The sad story of my first (almost) trial

From public defender blogger Defending the Public:

The same day, I also discovered that the DA had been interviewing government witnesses without any investigator, making no record of those interviews, and refusing to disclose the statements made in the interviews. So on the next morning, which was the day of trial, I did what any sensible defender would do - I subpoenaed the DA as a witness in his own case!

The DA flipped out and called down his supervisor, who, knowing that I was a very young PD, tried to bully me into backing down. Alone in the hallway, she pointed her finger right in my face.

If you don't withdraw this subpoena," she said, "then just so you know, we'll be asking for sanctions."

Sanctions?" I asked. "You'll have to get in line - your deputy has broken so many discovery rules in this case that he's going to have his witnesses excluded. And I've already suppressed your gun… so let's go in chambers and talk about sanctions."

And that is how Raul, on the day of trial, accepted the DA's offer of an infracted disturbing the peace charge. It's also how I very sadly missed out on my first trial.

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I thought about quitting yesterday

From public defender blogger Woman in Black:

I have been a lawyer 18 plus years now (gosh, I am old). Three times, since becoming a fulltime pd, I have testified about my representation of a client. I have never been found to be ineffective, but the possibility was certainly there. I did not like it, necessarily, but it did not get my panties in a wad, because I have always believed it is all about the client. We are supposed to do our best job for our client. We are not supposed to let our egos get in the way of representing the client. If we screw up, we are supposed to fix it by any legal means. It is not about us. It is about the people who go to jail or prison or get their kids taken away. The people who have to spend the next five years peeing in front of a stranger and having people drop by their houses and apartments at random hours. The people who can’t get the good jobs because they have felony convictions. The people who are addicted, and mentally ill, and seriously messed up, who are depending on us. We are supposed to listen to them - no matter if we are busy, if we are tired, if we are sick, whatever…we are supposed to listen to them, look at their cases, and advise them completely as to what is best in their circumstances. We don’t get to make excuses. We don’t get to have bad days. And if we don’t do what we ought to do, we sometimes have to face the music.

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A deputy public defender faces drug charges

From KOBI NBC5:

Attorney Justin Rosas has been suspended from his duties as a Jackson County Public Defender due to pending legal action concerning drug charges in Lexington Kentucky.

The Director of the Public Defender’s office Herbert Putney, told NBC 5 that Rosas was immediately suspended as soon as he was able to confirm there were drug charges in Kentucky.

A copy of a citation received by NBC 5 listed possession of small amounts of marijuana and LSD .

Rosas has worked for the Public Defenders Office since Dec. 3rd. Putney says that Rosas passed his bar exams for this state last year.
He says the Bar thoroughly vetts an attorney before passing the bar.

Putney says he did not know of the charges in Kentucky until Friday Morning. Shortly after 1 pm.  Rosas suspension was made official. Putney says he has not determined the length or conditions of the suspension until he has had more time to investigate the charges.

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Public defenders facing budget cuts

From wymtnews.com (KY):

Local attorneys say state budget cuts could jeopardize their ability to continue defending people in court.

Brian Hamilton says his life had spun out of control thanks to an addiction to drugs. “I was arrested, drug court came along and gave me the opportunity to change my life,” Hamilton said.

Drug offenders can move from the courtroom back into a productive life thanks to drug court but public defenders say state budget cuts could threaten it.

Brian Hamilton is now a supervisor at a Barbourville business. Many drug court graduates get help finding a job through a social worker program that one local attorney says could be on the chopping block.

“We’re facing some pretty serious cuts,” said Roger Gibbs with the Department of Public Advocacy. State public advocacy officials say if the proposed state budget goes through, thirty attorneys could lose their jobs. They say that would cause a major backlog in court.”

So we would have case loads in excess of national standards and bordering on unethical,” Gibbs said. And that, he says, could have a major effect on defendants. “If we have fewer lawyers, that means fewer jail visits, fewer opportunities to interact with out clients. It means less time to work on some real solutions,” Gibbs said.

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A return to the normal (more or less)

From public defender blogger Of a public defender’s life:

I also have a whole pack of competency clients. These cases for some reason seem to come in waves. I love my competency clients. They are (mostly) really sweet and lost. And more than one of them seem to have a crush on me. Normally, something I’m not wild about, but in them, it’s quite poignant. After all, how many people have they ever had try to help them in their lives? And it just makes me angry that some police officers seem to just follow them around waiting for them to get afraid and violent. I have one poor guy who was charged with filing a false report. Honestly! The guy is so delusional, they had to have been able to figure something was not right when they took the report. He called me all upset and afraid today because the judge made him “stand in the oaths and give up his rights and his lefts!” Even the not so sweet ones I don’t mind. I find I have the patience to listen to their convoluted stories and reassure them and call their mamas and girlfriends. A strange thing of late. Even the guy who wants to kill me because I “raised his incompetence” I have patience with. After all, it’s not his fault. No one wants to be thought of as either crazy or stupid. (Though I’m careful to not to say the words “incompetent” or “evaluation” in his presence. I was quite angry when the ADA brought it up when there was no need.)

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Judge asked to drop one Nichols attorney

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Fulton County Courthouse rampage suspect Brian Nichols may lose one of his state-funded attorneys if Georgia officials get their way at a hearing Thursday.

Mack Crawford, head of the Public Defender Standards Council, was in court Tuesday trying to persuade the new trial judge to dismiss attorney Jacob Sussman of North Carolina to save money. The council, which pays for the representation of poor and capital defendants, would use existing staff to help the defense team, led by North Carolina legal heavyweight Henderson Hill.

Superior Court Judge Jim Bodiford said he will issue a ruling during a hearing Thursday. At that time, the judge also vowed to set a trial date —- and to stick to it. The case involving the March 11, 2005, shooting deaths of a judge, court reporter, sheriff’s sergeant and federal customs agent has been delayed for three years due to defense complaints that they need more money in addition to the $1.5 million they have received. Nichols has pleaded not guilty.

Crawford insists the council has faced its own budget cuts and is tapped out. And, he has pointed out, Nichols has four lawyers, more than most death penalty defendants, who are allotted two attorneys.

