Heart of America Hot Dog Festival 2015

Heart of America Hot Dog Festival 2015

Saturday, Aug 1st, 12:00pm

 

Does the Law Really Change "All the Time?"

One of the platitudes associated with the legal profession is "The law changes of all of the time."  Does it?  Well, in slight ways, yes.  Here is why.  We get our law from three sources:  the legislature, the courts, and executive agencies (like the EPA or the IRS).  The legislature debates and then votes on "statutes" which are written rules that have the force and effect of "law."  These statutes proscribe against everything from usurious interest rates on loans, to crimes and their elements a prosecutor must prove to gain a conviction.  While "new" laws are not necessarily being passed by legislative bodies every day, tweaking of existing laws happens quite frequently, almost every legislative session.

Often the legislature delegates its rule-making authority to executive agencies, like the EPA or IRS, which then passes "rules" that accompany the legislature's statutes and further define terms and processes.  For example, the IRS tax code is a set of rules defining any number of concepts from "income" to "deductions," which all have the force and effect of law.

Meanwhile, our courts make law every day, when state and federal courts of appeal issue written decisions either affirming or reversing lower "trial court" rulings.  These published appellate court decisions are called "case precedents" and are the foundation of what is known as "common law."  Lawyers cite to these case precedents when arguing to judges at every level of the court system.  For example, a lawyer might lobby, "Your honor, the officer's search of my client's car was virtually indistinguishable from what the state police did in State v. Johnson decided by the Court of Appeals last year, wherein the Court disallowed use by the prosecutor of all evidence wrongfully taken from the suspect's vehicle because there was no legitimate basis for a traffic stop."

What this all means is that no matter how eloquent or smooth an attorney might appear, if that lawyer has not first "cracked the books" to update the research pertaining to your case, the lawyer is nothing more than a "paper tiger" and won't be able to prevail for you over the long course of litigation. Why?  Because law changes all of the time!  And this is the concept underlying appellate and post-conviction litigation.

If you have a family member or friend fighting the battle against a wrongful conviction, or if you are a lawyer seeking assistance with an appeal or post-conviction matter, please call this office immediately.  There are always time deadlines limiting when these claims can be raised.  If you wish to learn more about the process, call now.

Jonathan Laurans wants you to be educated as to what you may be facing.  If you or a loved one has been convicted of a crime in Missouri, Kansas or Texas, or in any federal court, contact him immediately.  Visit his website at www.kansascitymoattorney.com and then call him at (816) 421-5200 for a FREE initial legal consultation.

Summer Fun 2015

Summer Fun 2015: A guide to festivals, fairs and more

Before an Appeal Becomes Impossible - Get that Plea Offer in Writing:

Most of my blog posts explain aspects of the appellate and post-conviction process.  However, I still handle several trial court-level cases each year.  First off, I spent a great deal of my early career defending people in federal court.  Secondly, as an appellate/ post-conviction attorney, if I am going to be second-guessing the trial work of other attorneys, I need to be "in the trenches" with them as well, not just for credibility's sake, but also to stay sharp on how the law is being applied and employed before a case climbs up to the appellate/ post-conviction arena.

Many of my post-conviction clients learn only after having hired me to investigate their cases that there were plea bargains offered to their former trial attorney earlier in their litigation history, which might have been accepted, and which would have given the clients a much better resolution to their cases.  Had the plea offers been better communicated, then there is a chance that these cases might have ended long ago, and with smaller amounts of punishment, not to mention avoiding the costs of appellate and post-conviction litigation.

The best practice is to ask your attorney (or the attorney defending your friend or family member) at the very outset of the representation to promise that all plea offers will be communicated  and explained in writing, so you all can really take the time necessary to think through all options, understand the potential consequences, and most importantly, compare sentencing exposure both then at the time of the plea offer, and down the road in the future if the offer is rejected and a trial is subsequently lost.

If you have a family member or friend fighting the battle against a wrongful conviction, or if you are a lawyer seeking assistance with an appeal or post-conviction matter, please call this office immediately.  There are always time deadlines limiting when these claims can be raised.  If you wish to learn more about the process, call now.

Jonathan Laurans wants you to be educated as to what you may be facing.  If you or a loved one has been convicted of a crime in Missouri, Kansas or Texas, or in any federal court, contact him immediately.  Visit his website at www.kansascitymoattorney.com and then call him at (816) 421-5200 for a FREE initial legal consultation.