I've carried a lot of cases this year, but the one that made me question how it survived long enough to have a trial date was a 0.014 DWI where my client was rear-ended and somehow ended up the one in handcuffs. I've had this case since January. It is now October. Nine months of… Continue reading The Anger Behind the Relief: On Profiling, a 0.014 BAC, and a Case That Never Should Have Been Filed
Tennessee Has Joined the Conversation
I’ve had plenty to say about the Texas and Alabama prison systems, which have earned every bit of scrutiny they get. But Tennessee’s death‑penalty system has now stepped into that same conversation, and it did so in the most catastrophic way possible. Last week I mentioned the scheduled execution of Christa Pike. Nobody was prepared… Continue reading Tennessee Has Joined the Conversation
September 30
Today is my birthday. And today, Tennessee is scheduled to execute Christa Pike. There is something unsettling about those two things sharing the same date. One is a day that marks the continuation of a life. The other is a day the State has designated to end one. Before I reflect on another year of… Continue reading September 30
Still Not Done: On Executing Someone Under a Law the State Has Since Abandoned
I thought I was done talking about Alabama. Last year, I wrote a series about the carceral systems in Alabama and Texas. I spent a lot of time looking at the ways those systems operate, the people caught inside them, and the policies that can have consequences far beyond the words written in a statute.I… Continue reading Still Not Done: On Executing Someone Under a Law the State Has Since Abandoned
Quiet by Nature, Silenced by Force
I love writing. Most weeks, something finds me — a moment from court, a conversation with a client, a question I've been turning over in my head. Writing is usually the one place where my thoughts still feel clear, even when everything else is chaotic. But this week? Nothing came. And I finally realized why.… Continue reading Quiet by Nature, Silenced by Force
Where’s the Lab? On Trial, Mentorship and the Question that Changed Everything
I have five cases set for trial right now. Five. And if you asked me why each one was going to trial, I would give you five different answers. That got me thinking about something people probably don't think about very often: How does a criminal defense lawyer decide that a case should go to… Continue reading Where’s the Lab? On Trial, Mentorship and the Question that Changed Everything
One Line on the Calendar: What Actually Happened When Criminal Court Had Other Ideas
When my week started on Monday, the only thing on my court schedule for Friday was taking misdemeanor appointments. One line on the calendar. Simple. Straightforward. Predictable. But criminal court doesn’t care about your calendar. By the time I finished, I had been in four courts on three different floors, circling the building like a… Continue reading One Line on the Calendar: What Actually Happened When Criminal Court Had Other Ideas
So I Go: The Unglamorous Work of Showing Up
After court and lunch, I walked the few blocks to the jail. It’s close enough that the transition feels abrupt — one minute I’m checking status of discovery, and the next I’m handing over my ID, my bar card, and a little card with my client’s name and location. They give me back the client… Continue reading So I Go: The Unglamorous Work of Showing Up
When Innocence Competes with Survival
She told me from day one she didn’t do it. Not in a dramatic way. Not in a “let me convince you” way. Just a quiet, steady truth she carried every time we talked. And then the seizures started coming harder. More frequent. More violent. More unpredictable. By the time we reached the point where… Continue reading When Innocence Competes with Survival
Nothing About My Work Looks Like That
Law & Order SVU has been my show for years, but let’s be honest — nothing about my actual work looks like that. There’s no dramatic music. No last‑minute confessions. No detectives sprinting down hallways. And absolutely no scene where a defense attorney gets an investigator without filing a motion, drafting a proposed order, and… Continue reading Nothing About My Work Looks Like That
