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Crime & Federalism 

Discussing recent news and court opinions, with an emphasis on federalism, criminal law, and civil rights actions.
Post Frequency: 8.6/day Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 15:45:19 Recent Entries: 1840
Go to Crime & Federalism, find other Criminal Law blogs, or browse all law blogs.
Arizona v. Johnson was Released
Posted on January 26, 2009SCOTUSBlog has the summary. I haven't been doing much Section 1983 blogging because there's not much left of the law. It's been dying, and the vultures are circling.
More on Legal Ethics
Posted on January 26, 2009Why hasn't this lawyer been disbarred? What is the goal of legal ethics, anyway? Is it to protect the public from unscrupulous lawyers, or to protect the status symbol of being a lawyer? In other words, is the goal of legal ethics to protect the public, or to protect lawyers?
Another Lawyer Falls for Nigerian E-Mail Scam
Posted on January 25, 2009Richard T. Howell Jr. is a Houston lawyer who got scammed by some Nigerians working out of an Internet cafe. He is speaking out, presumably to warn other lawyers with bad judgment not to send hundreds-of-thousands of dollars to complete strangers. He and Gregory Bartko should start giving CLEs...
Rethinking the Psychopathic and Sociopathic Personalities
Posted on January 24, 2009Published over a decade ago, The Millionaire Next Door forced us to reconsider our conception of a millionaire. Millionaires were not people you'd see on television, or people who made money through the dot.com era. They were regular people who, day after day, made mostly sound financial decisions...
Describing the Psychopath's Inner Reality
Posted on January 24, 2009The psychopath is unfamiliar with the primary facts or data of what might be called personal values and is altogether incapable of understanding such matters. it is impossible for him to take even a slight interest in the tragedy or joy or the striving of humanity as presented in serious literature or art...
Pretend Not to be Biased
Posted on January 23, 2009Reporters have personalities. They have biases. They vote, they eat, they shop. Why, then, is the New York Times telling reporters to lie? As is often the case in life, the Times seeks to elevate perceived objectivity over actual objectivity. If the Times were really concerned about its reputation, it'd hire conservative news reporters and editors...
Rikers Island's Fight Club
Posted on January 23, 2009If inmates are going to fight each other, anyway, why shouldn't we guards get in on it? Officers Michael McKie, Khalid Nelson and Denise Albright called their fight club "The Program," and the teens they recruited as enforcers were "The Team," officials said...
$15 Billion in Bailout Bonuses for Merrill Lynch
Posted on January 22, 2009Someone please explain to me why Henry Paulson hasn't been tried for treason?
Truth, Justice, and Cuban Cigars
Posted on January 22, 2009Can you imagine a world where American citizens are allowed to smoke Cuban cigars? I can't. Cuba is our enemy. Buying cigars from Cuba is like buying poppies from Al Qaeda. Thankfully our government, which is going through an economic crisis, still has the resources to prosecute people who smuggle Cuban cigars into this country...
Mike Tyson
Posted on January 21, 2009People watch this video and laugh (crude language in video). I see a tormented soul. He was falsely imprisoned once for rape. Many women tried falsely accusing him again. He had to set up a surveillance system in his home to protect himself. Police would be at his house monthly, investigating yet another false rape allegation...
eBay and the Endowment Effect
Posted on January 21, 2009When bidding in auctions, our rationality is aggressively attacked. First, we must fight what monkey wrench the endowment effect throws into our own brains. We humans tend to value things more when we believe those things to be ours. That's my chair, and therefore I will overestimate it's fair market value...
Pot-Head Question of the Day
Posted on January 20, 2009Why is money worth anything? Answer: Because everyone has agreed that it is. You could view that as a banality. Or you could think about that question for years, and still have it blow your mind every time. Speaking of mind blowing, check out this article on prison currency...
The IRA/401(k) Black Box
Posted on January 20, 2009No, you don't just put money in, which is then magically transformed into more money. Times infinity. That's not how it works.
The Onion Called It
Posted on January 20, 2009Be sure to read the date when this article was written.
Adam Liptak on Judicial Pay
Posted on January 19, 2009Adam Liptak, in this New York Times editorial, discusses some of the empirical research on judicial pay. The research proves, not surprisingly, that federal judges are not underpaid. They might actually be overpaid. Is anyone be surprised?Arguments in favor of judicial pay are "just because" arguments...
Obama and his "Manly" Conservative Haters
Posted on January 18, 2009A right winger who blogs about how manly he is because he lifts weights or something, linked to yet another stupid article about Barack Obama. Here are my thoughts on Obama's haters:That article was laughable, especially his last point: "The problem is [Barack Obama has] never had to make a truly tough decision...
Lawyer Prosecuted for Giving Legal Advice?
