Crime & Consequences

Author: Kent Scheidegger

Getting Off Scot Free for a Technical Error?

by · Mar 16, 2023 10:49 am

Paul Larkin and Cully Stimson have this article in the Federalist Society Review previewing the case of United States v. Smith, No. 21-1576, set for argument in the Supreme Court Tuesday, March 28.

Smith was tried in the wrong district, so the Eleventh Circuit reversed his conviction and granted him a new trial in the correct district. He claims that’s not enough; he should get off completely. Larkin and Stimson explain why that is not the law. Continue reading . . .

Bribery at Cal. Bar

by · Mar 10, 2023 12:07 pm

How did the now-disgraced Thomas Girardi avoid the scrutiny of the California State Bar’s discipline folks for so long despite “over 200 misconduct complaints against Girardi dating back to at least 1984.” He handled those folks the old-fashioned way. He bribed them.

From a letter from the Bar Chair to all California attorneys:

The May report found that Girardi intentionally cultivated relationships at the State Bar and it spotlights nine individuals at all levels who accepted his largesse and failed to report it, creating conflicts of interest. The report details several instances in which the involvement in Girardi cases of conflicted individuals tainted the discretionary decisions they made on behalf of the State Bar, and as a result, the Girardi cases they worked on were improperly closed.

Continue reading . . .

‘Defund the Police’ Is Over. Now What?

by · Mar 8, 2023 2:58 pm

William Galston, the WSJ’s resident contrarian columnist*, has this column with the above title. Galston notes the political developments in Chicago, New York, and Washington and has this advice for his fellow liberals:

These events prove that dealing with the crime surge is back on the national agenda. Democrats must find a way to demonstrate their commitment to public safety while pursuing reasonable reforms of the criminal-justice system.

I have no quarrel with that statement, but the trick is defining “reasonable.” Continue reading . . .

More on the D.C. Crime Bill

by · Mar 6, 2023 3:23 pm

The Federalist Society Criminal Law Practice Group has this teleforum Wednesday at 11:30 am ET / 8:30 am PT on The D.C. Crime Bill: What Happens Next? (See Michael Rushford’s post, earlier today.) The event features “an opening address from U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty [Tenn.], followed by a discussion of the bill and what may come next” led by Zack Smith of the Heritage Foundation. Continue reading . . .

SCOTUS Monday and Standing

by · Mar 6, 2023 10:13 am

This morning was an order list release day at the U.S. Supreme Court. No decisions were issued and no new criminal cases were taken. The court took up a case on admiralty law and choice-of-forum clauses in contracts.

The court turned down a case on standing in an Establishment Clause case. We are interested in standing here at CJLF because we sometimes represent victims of crime seeking to have the perpetrators punished according to the judgment, and such efforts are frequently challenged by saying the victims have no standing. Continue reading . . .

Chicago Dumps Soft-on-Crime Mayor

by · Feb 28, 2023 7:34 pm

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has conceded defeat, the Chicago Tribune reported at 9:00 CST Tuesday. At about that time, the New York Times listed the results as 36.4% for Paul Vallas and 20.2% for Brandon Johnson, with Mayor Lightfoot third.

Plurality winner Mr. Vallas has run on a tough-on-crime platform, the WSJ reports. He has the backing of the Chicago police union. But the windy city isn’t out of the woods yet. Continue reading . . .

Sentencing Statutes and Logic for Lawyers

by · Feb 27, 2023 10:39 am

Statutes are generally drafted by lawyers on legislators’ staffs. Unfortunately, too many lawyers did not take basic logic as undergraduates, and it is not generally taught in law school. The U.S. Supreme Court has now taken up a case to unravel the logic of a bit of statutory drafting that could have been written more clearly. Continue reading . . .

Supreme Court Reinstates Review of Arizona Murderer’s Case

by · Feb 22, 2023 7:49 am

The U.S. Supreme Court today vacated an Arizona Supreme Court decision denying a murderer’s challenge to his death sentence. At the time the high court took up the case, CJLF considered filing an amicus brief in support of the state but decided we really couldn’t support the Arizona court’s decision. I am not at all surprised at the outcome but a bit surprised the state got four votes. Continue reading . . .

Is Chicago Next to Wake Up?

by · Feb 13, 2023 10:37 am

In the last few elections, there have been some encouraging signs that voters in major cities are beginning to turn the corner and wake up from the delusions of wokeness. San Francisco booted its criminal-coddling district attorney. New York Democrats nominated the relatively tougher-on-crime candidate for mayor, with the general election being a foregone conclusion. The results have not all been positive, though. Philadelphia voters unwisely reelected their criminal-coddling  DA, and a majority of Californians are so allergic to voting for a Republican that Gov. Newsom’s appointed attorney general sailed into a full term.

On a list of big-city mayors rank-ordered by effectiveness in fighting crime, Chicago’s Lori Lightfoot would be near the bottom. Is Chicagoland ready to give her the boot? Collin Levy explores that possibility in this column in Saturday’s WSJ. Continue reading . . .