Over the past 20 years, there’s been a revolution in the science of arson investigations. Many of the clues that had been used for decades to determine that a fire was not accidental, especially the analysis of burn patterns on walls and floors, have been proven to be false. Texas is one state that is re-examining arson convictions that may have been based on junk science.
Most of us have an idea of what the crime of rape is. But the legal meaning of the word rape varies widely, depending on which state you’re in. And in 25 states, what we may think of as rape…isn’t called that at all.
When things go bad, all you need to do is pick up the phone and CALL. Or so
the late-night ads on basic cable tell us. Since the US Supreme Court allowed
lawyers to advertise in the 1970s, the practice has skyrocketed, with often
shoddily-produced results. Are tacky lawyer ads bringing down the profession
or simply making it more accessible to those who might not otherwise know
an attorney?
What does it take to become a judge? No one starts their legal career as a jurist. First they work as a lawyer advocating for one side of a case over another. But transitioning from lawyer to judge means hearing both sides of a case objectively and then making decisions that carry the weight of the court. In a break from our usual feature format, this week Life of the Law’s Executive Producer, Nancy Mullane talks with James R. Lambden, an Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal about living a life immersed in the law.
Justin Helzer died Sunday night, April 14th. He committed suicide inside his cell on San Quentin’s Death Row (the cell in this photo). If you look closely you can see him sitting on his bunk,…
What do we really know about death row in California? When we don’t know we create, we imagine.
You’ve just been arrested, charged with a felony and can’t afford to pay your bail, let alone hire a lawyer. You know you have the right to a trial by jury or judge, but what happens when the legal system is too busy to see you? Public defenders in Cook County, Illinois, struggle to fill the gap at one of the busiest court complexes in the nation.
On every city block, there are rules. Some are unspoken, some require friendly reminders, some are enforced by the law. Is it ever OK to break the rules in order to prevent others from breaking the rules themselves?
Vietnamese fishing communities are still finding themselves grounded by the BP oil spill, one of the largest environmental disasters of the century. These fishermen and women are without adequate interpretation services and legal representation and are having a hard time keeping afloat.
