Information and Insight on Criminal Law and Civil Rights
I love to read other criminal defense lawyer’s perspective on what we do. So as I am waiting out big winds here in Maui, I just read a great post involving legendary criminal defense lawyer Roy Black and his defense of auto racing superstar Helio Castroneves – who fought the man and won! Check out the post here.
Here’s…
Continue Reading Never Give Up – Defense Lawyers Are Counterpunchers
On the way to a little county jail near the Oregon and Idaho state line one morning last fall I was listening to Collin Cowherd on ESPN radio. He made the point that he loves teams that "know who they are." Example – Boise State Broncos – he says that Chris Peterson and the boys know they are a team…
Continue Reading Outside the Law – Do YOU Know Who You Are and Where You Are Going?
In an article on the Idaho Statesman website today, we learned that the State has cut a deal with a truck driver who killed two people when his big rig bashed into a stopped passenger car. The deal – driver gets a couple MISDEMEANOR counts of vehicular manslaughter. Read the article here.
The driver, Gregory Roberts, killed Boise residents…
Continue Reading Remember How I Said Truck Drivers Kill – This One Gets A Misdemeanor
There is news today involving two Boise cases in which teens convicted of murdering their parents have received life sentences. In the Ada County Courthouse yesterday, Judge Michael McLaughlin sentenced Derek Lewis to life in prison with twenty years "fixed." Under Idaho’s sentencing scheme, that "fixed" component means that Lewis will not become eligible for parole until he has served…
Continue Reading A Tale of Two Teens And Life In Prison – Murder of Parent
The feds are at it again – investigating real estate and mortgage fraud across the fruited plain and the end result is almost always the same – PRISON. Check out this report concerning their efforts and the results – an incarceration rate of over 82% and an average sentence of 38 months. And in Idaho there are numerous ongoing investigations…
Continue Reading Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud – Feds On The Trail
Springtime brings those new flowers and an increased number of calls last week inquiring about whether the caller should hire a lawyer or use the public defender. Now I have to admit that I often ask myself what extra benefit the "private" lawyer brings to a particular case. I was a public defender when I started this some twenty-eight years ago…