Three of Nichols’ attorneys were making more than the state average of $95 an hour until one of them voluntarily reduced his fee. A fourth attorney is volunteering her time and only requires reimbursement for expenses. Crawford also has argued that the $1.5 million the defense team has spent is more than four times the average cost of a death penalty defense in Georgia. Hill disputes this amount, but doesn’t want to release documents detailing what his team has spent and on what.

“If Mr. Nichols had funds and was independently wealthy and could provide counsel, none of these issues would be litigated in open court,” Hill told the judge. “The world has no need to know about this prior to trial.”

The judge has released documents showing that Nichols’ attorneys spent about $47,000 on hotel expenses from June through December 2007. That doesn’t include meals, gas expenses and attorney fees. The judge was responding to a request by a legislative committee. The committee initially requested the information on defense expenditures due to concerns about the five trial delays.

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Public defender protesters may file lawsuit

From WHEC-TV (Rochester, NY):

The Monroe County Public Defender was chosen in early February. The County Legislature appointed Tim Donaher. But the controversy about how he was chosen continues, and some local clergy say their right to protest that process was violated.

Could a lawsuit be in the works?

A group called the coalition met Thursday night to discuss strategy. Members say they want to fix the process of choosing a public defender for the future.

Rev. Franklin Florence said, “There has to be a process that is non-partisan.” County legislator Calvin Lee is a member of The Coalition. He said, “If we have to be the sacrificial lamb lets lean from this experience, lets correct this forever and not have to go through this in life.”

The other issue this group is upset about is how the people who protested the process were treated. Florence said, “What’s important here is that you had people petitioning their government and if America is America, a citizen should have that right.” Reverend Florence described the treatment as unlawful. Florence along with Assemblyman David Gantt, Reverend Raymond Scott and two other people were arrested during the selection process. They were all charged with disorderly conduct.

We asked, were your rights violated? Rev.Florence answered, “We think they were.”

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Costs to shift to counties

From The Albany Herald:

The House overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday aimed at preserving Georgia's fledgling indigent defense system by reining in costs.
"This is a program that is worth saving," Rep. David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, the bill's chief sponsor, told his legislative colleagues. "But if we are to save it, it must be changed."

Lawmakers approved the statewide network of public defenders in 2003 to replace a hodgepodge of local systems that had generated lawsuits charging some judicial circuits with failing to provide an adequate defense for indigent suspects. A year later, the Legislature funded the program and the system was launched at the beginning of 2005. Costs quickly mounted to the point that by this year, the system's budget had grown to $107 million, double what the state and counties combined were spending on indigent defense just eight years ago.

To make matters worse, the system drew a ream of negative publicity over the Brian Nichols case. Although the alleged Fulton County courthouse gunman has yet to go to trial three years after the multiple murders, the tab for defending him has hit nearly $2 million. The legislation, which passed 141-21 and now heads to the Senate, is designed to reduce state taxpayers' burden for defending poor people accused of crime by shifting more of the costs to counties and to the defendants themselves.

Under the legislation, the state would cover the entire bill for only the first $150,000 of the cost of a death penalty case. Beyond that, counties would have to pick up part of the tab.

Also, the measure changes the income-eligibility limit to qualify for a public defender from 125 percent of the federal poverty level down to 100 percent of the poverty limit.

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M2SYS Introduces Revolutionary Biometric Artificial Intelligence Technology with Bio-AI(TM)

Award-Winning Fingerprint Biometrics Firm Leverages Innovative Dynamic Profiling Technique to Resolve the Widespread Industry Problem of False Negative Match Results

ATLANTA, Ga. — M2SYS, an award-winning biometric technology research and development firm, announced today the release of their newest fingerprint biometrics innovation: Bio-AI(TM). This exciting new artificial intelligence enhancement uses a unique “dynamic profiling” technique to learn about a person’s fingerprints over time. This knowledge enables the fingerprint software to take actions that mitigate the chance of generating a false reject following a fingerprint scan.

A false reject (or false negative) in terms of biometric technology occurs when the system fails to identify a successfully enrolled user. In other words, although a biometric template exists for the user that is attempting to be identified, the biometric system returns a “no match found” result, and user authentication is denied.

The probability that a biometrics system will produce a false reject is known as the false reject rate (FRR). The FRR is a critical variable involved in the successful selection and deployment of a fingerprint identification system. False rejects are extremely frustrating, and can also lead to increased costs and decreased productivity for companies that have invested in fingerprint biometrics.

Through constant communication with thousands of end user deployments over many vertical markets, M2SYS was able to recognize the real-world benefit of a solution to the false reject problem. The installation of Bio-AI(TM) reduces the need for users to perfectly align their finger during identification scans, which improves usability and increases the likelihood of a fingerprint match. Production deployments of Bio-AI(TM) have already shown very high success rates.

“False rejects are a common but very serious issue across the entire biometrics industry,” states Mizan Rahman, CEO and Chief Scientist of M2SYS. “Undeservedly being unable to clock in for work or being denied the ability to pick up your child from daycare can have serious consequences. With Bio-AI(TM), M2SYS is again solving a vital issue in fingerprint biometrics and reasserting its role as a biometric technology innovator.”

About M2SYS Technology
Recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s 2007 Biometrics Technology Innovation of the Year Award, M2SYS Technology, www.m2sys.com, is a recognized leader in fingerprint biometrics, delivering a variety of turn-key fingerprint software solutions and fingerprint readers for businesses and consumers.

Technorati Tags: M2SYS Technology, Biometrics Technology Innovation of the Year Award, CEO Mizan Rahman, Bio-AI fingerprint recognition software

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Harper Arrington Publishing Announces New Clothing and Shoe Design Software for Fashion Designers

DETROIT, Mich. — Harper Arrington Publishing LLC has announced the release of The Creative Pack 1 upgrade for Digital Fashion Pro - Fashion Design System. The Digital Fashion Pro System is an innovative solution that gives fashion designers, students, and even ordinary people the tools they need to design their own cutting edge fashion collection using digital fabrics and garment templates.

