People v. State

Douglas Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy asks “Should law enforcement service be an aggravator or mitigator at sentencing?”. He asks the question in connection with the upcoming sentencing of ex-Sheriff Mike Carona for urging his ex-assistant sheriff to lie during a grand jury investigation of charges that Carona took gifts in exchange for favors while in office.

Law enforcement service per se sure as shootin’ should not be a mitigator. Carona’s defense attorneys are asking the judge “to look beyond Carona’s conviction and see the public servant with 32 years behind the badge – years spent advancing the cause of children and homeland security.” Big freaking deal. Carona got paid well by the taxpayers for Read the rest of this entry →

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Thanks to a client with whom I bartered legal services for web design, this blog hereby debuts. He is also doing a fine job with my law office website, which is a work in progress.

As a practicing lawyer trying to help clients in their dealings with the State, I hope this blog can engage with and contribute to what has come to be known as the practical blawgosphere.

At the same time, I identify as a philosophical anarchist, a single taxer and a Quaker, and trust that these uncommon perspectives will inform my affirmations here.

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