Columns
Ethics Matters
Trying To Fit Square Pegs Into Round Holes
Monday, June 4, 2012 | by Mark Dubois | The Connecticut Law Tribune
Occasionally I have been questioned/challenged/called out as to whether the Rules of Professional Conduct ought to apply to government lawyers. Good question. My best answer is "maybe," but I am not sure.
Legal Ease
Dialing Up The Feds A Trip Into Telephone Hell
Monday, June 4, 2012 | by Amy Goodusky | The Connecticut Law Tribune
In the age of the Internet, one should never, at least theoretically, have to rely upon that ancient technological device, the land line, again.
One Hand Clapping
In Dystopian Society, There Are No Sunny Days
Monday, June 4, 2012 | by Norm Pattis | The Connecticut Law Tribune
I have a confession: Kurt Vonnegut has been a dead key to me ever since I started to read both for pleasure and spiritual succor. I'd pick up a Vonnegut novel or story, start to read armed with the conviction that I was about to find something I had been missing. Then I would get distracted. I wrote him off as a breezy smart aleck.
Guest Commentary
Decision Highlights Risk For Divorce Lawyers
Monday, June 4, 2012 | by William J. O'Sullivan | The Connecticut Law Tribune
A recent decision by the Connecticut Supreme Court adds to the to-do list of divorce attorneys when they prepare to hammer out an agreement on property distribution.
Legally Conservative
Governor Malloy's Despicable Standards
Monday, June 4, 2012 | by Karen Lee Torre | The Connecticut Law Tribune
"Allegations like this not only damage a campaign or a candidate, they also undermine citizens' belief in their government's ability to carry out its responsibilities." This was Gov. Dannel Malloy talking in response to news of the arrest on federal charges of Robert Braddock Jr., campaign finance director for Democrat Chris Donovan, candidate for Congress from the state's 5th District.
Guest Commentary
State Had Good Reason To File Supreme Court Briefs
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Monday, May 28, 2012 | by Kevin T. Kane | The Connecticut Law Tribune
The Connecticut Law Tribune's Editorial Board on May 14, 2012, in an editorial that is surprisingly disingenuous, criticized the Office of the Chief State's Attorney for filing an amicus brief in the U.S.Supreme Court in the cases of Missouri v. Frye and Lafler v. Cooper. In the amicus brief, which was joined by 28 other states, the office argued, as did the U.S. Department of Justice and the National District Attorneys Association, that a defendant who is convicted after either a fair trial or a knowing and voluntary guilty plea is not entitled under the U.S. Constitution to have his conviction vacated on the ground that his attorney either failed to inform him of, or advise him to accept, a plea offer that was more favorable than the sentence ultimately imposed.
Ethics Matters
Good Stuff This Way Comes
Monday, May 28, 2012 | by Mark Dubois | The Connecticut Law Tribune
By the time you read this, the Judicial Branch's Rules Committee may have considered some very interesting and, I believe, good amendments to the Practice Book. The panel met May 21 to consider a mixed bag of things. Among them are several that I have been tracking for some time due to my interest in all things related to lawyering.
Legal Ease
Life And Law Are Both Full Of Interruptions
Monday, May 28, 2012 | by Amy Goodusky | The Connecticut Law Tribune
A few years after I left my rock band I returned to playing music, this time with a duo. My partner handled the guitar work and we both sang. I do play bass, but everyone agreed that my bass playing should not leave the living room, so there it stayed.
Ethics Matters
Stalked By Those Silly Sovereigns
Monday, May 21, 2012 | by Mark Dubois | The Connecticut Law Tribune
I owe some guy $2 million. At least that was the bill he served on me at the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel. He is one of those "sovereign citizens" you may have heard about. These folks have a really unique take on almost all of our law. One thing they do is copyright their names. So if you send them a letter addressed to their name, you owe them for copyright infringement. At least I think that I how I ran up such a bill. Luckily, they never filed one of their patented "constitutional liens" against my home. Some judges and prosecutors have tens of millions of dollars' worth of liens filed against them. Makes selling the house a bit tricky.
Legally Conservative
Connecticut Now Requires Racial Profiling
Monday, May 21, 2012 | by Karen Lee Torre | The Connecticut Law Tribune
I remember the moment when a prominent Yale professor realized that I was not Hispanic. It was a most demeaning experience, one that played a role in my evolution to conservatism. His was a soft bigotry, typical of the liberal elite whose charitable giving to minorities is a means to affirm their noblesse. A teenaged visiting student, I had aced his class (or so I thought), and he suggested I transfer there; he would gladly serve as a reference. And then it came: "You know, we're reaching out for Hispanics now," and he mentioned another student, a "Mexican from Texas," whom he was also patronizing.
