Tommy Simmons

Public defender. I covered court @GreeleyTribune and @TheIdahoPress. If it's horror or any of That Corrupting Metal Music, I'm in. Opinions my own.

[Tommy Simmons @tsimmonsipt]

"Just because you made them think doesn't mean the world will fall into place."
- "Liberation" In Flames

[Billy Binion @billybinion]

Absurd. The state is trying the alleged school shooter here, Colt Gray, as an adult. Yet the same office turned around & also prosecuted his father—who will likely get life in prison—on the theory that he didn’t provide adequate enough child care. Impossible to square that.

[Nico Perrino @NicoPerrino]

A couple of things:

1) The Equal Opportunity rule exempts news interviews.

2) For decades, the FCC said late night interviews fall under this exemption.

3) The FCC changed its interpretation of the rule last month, removing the exemption for late night and day time interviews but not for talk radio.

4) The FCC is allegedly probing a previous Talarico interview on "The View" for a violation of this new FCC policy.

5) Broadcasters do not need to proactively offer the equal opportunity to opposing candidates. It's incumbent upon those candidates to request the opportunity, and they must do so within 7 days.

6) Conservatives have long opposed the Equal Opportunity Rule, much as they have opposed other broadcast content regulations. For example, the Reagan administration previously ended the Fairness Doctrine, arguing it discouraged free speech and was no longer necessary due to media expansion.

7) These content regulations are anachronistic and easily weaponized to target political opponents. (See JFK's use of the Fairness Doctrine to silence right-wing radio preachers.) The Trump administration sees late night talk shows as adversarial to the administration.

8) If broadcaster challenged these broadcast content regulations as a violation of the First Amendment, I think there is a good chance modern courts would agree, despite past precedent. The First Amendment has become more robust, and the rules are less justifiable in our current multimedia environment.

[Clark Neily @ConLawWarrior]

Did you know that half the Bill of Rights is about criminal procedure—specifically jury trials? And did you know that jury trials, despite being the only constitutionally prescribed mechanism for resolving criminal charges, are nearly extinct on American soil? https://t.co/MF8YYeo99f

[Clark Neily @ConLawWarrior]

@TimothySandefur They’re not drug-sniffing dogs. They’re probable-cause-creating dogs.

[Patrick Jaicomo @pjaicomo]

The government and its agents should follow the Constitution.

[Billy Binion @billybinion]

Wild that this isn’t a bigger story. ICE is in violation of almost *100* court orders—including denying bond hearings & imprisoning people illegally. If you care about the rule of law, then that should bother you.

[Alyssa Leader @alittleleader]

If they are so terrified of being recorded that they would kill to stop it then recording must be one of the most powerful things we can do.

[Patrick Jaicomo @pjaicomo]

I'm a lawyer with the non-profit @IJ.

We have the nation's top federal accountability practice and recently won an FBI wrong-house raid case in the Supreme Court.

If you can put me in touch with the Pretti family, I would very much like to speak with them.

We work for free.

[Scott Greenfield @ScottGreenfield]

Mandatory Minimums (like 3 strikes) were a simplistic idea that appealed to people who were too stupid to realize one size does not fit all and often produced expensive, counterproductive and undesired outcomes.

Its elimination was supported by moderate Dems, Reps, and most reasonably intelligent people with knowledge of the criminal legal system. It was just a dumb idea that didn't work.

[Boston Smalls @smalls2672]

You know this just pisses me off. If you are someone in a position of power and are trying to do the right thing. You have to stay and fight. You leaving will only be filled with shittier, unqualified, morons who will do what they're told regardless if its right/wrong. Legal or illegal. I understand in the first term when ppl resigned it was a sign of protest but we are way past that. Now is the time to stay and fight for your country and if you're in a position of power you have to stand up and through dirt into the gears to slow the grind. You signed up for a job to uphold the constitution. Not run away when that constitution is being challenged by men who are trying to destroy our rule of law. Cowards.

[breezeh @briscoepark]

art not made with ai

[Zola In Recovery @ZolaInRecovery]

This thread contains a story written about my life for the newspaper in my hometown. It was published in 2020, but I felt an urge to share it today. Now I have a bunch of cool letters behind my name and my entire career is focused on helping others and paying it forward. 💜
Author is Sarah Lupidis.

[Billy Binion @billybinion]

Perfect example of why jury trials matter.

The government had to argue—in public—that throwing a sandwich at a man in a bulletproof vest caused “fear of immediate bodily harm.” And the jury called that what it was: overreach. Prosecutors shouldn’t go unchecked.

[Paul Fairie @paulisci]

"WHY IS THE MEDIA NOT COVERING THIS?" followed by a screenshot of a New York Times article will never not be funny to me

[Sean Silverman: Silverman Bar Exam & LSAT Tutoring @BarExamTutor]

The reaction of lawyers to just about every technology prior to AI:

"Nah."

The reaction of lawyers to AI:

"I will defer to my robot!"

[Nico Perrino @NicoPerrino]

This is a 9-0 Supreme Court decision from just last year.

[David J. Bier @David_J_Bier]

NEW PAPER! We look at immigrant criminality from the perspective of victims. Criminals tend to victimize the people in their community. If immigrants are setting off a crime wave, immigrants would be their 1st victims. Do we see that... no! Just the opposite... 🧵

[Patrick Jaicomo @pjaicomo]

@MargoMartin47 Actually, no. You do not get 1 year in jail for burning an American flag, and no piece of paper signed by the President can change that.

[Meathead, Esq. @Meathead_Esq]

The average member of the public has no idea how draconian mandatory minimum sentences are. If we were allowed to inform juries of the applicable sentencing range, they would nullify far more often.

[Alyssa Leader @alittleleader]

You all know me, a woman who absolutely did not engage in any public and personally challenging acts of resistance when it came to my experience of sexual assault because I was socialized to be passive and was afraid of being humiliated!