Massachusetts Resurrects Star Chamber

Massachusetts Secrets

Let me apologize in advance for not doing some fancy-schmancy end-of-the-year post. It’s not that I’m not grateful to see 2011 starting to move into the rearview mirror. It’s more that I’m not wanting to waste another minute on it. If anything, 2011 seems to me to be the year the world’s police officer, the United States, finally turned itself — like too many other police officers these days — full-face towards corruption and fascism.

The fact that they aren’t crushing everyone (after all, I’m writing this, right?) yet, doesn’t really mean much. As Scott Greenfield put it in a slightly different context, “The laws are already in place, and continuing to be developed….”

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Hold Out, Cossack & Other Adages

Boxing Lawyer

This post may sound self-congratulatory.

I don’t give a sh*t. It’s not meant to be that way. But after you read the post, maybe you’ll understand why I’m grateful my year can end on such a note.

This post is about how it feels sometimes to be a criminal defense attorney and about the occasional need to stop and remember that, no matter what, I have to keep going.

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The End of the Rule of Law

principles word in letterpress

I’m not sure what’s more disturbing about this story: the vague report  making it unclear for which crime the man was convicted, the argument of the prosecution and determination of the judge that he should register as a sex offender, or the reaction of the idiots leaving comments — particularly comments attacking the defense attorney.

Frankly, I think it’s actually the combination of the three; they are all symptoms of the breakdown of the rule of law, our grossly dysfunctional society, and demonstrative of the fact that there are many more criminals amongst us than anyone cares to admit. Many of them are sitting judges, practicing prosecutors, or are busy leaving inane or ignorant comments on news websites.

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Freedom of Speech & Blogging

Cuffs keyboard

I had intended to write today about something Scott Greenfield posted on his blog regarding questionable “studies” over the number of children being arrested in the United States. Is it increasing? Or decreasing?

At any rate, something more important came up.

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Arbitrariness

Red Dice

If there’s one thing that drives me battier than others, it’s the arbitrariness of the so-called criminal “justice” system. I personally think arbitrariness underscores all that is wrong with the current system.

I mean, sure the Fourth Amendment doesn’t really mean anything anymore. Except when it does.

Ditto for the First, Second, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth (though less so, since this is a largely forgotten amendment, along with the Ninth and Tenth) Amendments and the due process clause — both that contained in the body of the Constitution and in the Fourteenth Amendment. They mean nothing.

Unless they do.

“The law” in the United States of America is as much a joke as in any third-world or fourth-rate nation on this planet.

But it’s not just the arbitrary application — or non-application, depending on the situation — of these constitutional principles that makes our system of “justice” anything but a system of justice. It’s how all the laws of our lands are applied.

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Wars on Desires

Tearing up the Constitution

It is no secret to anyone who has regularly read my blog that I appear to have a love-hate relationship with blogging. Truth is, though, it’s not blogging with which I have a love-hate relationship. It is futility. Trying to convince people who are either too ignorant or apathetic to be amenable to being convinced. Fighting the unwinnable war.

There is an irony here. The unwinnable war I fight is largely brought about by reactions against other unwinnable wars.

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