The “lockdowns” and “social distancing” of the 2020 pandemic left many of us isolated, bored, depressed, and discouraged. Is this situation a misfortune or an opportunity? Is the glass “half empty or half full?” Wise King Solomon observed, “There is nothing new under the sun.” In 1665, the Great Plague rampaged through Britain. In London … Continue reading Pandemic Lockdowns: Misfortune or Opportunity?
The High Volume Misdemeanor Arraignment Calendar As a brand-new judge I was assigned to preside over the high-volume misdemeanor arraignment calendar. Ironically, I had that assignment at the both beginning of my career and in my final years on the bench. Most judges hate that assignment. By I enjoy it. I like dealing directly with … Continue reading My 256 Abortion Protest Cases
Some criminals are dumber than others. I prosecuted some of the dumbest ones. An Orange County city had a problem with drug sales in a high-density area. So, the police decided to do a surveillance using their unmarked old beat up surveillance van. Three officers drove in the van to the target location. There was the … Continue reading Dumb Criminal Tries to Steal Undercover Police Van with Cops Inside
There is a current debate about the "over-militarization" of the police and the use of military equipment. This is nothing new. I am old enough to remember the following 2 police fiascos. The LAPD Armored Personnel Carrier Battering Ram In 1985, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) proudly displayed their new 6-ton armored personnel carrier … Continue reading 2 High Publicity Police Fiascos: When the Police Use Military Equipment
After my first year of law school, my family returned to Orange County for the summer to earn money for the next school year. To save on expenses, we stayed with my parents. I got a job driving taxis for Yellow Cab of Anaheim. I drove the boxy and spacious checker cabs. I worked … Continue reading My Most Lucrative and Interesting Taxi Fares
(Caution: Violent Content) I presided over a preliminary hearing in a bizarre and tragic domestic violence case. The "couch potato" husband schlepped home after work, just in time to watch the start of the baseball game with his favorite team. He grabbed a couple of six packs of cold beer from the fridge. He eased … Continue reading Case of the “Lazy” Husband Murdering His “Nagging” Wife
I handled a case that could have come from a TV medical drama. An eminent surgeon was having an affair with one of his surgical nurses. The surgeon was married and had several children. The nurse was single. The surgeon kept stringing the nurse along by declaring that he loved her more than his wife. … Continue reading Case of the Surgeon and the Jilted Nurse
(I was bored and tired of listening to the election results, so I decided to move this "Court Case Friday" article to Thursday.) Over the years, I have presided over dozens of parking-lot-rage cases. Fortunately, most of these cases were minor misdemeanors. I remember a high-publicity parking-lot-rage case that occurred a long time ago. It … Continue reading Angry Judge Gets Caught Flattening Tire of Handicap Van
Background and Observations on Domestic Violence (DV) Cases The Paradigm Shift From Laxness to No Tolerance One of my judicial specialties is domestic violence cases. Every day, I deal with 5-10 DV cases. In the last 40 years there has been huge paradigm shift in how DV cases are prosecuted. When I was a Deputy … Continue reading Domestic Violence, and the Case of the Wife Who Super-Glued Her Husband’s “Member” to His Abdomen
Juvenile Burglars with Stocking Hands I prosecuted a couple of teenagers for attempted residential burglary. As a police officer was driving down a residential road while on routine patrol, he noticed a new bicycle lying on its side on the sidewalk. He was an experienced officer with keen instincts. He knew that school was in … Continue reading More Dumb Criminals
The London Edition 