Notes from practice · D.C. Superior Court
Willful blindness in the reflecting pool cases
Jamison Koehler
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08/03/2026
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At some point, there will be a reckoning. The reckoning may be a public one: Lawyers hauled before the D.C. bar to face potential disciplinary...
“Trumping” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C.
Jamison Koehler
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11/08/2025
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Donald Trump has the opposite of the “Midas touch”: He diminishes everything he comes into contact with. It is hard, for example, to think of...
“No matter what” and the U.S. Attorney for D.C.
Jamison Koehler
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02/05/2025
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“No matter what.” These are chilling words to hear from any law enforcement official. After all, given the enormous stakes involved in a criminal prosecution,...
On the fumbling hand of counsel
Jamison Koehler
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11/15/2023
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According to the 6th Amendment, the lawyer who accepts representation in a criminal case must affirmatively assist with the defense, thereby advancing it....
On ineffective assistance of counsel in Dugger v. U.S.
Jamison Koehler
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09/02/2023
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A seasoned criminal defense lawyer was replaced by someone who had never before tried a criminal case. Not surprisingly, things did not go well for...
No room for the boy
Representing the bad guys: Criminal defense lawyers sometimes make tradeoffs when we take on domestic violence cases...
Overwhelming clients with communication
Although we may take the most pride in our skills in the courtroom, clients tend to care far more about how well we communicate with...
Stop plagiarizing my website
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....
On being fired as a criminal defense lawyer
Although it is no fun to be fired by an unhappy client, there is no excuse for contradicting the client or for betraying client confidences....
A prosecutor is caught in a lie
An Assistant U.S. Attorney has been referred for disciplinary action after being caught misrepresenting facts before a U.S. District Court....
On finding out people have been plagiarizing this website
My website is making its comeback on Google. But I am troubled to find that people have been plagiarizing the site — in one case,...
An Ethical Prosecutor Confronts Her Own Witness
BY DEFENSE COUNSEL ON CROSS Q: Ms. Smith, do you have an email account? A: Do I have an e-mail account? Q: Yes. A: I...
On the Benefits of a Flat Fee Agreement
Criminal defense attorneys often use flat fees; that is, we charge a set sum to cover the entire course of a representation. This includes arraignment,...
This Is Not About You Or Me
The prosecutor is mad at me. So I send her a quick email to apologize. It is true: I am sorry. I am sorry that...
Life Lessons for My Law Practice
I am in Nairobi. Kenya is famous, among other things, for its malachite jewelry, and I would like to buy my wife a malachite necklace. ...