Dennis Elias’s Latest Tweet :. Injustice News Twitter Feed :.Mark Bennett | August 14, 2009
We lawyers love to hear ourselves talk. That can be the death of a jury selection. In a good voir dire, the jurors do most of the talking. Even if I can’t hear what the lawyer and jurors are saying, I can tell a good voir dire from a bad one by listening, as long [...]
Mark Bennett | August 14, 2009
They are once again on their way. They are walking through the forest. Shrek belches. DONKEY Shrek! SHREK What? It’s a compliment. Better out than in, I always say. (laughs) DONKEY Well, it’s no way to behave in front of a princess. Fiona belches Thence, Rule 3 of the Simple Rules for Better Jury Selection: [...]
Mark Bennett | May 13, 2009
My Paladin Didn’t Charge Split Fees post stirred up some interesting discussion between criminal-defense lawyers and others in the comments. Mississippi criminal-defense lawyer Remy Orozco, who wrote the post that inspired mine, commented: This last year in private practice has brought me very few cases where my clients actually wanted to go to trial . [...]
Mark Bennett | May 9, 2009
Everyone thinks that his way is the best. In his “How to Hire a Gun Slinger…” blog post (a staple of criminal law blawgs: the post suggesting to potential clients criteria they should look for in hiring a lawyer, and explaining how the blogger fits those criteria; I may have written that post a time [...]
Mark Bennett | April 7, 2009
By all rights, I should be in trial today. My client was arrested in his brother-in-law’s house, which contained 12 kilos of cocaine in the attic, a pound of marijuana, and two guns. Mere presence is not a crime, but the Government claimed that he had made harmful admissions to agents. He maintained his innocence. [...]
Mark Bennett | January 31, 2009
Baby criminal-defense lawyer Murray Newman writes: The thing I loved the most about being a prosecutor was helping victims of crime. There was a profound feeling of doing something important when meeting with the victim’s family on a murder case, or the surviving members of an aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or assault and telling them [...]
Mark Bennett | January 30, 2009
In response to this post, in which I talked about Williamson County, Texas’s criminal discovery policy, WilCo DA John Bradley emailed me: In Williamson County, a defense lawyer receives full and complete discovery, including access to offense reports, before any trial. Mr. Hampton’s commentary is not accurate. Our discovery is more limited if there is [...]
Mark Bennett | January 29, 2009
Continuing my discussion with “Interested Counsel” about the U.S. criminal justice system. He asks: Another emotive issue over there appears to be disclosure. I had assumed this was similar to our own debate over when, in proceedings, full disclosure should take place. I infer from your (very good) podcast with the self-styled Charon QC that [...]
Mark Bennett | January 26, 2009
I asked regular reader Interested Counsel, a British criminal-law barrister, for a list of points that he found interesting or was curious about regarding the U.S. criminal justice system. He obliged me, prefacing his email: It is clear here that the Ministry of Justice is enamoured of all things American. It is easy for us [...]
Mark Bennett | January 25, 2009
Keith Hampton’s editorial in today’s Austin American-Statesman contrasts Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg’s new policy of providing defense lawyers with copies of offense reports with Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley’s policy of not allowing defense lawyers to see offense reports: In leading the way on this cost-saving measure, Lehmberg also reaffirmed the fundamentals [...]
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