BOND V. U.S., FEDERAL OVERREACH EXEMPLIFIED.
Posted June 5, 2014, by Edmund R. Folsom. An interesting U.S. Supreme Court opinion was issued on Monday, June 2, 2014. In Bond v. United States, 572 U.S. __ (2014), the Court was presented with questions about the limits … Read More
R.I.T. PROF CALLS FOR IMPRISONMENT OF DISSENTERS.
Posted April 6, 2014, by Edmund R. Folsom. Come see… Look what I found under a rock. Lawrence Torcello, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology, recently called for criminal prosecution of those who publicly express views … Read More
ARE ALL CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS LEFTIES AND ALL PROSECUTORS RIGHTIES?
Posted by Edmund R. Folsom December 22, 2013 I was perusing my Twitter feed when I came across a Tweet from fellow criminal defense lawyer Bob LeBrasseur. It linked to one of Bob’s Facebook postings, reviewing the results he reached … Read More
TENNESSEE PROSECUTOR CRIES FOUL AT BEING REFERENCED AS “THE GOVERNMENT.”
Posted November 2, 2013, by Edmund R. Folsom. Below is a link to a quirky legal story out of Tennessee. It seems defense attorneys down there have been making it a point during trial to refer to the prosecution … Read More
WAS JAILING ALLEGED VICTIM AS MATERIAL WITNESS NECESSARY? A GOOD IDEA?
Posted September 30, 2013, by Edmund R. Folsom. There’s controversy swirling in Augusta over the recent jailing of a witness in a domestic violence case, by use (some are arguing misuse) of Maine’s material witness statute. The case raises … Read More
I HATE HATE CRIMES STATUTES- ALWAYS HAVE.
Posted August 24, 2013, by Edmund R. Folsom. I hate hate crimes statutes- always have. This week, three juveniles were arrested for their involvement in the murder of Christopher Lane, a white Australian college student who was out for a jog … Read More
FLORIDA V. GEORGE ZIMMERMAN AND RACE POLITICS IN AMERICA
The George Zimmerman trial has ended with not guilty verdicts on second degree murder and the lesser-included charge of manslaughter. What does it mean? What broader message should we draw from this verdict? My take on it: the State of … Read More
POLICE AT WAR? WHO IS THE ENEMY?
Police at war? Who is the enemy? In keeping with my theme of the day– disproportionate law enforcement responses—below is a link to a story from the July, 2013, ABA journal, titled “Rise of the Warrior Cop.” While there has … Read More
MY RECENT ADVENTURE AT THE MAINE LEGISLATURE
Here’s a story about my recent adventure at the Maine Legislature. It was my second attempt to secure a legislative fix for problems that I have encountered practicing criminal defense law in York County. My first ill-fated attempt was several years ago. The sitting … Read More
GENDER POLITICS UPDATE ON MAINE’S CERTIFIED BATTERERS’ INTERVENTION PROGRAM
Update bulletin. The other day, I posted a story on the litigation surrounding Maine’s statutory/regulatory scheme for certified batterers’ intervention programs. The governing regulations allow certification only of programs for men convicted of certain violent crimes against intimate female partners. … Read More