Selling Drugs to an Officer in Uniform If criminals are dumb, then young inexperienced juvenile criminals are the dumbest. I prosecuted a very dumb teenage marijuana dealer. A police officer was on patrol near the parking lot of a high school in Huntington Beach, CA. The officer was in full uniform and driving a marked black … Continue reading More Stupid Criminals
The Drunk Groom I performed a wedding on the grounds of a beautiful restaurant overlooking scenic Dana Point Harbor in Orange County, California. The restaurant is built on the side of a cliff and it is very difficult to find. Everyone was set, except for the bride. A limo was bringing her. We waited and waited. No bride. … Continue reading More Embarrassing Wedding Glitches
My criminal law professor started each class by shouting, “Criminals are stupid!”He would then share a dumb criminal story. Clearly, not all criminals a stupid. But a lot of them are. As detectives observe, “We don’t catch the smart ones.” I have prosecuted or judged so many dumb criminals that there will be several blog posts … Continue reading Stupid Criminals
The founding fathers and mothers were convinced that victory over the invincible British Empire was the result of Divine Providence. (See Blog Post: “The Divine Birth of the American Nation.) One of the miracles they cite is the successful retreat from the famous Battle of Cowpens. On January 17, 1781, General Daniel Morgan and the Americans … Continue reading Miraculous Retreat from the Battle of Cowpens
As a judge, I volunteered to perform weddings. Since I was a criminal law judge, weddings were a welcome change of pace. Conduct wedding ceremonies was about the only thing I did where most people were happy. I performed several hundred over thirty years. I conducted these ceremonies in my courtroom, in chambers, at wedding chapels, on … Continue reading Embarrassing Wedding Glitches
While serving my mission in Britain, I visited the island of Jersey off the coast of France. This is where the Jersey cows come from. The neighboring English island of Guernsey is where the Guernsey cows originate. On the coastal road on Jersey, high above the rocky shore, is a plaque dedicated to “Geoffrey’s Leap.” I use … Continue reading Jury Selection Speech: Trial by Combat and Ordeal
The founding fathers and mothers were convinced that victory over the British Empire was the result of Divine Providence. (See Blog Post: “The Divine Birth of the American Nation.") One of the miracles they cite is the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. The famous fort at Ticonderoga was strategically placed along Lake Champlain. There, it controlled … Continue reading Miraculous Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
I was sitting at my desk in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office when one of our “top gun” trial prosecutors marched into my office. He demanded, “What’s this about you guys not paying taxes?” Me: “What are you talking about?" DA: “Mormons don’t pay taxes.” Me: “That’s ridiculous.” DA: “I’m in the middle of … Continue reading LDS Tax Cheat
Years ago, I received a phone call in the middle of the night from the Lieutenant of the Orange County Sheriff’s Judicial Protection Unit (JPU). A jailhouse informant told a jailer that the informant’s associate was going to murder a judge because he was Mormon. The threat was considered credible. It is widely known among law enforcement … Continue reading The Threat to Murder a Mormon Judge
Some criminal cases are heartbreaking, not because of harm to a victim, but because of the circumstances of the criminal. As a criminal prosecutor and as a judge I have some discretion to “do the right thing.” The WWII Vet Shoplifter As a young criminal prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, I was … Continue reading Heartbreaking Criminal Cases
The London Edition 