Despite credible revelations of unethical conduct, Clarence Darrow continues to enjoy undeserved esteem and respect. I have previously written about the overrated (and under-scrutinized) career of Clarence Darrow, most recently an essay on my blog (Misrule of Law) entitled “Debunking Darrow and...
Criminal Law
Derek Chauvin Is a Political Prisoner
Thanks to the Tennessee Star (here)! Have you ever wondered how bad leftist hegemony in the United States would be? Would there be Soviet-style show trials, and gulags, for instance? Wonder no more. Read TJ Harker’s American Scapegoat and see how an outstanding law enforcement officer became...
Debunking Darrow and His Deluded Disciples: A Liberal Legal Icon Loses His (Undeserved) Luster
The deeply-entrenched mythology surrounding Clarence Darrow, patron saint of left-wing lawyers, is finally unraveling. Historians have exposed his record of jury-tampering and suborning perjury, while also debunking many fabricated aspects of his storied biography. Will these revelations reverse...
Should Trump Use DOJ Against His Enemies?
To restore the rule of law, Trump’s Department of Justice must investigate those who subverted our constitutional order. Accountability is not the same as revenge. If laws were broken, the wrongdoers must be held responsible. This essay was co-authored with TJ Harker, a former federal prose…
Rogue Prosecutors: The Legal Road to Dystopia
The subtitle says it all: “How Radical Soros Lawyers are Destroying America’s Communities.” This essay originally appeared in Law & Liberty on September 11, 2023 (here). Thanks to Power Line, Instapundit (here), and Real Clear Policy (here)! Kim Foxx in Chicago. Alvin Bragg in New York.…
Scoundrel: How William F. Buckley Learned That Evil Is Real
Even the most sagacious among us can be snookered by manipulative con men. This essay originally appeared in Law & Liberty on April 27, 2022 (here). Thanks to Instapundit (here), Power Line, Real Clear Policy (here), the Leighton Smith Podcast (here), and Real Clear Books (here)! I’m ho…
Justice at Last for Michael Flynn
If the most powerful and well-connected among us can be victimized by lawfare, what hope would ordinary citizens have against a vindictive prosecution? This essay originally appeared in Law & Liberty on May 12, 2020 (here). When the U.S. Department of Justice—at the direction of Attorney Ge…
Low-Key Competence Is the Ticket for Austin’s Top Cop
An abridged version of this essay appeared in City Journal on May 15, 2019 as “Lone Star Exception” (here). Thank you, Real Clear Policy! Across the country, many large cities sacrifice public safety to political correctness, catering to minority voters by hamstringing—or even demon…
Bailing Out on Common Sense
One of my areas of interest is criminal justice reform. As a conservative, I am perplexed by the impulse of many would-be policy wonks on the right to join with the Left (ACLU, Brennan Center, etc.) in advocating positions that undermine public safety and, frankly, coddle criminals. The &#…
More Lawyers or More Justice?
Two law professors, Benjamin Barton from the University of Tennessee and Stephanos Bibas (formerly at Penn and now on the Third Circuit) wrote a thoughtful book on criminal justice reform, Rebooting Justice, which I reviewed for Law and Liberty. Read about it here.