Posted on January 17, 2009Holy cow. How did this case miss the blogosphere's attention? A lawyer facing criminal charges for advising 10 nurses they could quit their jobs at a Long Island, N.Y., nursing facility gave "objectively reasonable" advice and cannot be prosecuted, a Brooklyn appeals panel has ruled...
Fan Letter
Posted on January 16, 2009One habit I have fallen out of is writing "fan letters." Whenever a book or article would move me, I used to send the author a quick note. It takes less than five minutes, and people appreciate the gesture. I met one of my best friends after reading one of his columns...
Vitamin Water Lawsuit
Posted on January 16, 2009The Center for Science in the Public Interest has sued Coca-Cola for selling Vitamin Water. CSPI's claim is that Vitamin Water is not good for you. No duh. In a Platonic sense, CSPI has a point.Vitamin water is not good for you. It is loaded with crystalline fructose - a euphemism for high fructose corn syrup...
The Scam that is Called "Legal Ethics"
Posted on January 16, 2009A lawyer in California completely blew an appellate deadline, almost totally preventing his client's case from being heard. When the Court of Appeals warned the lawyer that he had to file a brief or else his client would be screwed, the lawyer did nothing...
Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke Should be Hanged
Posted on January 16, 2009Just when you thought Paulson and Barnanke couldn't commit further acts of treason, they outdid themselves: Here is a shocking report about the Bank of America bail out.
Sarasota-Based Hedge Fund was Ponzi Scheme
Posted on January 16, 2009Investors in a Sarasota-based hedge fund could be out $350 million, and the man behind it has vanished. Managers of the fund are telling clients that their money is gone, and they do not know if any will be recovered.Fund principal Arthur G. Nadel, a prominent player in Sarasota social and philanthropic circles, disappeared this week...
"The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making"
Posted on January 14, 2009It takes a lot for a book to wow me. Especially considering that I've been studying critical thinking and cognitive bias since 2000. Yet this book, published in 1993 (!) has wowed me: The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making.It pulls together most of the research on cognitive bias into a slim volume...
Going Back to School?
Posted on January 14, 2009Norm Pattis has a great idea:I just learned that the University of Connecticut School of Law is starting an International Human Rights Clinic in the spring semester. The clinic will be taught by Professor Mark Janis. I have applied for permission to audit the course...
On Time and On (Not) Respecting One's Elders
Posted on January 14, 2009From an e-mail I just sent: I view time as more of a social construct intended to enslave our souls. Yes, it's biological reality that we will die. We can call that "time" or "age" or whatever. But time is used more as a method of social control. If you're x-age you must engage in y-behavior...
Test Your Testosterone Levels: For Happines, For Life
Posted on January 13, 2009I've never had my IQ tested, since what good would it do? If it's high, then what? I can go to MENSA meetings to hang out with people who, having accomplished nothing in their lives, talk about how smart they are? The oily-faced Chesters can keep their high IQs...
Most Bad Ass T-Shirt of All Time?
Posted on January 13, 2009It seems so: Using Wordle, my wife created a tag cloud of my blog. Then she went to Zazzle.com and made this shirt. Pretty, cool, 'eh?
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Do parents have the right to NOT turn in a sexual offender?
No. The offender should be turned in regardless of any disability (1), or reason...
Can someone detained in a search w/ warrant, be charged with a crime related to the search if they were not arrested at the time of the search?
The police have fairly wide discretion on when they can make an arrest so long a...
I was a bookkeeper for a recreation center. The Center Director left and a new director took over. I went to work one day and some of my files were missing. I called our computer tech and her restored the files (I had ma
In order for a crime to be established you need to conclusively prove that the D...
If I was detained by citizens unlawfully, and then the police showed up...is everything they charged me with in-admissable?
Probably depends on the law of the state in which you live. Many states allow fo...
If I pay restitution, can I still be charged with a crime?
It sounds like the law in your area is treating it as a civil matter. That being...

Do parents have the right to NOT turn in a sexual offender?
No. The offender should be turned in regardless of any disability (1), or reason...
Can someone detained in a search w/ warrant, be charged with a crime related to the search if they were not arrested at the time of the search?
The police have fairly wide discretion on when they can make an arrest so long a...
I was a bookkeeper for a recreation center. The Center Director left and a new director took over. I went to work one day and some of my files were missing. I called our computer tech and her restored the files (I had ma
In order for a crime to be established you need to conclusively prove that the D...
If I was detained by citizens unlawfully, and then the police showed up...is everything they charged me with in-admissable?
Probably depends on the law of the state in which you live. Many states allow fo...
If I pay restitution, can I still be charged with a crime?
It sounds like the law in your area is treating it as a civil matter. That being...








