Judge Birmingham is beginning a preliminary study to identify “trends related to race, gender, age and ZIP code of every juror seated in his court” from 2015 – 2020, called Dallas Deselection, a “worthy project that could make the process more transparent for the public” according to this editorial from the Dallas Morning News. Judge Birmingham adds, “Any time you can get people interested in what’s happening at the criminal courthouse, I’m in.” Read more about Dallas Deselection here:
I heard that Dan Abrams and David Fisher were coming out with a book about the Jack Ruby Trial called Kennedy’s Avenger: Assassination, Conspiracy and the Forgotten Trial of Jack Ruby. When the June 1st release date finally came, I went to the local bookstore and picked up a copy. Back at home and 14 pages later, I almost fell out of my chair:
Judge Birmingham launched “AMurderousDesign.Com,” a collection of materials related to his documentary podcast “A Murderous Design.” The new website has links for each podcast, scripts and citations for each episode, and an interactive “Trial Visualization Report” for each historic trial: Timothy McVeigh, Jack Ruby, Charles “Tex” Watson, Charles Albright-a.k.a. The Eyeball Killer, and the Trinity River Massacre.
Up this week on the Law and Crime Report, host Brian Buckmire, Lisa Lockwood and I discuss everything from self-defense in the Kyle Rittenhouse case in Kenosha, Wisconsin to a Califiornia law allowing inmates to earn expunctions for fighting wildfires. Read More
I always have a good time discussing cases from around the country with my friend and L&C Report host Brian Buckmire. This week we talked about everything from R. Kelly to Luka Doncic: Read More
From the Campaign Team:
This month, Judge Birmingham enjoyed the privilege of appearing on the Law & Crime Network. The topics included competency in death penalty cases, gag orders and public trial considerations in the George Floyd case, the unrest in Portland, Ghislaine Maxwell, and the next steps in a case where DNA freed a man in Georgia. Take a look for these quotes: Read More
A good friend of mine texted me about two months ago. No particular reason, just to catch up on things like we do every so often. I had one of those guilt-ridden moments this morning when I realized I never called him back. I started to reply and noticed the date was March 12 and thought of how different our world is now. I hadn’t heard of COVID-19 back then, and certainly didn’t think my Court would ever be shut down because of a Pandemic, but here we are. I texted him, “Lots of things have changed since your text…others remain exactly the same. Call me when you can.”
The rules in place to help end the COVID-19 pandemic have had profound impacts on our lives. We’ve learned new words and phrases like “shelter in place” and “social distancing.” Businesses are closed causing many to lose their jobs. Restaurants are fighting for survival selling take-out, and retail shops are drying up. While the extent of the exact damage is nearly impossible to predict, we are surrounded by constant reminders that our economy is in significant distress.
In Florida this month, Ashley MacArthur was tried and convicted for first degree murder. 33-year-old Taylor Wright’s body was discovered on a 30-acre tract of land owned by the Defendant’s family. The former police officer’s body was buried underneath a concrete slab covered with potting soil. The investigation lead to Ashley MacArthur, a former crime scene technician. Among other pieces of evidence presented by prosecutors was a video of MacArthur buying quick dry concrete and potting soil a day after the victim was missing. Read More