When Bethany Webb’s sister, Laura, was killed in a mass shooting in 2011, she couldn’t imagine things getting worse.  But then District Attorney Tony Rackauckas of Orange County, California, took the case.  In his determination to impose the death penalty over Webb’s objection, Rackauckas used jailhouse informants to elicit damning statements from the defendant, Scott Dekraai, while he was in jail.  These informant-defendant interactions violated the constitutional right to counsel since no one is allowed to interrogate defendants without their attorneys present.

The Problem
One can look anywhere in the world where there is money or power, and corruption can be found rearing its ugly head.  This has been the case throughout history.  It is human nature. However, a legal system is possibly the least desirable place for corruption to exist because of the immense power the system wields and, at times, decides who lives and who dies.

There is an interesting—and disturbing—federal case that involves allegations of corruption in the New York state court system that is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.  Welcome to Knopf v. Esposito, 17-cv-5833 (S.D.N.Y.) and 17-4151 (Civil) (2d Cir.).

As they do annually, our beloved legislators have passed thousands of new laws that will be going into effect this year.  As we stated in 2017, instead of writing new laws, legislators should repeal thousands of existing ones, or at least erase 10 for every new one written until total laws have been reduced by at least 80 percent!  This would be a giant step towards restoring true justice in our U.S. legal system.  Many of the newly written laws will certainly reshape the political and legal landscape in the coming months.  They cover a broad spectrum, from recreational marijuana use and paid leave from work to traveling barbers and exotic pets.  What follows is a glimpse of notable new laws that we have selected for this post.

The following is the introduction I included in an appellate brief I am filing with the Court of Appeals in the State of Indiana.  My journey stems from a child custody evaluation for my divorce in the Indiana family court system.  On August 19, 2009, Dearborn County Circuit Judge Humphrey stripped me of the ability to see my three- and five-year-old daughters claiming, “The Court is most concerned about [Brewington’s] irrational behavior toward Dr. Connor.”  There were no restraining orders or police reports.  No calls to social services. Nothing.

Article 1, Section 10, Clause 1 and Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution prohibit the enacting of ex post facto laws.  Laws of this type are the kind that are made after an event has already taken place that was legal at the time of its occurrence, but was then retroactively made illegal afterwards for the purpose of exacting simple retribution against the actors.

I’ve been a lawyer for some time now, and while nothing the legal system does surprises me anymore, it never ceases to amaze me. This story is about a client of mine. Since the case is ongoing, I will call her Michelle Smith to maintain anonymity.