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More Mimesis Posts

I’m still writing at Mimesis Law. Here are my latest posts: People sure hate sex offenders. Prosecutors really care about prejudicial video when it’s prejudicial to their case. Bad cop actually punished. Bill Cosby would like for the system to be fair in his case. Science makes people skeptical of crappy evidence, and for some reason that’s a problem. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Irritating woman breaks law to whine to person who upset her by breaking the same law. To reveal or not to reveal? And today’s: Judge who said she’d be tough on crime does exactly the sort of awful stuff you’d expect. … Read entire article »

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New Mimesis Blog Posts

I’m still busy writing posts over at Mimesis Law. Here’s everything from the last month or so: Yeah, Kelvin Melton is probably a bad guy, but let’s quit wasting everyone’s time and money on him. Don’t tape your dog’s mouth shut. People will freak out. Major news outlets suck at writing about criminal cases. The state of the criminal justice system in this country is such that making things suck a tad bit less for fifteen defendants in Philly is newsworthy. That one incompetent vigilante at Home Depot apparently didn’t learn anything. Mexican rock throwers occasionally get killed by border patrol agents, and they may or may not be able to sue. People in power continue to be idiots when comes to alcohol. Homeless guy builds sweet home, authorities destroy it. Thanks, Obama! And today’s: The Sheboygan County sheriff is a … Read entire article »

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How Important People Think

There aren’t nearly enough Arizona legal blogs, which is the primary reason why I keep the Arizona Appellate Blog in my feed. The constant use of “we” and “our” in posts that are either the product of a depressingly underwhelming group effort or the bizarrely haughty statements of an individual rub me the wrong way. So do somewhat regular comments that seem to indicate its author or authors believe they’re writing to a captivated audience awaiting each post with baited breath. If they are, I can’t imagine who comprises their audience. Regardless, it’s not a worthless blog, as it at least has original content and isn’t just blatantly pimping someone’s services. It’s a sad state of affairs where lawyers writing because they have something to say and not only something to … Read entire article »

Filed under: Courts, lawyers, Uncategorized

Still Writing…

My steady stream of posts goes on at Mimesis Law. Here are links: Whatever you do, don’t name the misbehaving prosecutor or let the defendant get away with anything (because he’s totally guilty anyway). This is how false confessions happen. Being named Bradley Scott Johnson is apparently a crime punishable by four days in jail. They pretty much throw darts to decide who gets charged and who gets the prosecutors to play tiny little violins in support of their innocence. Throw all the books you want at drug offenders, it ain’t gonna make a damn difference. Cops get lucky, people pretend we didn’t all know that was what was gonna happen. Sometimes getting arrested is worth it. A statutory rape goes from shitty to less shitty. And here’s my last one (until tomorrow): Quit trying to justify your gawking. BONUS: I got … Read entire article »

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I’ve Been Writing

It might seem a bit dead around here, but I’ve actually been blogging more than ever since the beginning of August. It’s all over at Mimesis Law, however. Here are tl;dr synopses of the posts, with links: Sometimes judges do a good job with rulings involving technology. Black people matter more than lions. Courts couldn’t care less about the horrific life of a defendant. Screwing people more gently isn’t really such a big deal. The Black Lives Matter agenda could do a better job of putting the power in the hands of victims and their families. There’s no such thing as too crazy for “justice.” Kim Davis is committed, but she’s hardly worthy of praise. Sometimes, stopping government overreaching trumps prosecuting perjury and convicting the guilty. Close to home is easier than fair. Not every senseless murder supports your position. For … Read entire article »

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Guilt v. Shame

A witness and I each had pretty remarkable breakthroughs at the same time earlier today. We both suddenly understood things we’d never really considered. When she had her revelation, she shook her head in disgust. On the other hand, I just thought yet again about how ridiculous our justice system really is. To say the witness and I have different backgrounds would be an understatement. We’re generations removed, and even if we shared a birth date in the same year, it would hardly even begin to bridge the cultural gap. On top of that, she’s mostly deaf and entirely mute. An ASL interpreter did not work out, and her writing is very difficult to understand. The “interview” today involved a pen and some paper. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Government Rants, Uncategorized

Best Served Really, Really Cold

In 1999, Ramon Nelson was riding his bicycle away from a liquor store when someone hit him in the back of the head with a wooden stick, killing him. He had forty little baggies of crack on him when he died. Although it was dark out at the time, a guy named Maurice Johnnie identified a guy named Lawrence Owens as the murderer, first in a six-person photo lineup and then in an actual lineup. Lawrence Owens was the only person from the first lineup who also appeared in the second. A guy named William Evans said there were two people involved in the murder, but he identified Lawrence Owens as one of them in the same two lineups Maurice Johnnie saw. He said the victim spoke with the … Read entire article »

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Calling You Out, Brian Sloan And “The Arizona DUI Team”

As much as I value the information they can provide and respect many of my colleagues who participate in them, I don’t belong to any of the local lawyer listservs. I quickly tire of people bragging about wins, and I find that the ones who brag the most tend to paint less than complete pictures of what really happened. There are occasionally other sorts of misinformation too. Plus, I hate needless drama. It’s exhausting. Earlier today, someone brought to my attention a perfect example of why I’m not involved in listservs. Here it is, a message to a DUI lawyer listserv from lawyer Brian Sloan, who apparently leads “The Arizona DUI Team” (make sure you capitalize the “The,” apparently), trying to “call out” an excellent lawyer … Read entire article »

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A Terrible Idea All Around

It seems that ABATE of Arizona, which I would like to think of as a rights organization, has decided to support a statewide law against texting while driving. The proposed statute would create penalties of $100.00 for a first offense and $300.00 for second and subsequent offenses, and fines of $500.00 where there is an accident and $10,000.00 where death results from the accident. The proposed law is not only pointless and maybe even dangerous, but it is more or less guaranteed to further erode our rights. It is not the sort of thing any purportedly freedom-loving organization should ever support. First, as others have noted before me, we have plenty of laws to deal with the problem already. If your texting results in even the slightest … Read entire article »

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A Superbowl Sex Sting Poem

As a warning for those who might think it wise to blog after judging a beer competition, I present without further ado a Superbowl sex sting poem for your enjoyment: ‘Twas the night before the Superbowl, when all through the state, Not a hooker was stirring, who wasn’t a fake; The cops posted their escort ads on the internet with care, In hopes that potential Johns soon would surf there; The police were nestled all smug on their hotel room beds, While visions of entrapped soon-to-be sex offenders danced in their heads; And Adrian straightening his tie, and I in my suit, Had just settled down to field calls about police houses of ill repute, When from our office phones there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter. Away to the jail I … Read entire article »

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