Why is there a presumption of innocence?
A law review article by Alexander Volokh, n Guilty Men raises the issue of why protecting the innocent matters even at the expense of freeing the guilty. From the earliest days of law school, students were told that the law favors a guilty man to be set free over the conviction of an innocent man. We heard law […]
Read MoreWhy is the reasonable doubt standard so important in a DUI case
Why Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? Scholars debate where the concept of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt originated from 18th-century lawyers in England, 16th Century theologians in Spain, 17th-century scholars of science in England, or from the Boston Massacre in 1770. Despite this historical controversy, United States Supreme Court Justice John Marshal Harlan II, considered a conservative […]
Read MoreImmigration or ICE holds have no legal force
The National Association of Public Defense recently did an expose article on the fallacy of Immigration holds or ICE holds where non-citizens can not be bonded out or released from local jails because immigration authorities have placed a hold on them. Ahold is the result of a warrant signed by a judge or a court […]
Read MoreGeorgia Strange Brew – Brewery Tours and Strange Alcohol Brewing Laws
Georgia is well known for its archaic and stringent alcohol laws which include DUI, brewpub regulations, and brewery restrictions, and seem neither wise, just, or moderate despite our official state slogan to the contrary. On May 15th, 2014, Atlanta Leisure Magazine recently did a story on the North Georgia Beer Brewing scene titled, “How to […]
Read MoreDoes completion of a Pre-Trial Intervention program legally prevent a retrial on the same facts
Double Jeopardy, and no I don’t mean the daily double on the game show “Jeopardy!”, is a fundamental right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: “[N]or shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb . . […]
Read MorePhillip Howard on Criminal Justice reform – wait – what
Phillip K. Howard noted commentator on Civil Justice reform gave a TED Talk on the topic: Is the Law making us less free? While his reforms are aimed at civil justice reform, they may be more appropriate for criminal justice reform. He suggests giving Judges who feel trapped by the law the ability to use their […]
Read MoreFully Informed Jury Association – As a Juror do you know your rights and your power
Do you know what rights and powers you have as a juror? The Fully Informed Jury Association has a webpage and handbooks explaining the overriding power of jurors over courts, prosecutors, and the government. As Thomas Jefferson once said in a letter to Thomas Paine, ” The trial by jury is the only device yet imagined by […]
Read MoreParker v State – guilt by machine wins again
Parker v. State, A13A2100, March 13, 2014. Jason Brent Parker was charged with DUI per se for having an illegal breath alcohol level. He applied for a certificate of materiality under the Uniform Act to Secure the Attendance of Witnesses from Without the State to obtain the source code for the Intoxiliyzer 5000 or Georgia’s […]
Read MoreDid you know that all memories are fabricated?
Technology Entertainment Design Talks are otherwise known as T.E.D. Talks discuss the nature of memories in Memory Games. It turns out that memories are not real and all memories are actually fabricated. Memories are a dynamic conglomeration of experience, suggestion, discussion, and reflection fused together over multiple episodes of recollection. This is why memory is so […]
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