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Criminal Law

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

Unclaimed Property

Posted on January 29, 2008
I just learned that I had between $10 and $100 held by a state I used to live in. (I never closed out my college checking account. The bank was required to hand the money over to the state. So now it's all mine.) As it turns out, many states seems to have searchable database of unclaimed property available online...

Is Dangling a Noose a Threat?

Posted on January 29, 2008
A man in Louisiana has been charged with a hate crime under 18 U.S.C. 245 based on the following conduct: A white man accused of driving past a group of black civil rights activists with two nooses dangling from the back of his pickup truck has been indicted on federal hate-crime and conspiracy charges, federal prosecutors said Jan...

Postponing a Case for the Media?

Posted on January 29, 2008
This is ridiculous.

Smart Books, Dumb Books

Posted on January 27, 2008
This list is scientifically meaningless, but generally interesting. I do know that I haven't met many imbeciles who have read Atlas Shrugged, Catch-22, or Lolita. Most of my favorites did not make the list, since I read almost exclusively non-fiction...

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Government Covers-Up UFO Sighting

Posted on January 27, 2008
Around 40 people spotted a UFO in Stephenville, Texas. They also spotted what appeared to be two fighter jets chasing the UFO. The government's first response was: "We didn't have any planes in the area. People are imagining things." After realizing the story wouldn't go away, the government changed its tune: "We did have planes in the area...

Promising New Legal Search Engine

Posted on January 25, 2008
PreCYdent is a new legal research search engine that seems to have much promise. You can read about it here. It appears to "rank" cases much in the way Google ranks web sites. For example, typing in "qualified immunity" in PreCYdent doesn't just give you a random list of cases...

Only in America

Posted on January 24, 2008
Under the new tax rebate program, some people who pay no taxes at all get a rebate; and the people who pay the most taxes get no rebate at all. WTF? UPDATE: Everyone who makes more than $3,000 a year will get a tax rebate. Isn't that groups a lot of teenagers and others who don't have serious jobs? Let's...

LinkedIn Snob Unintentional

Posted on January 23, 2008
I just realized that a couple of years ago I must have set up a LinkedIn account. I had a bunch of pending invitations from people. I just added everyone who sent me a request. My apologies for the delay.

PSA: Amazon Gift Certificates

Posted on January 22, 2008
The best give to give is cash. But if that doesn't suit you, give an Amazon.com gift certificate. I just ordered some boxing gloves and head gear from there. I also regularly order nutritional supplements (fish oil and Greens+.) These days, an Amazon gift certificate is almost as good as cash.

How to Spot a Sociopath, Part 2

Posted on January 21, 2008
Here is an excellent checklist to use when wondering if someone is a sociopath. UPDATE: The DSM-IV criteria are listed here. It helpfully notes that you need to look for more than one feature in determining whether someone is a sociopath. One-in-twenty-five people are sociopaths, so there are a lot of them out there...

Hilarious Spin

Posted on January 21, 2008
You have to check this out.

How to Spot a Sociopath

Posted on January 21, 2008
I finally got around to reading The Sociopath Next Door. I wish I had read this years ago. It's a must-read, and I encourage you to pick up a copy. In The Sociopath Next Door, the author states what she believes is "the most reliable sign" that someone is a sociopath: [T]he best clue is, of all things, the pity...

Dog Blogging

Posted on January 20, 2008
My dog, Amicus, has what can be described only as gorgeous hair. (Well... glorious might also fit.) Unfortunately, his hair gets so long that, during the summer, he suffers from heat exhaustion during our hikes. Hence, the "puppy cut": Here he is in all his hairy glory: Speaking of hair, here is a photo I took of Amicus during his...

"I'm Sorry I Got Caught"

Posted on January 15, 2008
So sayeth Judge Holly Hollenbeck, a judge who doesn't seem to understand how to exercise discretion.

Explaining the Stock Market

Posted on January 15, 2008
For about a year now, the first page that loads when I open Firefox is Yahoo! Finance. Each day I get a good chuckle. The upper-left corner of the screen contains a chart and notes how the Dow and NASDAQ are performing. Immediately to the right of that is always some Associated Press article explaining why the Dow is up...

