War crimes are back, this time in living color. I take the anniversary of Germany’s surrender in WWII to highlight how far we have come to a well developed international justice system to deal timely these crimes. … More Judgment at Kyiv
This post is about my Dad. I discovered in my studio an interview I did with him about his early life, and I have to say, hearing his voice again after all these months he has been gone was comforting. Let me tell you about his early life by letting him talk about it to … More Scholar, Solider, Lawyer, Spy
In international relations, is the world as wide open as it was in the 1930s when legends like Hemingway were made? Or did our post-WWII efforts to avoid war as a remedy to conflict by adopting international laws amount to anything enforceable? What if the parties refuse to act in good faith? … More Wishes for the Fishes: China and the Law of the Sea
Sean Connery, the actor who played the original Bond passed away this week. Iconic both in fiction and real life, to me he represents a defender of all we embrace in liberal democracy as something to be protected in an age when authoritarian governments appear to be on the rise everywhere. When I say “liberal … More His name was Bond, James Bond
Don’t we want a warm feeling of respect to come over us when we refer to “The President”? A feeling of trust in his ability to do better than the common man? A sense he really does care about us ordinary people and we are in his thoughts in the midnight hour? We expect character … More Upon the President
There are just so may sound bytes from family law that stick with a guy after a few decades of practice. “Mr. Patterson, Control Your Client!” the guy says to me. Couldn’t see who it was but I think it was my clients ex-husband. The hearing had not gone well for us and his former … More Sound Bytes from Family Law
I remember watching Perry Mason literally sitting on my fathers knee in some rented house in Everett as a child. Like everything in the early 1960’s, the show was in black and white, and I do believe we as a country expected the law to be as stark; right and wrong. Dad was in law … More TV Lawyers
802 years ago in a field at Runnymede, near London, England, King John was forced by his barons to place his seal on the first document ever known to curb executive power, Magna Carta, or Great Charter. Given recent events in the country birthed from England but with a more developed governing document, the United … More Magna Carta and the Rule of Law, Part 1
The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: It is twice bless’d; It blesses him that gives and him that takes; ‘Tis the mightiest in the mightiest, It becomes The throned monarch better than his crown, His scepter shows the the force of … More When Mercy Seasons Justice
I took this snap on my way to the American Bar Association Magna Carta 800th year celebration in 2015. We remember the Magna Carta as the first curb on the power of the state in favor of ordinary men. After events in the past 24 hours however, I feel less free than ever. For most … More Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
Lawyers Road Review 