The Type of Guy That Gives Lawyers a Bad Name”
Q: When did you have that conversation then with David? A: Prior to him ending up in the hospital. Q: Do you recall the date, approximately? A: No, I do not recall an approximate date. Q: Not even a year? A: What? Are you that stupid? 2013. Q: You didn’t have a conversation with him in 2012 about selling it …
“The First Thing We Do, Let’s Kill All the Lawyers”
Back in my days with the federal government, before I had my own J.D., I hated working with the lawyers. It was not just that they spoke a strange language and treated each other as if they were all members of an exclusive club. It was also that they seemed to come up with a million reasons to block everything …
Build It And They Will Come
Guest Entry by Mary Anne Brush Mindfulness. It’s become quite the buzzword, but what does it mean? Jon Kabat-Zinn, teacher of mindfulness meditation and founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, defines it as paying attention on purpose. It’s an effort to be ever-present with an experience in the moment. When it comes …
What It Means To Be Heard
The complainant is having a melt-down in the hallway. It is not my case so I have no idea what is going on. All I see are two young prosecutors trying to calm her down. The more they talk, the angrier she gets. The situation seems to be getting out of control when a U.S. Marshall arrives. He is an …
A Criminal Defense Lawyer Gets Mugged
I am hit so hard that my boot flies off as I fall backward. The boot slides across the bricks out onto the street. Our dog scampers after it. She thinks we are playing. I should have seen the three young people – two males and a female – standing on the corner in the dark waiting for me. But …
Feedback from Jurors After Trial
The jury is still deadlocked after three days of deliberations, and the judge declares a mistrial. She releases the jurors. Anyone interested in answering questions from the lawyers, she tells them, should stick around in the jury room. All 12 jurors are there when the four of us lawyers – two from the government and two from the defense – …
Second Fiddle at a Jury Trial
It is not easy sitting second-chair at a trial when you are used to running the show yourself. Recently appointed as a provisional member of the panel to represent indigent criminal defendants in D.C., I need to second-chair two jury trials before I can be considered for inclusion on the full panel. So I go to the lawyers I most …
On the Benefits of a Flat Fee Agreement
Criminal defense attorneys often use flat fees; that is, we charge a set sum to cover the entire course of a representation. This includes arraignment, negotiations with the prosecutor, any legal research that needs to be conducted, preliminary hearings and status hearings, trial, and, if necessary, sentencing. As Mark Bennett has put it, the flat fee is at once the …
High v. U.S.: Cross Words and Police Officers
I tried to argue a while back that, when it comes to D.C.’s statute on Threats to do Bodily Harm, parking enforcement officers should be considered to be particularly immune to threats. After all, they are used to dealing with angry people who have just found a ticket on their windshield. Such officers, I would assume, are also trained both …
A New Perspective on Representing Indigent Criminal Defendants
Three months into my court-appointed work in D.C., I now have a completely different perspective on representing indigent criminal defendants. At the time I quit my job as a public defender in Philadelphia after a three-year stint there, I was pretty burned out. I was also jaded when it came to the people we represented. Many of the people had …
The Pros and Cons of Introducing Character Evidence in D.C.
When I started my practice in 2009, I asked an old-timer – somebody who had been practicing in D.C. for over 25 years – how to introduce character evidence in D.C. I have no idea, he replied. Because I have never done it. Many indigent criminal defendants have long criminal histories. It is much easier to get into trouble with …
Fault Lines is the Seinfeld of the Criminal Blogosphere
Ken Womble of Fault Lines won the Simple Justice award for blog entry of 2015 and that is fitting. Scott Greenfield has been complaining about the lack of vibrancy in the criminal blogsphere and Womble is a refreshing new voice. Let’s hope he, Andrew Fleishman, and others at Fault Lines can keep it up. Greenfield is certainly right that the …
The Prosecutor Doesn’t Care About You
There is good news and there is bad news for anyone who has ever been charged with a minor criminal offense. The good news is that the government has a ton of these cases that it needs to prosecute. This means that it will probably offer most first-time offenders some type of diversion program in which they can do community …
I Will Miss The Kids
As I transition out of doing court-appointed juvenile cases, I realize how much I will miss the kids. * * * * * “Darrell” was my typical client. Like all of my clients, he was my favorite. When this is over, Darrell told me one time, you are going to take me out for dinner. You can bring your wife. …
And Sometimes the Court Views the Government’s Witness the Same Way You Do
THE COURT: Okay. Now, see, we’re running into a little bit of a problem here. THE WITNESS: Okay. THE COURT: This is a trial in an American courtroom. THE WITNESS: Okay. THE COURT: And you have sworn to tell the truth and can go to prison if you don’t, okay? So within the last 30 seconds, you have told me …
Joining the Adult CJA Panel in D.C.
I have just been appointed to the D.C. Superior Court panel for adult court-appointed cases. I was one of three lawyers appointed on a “provisional” basis. (Three other lawyers were promoted from the provisional panel to the full panel.) Those of us on the provisional panel need to serve a two-year probationary period before we can start doing felonies. To …
D.C. Panel of Court-Appointed Lawyers for Juveniles
The 2015 list of lawyers eligible to accept court appointments in juvenile cases is now out. Chief Judge Lee F. Satterfield issued the order approving the list on October 23. The list will be good for the next 4 years. At that time, the panel will again be re-constituted. The Family Court Panels Oversight Committee received 220 applications for one …
This Is Not About You Or Me
The prosecutor is mad at me. So I send her a quick email to apologize. It is true: I am sorry. I am sorry that she has been sick. I am sorry that her daughter has been sick. And I am sorry if I embarrassed her in front of the judge. But I am not sorry for complaining to the …
Mayhand v. U.S.: “A Statement is Not an Excited Utterance Unless the Declarant is Manifestly Overcome by Excitement or in Shock.”
