January 5, 2017 (Fault Lines) — New Jersey has a bit of a reputation problem. This should surprise no one, given that best known residents of the Garden State are Tony Soprano, Chris Christie, and the...

January 2, 2017 (Fault Lines) — The Tennessee Supreme Court recently vacated the conviction of a defendant who was accused of stalking her baby daddy. Nicole Flowers was charged with violating TCA 39-17-15, which forbids (among...

December 22, 2016 (Fault Lines) — Some people are assholes. Like this guy: David Sanguesa, was captured on video angrily yelling “Trump!” and “I voted for Trump!” at a barista...

December 19, 2016 (Fault Lines) –  Ed. Note: The question was raised whether Kim Foxx, the new Cook County, Illinois, State’s Attorney, who defeated Anita Alvarez, would do any better. Foxx announced some changes to her office’s...

December 15, 2016 (Fault Lines) — Judge Mark Bennett has written a number of posts about implicit bias in sentencing. A recent article (part of a larger series) in the Sarasota Herald Tribune took a comprehensive...

December 12, 2016 (Fault Lines) — A Wayne State University police officer was killed in the line of duty on November 22nd. Sergeant Colin Rose was shot in the head in the early evening and died...

December 8, 2016 (Fault Lines) — After defeating Anita Alvarez in the Democratic primary and the formality of the general election, Kim Foxx took over as Cook County State’s Attorney last week. Following through on some...

December 5, 2016 (Fault Lines) — When charged with a crime, usually the first thing a defendant is concerned with is making bail. Being prosecuted sucks pretty much regardless of circumstances, but it’s far more tolerable...

December 1, 2016 (Fault Lines) — The Times of San Diego recently published an op-ed entitled “Five Ways to Know Whether a Criminal Defense Attorney Is Any Good.” The author, Stephen Cooper, has some credibility, as...

Nov. 28, 2016 (Fault Lines) — There aren’t many tangible benefits to being a public defender. Generally, you’re overworked, underpaid, and get less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. On the plus side, the work is usually interesting:...

November 21, 2016 (Fault Lines) — In Illinois, a victims’ rights advocate named Denise Rotheimer is pushing a for a new “right” to be added to the list: crime victims should get lawyers at public expense. Her...

November 17, 2016 (Fault Lines) — A few months ago, I posted about a case in St. Louis, where the prosecutor was zealously guarding hiding the privacy contact information of witnesses, in order to protect them from...

November 14, 2016 (Fault Lines) — Back in July, Dani Mathers, Playboy’s Playmate of the Year for 2015, did a bad thing. She took a picture of an elderly woman in a gym shower and released...

November 10, 2016 (Fault Lines) — Despair is a sin. So, for those of us not happy with the results of the presidential election, we should look for at least a few bright spots from Tuesday....

November 7, 2016 (Fault Lines) — Calling indigent defense a disgrace is like saying that the Detroit Lions have occasionally disappointed their fans, or that the 2016 presidential election has at times been a bit contentious....

November 3, 2016 (Fault Lines) — Back in May, Louisiana enacted the so-called “Blue Lives Matter” bill, which amended the Pelican State’s hate crime statute that enhanced the penalties of certain crimes if the victim was...

October 31, 2016 (Fault Lines) — OJ Simpson. Casey Anthony. George Zimmerman. Juries, and jurors, tend to get a bad rap anytime they issue a two word verdict that the public doesn’t agree with. Mostly this is...

October 27, 2016 (Fault Lines) — Joe Arpaio is a bad dude. Between his mistreatment of the prisoners in his jail, his birther insanity, and his “papers please” immigration enforcement efforts; this guy is a disgrace...

October 24, 2016 (Fault Lines) — Stripped to its most basic essentials, the practice of law comes down to an exercise in logic, usually in the form of Facts=>Law=>Result. For example: The defendant did X. The...

October 20, 2016 (Fault Lines) — Ed. Note: In light of the attack ads against a candidate for the Montana Supreme Court candidate, we have charged Noel Erinjeri and Chris Seaton to debate the question: Given the attack on Montana...