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A Narrow, Almost Vanishing, Opinion on Counsel

By Kent Scheidegger et al.

Understatement of the day award goes to Justice David Souter, writing for the Court in Rothgery v. Gillespie County, Texas, No. 07-440. "Our holding is narrow." Indeed, the holding decides an easy technical question but resolves nothing of consequence. If the holding were any narrower, it would disappear altogether. Once upon a time, Walter Rothgery pleaded guilty to a felony in California. However, in California in some cases a plea can be withdrawn and charges dismissed after a defendant completes a period of probation or diversion. Probably as a result of this quirk in another jurisdiction's law (the opinion doesn't really say), the records available to police in Gillespie County, Texas indicated that Rothgery had been convicted of a felony...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime and Consequences on June 23, 2008 (boomark / email).