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Public Defense

A Public Defender

Criminal law news from Connecticut and around the country.
By Gideon

Post Frequency: 10.1/day

Last Entry: March 31, 2011 at 12:17:35

Panel to recommend permanent sentencing commission

Posted on February 04, 2008
A temporary sentencing task force created by the legislature may be set to recommend that it be made permanent. The panel will release its findings and recommendations later this month. One thing it will not do, however, is recommend sentencing guidelines (thank God)...

Monday evening wind-down

Posted on February 04, 2008
Yeah, not particularly clever, but here are some stories for you to read as you power down this Monday evening: We lost two stellar blogs this past week or so: Corrections Sentencing closed up shop and Audacity called it quits. Thank you both for everything...

If you haven?t already

Posted on February 03, 2008
seen the Sarah Silverman/Matt Damon video, here it is (warning: bleeped out cursewords and talk of sex): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KUowJzpgxs I don’t like her or Jimmy Kimmel at all, but that was pretty funny, mostly because of Matt Damon...

Posting will be slow

Posted on February 03, 2008
At least until mid-week. Rather busy here in Gideon-land, so I apologize. I’ll still try to have the jumpstart up tomorrow. SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Posting will be slow", url: "http://apublicdefender.com/2008/02/03/posting-will-be-slow/" } );

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I know what you?ve been convicted of

Posted on February 02, 2008
Now, thanks to the Judiciary, so can everyone else. As promised by Representative Mike Lawlor months ago, the criminal disposition database is now online. You can search by last name and birth year, courthouse, docket number. This covers criminal and motor vehicle cases...

Superficial analysis of CT Supreme Court decisions

Posted on February 02, 2008
Yesterday, I complained to Miranda that it seems like every time the Appellate Court reverses a conviction, the Supreme Court reverses the Appellate Court. Since today is Saturday and I have nothing better to do, I decided to spend some time and determine whether that was indeed correct...

James Tillman loose ends tied up

Posted on January 31, 2008
James Tillman, who was exonerated in 06-07 after serving 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, can look at this news story and see the face of the man who should have been in his place. Hartford police have obtained an arrest warrant for Duane Foster, 47, on charges of first-degree kidnapping...

Lazale Ashby gets death

Posted on January 31, 2008
CT’s death row might have inmate number 10 very soon. A jury today recommended that Lazale Ashby receive the death penalty. Judge Espinosa will decide on Monday whether to formally enter the verdict of death. Interestingly, just two days ago, the jury said they were deadlocked...

Kentucky seems a bit confused

Posted on January 30, 2008
Kentucky governor Steve Beshear’s proposed budget includes an increase in funding of $38.6million to pay for a new 816 bed facility to make room for the projected 6% increase in inmates over the coming years. In this age of overcriminalization and harsher penalties, it seems logical...

Three degrees of YOU?RE A PREDATOR!

Posted on January 29, 2008
This has to be filed under the “what the f*ck is wrong with people today” category. It’s the digital age and more importantly, it is the social networking age. If you don’t have a MySpace or Facebook account, you’re nobody...

Santa groper gets off

Posted on January 29, 2008
lightly and rightly so. She applied for Accelerated Rehabilitation and if she successfully completes it, this won’t result in a record. SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Santa groper gets off", url: "http://apublicdefender.com/2008/01/29/santa-groper-gets-off/" } );

They muuuust?ve been high!?!! - ARO 1/28/08

Posted on January 28, 2008
Lots of fun stuff from both courts today. Showing appropriate deference, I’ll start with the Supreme Court first. In State v. Kalphat, the new CJ authors an opinion affirming the conviction of Mr. Kalphat (who was represented by the blawgosphere’s own Norm Pattis)...

Monday Morning Jumpstart

Posted on January 28, 2008
After a one-week hiatus, the Jumpstart is back to charge your batteries. My post on passwords and the 5th Amendment engaged both Bennett and Greenfield and there’s an interesting and lively discussion going on. ConcurringOpinions reminds us what not to do in court...

Sunday Stupidity: Trigger Happy edition

Posted on January 27, 2008
Nothing’s caught my fancy yet today, so I give you a compilation of clips from one of my favorite shows: Trigger Happy TV. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf8JtqAMZZk SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Sunday Stupidity: Trigger Happy edition", url: "http://apublicdefender...

Theme song

Posted on January 27, 2008
If lawyers had intro songs as they entered a courtroom or walked around the well, this would be mine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL9ihXiFAko What about you? SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Theme song", url: "http://apublicdefender.com/2008/01/27/theme-song/" } );

In which Gideon answers your questions

Posted on January 27, 2008
I get some reader mail now and then and it’s usually about someone’s family member in jail or some conspiracy theory. Which is fine. But then I get the “are you really a lawyer?” “Have you tried any cases?” “Did you even attend law school?” Since it’s a Sunday and I’m tired of scouring the web [...