Banning Smoking In Apartments

Posted on January 14, 2008
My city already bans smoking inside public places. It also bans smoking immediately outside of public places. Now the city wants to take things to a new level: No smoking inside or outside your apartment. Putting aside the obvious libertarian criticisms of the law, here is what strikes but does not surprise me - the law's proponents...

Recently Seen on TV

Posted on January 14, 2008
Last week the public access channel televised a city council hearing regarding a proposed smoking ban. Years ago it became illegal to smoke indoors in bars and restaurants. You could, however, smoke in outdoor patio areas. Under the proposed legislation, smoking in such outdoor areas would be illegal, too...

To-Do List

Posted on January 11, 2008
I need to eat more of these items. (Via Kirkendall). Topping the list of 20 "worst" (who defines worst, anyway?) foods is my favorite, Aussie Cheese Fries from Outback Steakhouse. (An odd name, since the steaks at that place are terrible!) There's no way you can type with both hands while looking at this picture: Incidentally, my best friend and...

You are "This Close" to Life in Prison

Posted on January 11, 2008
How much evidence do you think a jury would need to hear before convicting you of murder? This, literally is all it takes: Sergeant Eddy took notes of this interview [with the defendant] and told [the defendant] that he would 'pass on everything he told me to the prosecutor's office,' but he did not tape [the defendant's] statement, use a...

Ms. Magazine and Israel

Posted on January 11, 2008
Whatever your opinion of Israel, there's no question that it's the best place in the Middle East for women. This isn't even debatable. In an effort to bolster the image of Israel, the American Jewish Congress sought to run this ad in Ms. magazine: Ms...

Who's the Cheater?

Posted on January 10, 2008
A husband went to a brothel. There, he saw that his wife was employed. Imagine that conversation: "What are you doing here?!" "No, what are you doing here?!"

Voir Dire From a Venirepersons Perspective

Posted on January 09, 2008
A few months ago I was called for jury duty. I knew I wouldn't be selected; but man, I so wanted to be. It was interesting watching jury selection from the other side of the bar. Here, we were told, was a sketch of facts: A man is out shopping at Target with his son...

Criminal Law and Logic

Posted on January 09, 2008
Which causes more deaths in America - the use of prescription pain medication, or deadly staph infections? The answer, of course is the latter. Yet the deadliest forms of staph exist because doctors over-prescribe antibiotics. The government, however, targets doctors who prescribe "too much" pain medication...

Letter From the Dead

Posted on January 04, 2008
This is some powerful stuff.

I'm Back and Things are Changing

Posted on January 03, 2008
It just hit me why my blogging grew stale. I got tired of being nice to people. I became worried about offending hypocrites, charlatans, and other shady characters. I never had a huge readership, but I had a large enough of one that I didn't want to lose readers...

This is Your Face on Meth: Thanks, Conservatives

Posted on January 03, 2008
Take a look at these before-and-after photos (click on an image to enlarge): The woman depicted, by the way, was a beauty queen, law graduate, and federal law clerk. Now she's an accused criminal. She was hot and had an obvious career. Although no news outlets are reporting that her behavior and "after" photo are attributable to meth use, I've...

An Itch That Needs Scratched

Posted on December 05, 2007
I am definitely returning to blogging. Whether it will be here and whether my blogging will be devoted exclusively to legal issues, are the remaining questions. I will be bouncing back-and-forth for the next several weeks, so the new (old?) blog will not begin (return?) until 2008...

Same Addiction, New Drug

Posted on October 21, 2007
While I will no longer post at Crime and Federalism, I have decided to follow Mike's course. I've created a new web page devoted not just to the law, but to more general interests. Hope to see you there. Norm Pattis

Blogging Update

Posted on September 19, 2007
I am on hiatus. I may resume blogging here; or I may begin a new blog.

Off Topic: Dog Fighting and Meat Eating

Posted on September 19, 2007
Is a person who eats foi gras who also opposes dog fighting intellectually consistent? Ted Frank asked the question, though I?ll frame it more broadly: Is it consistent to eat any meat at all while opposing dog fighting? The lives of fighting dogs is nasty, brutish, and short...

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