01.May.2012 Top Three Ways to Avoid Getting Arrested at Jazz Fest
UPDATE: This was originally posted two years ago, and again last year around Jazz Fest time. I feel like it is worth trotting out again with some updated information, most importantly to note that you will now likely receive a summons for Municipal Court for most minor offenses in lieu of arrest. You will probably [...]
24.Apr.2012 A Shocking Fact About New Orleans
Fact: The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Source Fact: Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the United States. Source Fact: New Orleans has the highest incarceration rate in Louisiana. Source The NOPD regales us with programs and statistics making plausible connections between bicycle theft and murder. They have told [...]
05.Mar.2012 Adult in Every Way…
When you turn 18 you are expected to grow up. You are turned out into the adult world and you are expected to make your own way…. You have many choices. Get a job — join the workforce and become a contributing member of society. Or go to college — higher education is calling. Or [...]
08.Feb.2012 There Is No Cure For Dumb
Last week was a heavy one at NOLA Criminal Law. The posts were all about murder and rampant crime in New Orleans. But a “life of crime” shouldn’t always have to be so serious. I felt like lightening it up a bit this week, and showing that crime sometimes can be just plain…. well, dumb. [...]
31.Jan.2012 Guns Beget More Guns
Even in a town as jaded by murder as New Orleans, there are acts of violence that still shock and enrage the public. The murder of the Good Samaritan Harry “Mike” Ainsworth who was gunned down in front of his children while trying to stop an early morning carjacking is one such case. The neighborhood [...]
24.Jan.2012 Investing in Convicted Felons
Tulane criminologist Peter Scharf is collecting data that suggests that increased services to convicted felons is good for society at large. Specifically, he is talking about increased mental health services, to accommodate the needs of the nearly 40% of the prison population that suffers from mental health issues. “Typically, guys are medicated while they’re in [...]
19.Jan.2012 NOLA Criminal Law Cycles On
For the second year running, NOLA Criminal Law is sponsoring the Hub Elite Cycling Team. The team, based in Athens, GA competes in elite level cycling events throughout the southeast. NOLA Criminal Law is proud to support and promote the sport of cycling, as well as to advocate for safe and responsible recreational/commuter cycling in [...]
17.Jan.2012 Trying to Stop the Violence
My twitter feed is blowing up: “Cops working several shootings in city at moment 1) Shooting Claiborne/Carrollton 2) Triple shooting on Elysian Fields 3) 1300 blk Columbus” “Nelson elementary in Gentilly on lockdown as cops search for gunman. At least one suspect fired gunshots. Three suspects in custody” “For those asking, we have 11 murders [...]
09.Jan.2012 Different Kinds of Murder
Not all murders are the same. And the difference can often be found in the character of the victim. As the New Orleans murder rate cycles from epidemic to pandemic, Superintendent Ronal Serpas is trying to remind average, law-abiding citizens that their risk of getting murdered is very slim. He has made the decision to [...]
02.Dec.2011 A Better Understanding of Murder?
In 2004, Milwaukee had 87 murders. This was unacceptable to the city so in 2005 they began a program that partnered law enforcement with community leaders to not only investigate these crimes, but try to understand the root causes for each individual murder. They had plenty of work to do as they looked into and [...]
I am a New Orleans Criminal defense lawyer, and the managing attorney of NOLA Criminal Law. I am a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, with over 17 years of experience as a criminal defense attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana. Please visit my website for more.
