» Entries tagged with "Arizona"
Picking Issues
I saw this post on FourthAmendment.com over the weekend. The synopsis, for people who don’t like clicking on links, is that a federal court in Nebraska discussed how a defense lawyer doesn’t have a constitutional duty to raise every non-frivolous issue on appeal. The court quoted the Supreme Court of the United States about how experienced advocates trim weaker arguments on appeal and focus on the best issue instead. As far as the art of persuasion goes, it’s not bad advice. A shotgun-style approach is rarely the best way to approach trial advocacy. It dilutes the best points. It’s hiding a needle in a haystack for seekers who aren’t terribly inclined to search very hard and who don’t know they’re looking for a needle in the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Courts
Unauthorized Practice
So there’s this lawyer named Rachel Rodgers. In June, Scott Greenfield called her out on a few things here. Earlier this week, she wrote something entitled “Ethics Should Not Be Used as a Weapon Against Young Lawyers.” Brian Tannebaum quickly took her to task. I normally stay out of these things, but this is close to home. You see, Ms. Rodgers lists a Phoenix, Arizona address on her website. She offers services that look like legal services. Ms. Rodgers is not a licensed Arizona attorney. I checked. She never explicitly claims to be licensed in Arizona, but she also never offers any kind of disclaimer clearly explaining that she isn’t licensed here. That wouldn’t matter anyway, as I’ll explain in a second. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Ethics
Fix Your Index!
The folks at West and Lexis have a history of sending me things I don’t want. Years ago, I recall getting unsolicited boxes from Thomson Reuters (West) and Reed Elsevier (Lexis) containing books on things like scientific evidence and cross-examination. They were accompanied by invoices designed to make it look like someone at my office actually ordered the items inside. They had call identification numbers for calls Adrian and I never made, and reference numbers for orders we never placed. They may be sneaky over there at West and Lexis, but you have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull a fast one on Brown & Little, P.L.C. We figured out the scam and returned the books each time. In one instance, we … Read entire article »
Filed under: Practice in General
Senate Bill 1070
Everyone has an opinion about Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably love it or hate it. You may have a strong opinion about it even if you have no clue what it says. If so, you aren’t alone. S. B. 1070 makes it so the government can’t create a policy limiting the enforcement of federal immigration laws. If any part of the government does make a policy restricting enforcement of federal immigration laws, citizens have standing to sue. If they win, they get court costs and attorney fees. This doesn’t mean an officer will be sued just for not arresting a particular person or group of people. There will have to be a policy, not just one officer failing … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Statutes, immigration
Jail: US v. Mexico
I recently met with a potential client who is a Mexican citizen. He doesn’t reside in the United States and is absolutely terrified of doing any time in jail in Arizona. That isn’t exactly an unusual feeling for a person to have, but this guy should be capable of holding his own in a tough situation. He is familiar with our country. I don’t want to say what he does for a living, not because it is illegal, but because I don’t want to impact his career in case someone starts snooping into his life. Suffice it to say, this guy shouldn’t really be worried about a few days in the county jailhouse. It got me thinking. Do people in Mexico fear our jails like … Read entire article »
Filed under: jail
No Public Defender's Office?
I found this post by Murray Newman at Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center fascinating. I’ve been thinking about it and figured I’d write something. I’ve never practiced in a county that doesn’t have a public defender’s office. I can see how it might work in a very small, rural county, but it’s incredible to me that one of the biggest counties in the US doesn’t have one. I think it’s natural that voters begin demanding that a giant, bureaucratic, government agency take over a task the moment they realize it’s sufficiently daunting. Indigent criminal defense for an entire major metropolitan area seems pretty overwhelming, so I’m amazed the people of Harris County haven’t insisted that committees of politicians be created to form an agency … Read entire article »
Filed under: public defenders
The Motorcycle That Could Not Be
I recently finished working on a pro bono forfeiture case. The short story is that a guy puts a new engine and forks on a 1970s Harley Davidson in California in 1991. He registers it in California, and they give it a new VIN because the new motor serial number doesn’t match the frame. This is a common practice for motorcycles. My client enters the picture in 1992 or 1993, when he buys the motorcycle. He registers it in California and operates it for years with no issues. He moves to Massachusetts and registers it with no problem. In 2004, he moves to Arizona to be closer to his children and grandchildren. When he takes the bike to the Arizona MVD in 2007 (he didn’t ride … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Statutes, Bikers' Rights
The Factual Basis
Hang around most Arizona courts for a little while, and you’re likely to see a plea fall through for lack of a factual basis. For those readers who don’t know what I’m talking about, Arizona’s rules of criminal procedure require that a court determine whether a factual basis exists for each element of the crime to which a defendant is pleading before it can enter judgment on a guilty plea. Evidence constituting the factual basis can come from any part of the record or from a defendant’s statements. There’s no reasonable doubt standard for a guilty plea. Instead, the court just has to find strong evidence of guilt. In a few courts, the plea will simply have a provision that says, “factual basis taken from police report … Read entire article »
Filed under: Courts, Practice in General
Unusual DUIs
I’m a huge fan of Lawrence Taylor’s DUI Blog. His post yesterday was about police charging a man on a bicycle with driving under the influence. He previously put up a post about a lawn mower DUI. The most offensive DUI case I’ve heard is probably this one, where a poor lady was cited for wheel chair DUI. Every time I hear about someone getting charged with DUI on something other than a car, truck, or motorcycle, I marvel at the stupidity of anti-DUI zealots. How dangerous are these drunk bicyclists and lawn mowers? More importantly, how much more dangerous are they than a drunk person without transportation? Do authorities really think they’re protecting the public by prosecuting that lady in her wheel chair? … Read entire article »
Worst. Plea. Ever.
Until last September, if you were convicted of extreme DUI in Arizona, you would have to do thirty days in jail, all but ten of which could be suspended. Now, you must do the full thirty days. On top of that, if you’ve had another DUI within the past seven years, you are looking at a whopping 120 days of jail. None of it can be suspended. I recently had a client who got a DUI just before the law changed and had a prior DUI slightly over seven years old. By “slightly” I mean a matter of days. Because of the date of the offense, hers was a typical extreme DUI. No special enhancements applied, and neither did the crazy new law. Based … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Statutes, DUI, Prosecutors
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