Expunging marijuana arrest/conviction in D.C.
June 2, 2020
Offenses that have been decriminalized (for example, the possession of a small amount of marijuana) present one of the most promising options for sealing or expunging a criminal record in Washington, D.C.
Unlawful Entry in D.C.: Odumn v. United States
June 1, 2020
According to D.C. Court of Appeals decision in Odumn v. United States, “a landlord may not prohibit a tenant from inviting a third party onto leased premises for a lawful purpose, nor may the landlord prohibit such third party from entering or exiting the property through the property’s common space.”
A “no-lose” question at a CPO hearing
May 22, 2020
You have to love the “no-lose” questions on cross-examination. Yes or no. You win no matter how the witness responds.
Writing about COVID-19 and the D.C. jail
April 21, 2020
How do you write about COVID-19 and the D.C. jail without resorting to hyperbole? How do you ask the judge to bend the rules?
The stupefied police officer
February 15, 2020
Police officers have all the answers on direct examination. The clarity and animation disappear when it comes time to answer questions from the defense.
Judges are human
February 1, 2020
The judge does not say: I am not willing to take your word for this, and I need to have a law clerk check this out. What he says instead: It is time for lunch. We will pass this matter until 2:00 pm.
White men, on the margin
January 29, 2020
My mother once said that the hardest part about getting old was the fear of being marginalized. She felt this particularly acutely as an older woman. She complained about feeling invisible.
Dealing with the crazies in C10
January 22, 2020
With almost 100 people making their way through arraignment court every day, it is inevitable that there will be a melt-down or two. After all, we are dealing with people who are finishing what for many of them will be the worst day of their lives.
Truth=good. Lie=bad.
January 21, 2020
Complaining witnesses lie on the stand. This never ceases to amaze me. They could be telling the absolute truth about events that led to the criminal prosecution. But when they get on the stand and they are challenged on details during cross-examination, they abandon the truth.
Stop plagiarizing my website
January 11, 2020
Last year I found out that Nabeel Kibria of Ervin Kibria Law had lifted whole blocks of language from my website for use on his.
