The III Degree

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Two of this week’s Post Secrets really spoke to me.  Love this one of the Pantheon in Rome.

Two of this week’s Post Secrets really spoke to me.  Love this one of the Pantheon in Rome.

I’m not there yet, but I worry that one day I will be.

I’m not there yet, but I worry that one day I will be.

lovelifethemost:

Diaper Dumper - Lakeland News at Ten - March 27, 2012 (by LakelandPTV)

So proud of my girl Jamil! “‎…only a mile from where this dirty diaper dumper flung his feces…”

If only we had these problems in Phoenix & she could come back here to report on them!

Okay - so this is a friend of my sister’s… but I swear that this should have been one of the many segments that Robin would report on in How I Met Your Mother.  So many poop jokes dumped into a two minute segment.

notentirely:

sarahlee310: On Voter ID: College Republicans discuss whether the poor should be allowed to vote – FreakOutNation

sat here with my jaw dropped for a solid two minutes after watching this.

when will i stop being surprised?

Okay, so you know this kid dreamed of running for political office one day (otherwise he would not be involved in college Republicans) and thanks to YouTube, that will never happen.

notentirely:

3 years ago today, these knuckleheads eloped. here we are at the santa barbara courthouse getting our license. best $88 we’ve spent.

Congratulations to NotEntirely.

In other news, I have apparently been reading her blog for at least 3 years, as I remember her posts about her “wedding”

notentirely:

3 years ago today, these knuckleheads eloped. here we are at the santa barbara courthouse getting our license. best $88 we’ve spent.

Congratulations to NotEntirely.

In other news, I have apparently been reading her blog for at least 3 years, as I remember her posts about her “wedding”

Reports suggesting tax reform isn’t easy are greatly appreciated. We look forward to future reports on water being wet. House Ways and Means senior aide, after a Congressional Research Service report pointed out that Republican plans to cut tax breaks are going to be difficult at best.


reblogged from kohenari
Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to effective lawyers during plea negotiations, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a pair of 5-to-4 decisions.

Supreme Court Says Defendants Have Right to Good Lawyers

Prior to these SCOTUS rulings, there was no real standard for representation in plea negotiations and, as Justice Kennedy points out in the majority opinion, “Criminal justice today is for the most part a system of pleas, not a system of trials.” Of course, it’s important to note that the bar for effective representation in trials isn’t set particularly high so it’s really not clear how much of an impact these new decisions actually will have.

Justice Scalia, dissenting on both of these decisions, argued that they create “a whole new boutique of constitutional jurisprudence” and that no one can predict what the consequences will be, except that “the court leaves all of this to be worked out in further litigation, which you can be sure there will be plenty of.”

If arguments about ineffective assistance in death penalty cases are any indicator, Scalia is right that there will be a lot of litigation about these new rulings … as well there should be, from my perspective. Given the stakes for defendants in both trials and plea bargaining, it’s incredibly important to do what we can to get some clarity on what it means to have effective representation.

(via kohenari)

I absolutely agree that defendants should have a right to adequate representation in the pre-trial phase of the criminal justice process.  An attorney who fails to communicate a plea offer to her client does not adequately represent the client.

BUT, how do you remedy this situation.  Let’s look at a possible scenario - Bad Guy robs a home and Home Owner comes home during the robbery.  Bad Guy shoots Home Owner and is charged with First Degree Murder, Robbery, and Breaking and Entering.

Prosecutor gets the case and offers Defense Attorney a plea agreement to where Bad Guy will plead guilty to Second Degree Murder (max sentence 40 years) and Robbery (max sentence 20 years).  Prosecutor agrees to drop First Degree and Breaking and Entering and agrees to ask the judge only 30 years on Second Degree Murder and 10 years on Robbery to run concurrently, so 30 years total.  (Note - the judge does not have to follow these recommendations and can sentence as much or as little as she wants).  The Defense Attorney turns down this offer without informing the client (or give the client egregiously bad advice) and the case goes to trial.

In Scenario A - Bad Guy is found not guilty.  So, even though his constitutional rights were violated, he doesn’t care.

In Scenario B - Bad Guy is found guilty and sentenced to the max.  He appeals and eventually makes the argument that Defense Attorney failed to tell him about the plea agreement.  The appeals court agrees.  Now what?  How do they give him relief?  Does he get a new trial?  There was nothing wrong with the trial?  Does he get the first degree murder conviction reduced to second degree murder?  What is his sentence?  Remember, the judge was not required to follow the prosecutor recommendations.

Scenario C is even harder.  Bad Guy is convicted of First Degree murder, but only sentenced to 20 years.  What remedy does he get?  Does the charge get reduced to second degree murder?  What is the sentence?

Finally, you have scenario D.  Good Guy is arrested instead of Bad Guy.  Defense Attorney egregiously convinces Good Guy that he should take the deal even though he is not guilty.  How can you remedy that situation?

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

- Calvin Coolidge

This is one of my favorite quotes.

My underwater shark holding picture did not turn out nearly this well, but I did get to hold this shark.  (Also, despite how it looks, she is not topless).

My underwater shark holding picture did not turn out nearly this well, but I did get to hold this shark.  (Also, despite how it looks, she is not topless).

(Source: lifeasawelllovedgift)

What I did this weekend - ATM Cave Belize