American law professors have long liked to say they teach their students "to think like a lawyer." Learning to think that way is a matter of internalizing certain assumptions. The practice of judging is likewise based on a foundation of shared assumptions, among them that the United States Constitution -- a document of 8,335 words, the length of a book chapter -- provides an answer to every question. Rather like a Ouija board.

These assumptions are so ingrained -- and their internalization is so necessary to the successful practice of law -- that most people who subscribe to them aren't even aware of having done so. Judging Crimes will try to engage not just with the expressions of judicial power, but with the assumptions on which those expressions rest.

This weblog's primary subject matter is criminal law. I do my best to avoid venturing into political subjects, personal life crises, and the various distracting things found scattered about the web. However, I think that about 10% of the time I get off point. Oh well . . .

This is my hobby. Almost always comments I make are gut level reactions to news articles based upon my knowledge and experiential biases. I rarely spend time researching the subject of a post so if you base any decision upon something I've written here you should have your head examined.