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:
While discussing the Robert Durst trial on Law & Crime’s Morning1The following commentary is offered pursuant to Canon 4(B) of the Code of Judicial Conduct: “A Judge may (1) speak, write, lecture, teach and participate in extrajudicial activities concerning the law, the legal system, the administration of justice and non-legal subjects subject to the requirements of this Code.” Docket with Jesse Webber, the “Rule of Universal Reasoning” came on full display. Find out all about it, including a great example from Timothy McVeigh’s trial.
While discussing South Carolina vs. Nathaniel Rowland on Morning Docket on Law and Crime,1The following commentary is offered pursuant to Canon 4(B) of the Code of Judicial Conduct: “A Judge may (1) speak, write, lecture, teach and participate in extrajudicial activities concerning the law, the legal system, the administration of justice and non-legal subjects subject to the requirements of this Code.” the principle of connective force came up for discussion. What is it? Read More
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.
Just after midnight one evening a few years ago, some detectives asked me to review a search warrant for some devices that they hoped might lead to the discovery of a missing person. After reading the warrant, I could tell I might someday be confronted with a rare legal question – can you prove a murder case without ever finding the body of the victim? Too curious to sleep, I poured a cup of coffee, fired up Westlaw, and started looking, totally unaware that by sunrise I would stumble across a treatise that altered my career.1The following commentary is offered pursuant to Canon 4(B) of the Code of Judicial Conduct: “A Judge may (1) speak, write, lecture, teach and participate in extrajudicial activities concerning the law, the legal system, the administration of justice and non-legal subjects subject to the requirements of this Code.” Here’s how.
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