A year ago I left private practice to become the Executive Director of the Federal Defender Services of Idaho (FDSI). I became the head of the office, hoping to manage, supervise employees and practice federal criminal defense.

I had been handling federal criminal cases as private counsel and as a member of the Criminal Justice Act Panel (CJA) since leaving
Continue Reading Back in the Saddle – an overview after a year as the Federal Defender

   Last week I tried an aggravated assault with deadly weapon (AR15) case that resulted in those two beautiful words: NOT GUILTY. The case involved a former military service member accused of using his firearm to threaten ten neighborhood folks who had gone to his home on the 4th of July to “get an explanation” for his having run over their
Continue Reading Three things I learned or confirmed from last week’s self-defense ACQUITTAL

The lawsuit brought by the victims and survivors of the explosion and fire at Tamarack Resort in 2017 has been settled. The settlement amount is confidential. With Dan Fleck and Gabe Phillips from the Spence Law Firm in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, we represented James Harper, whose son and grandson tragically died as a result of a gas leak, that led
Continue Reading Tamarack Explosion and Fire Case Settled

A while back (what’s a couple months between friends) I wrote a post about inherent bias and prejudice, the premise of which was that it is difficult for the defendant to win any criminal case because jurors – the decision makers – start with a bias in favor of the prosecution. They prejudge the defendant because he is charged with
Continue Reading The Decision Maker – convincing 12 people of anything is nearly impossible!

Slate Magazine has done a great job recounting what happened at Ruby Ridge in its Podcast Standoff. Listening now and remembering how life can turn in an instant. Want the inside story? Ron Howen, Gerry Spence and others tell the story from their viewpoint. Episode 4 tells how the FBI held back the most important evidence in the case,
Continue Reading On Slate Now – Standoff – Ruby Ridge Revisited

I just finished reading a news story in the NY Times titled “Frail, Old and Dying, but Their Only Way Out of Prison Is In A Coffin.” It follows reporting by The Marshall Project on the same topic. The bottom line, accurately told by both is this: there are far too many old prisoners who are dying in
Continue Reading Federal Prisons Are A Terrible Place to Live and An Even Worse Place To Wait For Death!

I recently attended the depositions of a couple clients who faced questioning about their lives by insurance lawyers. These depositions were really not intended to get to the “truth” of anything. The lawyers wanted to see our clients and hear their story as a means of valuing their cases. An insurance adjuster sat in on the questioning, likely trying to
Continue Reading Depositions – really a tool to evaluate the parties and value the claims

I saw it again the other morning in court – a young kid whose lawyer was paying little more than lip service in protecting his right to a fair and speedy trial. The truth is most people accused of a crime are treated like criminals, regardless of the fact the law is supposed to presume innocence. A judge in a
Continue Reading Most people accused of a crime are treated like criminals, that’s why we fight to protect your rights and keep you out of jail.

The two best words for any criminal defense lawyer and any defendant – NOT GUILTY. Heard them again to day in the case of State vs. April Rice. Ms. Rice was charged with grand theft after she received a check from the County that belonged to the estate of another person. Eight months after it was deposited into an estate
Continue Reading State Security Manager NOT GUILTY of Theft of $31,000 from Ada County Treasurer’s Office

Oh man, has it really been that long since I last posted on this blog? I feel like I need to go to confession – “Forgive me father for I have sinned, it has been eight months since my last blog post….” But enough about that, instead, let’s start with some success – in the Air Force. Last summer I
Continue Reading Recent action – “CPT Pete” goes back to the courts-martial circuit – Wins!