“The Creative Pack 1 upgrade was invented to give clothing and shoe designers a host of new resources to develop their designs with,” said Michael Harper, co-developer of Digital Fashion Pro and The Creative Pack 1, and co-founder of Harper-Arrington Publishing LLC.

“The Creative Pack 1 features The Shoe Factory, Designer Series Templates Trend 1 Library, Digital Fabric Pack 2 and The Vector Art Gallery. We are really proud of this new product. We set out to make Digital Fashion Pro the best fashion design system in the world, and we strongly believe the Creative Pack 1 has brought us closer to that goal.”

The Creative Pack 1 is available at www.startingaclothingline.com or www.DigitalFashionPro.com. Digital Fashion Pro gives users the ability to create realistic looking clothing right on their computer screen. Jay Arrington, co-creator of the Creative Pack 1 and Digital Fashion Pro stated, “It is the use of real Digital Fabrics inside our system that gives designs a superior look. We wanted to change the way fashion illustration is done and using our trademarked digital fabrics takes fashion design to the next level.”

Boasting an ever-growing client list of some of today’s hottest fashion houses, designers and schools from all over the world truly attest to the success and capabilities of the Digital Fashion Pro Fashion Design System.

Michigan-based Harper Arrington Publishing LLC was founded in 2004, and is dedicated to educating children and adults on how to realize their dreams. Their software and books, including “The Little Entrepreneur Series,” and “The Official Step by Step Guide to Starting Your Own Clothing Line,” sell all around the world.

Technorati Tags: Harper Arrington Publishing LLC, Digital Fashion Pro, Fashion Design System, clothing design software

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Ryan Rowe, New Luxury Men’s Footwear Brand Launches

NEW YORK, N.Y. — A breath of fresh air enters men’s fashion with the launch of Ryan Rowe, a new luxury men’s footwear brand available in March at Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and fine retail outlets nationwide. Ryan Rowe is on target with the current shift of men’s increased focus on style.

“As men grow more style savvy, their attentions will branch out into all aspects of their appearance, including footwear. Until now, there has been a real shortage of creative and compelling offerings in the market,” says Ryan Ringholz, Ryan Rowe partner/creative director and an award winning designer whose ability to translate European sensibilities to mass market is most evident in his design experience with Puma, Diesel, Pony, New Balance, Jil Sander, Marc Jacobs/Nuala, Tretorn, and Dry-shoD.

The entire collection has been created with the versatility of being worn both for day or evening, dressing up or down, with jeans or a suit. Styles such as the Leighton, Bentley, and Tipton are exaggerations of classic driving moc, traditional English lace up and sneaker patterns, respectively.

Vacchetta leather (the finest Italian tanned leather), full length Poron sock liners (anti-microbial + anti-bacterial), hand painted canvas, patent suede, natural vegetable dyes, Blake stitching, and interesting combinations of color and texture are just some of the cutting edge details that exemplify the Ryan Rowe brand aesthetic. As members of 1% For The Planet, Ryan Rowe has a commitment to bettering the environment and delivering a greener product.

Partners Ringholz and Rowe Samieian in their respective capacities have undoubtedly impacted the modern footwear business. “Even with so much experience and involvement in footwear, I still felt there was a void in the market. I was unable to find affordable shoes that reflect the look and quality of my high-end tastes. Hence, the concept of ‘Accessible Luxury’ - making high quality products accessible and appreciated by the most creative and inspired consumer,” became the foundation of our brand,” says Samieian, a proven master at revitalizing and building brands such as Sacha London, Dr. Martens and Diesel.

More information: www.ryan-rowe.com .

Launch Event:
Nordstrom at The Grove, located 189 The Grove Drive in Los Angeles, CA, will host an official launch for Ryan Rowe on March 15, 2008, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

All trademarks acknowledged.

Technorati Tags: Ryan Rowe Footwear, Ryan Ringholz, Rowe Samieian, shoes for men, Vacchetta leather shoes, fashion industry news

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Tequin Revisited: Health Canada And The FDA Failed To Take Action, At Our Expense

Bristol-Myers Squibb Was Allowed To Withdraw Their Unsafe Drug For "Economic Reasons", And Only After Selling Off Its Inventory

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

An article by Joel Lexchin, MSc MD, "Information about a discontinued drug", published in the March 11, 2008 edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), reminded me about how Health Canada and the FDA failed to order a recall of Tequin (gatifloxacin) a couple of years back.  Instead, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) was allowed to do a gradual withdrawal of Tequin and, in so doing, the drug company largely succeeded in not drawing any additional attention to Tequin's safety problems.

In the spring of 2006, Bristol-Myer said that a continuing decline in Tequin sales was the reason for deciding to stop selling Tequin.  In fact, however, Tequin was an unsafe drug that had been linked to various blood-sugar disorders -- but the FDA as well as Health Canada let the drug company have it their way.

For the following review of developments and events leading up to how BMS ended its Tequin sales in the U.S. and Canada, I draw from two of my earlier reports about this dangerous antibiotic:   

• Bristol-Myers Squibb To Stop Selling Antibiotic Drug Tequin
• Antibiotic Tequin Should Be Banned By FDA, Says Public Citizen Petition

Mid-February 2006: BMS, the FDA, and Health Canada announced that the Tequin label would be changed to include stronger warnings about the threat of life-threatening events from blood-sugar changes.

March 1, 2006: The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published online an early-release version of a study which found that patients using Tequin had four times the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and an astounding 17 times the risk of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) -- collectively referred to as dysglycemia -- when compared to other antibiotics.

April 27, 2006:  A newspaper article is the first announcement that BMS has decided to stop selling Tequin.  According to this Wall Street Journal article, however, Tequin product shipments would not end in most markets until sometime in May or June 2006.

May 1, 2006: Public Citizen asked the FDA to ban Tequin in order to immediately get this unsafe drug off pharmacy shelves in the U.S.  According to the Public Citizen petition, an analysis of adverse event reports submitted to the FDA reveals that during the period January 1, 2000 through June 30, 2005 there were 388 cases of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia; 20 on those reports involved patient deaths.

