Archive for June 18, 2007

Private bar caseloads

Jun 18th

Posted by Gideon in we are real lawyers too

No, not that kind of private bar. I mean non-state employed lawyers. What’s your caseload today? Criminal, civil, both, other, doesn’t matter. Post anonymously if you wish, but do leave a comment with the number. I’d like to get as many responses as possible, so please post on your own blog and direct readers here. I want to get a rough estimate of how many cases you carry at a time.

Thanks!

Edit: Ah, what the heck. PDs too.

Many sex offenders end up at shelters

Jun 18th

Posted by Gideon in sex offenders

4 comments

So goes the headline of this Boston Globe story.

Nearly three years after the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state could post the names, addresses, and photos of the most dangerous sex offenders on a public website, sex offenders released from prison now often end up in homeless shelters, where it is difficult to track them, and a range of potential victims sleep nearby.

In a recent review of 77 Level 3 sex offenders — the category the state uses to define those with a high risk of committing sex crimes again — who list addresses in Boston on the state’s online registry, the Globe found that 65 percent reported they were living at homeless shelters.

This problem is caused by several factors: legislation, perception and lack of supervision. It also brings problems of its own.

“This is a critical issue of grave concern,” said Jim Greene , director of the city’s Emergency Shelter Commission. “Large, crowded homeless shelters are a militantly anti therapeutic milieu for people with mental health or other behavior problems. They’re just not a place for a Level 3 sex offender to reintegrate into society.”He and other advocates for the homeless fault the state for more talk than action to keep sex offenders off the streets.

Greene pointed to an unrealized five-year-old plan the state Department of Correction provides to shelters and other agencies that house recently released prisoners. Former convicts deemed at risk of committing more crimes, it says, should have “risk reduction plans” that include applications for specialized housing, special workshops to help them get jobs and medical services; and supervision after their release.

But sex offenders released from prison often find themselves boxed out from housing. Charles McDonald , a spokesman for the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board, acknowledged the reentry centers are not able to help most sex offenders find housing. “Having a home to live in is extremely important for a sex offender to reintegrate,” McDonald said. “This is a problem that should be addressed on the grand scale.”

Absolutely. This is the problem with these harsh sex offender laws. We want to punish them, but do not want to deal with the very real consequences of the laws. Where, indeed, should they live? I don’t see any solutions being proposed and till then, this problem will continue to grow.

Technorati Tags: sex offenders, residency restrictions

Sample juror questionnaire library

Jun 18th

Posted by Gideon in psa

1 comment

Here’s a great resource for the trial lawyer. Anne Reed, of Deliberations, announced a “Juror Questionnaire Library” section of her website.

Maybe you’re working ahead, because you know that thinking early about the jury makes you think about the case in new ways. Or maybe your trial is Monday morning; your jury instructions and motions in limine and exhibits are in, and you’re turning to voir dire because you finally can. You may already have an outline and are looking for a checklist to see what you missed, or you may be starting from scratch.

…

For you, voir dire question searcher, Deliberations announces its new Sample Juror Questionnaires library. (There’s a link on the sidebar.) On this page is a growing collection of jury questionnaires, either given or proposed, from actual cases. Use them to brainstorm or cross-check your own voir dire questions; as source material in asking your judge to allow a jury questionnaire; or just as a way to think about how an individual juror’s background and experiences might shape the way she hears your case.

Please feel free to submit questionnaires for this page, whether approved by the court or merely proposed, and ask your friends to do the same. If you send one, I’ll credit you as author or contributor, and link to your website if you’d like.

Great stuff. The more resources, the better.