Seth Godin writes about a friend of his, a middle school teacher, who avoided the teacher’s lounge because “he couldn’t bear the badmouthing of students, the whining and the blaming”: Just about every organization, every on-line service, every product and every element of our culture now has chat rooms and forums devoted to a few people looking for something to …
I am watching what has to be the best cross-examination at a probable cause hearing I have ever seen. It is a new attorney from the Public Defender Service (PDS), someone I have never seen before, and he is handling the cross-examination like he is Irving Younger. He is pleasant but firm. He moves methodically through the facts, pinning the …
Guest Post by Emma Brush A visit to Arlington was the occasion for this undeserved opportunity of mine to post. Originally, my Uncle Jamie had a jury trial scheduled. Knowing that I was considering law school, he thought it would be fun for me to see. Unfortunately, the court date was postponed. Fortunately, he had a juvenile case that was …
When I worked as a public defender in Philadelphia, we had what I can only describe as an uneasy relationship with the private criminal defense bar. Looking at it from the standpoint of the PD’s office, there were a number of reasons for this somewhat dysfunctional relationship. For one thing, some of the private defense attorneys were just plain bad, …
The prosecutor can hardly blame me for being skeptical. I ask her about one of the counts that was dropped from the complaint, and she tells me it was because the complaining witness said a few things to her that didn’t add up. “That’s Brady, then,” I tell her. I feel a little badly because she is young and I …
Dear Officer Parrish: A couple of weeks ago, I cross-examined one of your colleagues from the 3rd District. The issue at that hearing was similar to the one under consideration today: Whether or not the arresting officer had reasonable suspicion or probable cause to detain my client. Your colleague decided to strengthen the government’s case against my client by lying. …
After pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, Dontrell Deaner has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised probation. Remember Dontrell Deaner? Just over a year ago, his name was all over the Internet in connection with the Joseph Rakofsky fiasco. Rakofsky was the lawyer, a few years out of law school, who took …
The list of lawyers approved to take on court appointments for juvenile cases is now out. D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Lee Satterfield issued the order approving the list on February 27. The appointment is good for four years. The process began last summer when all members of the Panel were asked to re-apply. The Family Court Panel Oversight Committee, …
Mani Golzari told me she was coming to D.C., but I had no idea she was already here until I ran into her yesterday in the basement of Moultrie, heading to her first arraignment. I was not prepared for her hug because, well, I am an uptight kind of guy. Jackie Cadman has arrived. When I introduced Golzari on this …
I am watching Mani Golzari of the D.C. Public Defender Service cross-examine a police officer at a probable cause hearing. Of all the cross-examinations I have either done or seen this past week, Golzari’s is undoubtedly the best. Golzari was a rising superstar when we worked together at the public defender’s office in Philadelphia, and he is even better …