To my knowledge, the FDA never banned Tequin in the U.S. as requested by Public Citizen.

The March 2008 CMAJ article which is mentioned at the outset of this piece confirms that Health Canada did nothing:

Health Canada issued a number of alerts about the potential for this product to interfere with glucose metabolism but never bothered to formally inform either the public or health care professionals that oral and intravenous forms of this drug were withdrawn from sale in Canada. The only place where one can find this information is by searching the discontinued products in Health Canada's Drug Product Database (http://cpe0013211b4c6d-cm0014e88ee7a4.cpe.net.cable.rogers.com/dpdonline/searchRequest.do). This failure to communicate important information about a drug raises serious concerns about Health Canada's ability to keep health care professionals and the public informed about safety issues.

I believe the same thing -- "raises serious concerns" -- can be said about how the FDA let the drug company Bristol-Myers Squibb seemingly sell-off its inventory of Tequin instead of the FDA ordering an immediate recall of Tequin. 

In the end, this history of Tequin appears to be a prime example of putting profits over public safety.

Self-Made Hip-Hop Artist SOLOW13 Spreads the TRUTH with New Record Label

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Underground Mexican hip-hop artist/entrepreneur, SOLOW13, breaks the music game wide open by establishing his own label, TRUTH LOVES LA WFAMILIA, LLC or simply LAWFAMILIA, LLC. The new imprint is a collaborative partnership between SOLOW13 and famed West Coast label, Latin Thug Records - best known for being founded by Cypress Hill’s Sen Dog and home to the Reyes Brothers, B Real’s “Gunslinger” albums and many other notable releases.

“Solow brings a lot to the table. He’s an amazing artist and a highly competent business executive. As soon as we heard his music and met him, we knew we had to be in business with him. We are very excited to partner with him and we’re here to do whatever we can to help make the world aware of his talent and his message and to help him take LAWFAMILIA to the next level,” says Fred Sherman, President of Latin Thug Records. SOLOW13’s highly anticipated debut album, Warrior13, will be the first release from the imprint and will be in-stores on March 25, 2008.

LAWFAMILIA, LLC will be responsible for producing its own creative material, while Latin Thug Records will direct manufacturing, distribution, marketing and other duties. The aim of the LAWFAMILIA, LLC is not only to be a home for talented artists, but also a launch pad for innovative projects and ventures.

THE ALBUM:
Warrior13 takes a truly original approach by being totally clean without compromising its edge. The first single, “Whistle While U Work,” features the West Coast legend, B Real from Cypress Hill. The track serves a dual purpose: an anthem for SOLOW13’s domination with an infectious hook and a descriptive insight into his struggle as an artist and an ambitious businessman. Other Cali heavyweights are present on Warrior13, including Latin hip-hop pioneer, Mellow Man Ace on the second single, “Dickies and the Polo.” This joint is destined to bang in the clubs as well as on the streets. Legendary mastering engineer Brian “Big Bass” Gardner (Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop, Linkin Park, Madonna) elevates the album to a whole new level by adding the finishing touches to this classic.

THE HISTORY:
The founding of LAWFAMILIA, LLC was not an easy accomplishment by any means. The label is a culmination of the blood, sweat and tears stemming from SOLOW13’s life experiences. Born in Jalisco, Mexico, SOLOW13’s life hit a crossroad when his father, in a drunken rage, shot and killed his mother, wounded his aunt and attempted to shoot him and his siblings. Like something from a movie, the family, led by SOLOW13’s 16-year-old brother, began their journey for a better life in America. The journey took them by foot, by train and by water, and finally hiding under the floorboards of a truck.

The desire for a whole new world of possibilities fed his desire to continue in his struggle. Once in the US, SOLOW13 experienced a rebirth as his natural talents began to show, both academically and as a hustler on the street. His relentless pursuit of the American dream turned friends into enemies, placed him in dangerous situations and left him broke and homeless more than once. SOLOW13 stood out from the crowd early as he developed at an astonishing pace. He excelled academically and made a name for himself on the streets.

Through hustling and showing his clout, SOLOW13 successfully forged solid business partnerships, which led to earning the capital needed to upstart his own label, maintain artistic control and serve as a champion for capitalizing on artistic and business-related ventures. Eventually, SOLOW13 would experience a profound spiritual metamorphosis after extensive study of religious philosophy. This enlightenment allowed him to gain knowledge of self through faith. Now armed with a strong connection to a higher power, SOLOW13 is ready to take his game to the next level using his own blueprint for success. To this day, SOLOW13 continues to study the Bible and Hebrew law.

Stay tuned for more exciting SOLOW13 updates coming soon.

WARRIOR13 IN-STORES MARCH 25!

For more information, be sure to visit www.lawfamilia.com and www.myspace.com/solow13warrior13 .

For more information on Latin Thug Records visit www.latinthugmusic.com .

Technorati Tags: West Coast record label, Latin Thug Records, Mexican hip-hop artist SOLOW13, TRUTH LOVES LA WFAMILIA LLC

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What Everyone Else Is Saying

Here's what everyone else around the blogosphere is saying about women lawyers, women and the law:

The good:

• Over at Build a Solo Practice, LLC, Susan Cartier Liebel points out that many women lawyers are finding true independence through solo practice: More Female Attorneys Hanging Shingles for the Benefits of Solo Practice
• The Wall Street Journal Law Blog asks: Legal Academia — Family Friendly, or Not?
• Via Ms. JD comes an interesting post about lawyers marrying their own: The Green Monster: When Your Significant Other Is a Lawyer

The bad:

• I'm more than just a bit uncomfortable with the underlying (and unsupported) assumption found in both of these posts at the Beckner-Posner Blog which discuss the gender gap in education:  namely, that girl students are more docile, unaggressive and patient than boy students.  I think that the term "docile" is the term that troubles me most.

