The Story Of A Real Victim
This will be the third time I’ve written about the beloved local law enforcement technique of tricking men who are seeking escorts of legal age into making deals with undercover cops pretending to be underage prostitutes. First, I described the process generally, from the state’s shaky cases to the brutal mandatory minimums that universally secure guilty pleas with ease. Then, I explored my creative side with a little poem. I didn’t talk much about the poor people who get caught up in all of this, though, the only real victims in these cases. One victim stands out more than any other. I got a call one Friday night from a distressed friend of a man who’d been taken into custody that afternoon on what the friend said … Read entire article »
Filed under: immigration, Prosecutors, Sex Crimes
The Superbowl…Of Sex?
If I took the news here seriously, I’d probably be hiding under my bed right now. I would be filled with terror knowing that hordes of sex-crazed Superbowl attendees are currently descending on our fair state with an unquenchable desire to have sex with prostitutes and even children. Think I’m joking? Fox News reports that strip clubs and homeland security have teamed up “to crack down on sex traffickers as the Super Bowl rolls into town.” Other suspect sources report sex traffickers are coming in “droves.” Even the State Bar has jumped on the bandwagon with a Superbowl sex-trafficking CLE, and there’s an art exhibit about sex trafficking too, just in time for the game. Apparently nobody reads snopes anymore. Even articles that note things … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sex Crimes
Ex Post Facto Registration
I’ve written before about sex offender registration, which is required in Arizona for a variety of offenses. For many defendants, having to register is one of most unpalatable consequences of a conviction. It’s embarrassing. It forces them to remain in contact with the same evil government that rode roughshod over their rights to get a conviction in the first place. They end up living their lives being tracked like animals released into the wild, trying to move on but with a class four felony perpetually hanging over their heads. Strangely, people who accept a plea knowing they face registration may be the lucky ones. Many defendants with old Arizona convictions and people moving here from other states have ended up having to register even though they … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Constitution, Sex Crimes, US Constitution
Think About The Children Animals (Update – Now With Video!)
It’s a classic love story, really. Man meets woman. Man marries woman. Woman meets other man. Men agree to watch woman have sex with dog they found on craigslist together. Then, things get weird. Dog owner gets cold feet. Sheriff Joe valiantly intervenes, of course. World is safe for the time being, as husband, wife, and lover must surrender their pets while on pretrial services with mandatory ankle bracelets and a curfew. Aside from the obvious, a couple of small things really stand out. First, why didn’t they just go get a dog at the pound? Seriously. There are all kinds of freaks on craigslist. By going to the pound, they’d know exactly what they’re getting. Second, the curfew doesn’t … Read entire article »
Filed under: News, Sex Crimes
What Firing Benjamin Zander Says About Us
Benjamin Zander is an inspirational guy. He’s the founder and conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, an exceptional, world-renowned public speaker, and has been affiliated with the New England Conservatory of Music, my undergraduate alma mater, for over four and a half decades. If you don’t know much about him, I suggest you watch his TED talk to get a feel for what he’s all about: I was fortunate enough to play in orchestras under his baton more times than I can count, and I owe many of the most incredible musical experiences of my life to him. There may be conductors out there with better technique, but there’s no one else on earth who cares more about bringing out the best in the people he directs. He … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sex Crimes
Better Safe Than Sorry
As a society, we lack the ability to deal with our problems without resorting to the blunt instrument of the criminal justice system. We must be failures as parents and as human beings in general, because we can’t seem to trust each other with even a little bit of freedom. We’re even suspicious of relatives, friends, and neighbors. Often, we’re especially suspicious of them. The only people we trust with our well-being are members of the fabulously wealthy, power hungry ruling class. When we get scared, they draft up oppressive, dangerous placebos we think we can’t live without. Nowhere is it worse than with sex crimes. We’ve criminalized everything, and we’ve ratcheted up the punishments. The system now hands out life sentences like it’s … Read entire article »
Filed under: Courts, Government Rants, Sex Crimes
Sex, Lies, and Experts' Reports
Representing people charged with sex crimes quickly introduces a lawyer to a new world of tests and a fascinating subculture of experts. Over time, I think I’ve figured out a good bit of how it works. Every doctor who’s ever studied sex offenders has had a test named after him. If he had a partner, the test is identified by both of their names separated by an ampersand. It continues on like that as you add doctors. The tests are published in periodicals that are carefully read by every other doctor in the field, each himself hoping to one day have his doctor-friends talking about and performing his test. Occasionally, doctors don’t like seeing their names in lights, so their tests just get an official-sounding acronym … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sex Crimes
Recent Comments