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Jimmy Kimmel and Donald Trump on the Same Constitutional Page

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Tuesday, September 20, 2016 0 Politics Permalink

Emmys host Jimmy Kimmel had a lot of fun Sunday night ridiculing Donald Trump in front of an overwhelmingly Democratic Hollywood crowd. The truth is, though, that the talk show personality and the Republicans’ Mad Hatter of a presidential nominee are united in their contempt for one of the Constitution’s most important safeguards of our individual liberty. That protection is the Bill of Rights’ Sixth Amendment, which guarantees every American accused of a crime the services of a defense lawyer: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of ...

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In much of America, it’s more dangerous to be policed than to be a police officer

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Thursday, March 3, 2016 0 Law Enforcement , , Permalink

When he spoke to civic or church groups about the law and policing, the late Johnnie Cochran often would pose this question: “Who do you think is the most powerful person in the criminal justice system?” Inevitably, most people would respond, “the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.” “Wrong,” Johnnie would respond. “The most powerful single person in the entire criminal justice system is the cop on the street, because only he has the power to summarily execute you—and get away with it.” In the months since Ferguson, I’ve thought a great deal about Johnnie’s question and about his views on abusive ...

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The People v. O. J. Simpson: Recalling the Trial and Johnnie Cochran

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Saturday, February 6, 2016 0 Law Enforcement, Media , Permalink

I’ve always been fascinated by space exploration and, as a boy, watched all of the Mercury, Gemini and early Apollo manned launches on television. Nowadays, I take a keen interest in the Martian exploration directed from the nearby Jet Propulsion Laboratory. But in all the imaginative literature about man’s adventures into the cosmos, I don’t think there was anyone who foresaw what actually has occurred—that we would go to the moon, and then, just stop going. It’s been more than half a century since the crew of Apollo 17 set foot on the lunar surface and there currently are no ...

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