The ugly:

• Let's start with the title of this post over at the Legal Satyricon:  Who doesn't love Yale sluts?  Then let's move onto this comment: Then again, I wouldn't really call any woman a slut (unless it was a term of endearment - some women giggle when you call them that).  A "term of endearment"?  Oh, I see.  Well, if that's the case, I'll be sure to try that one out on my kindergartner tomorrow when she gets home from school.  And who are these women giggling in response to that "endearing" language?  Must be some of those docile young things.  And, finally, the assertion that calling a woman a loaded term like "slut" doesn't harm her reputation is, quite simply, ludicrous.

--Nicole Black is, among other things, a Rochester, NY DWI defense lawyer, and is of counsel to Fiandach & Fiandach, one of the largest and most experienced DWI defense firms in New York State.  She also co-authors the Thomson-West book Criminal Law in New York and writes a weekly column, "Legal Currents", for The Daily Record.

WILL REGISTERED MAGNOLIA STATE REPUBLICANS VOTE FOR HILLARY?

The weather is bad today in Mississippi and turnouts reportedly low.

Will the low turnout favor Clinton?

And will Mississippi Republicans—whose party has already picked their nominee and who are allowed to vote for a Democrat in this primary—cross party lines and vote "against" Obama, i.e. for Hillary?

Probably not, but stay tuned…..

WHY CAN’T FERRO SAY WHAT THE BLACK PRESS HAS ALREADY SAID?

An associated press story posted 12 minutes ago is titled " Ferraro Remarks on Obama Decried."

Her remarks:

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," Geraldine Ferraro told the Daily Breeze of Torrance, Calif., in an interview published Friday. "And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

The team Obama reaction:

"The bottom line is this, when you wink and nod at offensive statements, you're really sending a signal to your supporters that anything goes."

But was the statement "offensive" or untruthful, and more to the point, is this anything that the black press has not already acknowledged?

We will let you make up your own minds, but consider this excerpt form a black Internet site titled "Obama's Success Has Its Limits":

""Obama enjoys his lead in delegates for one main reason: black majority congressional districts. Democrats are proportional so long as losing candidate gets 25% of the vote. But in black majority districts, Obama is winning north of 80%, so he gets them all. He also has big (2 to 1) leads in many low-turnout caucus states.""

Can there be any doubt that Barack Obama will, for example, carry Mississippi because about 70% of registered democrats there are black?

Why can blacks speak openly about what we all know to be true, but not whites?

And since when is the truth so offensive? (Related call to calm down: No, Calling Hillary 'Calculating' Is Not Sexism.)

HILLARY CLINTON WILL HIT OBAMA HARD THIS WEEK IN PA

Now that a key Obama advisor (Samantha Power) has called the former first lady a "monster", Clinton has fired back by saying Obama is not ready to lead, and Obama has bluntly told Hillary to put her Clinton-Obama ticket where the moon don't shine—the gloves are really coming off this week.

According to NBC's Andrea Mitchell, a day after Obama hit Clinton hard in Mississippi (using local black lingo, Obama accused Clinton of "the old okie-doke"—an artifice), she is going to return the favor by hammering Obama this afternoon in Harrisburg, Pa., according to prepared speech excerpts released by her campaign.
She will go after him on issues that started to work for her in Ohio, and the campaign thinks could have similar impact on voters in Pennsylvania -- NAFTA, Iraq, Energy and being true to his promises.
Examples show she's following up on the Goolsbee-Canadian government issue and on Samantha Power.

"The true test comes when it's time to match rhetoric with results," Clinton will say. "And unfortunately, we've seen that Senator Obama's promises and speeches are often just words."
…

"On the campaign trail, Sen. Obama talks about clean energy. But in the Senate, he voted for Dick Cheney's energy bill loaded with new tax breaks for oil companies. When he faced a tough choice, his
support for a clean energy future turned out to be just words." …

"It's like how he talks about fixing NAFTA. But his top economic adviser assured the Canadian government that he wouldn't really follow through. His position? Just words." …

"Senator Obama promises to withdraw from Iraq within 16 months. But his top foreign policy adviser said he's not really going to rely on that plan. I guess that plan is just words, too."

Ouch!!!

And the speech has not even been delivered and already Obama has hit back with this (paraphrasing Power's infamous remarks without the "monster" epithet):

"Proving once again that she will say and do anything to win this election, Senator Clinton today has unleashed a kitchen sink of distorted and discredited attacks that she knows aren't true."

So much for the inspirational Obama.

Georgia Association for Women Lawyers Announces Study Results from IT'S ABOUT TIME II: Examining Flexible Work Arrangements

Yet another study that states the obvious.  I'm not knocking the study--it's an important step.

But still, it's the same ol' story, different day.

How many of these studies need to be done before legal employers change their archaic policies and enter the 21st century?

From the press release about the study:

The Georgia Association for Women Lawyers ("GAWL") today released nationwide its report entitled, IT'S ABOUT TIME II: Examining Flexible Work Arrangements from the Attorney's and the Firm's Perspectives -- A Study of Part-time Policies in Georgia Law Firms...   

The report, which analyzes the ubiquitous challenge of work-life balance facing attorneys, concludes that flexible work arrangements are crucial to recruit and retain women lawyers, and mitigate financial risk for employers. For such arrangements to work, both law firms and lawyers must understand the perils of maintaining the status quo, as well as the benefits of implementing flexible employment policies. It's About Time II presents fair and practical solutions for lawyers and law firms seeking to implement alternative work arrangements...   

Due to accelerating attrition rates among women lawyers, law firms currently face challenges associated with employee diversity, increasing firm costs and client relationships. Women represent nearly one-half of U.S. law school graduates, but only 17% of partners in law firms. Such loss of female associates may interrupt client-firm relationships, negatively impact fees, and increase firm operating expenses... 

In the Study, more than 60% of female attorneys leaving law firms cited the desire for a different schedule or professional dissatisfaction as their reason. GAWL's survey results from 84 Georgia law firms show that lawyers' attitudes about part-time and flexible work schedules have progressed. Over 93% of all respondents look favorably on employers that allow part-time or flexible work arrangements while 86% of women attorneys are interested in part time or flexible work arrangements.    

