Is It A Crime To Conspire To Close The George Washington Bridge?
Posted: January 10, 2014 Filed under: General Law | Tags: chris christie, hobbs act Leave a commentTalking Points Memo has an interesting piece today on whether the George Washington Bridge scandal enveloping New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has criminal implications. TPM writes:
Interfering with peoples’ ability to drive between states by closing lanes on the George Washington Bridge between New York and New Jersey might be a crime on its own. Read the rest of this entry »
The NSA Rulings: Which Judge Is Right?
Posted: December 30, 2013 Filed under: General Law | Tags: fourth amendment, national security agency, nsa Leave a commentIn the span of ten days, two federal district court judges have issued diametrically opposed rulings on the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s metadata collection program. One judge said the program is almost certainly unconstitutional, while the other judge said it is perfectly constitutional. Read the rest of this entry »
An FOI Lawyer’s Wish For The New Year
Posted: December 27, 2013 Filed under: General Law Leave a commentAs the year 2013 comes to a close, I have started to think–like most of us do–about my hopes for the New Year. At the top of the wish list, as always, is peace on earth. Further down the list is the wish that is the subject of this post: I wish (and hope and pray) that the trend towards opacity in our state government stops and reverses itself. We need to return Connecticut to the days when it was a true leader in the fight for freedom of information and government transparency. Read the rest of this entry »
The Power To Terminate Includes The Power To Evaluate, Ctd.
Posted: December 18, 2013 Filed under: General Law | Tags: governmental accountability Leave a commentThe Attorney General has issued a written opinion that the Governmental Accountability Commission or “GAC” has the legal authority to evaluate the job performance of the Executive Administrator of the Office of Governmental Accountability (“OGA”), the consolidated agency that serves as the umbrella organization for the state’s “watchdog” agencies, i.e., the Freedom of Information Commission, Office of State Ethics and the State Elections Enforcement Commission. Read the rest of this entry »
Editorial: Prosecutors Shouldn’t Be Hiding Crime Records
Posted: December 17, 2013 Filed under: General Law | Tags: 911 calls, Sandy Hook, sedensky Leave a commentThe following editorial appeared in the Connecticut Law Tribune. It is republished here with the permission of the Trib.
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Prosecutors Shouldn’t Be Hiding Crime’s Records
December 17, 2013
Danbury prosecutor Stephen Sedensky and Michelle Cruz, a former prosecutor and State Victim Advocate, have recently been talking up the need to protect Newtown survivors from sights or sounds that bring back the events of that horrifying day. Read the rest of this entry »
A Superb Choice: Malloy Nominates Richard Robinson To The Supreme Court
Posted: December 10, 2013 Filed under: Appellate Law Leave a commentGovernor Malloy announced this afternoon that he is nominating Appellate Court Judge Richard A. Robinson to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the recent retirement of Justice Fleming Norcott, Jr..
I have argued before Judge Robinson many times since his elevation to the Appellate Court in 2007. He is an outstanding jurist: always thoroughly prepared for oral argument, asks insightful questions, writes thoughtful opinions. And he has a gentle demeanor which puts appellate advocates at ease, even when he is asking probing questions. He will be a great addition to the Supreme Court.
Judge, soon to be Justice, Robinson will be the fourth African American to sit on the Supreme Court, following in the shoes of Justices Robert Glass, Lubbie Harper Jr. and Justice Norcott.
Lawyers, Judges And Their Fear Of Science
Posted: December 10, 2013 Filed under: Appellate Law | Tags: posner Leave a commentReaders know that I love opinions authored by 7th Circuit jurist Richard Posner, not because I agree with what he says, but because I love the way he writes. Never boring. Read the rest of this entry »
Legal Health Break
Posted: December 10, 2013 Filed under: Legal Health Break 1 CommentCaptain Picard on the art of cross-examination!
When Are Per Curiam Opinions Appropriate?
Posted: December 8, 2013 Filed under: Appellate Law Leave a commentOccasionally appellate courts issue what are known as “per curiam” opinions: opinions delivered in the name of the court, rather than in the name of an individual judge. Indeed, the Connecticut Supreme Court just issued such an opinion the other day. Read the rest of this entry »
Appealingly Brief! 