A man with a destination

Jamison KoehlerD.C. Superior Court, Miscellaneous

Many years ago, when I first started work at D.C. Superior Court, I had a daily encounter with an older woman as I came into the court building each morning. Dressed nicely and sitting on the bank of chairs outside the lawyer’s lounge, the woman always appeared to be speaking on the phone about some weighty constitutional issue.  The woman …

Lousy plea offers. More trials.

Jamison KoehlerCriminal Procedure, D.C. Superior Court, Sentencing, Trial Advocacy

During the pandemic, criminal defense lawyers got spoiled with the favorable plea offers.  With dockets backing up, the government was desperate to resolve cases through non-trial dispositions.  One prosecutor compared it to a “fire sale.” Those times are over. I have noticed this.  My colleagues have noticed this.  And a long-time judge on the felony calendar who knows about these …

Checking the room for U.S. Marshalls

Jamison KoehlerD.C. Superior Court, Sentencing

Judges love to keep us in suspense. Before announcing a verdict or a sentence, they like to give us a detailed description of the reasoning behind their decision.  They say “on the one hand” and “on the other” quite a bit.  This is because they want to document that they considered all the angles. This can be excruciating.  After all, …

Rest in Peace, Noah Clements

Jamison KoehlerD.C. Superior Court

Friend and former colleague Noah Clements died last night, just after 11:00 pm. According to his wife Caroline’s post on Caring Bridge, the two of them had just finished watching a movie together.  They were trying to move Noah when suddenly, despite all the oxygen, he could not breathe.  His lungs were too damaged.  She said it happened quickly. He …