Brown & Little, P.L.C. » Entries tagged with "government"
Everybody Has a Boss
Once upon a time, I believed judges could do things. I thought they could rule on motions and even continue trials. Sadly, the world is not as it once seemed. I sat in chambers last month and listened to a seasoned judge talk about how he’d love to continue a trial but couldn’t because “they” were getting onto him about granting too many continuances. This is a man who can, and probably has, imposed the death penalty at some point. He clearly has a boss. Probably more than one. His bosses tell him how to do his job. Given the fact judicial retention elections are not exactly close calls, his bosses aren’t the voting public. Some group of people I don’t know is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
It's All Illegal
Years ago, I thought I knew what was illegal and what was not. Now, I know that what I once thought I knew may in fact be unknowable. Take hindering prosecution, for instance. In Arizona, a person commits the offense of hindering prosecution if, with the intent to hinder the prosecution of another person for any felony, the person renders assistance to the other person. A person can render assistance by knowingly preventing by means of deception anyone from performing an act that might aid in the prosecution of the other person. I have a client who was in custody last summer, sitting on the chain in court waiting for a hearing. An officer came to court to get a handwriting exemplar from another inmate on the chain, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
Extended Magazines and Politics as Usual
I was sitting in a little restaurant in rural southeast Arizona when I first heard news of the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords. I’d driven through Tucson only a few hours earlier, and nothing seemed out of place. There wasn’t the slightest hint something so horrible had happened, was happening, or was about to happen. When we heard, everyone at the table was stunned by the news. Watching the news on TV and then searching Google News on my phone, I could see that stories differed greatly. There was no consensus about anything important, not even about whether she was dead. The number of other victims, the circumstances, and almost everything else varied greatly from source to source. I say almost because one thing remained consistent: … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
Frustration
Every time I see the news, frustration is the theme. One side is frustrated that America has lost its way on the vague but golden path it started to take in magical, idealized years past. The other is frustrated that most of the country is still living in the past, unwilling to give up a little more freedom to deal with the problems of our evolved, enlightened society. Everyone is frustrated. We each see the problem plain as day and wonder why everyone else can’t do the same. Half of the people beg for economic freedom, freedom from over-regulation and over-taxation. They ask for the government to quit meddling and let them revive the economy with their industry. I can relate to them, but I … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
Happy Fourth of July?
At first blush, my answer is a resounding “no.” Everywhere I look, I see reasons to believe the radical experiment in freedom that is this great nation of ours has failed. As I read and re-read the Declaration of Independence over at Defending People and The Defense Rests, I can’t help but think the average citizen wouldn’t find the King of Great Britain’s repeated injuries and usurpations all that bad. Did they make us safer? On this Independence Day, I intend to celebrate my country. However, I will celebrate with trepidation. I will wonder how much longer we have as a nation before we become indistinguishable from every other country in the world. I will continue to worry that the average citizen loves his country the way … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
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