April 2011

April 2011 Cover

Turn to The Champion for the exchange of ideas and practice tips from the best defenders in the nation.

 

Articles in this Issue

  1. A Primer on Crossing An Informant

    A Primer on Crossing An Informant Vida B. Johnson April 2011 40   I. The Snitch Witness Cooperating witnesses — commonly known as “snitches” or “informants” — are witnesses who make deals with the government. The testimony of these witnesses is notoriously unreliable. In fact it has been s

    Vida B. Johnson

  2. Affiliate News

    Affiliate News Gerald Lippert April 2011 13 TCDLA Moves Voice For the Defense Online The Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA) recently made its monthly publication, Voice for the Defense, available online at www.voiceforthedefenseonline.com. The archive contains .pdf s

    Gerald Lippert

  3. BOOK AND DVD REVIEWS

    BOOK AND DVD REVIEWS Various Authors April 2011 61 10 Rules for Dealing With Police A film by Rubin Whitmore II Flex Your Rights (2010) Reviewed by Kenneth W. Chandler II The DVD entitled 10 Rules for Dealing With Police provides an educational and insightful overview of o

    Various Authors

  4. Capital Cases: The Beginning of the End For Capital Punishment

    CAPITAL CASES: The Beginning of the End For Capital Punishment Diann Rust-Tierney April 2011 55 The shift of the debate around capital punishment is palpable. I have the sensation of watching a wrecking ball hitting a building at precisely the right angle and spot. At first, one wonders what

    Diann Rust-Tierney

  5. Cross-Examining the Difficult Witness: Tips for Women Defenders Navigating Gender Dynamics

    In the Courtroom

    Cross-examination is often the most well-honed, trusted, and useful tool for criminal defense lawyers. This fact has unique significance for women practitioners. Although women have made considerable strides in the legal profession and almost half of the graduates of law school are now women, there are nonetheless gender dynamics at play. Therefore, it is important for women to understand those dynamics and use them to their advantage.

    Jennifer Brown

  6. From the President: DOJ Needs Oversight to Shape Up Discovery Practices

    DOJ Needs Oversight to Shape Up Discovery Practices Jim E. Lavine; Ellen S. Podgor April 2011 5   “From the President” is my regular column on a topical issue. This month I asked Professor Ellen S. Podgor, who has written extensively on prosecutorial misconduct issues at Stetson University Col

    Jim E. Lavine; Ellen S. Podgor

  7. Inside NACDL: Addicted to a Flawed Solution: Drug Courts Revisited

    Addicted to a Flawed Solution: Drug Courts Revisited Norman Reimer April 2011 7   It has been two years since NACDL released a seminal study that focused on the burgeoning drug court phenomenon. The report, America’s Problem-Solving Courts: The Criminal Costs of Treatment and the Case for R

    Norman Reimer

  8. Legislatures Consider Deferment and Sentencing Reform

    Legislatures Consider Deferment and Sentencing Reform Angelyn C. Frazer; Adam Diamond April 2011 49 Rhode Island Deferment Of Sentence Bill For the majority of individuals convicted and sentenced to prison, their sentences are further exaggerated by the various collateral consequences faced

    Angelyn C. Frazer; Adam Diamond

  9. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

    LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Various Authors April 2011 19 Readers responded to the January/February 2011 article by Demosthenes Lorandos [“Saving Tonya Craft: An Integration of Science and Law”]. As a member of the defense bar in Georgia, I want to commend Demosthenes and the team

    Various Authors

  10. NACDL News

    NACDL News Jack King; Ivan J. Dominguez April 2011 10 NACDL and Coalition Release ‘Criminal Law Checklist for Federal Legislators’ By Ivan J. Dominguez As part of an ongoing, multi-front effort to rein in the burgeoning problem of overcriminalization, NACDL, joined by the

    Jack King and Ivan J. Dominguez

  11. Raising Race

    Raising Race Robin Walker Sterling April 2011 24 “It is not permissible that the authors of devastation should be innocent. It is the innocence which constitutes the crime.” -James Baldwin MY DUNGEON SHOOK: LETTER TO MY NEPHEW ON THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF EMANCIPATION­ I. Introdu

    Robin Walker Sterling

  12. Tips for Appealing Findings of Delinquency And Convictions of Youth In State Criminal Court

    Tips for Appealing Findings of Delinquency And Convictions of Youth In State Criminal Court Shobha L. Mahadev April 2011 32 The thought of missing a critical issue on appeal may make a criminal defense attorney break out in hives. In some ways, juvenile cases can present even more dangers in

    Shobha L. Mahadev

  13. Women in Criminal Defense

    Women in Criminal Defense Lisa Wayne April 2011 18 “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” - Maya Angelou The female cr

    Lisa Wayne