by Bert | Aug 29, 2018 | National
It is no secret that the American justice system, premised on an individual’s right to a fair trial, has turned into a plea-bargain factory. Case after case is resolved by a plea rather than a trial in front of one’s peers. Not because every defendant is guilty, but...
by Bert | Jul 27, 2017 | National
The Judicial Conference—a national body that makes policy for the federal court system—has expressed concerns about the security of informants in the federal system. Evidently, around 700 cooperating witnesses and jailhouse informants (sometimes referred to as...
by Alec | Sep 2, 2015 | National, The Open File Blog
Earlier this week the New York Times prominently featured a story on an increase in homicides this year in many American cities. The piece focused on Milwaukee, which has seen the steepest rise in the nation in the number of murders as compared to 2014, followed by...
by Alec | Nov 23, 2014 | National, The Open File Blog
A new report, which offers a detailed empirical analysis of the role judicial review plays in the disclosure of favorable information to defendants, has found that application of the “materiality” standard to determine whether or not a Brady violation has occurred has...
by OpenFile | Jul 3, 2014 | National, The Open File Blog
Matt Kaiser at Above the Law has a terrific post titled, “White Collar Trials, Snitches, And Telling The Truth” from early June on the use of jailhouse informants or “snitches” in federal court, and how the government benefits from their...
