President Donald Trump offered a defense Thursday to accusations he broke campaign finance law by directing his longtime attorney/fixer Michael Cohen to orchestrate hush-money payments to conceal at least two of Trump’s alleged affairs: He was just following his lawyer’s advice. His exact statement was put out on Twitter: “I never directed Michael Cohen to […]
It would be difficult to find a more disturbing case than that of Cyntoia Brown’s. It reveals much of what’s wrong with the criminal justice system in many parts of our country. The last unjust stroke came last week when the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that she must serve out her 51 year sentence. Here’s […]
As my law school semester winds down, I usually like to send a message to my outgoing students who are all 3Ls who will be graduating this May. This semester, there has been a lot of buzz about Netflix’s true crime documentary “Making a Murderer 2” and I can see that it has inspired many […]
It is often an illusion that all lawyers and clients get the same treatment when standing before the bench in a court of law. The fact is that for a variety of reasons in criminal cases, there is a cozy relationship between the bench and the prosecutors appearing before them. Now before I go any […]
TV viewers are addicted to forensic cop shows – CSI, NCIS, etc etc. The shows make it look like every crime can be solved by forensics and that forensic science is unassailable. In fact, bad forensics is one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions across the country. When I talk about “bad forensics” I […]
Former Alabama Senate candidate and State Supreme Court Judge Roy Moore has filed a $95 million defamation lawsuit against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, Showtime and CBS after he appeared on Cohen’s series, “Who Is America?” In July, Moore appeared on the third episode of Who is America?, a Showtime series where the comedian disguises himself […]
Omarosa Manigault Newman will likely be continuing to make headlines for a little while longer as she can be expected to continue trickling out information from her time as a member of the Trump White House. The President has already filed for arbitration for a claim against her that she violated a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) […]
The news that Michael Cohen recorded conversations between him and Donald Trump has led to the usual and predictable firestorm. And in this day and age the usual and predictable firestorm includes “legal experts” on the many cable news channel opining on the legality of a lawyer taping a conversation. Some that I have seen […]
Not a month goes by that I don’t receive a phone call from some family member, friend, or friend of a family member, or family member of a friend, asking “What’s the best way to get out of jury service?” With about the same or similar frequency I get asked “I see that you are […]
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