D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Catharine Easterly writes what I think. The difference is that she finds the words that elude me. And the words she writes impact D.C. law. Her impact continues in Antoine Mayhand v. United States, 127 A.3d 1198 (D.C. 2015). The “excited utterance” exception to the hearsay rule is over-used. Prosecutors can get lazy: How hard …
Effective <---> Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
I am doing a court-appointed criminal appeal, and I am cranky with the defense lawyer who tried the case. He won’t return my phone calls. He won’t send me the trial file. I have no idea why he appealed. And I find, upon reviewing the trial transcript, that he messed up the one potential area for reasonable doubt by asking …
Keeping the Torch Lit
Guest Post by Mary Anne Brush (Re-printed from the Grosse Pointe News) Two milestones mark either end of my summer. My 90-year-old mother died at the end of May and my youngest child will leave for college at the end of August. Within the space of three months, I will have become both an orphan and an empty nester. The …
The SFSTs Have Never Been Peer Reviewed
Peer review is a critical component of any scientific research. You don’t simply expect people to take your word for it. Instead, you send things out to other experts in your field and you say: I am confident in the results I have received. But have at it. Scientific results must be reproducible, preferably by independent, outside parties. Finally, you …
Trial Transcript: New Prosecutor Struggles With Basics of Direct Examination
A: It is a photograph of the bottle that was thrown through the window. Q: How did you find that bottle? A: I didn’t find the bottle. The policeman found the bottle. THE COURT: So she didn’t find the bottle. It seems that you put facts in your question that aren’t in evidence. Did you want to rephrase the question? …
“Badgering” the Witness at a CPO Hearing
The judge informs me that I am “badgering” the witness. I have heard of “arguing with a witness” and “harassing a witness.” Until the judge accuses me of “badgering” the witness, however, I didn’t even know there was such a thing – other than on TV, of course. The witness is the petitioner in a civil protection order case. I …
Double-Counting Police Officer Observations in a DUI Case
In DUI cases in which a suspect refuses to submit to a breath, blood or urine test, judges will typically base a guilty verdict on two different considerations. First, there are the results of the Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST). Second, there are the police officer’s observations with respect to the suspect’s appearance and demeanor at the time of the …
“Your Breath to Keep Me Up”
Many years ago, our mother had to go to the hospital, and it took the doctors a long time to figure out what was wrong with her. During that time, she was running a very high fever and was delirious. She was also being uncharacteristically difficult. They took her children out in the hall separately to ask us questions. We …
I wanted to hit the complainant myself
I wanted to hit him myself. This is what I tell my client after speaking with the complainant in a simple assault case. My client is accused of punching the complainant in the face. The complainant turns out to be a first-class jerk. I call him up before the arraignment to find out what happened. I also express concern for …
Please Call Me “Sir”
I went into a bank this morning wearing sweat pants, and the guy greeting people at the front door called me “Buddy.” I am sure that, had I been wearing a suit, he would have called me “sir.” As a younger man, I used to hang out with my cousin and his friends. Let’s just say that if you saw …
Baltimore Was Never Burning
The pizza delivery guy is really upset. He has $250 worth of pizza in the backseat of his car, and his next destination – after leaving our house – is smack dab in the middle of the riots. “I can’t believe my boss,” he tells me. “He is an idiot. He agreed to be paid in cash for this order. …
Tending My Own Garden in Baltimore
My wife and I live two blocks from North Avenue in Baltimore. Our house is a short walk from the main events of last night. The helicopters have been annoying, and they are back now, suggesting that something is going on again today. But, contrary to the way things are being portrayed on T.V., the looting and the violence have …
Every Prosecutor Should Experience the Humiliation and Discomfort of an Arrest
Your client is charged with Leaving After Colliding – Property Damage. This is the technical way of saying that he is charged with “hit-and-run” or “leaving the scene of an accident” as the offense is known in other jurisdictions. Your client is a professional with a pristine driving record. He has never been arrested before. He rear-ends another vehicle while …
Bob Dylan at the Lyric
My wife and I have tickets to see Bob Dylan at the Lyric. This is good news. I like Bob Dylan. And although my wife may not be terribly enthusiastic about his music, she is always happy to go out. Besides, the Lyric is just a couple of blocks from our house. We won’t need to worry about parking. * …
Teneyck v. U.S.: What is Significant Bodily Injury Under the Felony Assault Statute?
The D.C. Court of Appeals has issued a number of opinions over the last couple of years in which it has refined the definition of “significant bodily injury” under D.C.’s felony assault statute. In Nero v. United States, for example, the court found that a bodily injury was significant when a bullet passed through the complainant’s bicep, causing “obvious pain …
Stationhouse Videos in DUI Cases Are Discoverable
And sometimes the D.C. Court of Appeals gets it just right. For years, the Office of the Attorney General in D.C. has argued that stationhouse videos of suspects in DUI cases are not “discoverable”; that is, that they do not need to be preserved and turned over to the defense under D.C. Superior Court Rule of Criminal Procedure 16. Although …