Joshua Lake

An AI Experiment, Part 2 – Diddy OpenAI's gpt-4.1 considers the upcoming sentencing of Sean Combs

Fascinating! Have you seen this article about AI choosing an appropriate federal sentence? I have lots of thoughts, and this article is fascinating food for thought! sentencing.substack.com/p/an-ai-expe...

Grand jury matters are secret by law. It is surpassingly unusual for the press to learn about a case being presented to a grand jury in real time.

"This case arises from perhaps the most infamous rap battle in the genre’s history. ... The penultimate song of this feud, 'Not Like Us' by Kendrick Lamar, dealt the metaphorical killing blow."

Insane things happening in the DC US Attorney's Office.

For those unfamiliar, the office handles both federal cases and nearly all of DC local criminal cases -- like a DA.

USAO got local jury to indict on fed charge and then tried to return local indictment in fed court.

Judge: Um, no.

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We're hiring: Investigative Fellows - Summer 2026 Investigative Fellows work collaboratively with case teams in support of complex civil rights litigation in federal and state courts. Their work varies and pulls on the skills of an investigator and paralegal, and will often involve working closely with and supporting local organizers and their campaigns. They are a crucial part of our impact litigation and advocacy challenging mass human caging and other injustices within the criminal legal system. This is an entry-level two-year position at CRC. Deadline: Rolling with priority for applications submitted before October 29, 2025 Learn more on our website: civilrightscorps.org/join-our-team

📣 WE'RE HIRING: Investigative Fellows

🗓️ Start date: Summer 2026
🗓️ Application deadline: Rolling with priority for applications submitted before October 29, 2025

🔗 Learn more about the position: civilrightscorps.org/investigativ...

Sometimes it's nice to remember that even Marcus Aurelius was like "you don't have to comment on everything bro"

"This is a case about Katz and dogs" -- opening line of a pending SCOTUS cert. petition about an allegedly unconstitutional search involving a police dog.
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...

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Nine years ago in 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘧, Justice Sotomayor penned a similar warning: "We must not pretend that the countless people who are routinely targeted by police are ‘isolated.’ They are the canaries in the coal mine ... [U]nlawful police stops corrode all our civil liberties and threaten all our lives.”

I've been a criminal defense attorney my whole career, and I firmly believe it’s a privilege to tell my clients’ stories. And now it's an honor to guide students as they learn to do the same for their own clients during their time in the University of Houston Criminal Justice Clinic.

Importantly, mitigation is not the same as making an excuse for crime. Instead, it’s a way to inspire compassion and illuminate the circumstances that shaped, as Russell Stetler put it, “the influences that converged in the years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds” before the alleged crime.

By the time someone is charged with a crime, they’re viewed negatively by police, prosecutors, and perhaps even the court. The defense lawyer's job is to change that narrative. Whether in trial, plea negotiations, or sentencing advocacy, we remind decision makers of our clients’ humanity.

Mitigation: first, last, and always.

In this first week of classes, I told my students: mitigation begins the moment a criminal defense attorney meets a new client. From that point forward, everything we do is in service of reshaping how others see them.

This is a fascinating idea, and I'm looking forward to digging into your article. My instinct is that time-served offers would decrease, so I'm particularly interested in that section. Thanks for sharing.

This is why there's never been a popular show called Law & Order: Appeals Unit.

This weekend, my wife and I got away for a short silent retreat. Thirty-six hours with no Internet, no phones, and no talking. (And no kids—thank you, grandparents!)

Silence may not work for everyone, but I’m a strong advocate for finding meaningful ways to unplug and recharge.

Should a prosecutor be able to dismiss a case after sentencing if they disagree with the court's sentence? A federal judge just said no because that was an attempt at "undermining the Judiciary's sentencing authority," which "violates separation of powers principles."

reason.com/volokh/2025/...

"AI thinks you should go to jail, even if you didn't do the crime."

In this new report, researchers found that ChatGPT "consistently ... recommended prosecution over dismissal or diversion," even when elements of the crime were not proven.

knowledgehub.justiceinnovationlab.org/reports/ai-i...

As these authors explain, that "would mark a significant departure from centuries-old legal tradition, where the right to be tried by a jury of one's peers has been a cornerstone of the criminal justice system in England and Wales."

This recommendation comes amid a severe backlog in those countries' criminal justice system—some trials are being scheduled as far out as 2029. The independent review suggests that streamlining complex fraud trials could help alleviate delays and improve efficiency.

Justice recalibrated: What the Criminal Courts Review means for economic crime prosecution | JD Supra The publication of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts in June 2025 marks a significant attempt to reshape the structure, governance and...

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥?

An independent review in England and Wales has proposed removing the jury-trial right for complex fraud charges involving subject matter "outside the understanding of the general public."

www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/ju...

This is a fantastic opportunity to develop your criminal-defense skills under low caseloads and excellent supervision, all while learning to teach and supervise law students as they learn to practice criminal law.

"Criminal defense practitioners, known for both their creativity and their tenacity, can sincerely argue that in any given criminal case, every fact is essential to determining exactly where, within a wide range of punishments, a specific sentence should be imposed."

Justice Neil Gorsuch’s “right to jury trial” revolution ScotusCrim is a recurring series by Rory Little focusing on intersections between the Supreme Court and criminal law. Please note that the views of outside contributors do not reflect the […]

In 𝘌𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘷. 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 (2024), the Supreme Court wrote that juries must decide "every fact essential to … punishment." In this intriguing article, Professor Rory Little identifies 𝘌𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳's transformative potential.

www.scotusblog.com/2025/07/just...

Want to feel old? There is a ‘90s exhibit at the history museum.

This is a key distinction between being a student and being a lawyer.

As a student, you're rewarded when your reader concludes that what you wrote is smart.

As a lawyer, you and your client are rewarded when your reader concludes that what you wrote is obvious.

"When four of them were in front of me, standing while they had me sitting down, they said that I do not have rights, that my constitutional rights don't matter at a port of entry and that I should stop talking about rights," Chavarria said.

And as it turns out, nothing has gone wrong. For 18 months, there have been no fights, escapes, or drug seizures. As one prison official put it, "all it takes is one bad event, and that could shut it down for a long time"—these men "know what they have to lose."

No cuffs: Texas death row loosens solitary confinement for first time in years A new program in the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, allows death row prisoners to mingle outside of solitary confinement.

In this Houston Chronicle article, @keribla.bsky.social describes a new pilot program on Texas' death row. Some of the best-behaved prisoners now have the opportunity to leave their cells without handcuffs or shackles.

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investi...

Texas is trying a new kind of death row – one with a sense of community A new program in the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, allows death row prisoners to mingle outside of solitary confinement.

No shackles, no cuffs: Texas death row loosens solitary confinement for first time in years. Kudos to @tdcj.bsky.social for this new initiative.

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investi...