Logging in to the 5th

Posted on January 25, 2008
The 5th Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination certainly has been a hot topic in the blawgosphere. I’m going to bring it into the tech age, with this story about a man invoking the privilege and not giving up the password to his super-encrypted hard drive...

Parole ban may be lifted soon

Posted on January 25, 2008
Now that stricter home invasion laws have been enacted, Governor Rell indicated at a press conference today that she will be considering whether to lift the parole ban this weekend. This will certainly be good news for a correctional system that is barely hanging on by a thread and is bursting at the seams (hah! [...

This month at the Supreme Court

Posted on January 23, 2008
Starting…well…today, I am introducing a new feature for my CT friends who are too busy to follow the latest goings on in criminal law in the State. This Month at the Supreme Court! (trademark pending) will summarize the criminal cases scheduled for oral argument with a date and time, if you’re so inclined...

The superduperawesome megacriminaljusticereform bill

Posted on January 22, 2008
is here. I’m going to go join the legislators and stick my head in the sand. (From CTLP) Update: It seems that a “three-strikes” provision has been defeated. Second Update:� Home invasion is now a crime, not requiring proof of knowledge of persons present; three-strikes is not on the books...

Why justice has nothing to do with a conviction

Posted on January 21, 2008
Data recently released by the GHSSS* shows that 60% of you would choose to plead guilty to an offense you did not commit if you could avoid jail time. This past week, a special prosecutor recommended that Tim Masters be released, after DNA exonerated him of the crime for which he’d been in jail for 9 [...

Special session to start tomorrow

Posted on January 21, 2008
The legislature’s special session is set for tomorrow, when they will debate reforms to the “horribly broken” criminal justice system. Earlier in the week, reports stated that both parties had agreed on almost all the reforms. Not true, it seems...

Monday Morning Jumpstart: MLK Day Edition

Posted on January 21, 2008
In honor of MLK Day and the fact that our sister blog is hosting Blawg Review today, there will be no Monday Morning Jumpstart. Instead, please go check out Blawg Review #143. It’s got videos and pictures. SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Monday Morning Jumpstart: MLK Day Edition", url: "http://apublicdefender...

Sunday Stupidity: Belly Dancing edition

Posted on January 20, 2008
I mean, really? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7fzXSxmA9I SHARETHIS.addEntry( { title: "Sunday Stupidity: Belly Dancing edition", url: "http://apublicdefender.com/2008/01/20/sunday-stupidity-belly-dancing-edition/" } );

Blawg Review #143-upcoming

Posted on January 18, 2008
Just wanted to give you guys a heads up that the other blog that I run - Public Defender Stuff - will be hosting Blawg Review for the second time. PD Stuff hosted Blawg Review a year ago, also on MLK day. This year we once again received the honor of hosting it on MLK [...

Blawgosphere pay attention: AT & T might have lost its mind

Posted on January 17, 2008
I try very hard to keep this blog focused on criminal law issues. Sometimes, however, I see something that just blows my mind. AT & T is considering filtering internet content. Odd, in light of the fact that Comcast might just get hit bigtime. For more on net neutrality (including: “What is it?”) go here...

Who needs merit when you?re in habeas

Posted on January 17, 2008
As has been pointed out to me by several readers, I missed a troubling portion of an opinion earlier this week when I recapped the latest Appellate Court opinions. In Kaddah v. Comm’r, which I summarily dismissed, I ignored habeas counsel’s shocking admission that he intentionally pled a meritless claim just to please his client...

Banned words trial no more

Posted on January 17, 2008
Bringing a case that drew national attention to an end, the prosecutor in the “banned words” trial decided not to try the defendant for a third time. This is the case where the judge banned the use of the words “rape”, “sexual assault” and “victim” (rightly so, in my opinion) and in which the accused later [...

Enjoy it while it lasts

Posted on January 16, 2008
I would be remiss not to congratulate our very own Miranda for a well-deserved victory this past week. Congratulations! That’s one public defender I’d be proud to have representing me. Okay, don’t let it get to your head. Get back to work! SHARETHIS...

Keeping abreast of developments in the law

Posted on January 16, 2008
Show of hands - how many of you regularly read the latest opinions issued by your appellate and supreme courts? That’s what I thought. I try to. Back when I hadn’t discovered that they were available on the website, I’d pass on the paper versions...

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