>SJC search and seizure case argued today: mms://192.138.214.175/archives/SJC_10560.wmv

> I know that in my last post I specifically called for a former public defender for the Supreme Court. But since there is no chance in that happening, I decided to put out five specific names, none of whom (to my knowledge) are former public defenders. I believe that everyone below is qualified, though […]

> I’m calling on President Obama to appoint a former public defender to the United States Supreme Court. With rumors of Justice Stevens’s retirement abound, now is as good a time as ever to make my case. First, I want to address the naïveté of this proposal. I understand that sadly, we are in a […]

> The smell of rotting carcasses creates an exigency that permits a warrantless entry into a home. Commonwealth v. Erickson, 74 Mass.App.Ct. 172 (2009) When police responded to neighbor’s complaints of a barking dog, they came upon the defendant’s home and found a disgusting odor. After entering, “officers opened the refrigerator and the kitchen cabinets […]

> Police officers who have been improperly snooping through the arrest records of high profile private citizens should be fired. If they are not, Attorney General Coakley should conduct an open and transparent investigation, and consider prosecutions for violations of various privacy statutes. A recent audit determined that Massachusetts police officers were abusing the criminal […]

>Today the United States Supreme court will hear the school strip search case, Redding v. Safford Unified School Dist. No. 1, 531 F.3d 1071 (9th Cir. 2008). If the Supreme Court sides with the school district, it will open the door to consequence-free human rights violations by teachers and administrators nationwide. This is not rocket […]

> A new case from the Supreme Judicial court was a major victory for defendants arrested as part of street level drug transactions. It basically says that just because a police officer witnesses what appears to be a drug transaction, and is justified in stopping the defendant, this does not necessarily mean that the cop […]

>   While Ted Stevens may be a scum bag, AG Holder did the right thing when he dropped charges against him due to prosecutorial misconduct. Ted “the internet is a series of tubes” Stevens was a US Senator between 1968 and 2009. He was charged with corruption last year, which many believe is the […]

> The legislature should revise the suspended sentence statute (G. L. c. 279, § 3) to give judges greater discretion in resolving probationary matters. When a defendant violates probation, and the alleged violation took place when the client was free on a suspended sentence, judges lack the discretion to impose common-sense resolutions. The case of […]

>While many say, “Free Mumia,” I argue, “Spare Mumia’s Life.” Mumia Abu Jamal is a former Black Panther who was convicted of the 1983 slaying of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. “Free Mumia” has been the rallying cry for left wing and anti-death penalty activists who think that his trial was unfair. The U.S. Supreme […]