While perceptions are shifting as attrition increases, employers have been slow to adapt. Both men and women lawyers believe working part-time or on a flexible schedule is career limiting; this dichotomy may be explained by firms' underwhelming strides to implement policies supporting flexible work arrangements. More than half of the firms surveyed have never employed a part-time attorney. Greater than 60% of law firms have no formal written part-time policy.

LSUC targets female exodus

This article from Lawtimes.com, once again from our astute  across the border, details a creative attempt to slow down the exodus of women attorneys from the legal profession. 

A few excerpts:

For as little as $15 a year from each member, the Law Society of Upper Canada could make it easier for female lawyers to remain in the profession while balancing family demands, says a report from the retention of women in private practice working group...

The report includes two potentially groundbreaking proposals: the creation of a parental-leave program for sole and small-firm practitioners that would give recipients up to $9,000 over three months, and a locum service that would keep practices running while lawyers are on parental leave...

The report outlines some of the challenges female lawyers face. It notes that the demands of a career in law often clash with family life, and that conflict is the biggest reason why lawyers leave the profession. Childbirth and parenting responsibilities are the most pressing challenges for females.  Women now represent 50 per cent or more of law school graduates in Ontario, according to the report.

In 2001, women represented about 51 per cent of Ontario's population, while female lawyers at that time made up 32 per cent of the legal profession and 24 per cent of lawyers in private practice. Women currently represent 37 per cent of the legal profession and 28 per cent of the lawyers in private practice, according to the report...

"A shift in thinking is required both on the part of associates and on the part of the employers/firms," says the report. "This shift would recognize the biological reality of an associate's child-bearing years, for which some accommodation is required, the long-term nature of a career in private practice, and the economic realities of operating a law firm."

Firms participating in the Justicia Pilot Project will be asked to collect demographic information about their lawyers and develop pilot programs, such as maternity/parental leaves and flexible work arrangements; encouraging networking and business development; and mentoring and appointing women to leadership positions...

Big-Firm Associates: Why They Go and How to Keep Them

In this Law.com article, which discusses ways to retain BigLaw associates, inexplicably, work/life balance is given nary a thought.  Not surprisingly, it was written by 2 male attorneys.

An excerpt follows:

The larger law firms are reported to be losing 30, 40, 50 percent of associates after three to four years -- with half to two-thirds of the defections due to associate, not firm, choice...

(O)n the basis of many discussions with students, associates, partners and inside counsel, we believe that for a significant number, their first professional experience after at least seven years of higher education is too unprofessional and demoralizing. That disappointment is a major reason for leaving their firm...

What can be done?...The general counsel and senior partners can revise the running rules to open up lawyer-to-lawyer meetings or legal proceedings so that young associates can observe the process (even though the firm will still have to foot the bill as a training cost)...Corporations can also encourage firms to secund third- or fourth-year associates to them for a year (and pay the costs, but not the profit margin)...Corporations can also encourage firms to secund third-or fourth-year associates to them for a year (and pay the costs, but not the profit margin)...Firms can also secund young associates to public sector agencies (e.g., the county prosecutor's office), where they can be paid by the firm but get far more hands-on experience than they would as twenty-first person on a multidistrict litigation team...Perhaps most importantly, firms could spend as much time on professional development as on marketing.

Gender gap narrows as female partner count increases 30% from 2006 total

From the Brits comes--um--good news, I guess. Via Legalweek.com comes an article that discusses a minor increase in women partners, excerpts of which appear below:

UK law firms have moved to open up their partnerships to female lawyers during the last year, according to the latest annual statistical report by the Law Society.

The report found the total number of female partners in England and Wales increased by nearly 30% over the 12-month period ending 31 July, 2007. Female lawyers now make up 23.5% of all private practice partners, with the number of women partners hitting 7,420 - up from 5,727 female partners in England and Wales the previous year.

The survey findings represent a marked change on last year, when the results showed a decline in the number of female partners.

However, despite the increase, men still dominate law firm partnerships. Not only do they make up 76.5% of law firm partners, but almost half of all male lawyers are partners - in contrast with only 22% of women.

The discrepancy comes despite the fact that women make up more than 43% of all solicitors with practising certificates. That figure looks set to increase in the future, with women last year making up 61.5% of all registered trainees.

(T)he increase in female partners reflected the efforts firms have been making to improve work-life balance for lawyers and encourage flexible working, therefore making it easier for women with families to become partners...

Commenting on the findings, Howard Morris, chief executive at Denton Wilde Sapte, said: "In the City it is harder to make partner, but it is a strong market. Partnership is not [necessarily] the goal. We have people who are partner candidates but do not want the job because of life goals."

Face Time in the WiFi Age

Via New York Lawyer comes an article from a Texas BigLaw partner (ok, maybe it's not "BigLaw", but it's a large law firm--I actually have no idea which firms are "BigLaw" and which aren't--and, frankly, I could care less) about face time and technological advancements: Face Time in the WiFi Age.

Take this one with a grain of salt, y'all.  You've got to consider the source--a big law firm. 

And, I bet you can already tell which way the wind blows on this one.  Yep.  You got it.  Technology means you should always be available, but face time sure as hell ain't dead.  Not even close. 

So, the moral of the story, according to BigLaw: don't skimp on the face time and you'd better check your Crackberry often and frequently.  And, never turn the damn thing off.

From the article:

It is imperative that new associates be present in the office during normal business hours so they can meet other lawyers, obtain work and start forming relationships. If an associate is not sitting in her office when a partner comes by to give an assignment, the partner will move on to the next associate. This will not only adversely affect the amount of work the associate receives, but when she becomes eligible to make partner, she will not have made the connections necessary to support her application...

