Probable Cause

I like to write about things that I know about and try to avoid writing about things that I don’t know about, unless (as is sometimes the case) I’m using the writing to boost my knowledge.  Writing is one of the ways I use to learn.

As a law student, I assisted — was considered “second chair” — on what are called in California “special circumstances” trials.  These are trials where the death penalty is one possible outcome.  Subsequently, as an attorney, I have handled one — and only one — special circumstances case.  Death was off the table, though, within two or three weeks of my coming onto the case.  (We ultimately settled the case, which involved confessions and the prior assistance of my client, leading the police to potential evidence, for a 28-year determinate sentence.  While my client’s family wasn’t happy and stiffed me on the remainder of the bill, my client was more than happy to trade death, or even life without possibility of parole, for the offer.)

In short, I don’t know much about death penalty cases.  I don’t, for example, know why we, the People, kill people to demonstrate that killing people is wrong.  I understand even less why we, the People, think killing an innocent person would demonstrate that killing people is wrong.

And thus I normally don’t write about such things.

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I am a criminal defense attorney.  I am the only line of defense against the loss of your rights.  Even if — perhaps especially if — you are not a criminal.

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I have had a difficult time trying to decide what title to give this post. This is not one of my “normal” posts. Not by a long shot.

A fellow criminal defense attorney, a woman I consider to be a very close and dear friend, lost her three youngest daughters this weekend.

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Here we have another example of how the courts have decided that the quaint concept of “justice” is no longer compatible with modern life.  The court in Pace v. United States Automobile Ass’n, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49425, 9-10 (D. Colo. 2007) has held that because the courts decided to put themselves in the same class as pornographic spammers and stop using the United States Postal Service with its more than two centuries of service, law firms and their clients will be punished.

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I have not infrequently written about the fact that our nation is moving toward a state of institutionalized lawlessness.  I haven’t exactly used that term before, but that now seems the best name for the monstrous abuse of governmental authority increasingly encouraged by the courts.  It’s no small wonder our officers are becoming uniformed thugs: the courts have all but told them there is no degree of thuggery that will cause the court to chastise them.

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Not much time lately for serious posts, but I promise more soon.

Meanwhile, photographer Bob Marcotte, a friend of mine who owns Marcotte Photography, shot some images of me yesterday.  Click on the images to enlarge.

Bob sent over this next image with the words, “This is my lawyer…” in the subject line and “…go ahead.  Sue me.” in the text.

Bob Marcotte, of Marcotte Photography. Thanks, Bob!