Five Myths about Crime Today

myths about crimeMyself and a prosecutor (I’m a criminal defense lawyer working in a public defender office in Minnesota) spoke to a group of mystery writers last night.  The prosecutor was actually the featured speaker although as we got into issues of criminal justice, the questions flew at both of us.  Here are some of them:

1.  We should just …

Self Defense or Murder??

Question:  What if I come to the rescue of a robbery victim and I chase the attacker to try to get back the victim’s purse.  When I catch-up withself defense him he pulls a gun on me.  Is it okay for me to shoot and kill him?

Is this self defense or murder?

This situation really happened in Minneapolis …

How can you defend a guilty person!? Part 1

defend a guilty personIt’s the question I get all the time: How can you defend someone you know is guilty? Especiall if it’s a horrible crime. It’s easy to reply “it’s my job,” “everyone has a right to a trial,” “I have an ethical duty…blah, blah, blah.”  All true but there’s the human part of every lawyer that is repulsed by …

Is Law Enforcement Profiling Bad??

law enforcement profilingThe Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, stated recently that “We’re going to stop law enforcement from profiling once and for all!”

What is profiling?  Is it really bad?  Here are four thoughts from all the years I’ve worked as both a prosecutor and Public Defender.

Profiling means that citizens are stopped by law enforcement—not because …

5 Surprises About White Collar Criminals

Most crime, unfortunately, is violent.  But there is a growing number of criminals who are “white collar”—that is they commit financial crimes.  And between white collar criminals and violent street thugs, they can both do a lot of damage to innocent victims.

white collar criminalsI’ve represented white collar criminals in my years as a criminal defense lawyer  Here are five …

Nine Year Old Sneaks on Plane–By Himself

In Minneapolis about a week ago, a young boy without a ticket was able to board a plane to Las VegasALONE!colin.nelson.smallfile

His parents thought he’d spent the night at a friend’s house and didn’t discover he was gone until the next morning when the boy showed-up in Las Vegas.  When the father was interviewed, he put …

George Zimmerman and Self Defense

colin.nelson.smallfileMany of you are following the murder trial of George Zimmerman in a Florida courtroom.  He is accused of shooting and killing Trayvon Martin during a scuffle in a residential area.  Martin was unarmed and Zimmerman was carrying a pistol.  At  first, it appeared to be an open-and-shut case of murder.

The news media has covered this story …