D.A. Confidential has a great interview with an Austin Fire Department Fire and Arson Investigator, which includes a pretty detailed explanation of how a typical arson investigation is conducted and a discussion of telltale signs that an accelerant may have been used.

APD has announced a "No Refusal" Super Bowl, from this Sunday (2/7) at 9 p.m. until Monday (2/8) at 5 a.m. For more (including a little regurgitation of police propaganda), see this Statesman article.

According to the Texas Court at Appeals blog, the CCA will take up the issue of whether forgery of a "commercial instrument" includes a store receipt.

The Sixth Court of Appeals (Texarkana) didn't think so, limiting the definition to instruments that affect a legal relationship or convey some sort of future benefit, and excluding a store receipt because it simply memorializes a transaction that has already occurred. Here's the court of appeals opinion: Allen Ray Shipp v. State.

I've written about representing the guilty. Now, via Defending People and from Preaching to the Choir, I've come across a wonderful treatment of representing the wretched:

So I was perusing an internet comment board this afternoon. (I know, I know. Stay away, those internet message boards are filled with crazies. Nothing good comes from reading, etc. I know. Meryl's staging an intervention, but in the meantime, I learn interesting things about the general populace.)

Anyway, I found this comment on an article about a capital murder case:

The Constitution does a lot to protect fools, the undeserving, and pieces of human trash.

Reading that made me grin. I felt all warm and fuzzy inside. And I said with pride, "Hell, yeah, it does!"

I'm willing to wager that's not the reaction the writer was expecting. Based on context, I'm fairly confident the writer wrote those words with a rueful shake of the head and a sense of outrage that the Constitution does protect those folks. I suspect the writer would think it not such a bad thing if we added an asterisk to the Bill of Rights indicating these rights do not apply to fools, the undeserving, and pieces of human trash.

But, me, I think it's awesome. (Yes, I'm a lawyer with an extensive vocabulary and that is the word I choose.) It's easy to respect the rights of the pretty people, the popular ones, the charming folk, the nice guys. No one's going to run roughshod over Mr. Rogers' rights. We probably don't need a Constitution to protect the Prom Queen. It's the assholes we need to write the rules for. It's harder to treat them well, to be fair to them, to refrain from punching them. So 200-some years ago, we wrote a contract with ourselves to make sure we would always respect the rights of the worst among us.

It's easy to treat the good people well. But the true measure of our character is how we treat the bad ones. We choose to treat them fairly and with respect. And I think it's awesome.

Here's that link again from Preaching to the Choir, in case you think this is as "awesome" as I do.

Via an old Grits for Breakfast post, I came across this Scientific American article about Touch DNA that I want to preserve.

According to the article, this method of testing can detect the slightest bit of genetic material and was used to clear Jon Benet Ramsey's family of any involvement in her death. Those poor, poor people. Can you imagine being put through all of that after your child is brutally murdered?

Officer:  Former Sgt. Michael Olsen.
Agency:  Austin Police Department.
Alleged Misconduct:  Excessive use of force and demonstration of poor judgment and tactics, leading to the fatal shooting of a man in 2007.
Disciplinary Action:  Fired.
Other Information:  Currently under investigation by APD for improper use of force against a 13-year-old in a private security capacity. Olsen is the Austin branch manager for a private security company that coordinates and assists patrols at about 60 apartment complexes (including the East Austin apartment complex that is the site of the 2007 shooting), strip centers and other sites throughout the city.
Source:  This Statesman article.

Back in November, I posted the following blurb about a case on this month's argument calendar in the SCOTUS:

Briscoe v. Virginia (07-11191) — Scope of crime lab analysts’ role in a criminal trial; sequel to Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts,on Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause rights. The Melendez-Diaz case,which was decided earlier this year, requires the prosecution, when itpresents a lab report as evidence in a criminal trial, to make theanalyst who prepared it available for cross-examination by defensecounsel. Sadly, the 5-4 decision may already be in jeopardy. More....

Thankfully, the SCOTUS remanded Briscoe (pdf) for further proceedings "not inconsistent with" the Melendez-Diaz opinion (pdf).

1/29/10 Revision. Changed category from "Cases of Note" to "Case Law."

Mark Bennett's tips for jury selection, published by The Jury Expert, are definitely worth preserving.

Came across this amusing but mostly true rundown of seven bullshit police myths. The myths it debunks are the following:

Myth #7. Forensic Science is Magic
Myth #6. The Insanity Defense Lets You Get Away With Murder
Myth #5. Not Talking To Cops Equals Obstruction of Justice
Myth #4. Undercover Cops Have To Identify Themselves If Asked
Myth #3. Tracing a Call Takes a Long TimeMyth #2. Criminals Must Be Read Their Miranda Rights or They Will Go FreeMyth #1. Everyone Gets One Free Phone Call
Follow this link for an entertaining and informative explanation for why these are strictly myths (note that it contains a paranoid big-brother-is-listening-through-our-cell-phone theory that I'm not sold but otherwise seems accurate and is definitely worth a read.)

1/26/10 Editing Note: Added a line to (hopefully) clarify that the list alone isn't what's worth reading; you really need to follow the link.

When an police officer's misconduct results in "unpaid suspension," he probably isn't being punished as much as you think. That is because officers are allowed to use vacation time and other forms of leave to cover the gap. As a result, such suspensions rarely result in lost wages. See this Statesman article for more.