When three of defendant’s four appointed attorneys withdrew following threats by defendant, trial court did not err by declining to appoint a fifth attorney. Would it have been better had the court had advise defendant of the risks of self-representation? Maybe. But the Court of Appeals found the trial judge’s warning that defendant’s misconduct toward… Read More
The entire field of cuteness psychology was founded by a Nazi… Read More
A group of advocates in Rhode Island are suing the state prison over a century-old law that declares inmates serving life sentences legally dead.
An interesting legal issue came up in Municipal Court. When city prosecutors accuse someone of committing a crime, they have to give them a document called a “criminal complaint.” It’s supposed to tell them what law they broke and how they broke it. Due to the high volume of cases churning through the system, however,… Read More
Recently, in State v. S.E.R., the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned (yet another) civil commitment order. The issue before the court was whether the evidence presented at the commitment hearing had been sufficient to prove that she was “[d]angerous to self or others” within the meaning of ORS 426.005(1)(f)(A). A person is “dangerous to self”… Read More