(E)ven lawyers in small firms think after-hours face time is beneficial, and there is a rationale for this...In essence, partners must know that associates are hard workers who are accessible days, nights and weekends if necessary. This may sound ominous to new associates, but it does not mean they should come in on weekends or stay late at night just to surf the Internet and push paper. Associates should be smart about how they use their after-hours face time in the office. A good rule of thumb is to take cues from the partner with whom the associate works. An associate should strive to get to the office five minutes before the partner arrives and leave shortly after the partner leaves at night. If an associate is working on a project with a particular partner and is aware that the partner will be in the office over the weekend, the associate should be sure to show up at the office as well and offer assistance. At the least, when something the associate is working on is time-sensitive, he should always offer to stay late or help on weekends to get it finished. The partner may not need the assistance, but at least the partner knows the associate is dedicated and willing to work hard...

(V)irtual face time should never be used as a consistent substitute for after-hours office face time, especially if the partner will be in the office working on the same project and might need assistance. Being physically present in the office allows the partner to give feedback to the associate about the project and any special instructions. This is frustrating to do through e-mails and multiple telephone calls if an associate is working remotely. In essence, being physically present in the office allows an associate to better serve the partner with whom he works...

At a minimum, the associate's BlackBerry should be checked a few times a day, and she should respond as necessary. Simply disappearing is never an option, unless it is a honeymoon or funeral. If unexpected and time-sensitive work arrives, the associate should attempt to make himself available to work, if at all possible. Obviously, the ability to work will depend on the associate's location, but showing a willingness to work — even on vacation — will create a lasting impression.

Maternity leaves key to retain women lawyers

Via Law.com, comes an article entitled Maternity leaves key to retain women: report.  This one is once again from our Canadian friends across the border. 

While it seems like this conclusion would be fairly obvious to any member of the human species, apparently, judging from the results reported at Above the Law, as included in last week's round up, apparently BigLaw, home to the "best and "brightest" of the legal profession hasn't quite figured this out yet.  And, sadly, most other legal employers are in the same boat as BigLaw--clueless and unwilling to change.

From the article:

Paid maternity leaves and a pool of lawyers capable of filling in during the leaves are among proposals advanced by a working group that has been looking at how to stem an exodus of female lawyers from the profession.

Co-chaired by Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) benchers Laurie Pawlitza and Bonnie Warkentin, the 15-lawyer group advised the law society's February Convocation that while women have been entering the profession in record numbers, they have also been leaving private practice "in droves"...

In a "consultation paper" submitted to Convocation, the working group made nine recommendations, one of which was that LSUC implement a three-year pilot project for firms with more than 25 lawyers and the two largest firms in each region "in which firms commit to adopting programs for the retention and advancement of women."

The firms would be asked to make commitments in three main areas: providing maternity/parental leaves and flexible work arrangements; encouraging networking and business development, and "mentoring and appointing women in leadership roles."

Noting that the pilot project would be the first of its kind in Canada, the working group predicted it would "lead the way for innovative systemic change in the legal profession"...

Specifically, the working group proposed development of an online Women's Resource Centre, with tools and information focusing on issues related to women's advancement, such as tips on practice management and building a professional profile; maintaining profitability while raising a family; model maternity and flexible arrangement policies and guidelines; networking opportunities; individual coaching opportunities for women, and information on effective mentoring for women, including how to seek out mentors.

Life as a Lawyer and a Mom

Prior to becoming a lawyer, I didn't give the idea of motherhood much thought.  In fact, marriage wasn't even on my radar, and even more removed was the idea of inviting a couple of demanding mini-me's into my life.

All I ever really wanted to do was litigate.  I figured that if I had kids, I'd "deal with all that stuff" when the  time came.  Cross that bridge when I came to it, right?  It sounded good at the time.

But I was short sighted.  I failed to plan for the possibility that my uterus might actually perform its function, or, at the very least, life might throw me some sort of curve ball. 

I spent the first half of my life methodically planning and creating a strong foundation for the first few years of my life as a litigator, but failed to consider that my perspective might change following my marriage to a man diagnosed just three weeks before our wedding with testicular cancer.

Not surprisingly, that diagnosis changed me.  It changed everything. 

I'd met the man I loved and was going to live happily ever after, as both a lawyer and "wife", much as that term annoyed me.  Maybe we'd have kids, too.  Who knew?

And then, on that fateful day in April 1998, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.  If he survived, there was a good chance that we would face fertility issues.  Fertility issues, of all things, when I wasn't even sure I wanted kids.  And, he might die.  Although, we were assured, his particular cancer was "quite curable."  We were supposed to feel good about that. 

I tried to feel hopeful, but found myself sobbing every morning on the way to work as I was stuck in rush hour traffic, seemingly unable to think of nothing else but the horrible cancer in his body that was ruining my marriage before it even began. 

I still wonder what the people stuck in the cars next to me must have thought.  I was truly a sorry sight during those commutes.

Once at work, I was fine, though.  My demanding schedule as an assistant public defender kept my mind more than occupied during the day, for the most part.  Although I must admit that on occasion, such as when a client earnestly explained to me that they'd been unable to perform their community service because it had rained on that particular day and they couldn't get their hair wet, I felt like screaming:  "Wet hair?  This judge is going to re-sentence your earnest ass to jail!  Rain?  C'mon!  Give me something better to work with!  Like how about 'My husband has cancer so I couldn't make it to work?'  But wait a minute, my husband does have cancer and is puking daily and losing half his weight as we speak, and yet, here I am, at work listening to stupid excuses like yours!"

But, then I'd take a deep breath, count to 10 and try to act like I cared about the client's stupid re-sentencing.  Which, I really didn't think was stupid under normal circumstances, but had a hard time feeling otherwise at the time.  I suppose it was understandable.  But, maybe not.  I guess it all depends on your perspective.

Which is kind of where I was planning to go with this post.  Perspective.

As you can see, from the title, I'd planned to write about something else entirely, but the issue of life as a lawyer/mom will have to wait for another day, I suppose.

