Brown & Little, P.L.C. » Archive
Happy National No-Phone Zone Day!
Every TV channel I saw at the gym this morning seemed to be covering the fact Oprah has declared today “National ‘No-Phone Zone’ Day.” I guess that Oprah has convinced the USDOT, the NHTSA, the GHSA, and a variety of other government entities with acronym names to join her in promoting awareness to end distracted driving. I normally wouldn’t post about something like that, as every day is stop-something day, but my head filled with thoughts as I watched part of a segment showing teenagers trying to drive a golf cart around a course marked with cones while texting. Needless to say, very few cones remained standing at the end, and the exercise supposedly demonstrated the dangers of what I’m going to call DWD, driving while distracted. I … Read entire article »
Filed under: DUI, Government Rants
A Brief for Those Who Lack Creativity
Yesterday, Ohio criminal defense lawyer Jeff Gamso put up a blog post that included this paragraph: In Ohio criminal defense circles, I’m known as one of the Anti-Anders-brief Nazis. Under considerable pressure from other members of the bar, I was convinced not to try publicly humiliating the lawyers who file them. Sort of like maintaining good relations with repressive regimes because we can reach them better if we’re nice, I have standing offers out to help lawyers find issues when they’re stuck. Occasionally I’m taken up on the offers. I’ve had some success at convincing people they shouldn’t be filing them. And I speak about this sort of thing a fair amount at CLEs. It’s not enough, but it’s what I can do. If you aren’t … Read entire article »
Filed under: Post-Conviction
Losing at Trial
Last week, a jury found my client guilty of three counts of dangerous crimes against children. I sat next to him in court as the clerk read the verdict, and he broke down before the clerk made it through the second count. He knew he would spend the rest of his life in prison. This isn’t the first trial I’ve lost. It pains me to say it, but it’s also unlikely to be the last. No matter how hard I try, I’ll probably again have to experience the feeling of knowing someone trusted me with their life and made a gamble that didn’t pay off. It’s a twisting, sinking, hopeless malaise that consumes you. You’re in a nightmare. You know you can wake up, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Clients, Practice in General, Trial
The Price of Being Right
Arizona’s Revised Statutes are filled with mandatory sentencing provisions. For instance, A.R.S. 13-703 says that a repetitive offender in “category three,” someone who has been convicted of a felony and has two or more historical prior felony convictions, “shall be sentenced” within certain sentencing ranges. The range for a category three offender convicted of a class 2 felony is 10.5 years to 35 years. A.R.S. 13-704 contains another mandatory sentencing scheme. A “dangerous offense” is one “involving the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument or the intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury on another person.” If someone is convicted of a “dangerous” class 2 felony, the statute says that he or she “shall be sentenced” to a term of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Statutes
Preparing for Trial
I spent a good bit of my weekend preparing for trial. It’s a draining experience, though not nearly as draining as trial itself. This particular trial has very high stakes. My client’s earliest release date will be more than seventy years from now if he’s convicted. Being able to speak in public, knowing the facts of the case, and understanding the rules of evidence are rarely enough to effectively try a case. There are countless variables in almost any trial, and anything can happen. Every trial I’ve done has taught me that one of the most important skills a trial lawyer can have is the ability to predict problems that might arise and prepare accordingly. My background is in music. In music, you do your best … Read entire article »
Filed under: Practice in General, Trial
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