a public defender

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It’s the last Jumpstart of 2007 (and for those in New Zealand, the first of 2008), so enjoy these stories on this lazy day:

• Grits points to a TX decision protecting the anonymity of bloggers. Woohoo!
• Don’t forget that voting for The Rodneys is open until Wednesday at 5pm! Go vote if you haven’t already.
• Judging Crimes has an interesting take on the latest reports that crime has dropped.
• The big news this weekend was the lawsuit filed by the RIAA for ripping legal CDs to your computer. Then again, maybe that’s not what they’re doing.
• Speaking of getting sued by the RIAA, Concurring Opinions asks whether you’re liable for all those old Napster downloads.
• Gov. Rell and AG Blumenthal want to create the internet equivalent of the “do not call” list to protect individuals’ private information from being available on the web. No, they’re not talking about scaling back sex offender registries.
• CDW comments on a new report on gender bias and the death penalty.
• Blonde Justice answers a reader comment on whether confidentiality survives discussions with other public defenders as part of the “firm”.
• The Confrontation Blog discusses the forfeiture doctrine and testimonial statements.
• Finally, Texan of the Year? No, not the Texas Tornado Mark Bennett. Rather, the illegal immigrant.
• Update: I’ll give you one more. May It Please The Court announced its third annual “Legal Louie” awards: a tongue-in-cheek look at the legal news of the year. Worth a read!
• Update 2: Missed a couple. Scott Greenfield is having a “spirited” discussion about what criminal defense lawyers should drink on New Year’s Eve and Bennett is “all over” Dallas Harris County (it’s all the same to me) DA Chuck Rosenthal’s secretaryial affair.

Have a great new year’s eve and a wonderful New Year. Don’t drink and drive and be safe!

Image of Wellington’s fireworks celebration license info here.