Weblogs

It has come to my attention that on individual post pages the left sidebar gets pushed below the main content area, which sort of moves to the left. This is a problem that occurs only in IE 6.0. I have tested the site using Firefox, Opera and IE 7.0 and this problem does not occur. My apologies to those using IE 6.0. I will try and get it fixed soon. If anyone has any ideas on how to fix it, please let me know!

The nomination period for the Funniest Law Blog contest has ended and the 10 finalists have been announced! Head on over to Legal Antics to view the finalists and cast your vote.

It’s time to vote for the funniest law blog. The top 10 blogs submitted are listed in the poll below. Voting will close at 10 pm on June 25th.And guess what? The winner gets a prize! The Billable Hour, which provides clever gifts and greeting cards for legal professionals, is sponsoring this contest. The prize will be the winner’s choice of any single item sold by The Billable Hour (luxury watch line and sets excluded).

Please, only one vote per person. (It appears that a number of you are voting far more than one time for a certain blog. And, those of you doing so are quite proud of that fact and have advertised your minor league “voter fraud” elsewhere. This will not be a repeat of the 2004 presidential elections. I may very well choose to reduce the votes of a certain blog if those of you voting can’t adhere to the simple rule of one vote per person–not per computer–not per scrambled IP address–not per anonymous identity. One.Vote.Per.Person. ‘Nuff said.)

Also, I have added two news blogs to the blogroll:

• the defense perspective
• i was the state

Both are criminal law related blogs, so be sure to check them out.

Nicole Black, of Sui Generis and Legal Antics, is taking a cue from Jamie Spencer and hosting a survey of the 10 funniest law blogs. The details:

I’ll accept nominations until Wednesday June 19th, and will then create a poll listing the top 10 blogs submitted. I’ll keep that poll open for one week and will then announce the results shortly thereafter.

As Jamie did, I’ll include links to all blogs submitted shortly after announcing the top 10 funniest blawgs. So, don’t be shy about submitting your own blog.

You can either submit a blog by replying to this post or you can email me at the email address listed on my “About” page.

And, feel free to publicize this contest on your own blog. I’m looking forward to receiving the submissions!

So head on over and vote!

It’s been long overdue, but I’ve finally gotten around to adding two fantastic blogs to the blogroll.

The first is “The Real Cost of Prisons”

The Real Cost of Prisons Project is an activity of The Sentencing Project, a Washington, DC based non-profit organization dedicated to reducing over-reliance on incarceration.

The second is “Think Outside the Cage”

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 5,000 individual members and 112 organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform. Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

Check ‘em out.

Jamie Spencer of the Austin Defense blog is conducting a reader survey. So if you read a criminal law blawg (such as this or any of the fine blawgs I list in my sidebar), then head on over and send him your list.

These can be:

    * Criminal Defense Lawyer Blogs
    * Prosecutor Blogs
    * Law School Professor Blogs
    * Law Student Blogs
    * Appellate Court Blogs
    * Legislative Update Blogs
    * Niche Blogs on a Particular Subject of Interest
    * Any Other Blog You Think Is Relevant

Since I have a theme-happy trigger finger, I’m testing out a new theme and any input would be appreciated. You can view it here [it will open in a new window, so you can compare both side by side]. Vote in the poll below to let me know which one you prefer or leave a comment if you’d like to see any changes in either design.

[poll=6]

Thanks to Technorati, I see there is a new blawg entitled “Defending the Public“. In his own words, he is “a third-year law student heading for a career in public defense”. The first post is an interesting examination of how pd agencies should improve their hiring decisions.

Just like the military, large legal firms may have high turnover rates and unhappy associates, but one thing they do well is recruitment. They know the types of students they want to recruit and they make an effort to go out and get them. Sadly, this is something that public defense agencies are failing at miserably..

Given the well-deserved reputation for low salary and wholly undeserved reputation for being the last bastion of inept attorneys, public defender offices are already at a disadvantage when it comes to recruitment of law students. Nevertheless, there are still three student demographics that public defense offices appeal to: “true believers,” students looking for quick trial experience, and students who just want to be involved in criminal law in some capacity.

Go and say hello!

Via Skelly and PD Stuff comes a new public defender blawger, aptly named Brand New Orleans PD. He/she writes:

It’s one thing to tell yourself that you’ll accept a job offer from the New Orleans Public Defender on the spot. It’s another to actually do it.

I had turned down all other job offers waiting to hear from three offices – the Philadelphia PD, New York Legal Aid Criminal Defense, and the Orleans Public Defender. My friends were rooting for Philadelphia or New York. But I wanted to be at the front lines of a brand new office at the cutting edge of criminal justice. I wanted to work with lawyers who weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. I wanted to go to New Orleans.

Go say hello and welcome another PD blawger!