In Federalist 51, James Madison wrote, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” He might’ve said instead: “If some men were not fools, no laws would be necessary.” I wrote a piece about one historically enduring type of poor human judgment, and the laws meant to address it. I’m grateful to the Duke […]
What Goes Up … : A Brief Legal History of Celebratory Gunfire Read More »
As the old adage goes, sometimes a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I assume that’s what happened here. I’ve previously written about why I admire undercover agents. They are some of the bravest public servants we have. https://lnkd.in/gJiZUncx I’ve also written a lot about the public safety threat posed by
A bird in the hand…. Read More »
One of the most important lessons I learned in law school happened in “Contracts.” But it didn’t just apply to contracts. It was still early in my legal education, and one of my fellow students raised his hand. In frustration, he asked the question that was on all our minds: “When are you going to
The Law is Shades of Gray Read More »
“My pleasure!” I love Chick-fil-A Restaurants. Everyone does. Even would-be murderers. And in this case, we have the evidence. I’ll warn you at the outset: this story is missing some parts. Reading the appellate court’s opinion left me feeling like I showed up to a movie about 15 minutes late. And a bad movie, at
If you’re an aspiring political arsonist, no need to be fussy about the materials you use. Just go with what you have on hand. For instance, this guy used leftover containers of olives, peanut butter (the ‘natural’ kind), eggs, and Bombay Sapphire gin. Add a little gasoline and voilà: Molotov cocktails. He then (allegedly) used
Aspiring Political Arsonists… Read More »
I love the artful, clever idioms used to express some legal concepts. “Fruit of the poisonous tree,” for instance. But I never cared for”bundle of sticks.” It doesn’t even make any sense. Who has a bundle of sticks? A pile, maybe, but not a bundle. There is surely something cleverer and catchier to explain that
Firearms and the Bundle of Sticks Read More »
For years now, I’ve been an active contributor of posts to LinkedIn that I hope were both engaging and informative. Now that I have this website, I may (or may not) shift much of my writing activity here. We’ll see. I’m not walking away from LinkedIn. I’ll still link what I write here, there. In
My LinkedIn Activity Read More »
I like Walmart (and once testified to that in federal court). So must this judge, because he gave this arsonist a heck of a sentence. Good. Walmart is a global retailer. It has more than 10,000 stores. It also does significant online business. If ever there was a company that affects interstate commerce, it’s Walmart.
I fly a lot. One of the things I miss most about being a federal agent is flying armed. While it had its inconveniences, and came with serious responsibilities, carrying a gun under Uncle Sam’s authority was pretty cool. You don’t have to be a Fed, however, to fly with a gun. No, you can’t
“O.N.E.” sounds like the name of a ‘boy band’ to me but turns out it’s a violent criminal enterprise. If it had been a boy band, perhaps Josh Gilbert would’ve been ‘the cute one’ or ‘the shy one.’ Maybe ‘the rebel.’ In real life though, he’s the murdering one. Gilbert was convicted by a jury
O.N.E. is not a Boy Band Read More »
