Welcome to my new criminal defense blog, InDefense. I am a federal criminal defense attorney in private solo practice and I have been so for the past twelve years. As a federal criminal defense and appellate attorney, I produce a great deal of written work product. I love that aspect of my practice, but I have often thought that it would be fun to write about interesting issues in criminal law, not as an advocate but as an observer and critic. That is the genesis of this blog.
Even though I am writing for myself, my hope is that current and prospective clients, colleagues, and maybe even the general public will find this blog informative and will come away with a better understanding of some of the issues facing criminal defense practitioners and their clients. I have found, as I have built my practice, that there are a lot of misconceptions about criminal defense and criminal defendants. I anticipate that many of those misconceptions will inspire future posts.
For the moment, let me state for the record that I love my work and cannot imagine doing anything else. Criminal defense lawyers safeguard the rule of law, and indeed the right to counsel in a criminal case is so important that it is enshrined in the Constitution. President John Adams once opined of his defense of British Soldiers in the Boston Massacre trials in 1770 that it was "one of the best Pieces of Service I ever rendered my Country." 'Nuff said.
