Notes from practice · D.C. Superior Court
Simms v. U.S.: On the Pre-Trial Presumption of Prosecutorial Vindictiveness
Was the government’s addition of the new charge an effort to punish Simms for exercising his right to seek additional discovery through compulsory process?...
Open Guilty Plea = Bad Case + Fair Judge + Unreasonable Prosecutor
When faced with a really bad case, one option is to work out a favorable plea agreement with the government to try to mitigate consequences...
Entrapment in D.C.: The Legality of Recent Decoy Operations
Jamison Koehler
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03/11/2012
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Your client is heading home, minding his own business, when he comes across what appears to be a homeless man sleeping on a bench at...
Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle: Applying the Notion of a “Grace Period”
Jamison Koehler
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02/25/2012
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The judge doesn’t like my idea of a “grace period.” In fact, he chuckles when I propose it: “I have never seen any case...
On the Criminal Defenses of “Justification” and “Excuse”
Jamison Koehler
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02/21/2012
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How can you not love the criminal defenses? With the government burdened with proving every element of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt, one...
Ray Koehler on “Fiat Iustitia Ruat Caelum”
Guest Entry By Raymond Koehler My initial enthusiasm at being invited to write a piece for my brother’s law blog quickly turned to concern....
The Criminal Defense of “Mere Presence”
Assuming you did nothing to encourage or instigate the activity, there is nothing illegal about being present during the commission of a crime. There is...
Coles v. U.S.: The Right to a “Meaningful Degree” of Cross-Examination
Jamison Koehler
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02/07/2012
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Although the ability to cross-examine a witness is a critical component of the Sixth Amendment right to confront your accusers in a criminal case,...
Confrontation Clause Be Damned: D.C. Continues to Use Surrogate Witnesses in DUI Cases
Jamison Koehler
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01/13/2012
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Michael Bruckheim was scheduled to cross-examine Lucas Zarwell, the chief forensic toxicologist in D.C., and a group of DUI lawyers had gathered outside Room...
On Recusals: Offending the Judge, Protecting the Client
A couple of years ago, a Court of Common Pleas judge in Philadelphia banned me from her courtroom for life. Both the stenographer and...
On Zealous Representation and Public Defenders
Jamison Koehler
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01/05/2012
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I will remember this. This is what the prosecutor promises you. In another context, she could be intending this as a threat. As in: ...
I Hate Latin: Res Ipsa Loquitur
I only took two years of Latin in High School. It was years before I actually admitted this to my children. Because I often...
Why Police Officers Love the “Plain View” Exception
Police officers love the “plain view” exception to the Fourth Amendment requirement for a warrant. It is because this exception is so straightforward and...
Innocent Possession of a Firearm in D.C.
Jamison Koehler
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08/09/2011
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The innocent or momentary possession of a firearm or any other type of contraband is a valid defense in Washington, D.C....
On Ashe v. Swenson: Double Jeopardy and Collateral Estoppel
Jamison Koehler
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06/18/2011
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Many laypersons suffer from misconceptions about the protections offered by the Double Jeopardy Clause contained in the 5th Amendment to the Constitution. As Blonde Justice pointed...