The Modern Prometheus: A Halloween Story

It’s Halloween.  Time for my annual attempt at political satire (see last year’s effort here).  Apologies to Mary Shelly, Monty Python and Buck Henry.

Setting: A laboratory located in a decrepit castle in Eastern Europe.  Test tubes and electrical transformers fill the room.  Outside, a thunderstorm rages.  The year is 1789.

Dr. Madison: It’s alive!  It’s alive!  They all called me “mad,” but I have done what no man has done before!

Igor: Master, what is this creature?

Dr. Madison: I have transplanted the brain of John Locke into the body of the Magna Carta.  I engrafted bits and pieces of Montesquieu, and gave the body a transfusion of Polybius’ treatise on the Roman Empire.  Then, I immersed the body in a vat of the Iroquois Constitution and applied a charge of electricity.  And it lives!  This is a great day!

Igor (looking out the window): I don’t think everyone agrees with you.

A large mob of men carrying torches bursts into the laboratory.  They are dressed in simple peasant attire except, oddly, all are wearing safety goggles.

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The Beginning of the End for Life Without Parole?

That question is the title of a new paper I’ve just uploaded to SSRN. Here is the abstract:

This essay introduces a new issue of the Federal Sentencing Reporter that is devoted to different aspects of the sentence of life without parole. An important question raised by many of the articles is whether LWOP, after two decades of explosive growth, is entering a period of decline. For instance, the Supreme Court declared LWOP unconstitutional for most juvenile offenders in May 2010, possibly inaugurating an era of more meaningful constitutional limitations on very long sentences. Additionally, many cash-strapped states have been developing new early-release programs in order to reduce corrections budgets, some of which hold out hope even for LWOP inmates. This essay considers the likelihood that these and other recent developments will contribute to a decline in LWOP. In the end, none of the developments portend dramatic changes, at least regarding LWOP for adult offenders, although it is possible that LWOP will undergo a period of slow, long-term decline, much as has occurred with the death penalty. After laying out this perspective, the essay then considers whether the United States ought to welcome such a period of decline.

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Closing Thoughts on Opening a Law Practice

This is my fourth and final guest post. I have dedicated my blogging this month to the topic of starting a law practice. The first week was focused on the reasons why people would want to hang a shingle. The second week’s post discussed start-up costs. The third week was focused on attracting clients. This week, I wrap up with a few final thoughts. Some of these points are responses to questions and comments I received from people thinking about making the leap.

1. Yes, there is a lot of work involved. Starting any business requires a lot of passion, hard work and long hours. Starting a law practice adds to that the work of practicing law, which is in and of itself a full-time job. My take on this is that for the first couple years until things stabilize, you should fully commit to getting your practice off the ground. This means working evenings and weekends if that’s what you have to do.  

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