Keeping Score in Room 113
If ever I fancied the notion of becoming a judge, I changed my mind after spending another day in domestic violence court last week. The judge in Room 113 of D.C. Superior Court – where civil protection orders… Read More
God Comes Before a Good Defense
It is supposed to be a three-fer for Wayne my investigator and me. It is a domestic violence case in which the defendant and complainant are still living together. This means that Wayne and I can re-interview the… Read More
Sizing Up Opposing Counsel
Opposing counsel’s praecipe arrives in the mail. I am representing the respondent in a civil protection order hearing; he the petitioner. I google the lawyer’s name to find a self-made website and a less than professional photograph of… Read More
Empathizing with the Accuser at a Civil Protection Order Hearing
“Oh,” says the witness to the judge. “There is one other thing I would like to say.” The witness is the father of the respondent in a civil protection order hearing. He is an old man and he… Read More
The “Back Story” in a Civil Protection Order Hearing
I took a break yesterday afternoon from losing to Norm Pattis at Words with Friends to finish up a civil protection order hearing in D.C. Many colleagues eschew any case involving a domestic dispute. The cases are messy. … Read More
When The Complaining Witness Refuses To Testify In A Domestic Violence Case
A couple of weeks ago, I described a number of myths about the U.S. criminal justice system. One popular misconception I did not address was the question of who actually prosecutes a criminal case. You often hear people… Read More