Suffice to say that my husband's cancer diagnosis, and later, a career move that turned out to be incompatible with my particular constitution caused me to one day experience a sudden and unexpected need to leave my genetic footprint on the world.  Twice.

so confused

okay so there is this guy that i like.. well call him brad. well brad and i talked alot and hungout alot it seemed like he really liked me [or i thought so]. well we stoped talkin for awhile and i got over him, and started to look at this other guy who is much older than me! he is super cute and i talk to his mom alot because his little brother is friends with mine. well he seems really sweet and fun, but i dont think he knows who i am. i have a major crush on him, but last night i was at a friends house and brad showed up and i kinda like him know. but he confuses me because he says he likes me then he says he doesnt and one of my close friends was talking to him and when she toldhim that i didnt like him anymore he got really angry and started saying that i DID like him and he knew it. so im super confused which guy should i go after? oh and this brad guy well i kinda think he just wants to take my virginity.. but i told him that im not having sex with a guy untill i am sure he is not using me, because i have been used for other things.

Law School Progress, In a Nutshell

For 0L’s and 1L’s who are curious about life (or lack of) ahead, here is the general progression of law school.

  

First Year

 DURING SCHOOL YEAR

1. Take your basic law courses (Contracts, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Torts, Federal Civil Procedures, Research and Writing)
2. If you are taking the California bar exam, be sure to register within 90 days (starting from first day of law school) with the California Bar Association.  Otherwise there will be heavy, heavy late fees.
3. Sign-up for journal clerkship (Learn how to do citations by joining a journal)
4. Sign-up for other organizations (Public Interest, Specialization Areas, etc.) —> This is a good way to network, learn more about a specific area of law or about local organizations, and building up your bid for executive board position next year.
5. Sign-up for a bar preparation course.  If you sign-up during your first year, you will receive the most discount.  You also get free things like highlighters, pens, candies, study guides.
6. Go to LexisNexis and Westlaw (legal database) training sessions.  They really help you to become a better researcher, and you get lots of cool freebies (points for free iPod, DVD’s, study guides, plane tickets, brand name bags, and more).
7. In Spring Semester, run for executive board office or some type of leadership position.  This will help you stay connected with other students and teach you teamwork skills.

• DURING FIRST YEAR SUMMER

1. Study abroad (Why not? It’s your only time free), OR
2. Work at non-profit organization (look for fellowship opportunities)
3. Work at private firms (this might be hard for the 1L’s, since you have to wait until December 1st to apply, and most paid positions are highly competitive)
4. Sometime around Summer (July), your school’s on-campus interview will be open for bidding (yes, you have to bid for interviews).  This means you have to submit your transcript and a resume.  Your first year grades are very important if you are looking for BigLaw jobs.
5. You will find out if you made it into your school’s law review.  People in law review are considered creme of the crop.  Do not despair if you do not make it in.  There are other things you can do, such as clerking for other journals, compete in moot court or trial teams, and publishing a legal paper, etc. 

Second Year 

•  DURING SCHOOL YEAR

1. Take your law school courses.  You get to pick the schedule and specialize in area of law, if you choose to do so.
2. Continue to submit bids for interviews.  Possibly going out of town for interviews.  At one point you will wonder how you are able to handle double-load of school work, juggle your extra-curricular commitments, ace these interviews, handle rejections/acceptances, and maintain your sanity.  But you can do it. 
3. If you do not get any offers during Fall Semester, continue to submit bids during your Spring Semester until you have secured a job.  For most law students, the second year summer clerkship is the most important part of their law school agenda.  Most students will secure an offer from the firm upon completion of the clerkship.  This is condition based on passing the bar, of course.  Many large law firms compensate or will pay for the bar review courses.  Most non-profit organizations and government entities will not.
4. Try out for moot court or trial team or submit papers.
5. Take the Multi-state Professional Responsibilities Examination (aka “MPRE”) sometime in Spring semester (March).  Do it while you are still on a roll.  Your second year is the craziest year, but it is the year you have the most energy.  If you have taken Ethics or Evidence, this will help you to better understand the material.  BarBri and other bar prep programs have free MPRE study guides for their paid members.
6. Take an advanced research and writing class.  This will help you get prepared for that summer job!
7. Continue getting certifications from Westlaw and LexisNexis.  You want to learn how to research effectively, quickly, and cheaply.  Remember, Westlaw and LexisNexis cost money and you want to do it right the first time.  Impress your law firm!
8. Have trouble with interviews?  Talk to career services.  Learn from mock interviews, resume edits, and pre-arranged mock lunch interviews.  Talk to alumni and your peers.

• DURING SECOND YEAR SUMMER

1. Learn everything you can. Learn from your mistakes. Talk to other attorneys about their work in general. Get a feel to see if this is where you want to be.
2. Enjoy yourself.

Third Year 

•  DURING SCHOOL YEAR

1. Take some practical courses, if your school offers them.  Examples may include clinics or externships.  Vary your course load.  Get a feel of the practice.
2. Join local bar associations and attend CLE’s if you have time.  Network with real attorneys.
3. Make time for yourself.  Senioritis may hit you as early as Fall Semester.  Be sure to space out your workload so you don’t burn out early.
4. You can work during your school year, but you don’t have to. 
5. If you have extra time, volunteer or work on things that interests you (doesn’t have to be related to law).
6. Learn to relax and release nervous energy.  Learn to focus and build up a plan for the bar examination practice.
7. Save some money.  You never know what surprise expenses might pop up.  (e.g. Paying for the bar exam or bar prep courses, if your law firm is not paying for them).
8. If you have not taken the MPRE yet, Fall Semester is the time!  Try to get it over with ASAP.
9. In Spring, you will register for the bar exam.  It costs several hundred dollars.  Most states have lengthy applications (re: your character fitness, work experience, previous addresses, etc.)  

• DURING SUMMER

1. Really, from 3rd week of May until end of July, you will be buried in bar examination preparation.  No time for play, plenty of work ahead (11 weeks of torture)!
2. Spend a month healing after taking the bar exam.  Book a cruise!  Spend time with your loved ones. 
3. Waiting anxiously until November to find out if you have passed the bar or not.  

It’s Simple, Really

You want to know what we can do to reduce the escalating rate of health care expenditure?  Yes, the $2.2 trillion constituting 16% of our GDP…Two Points- Preventive public health measures cost just a fraction of clinical medicine, yet the annual budget for public health prevention is less than 5%. - Chronic illnesses and end-of-life care are two of the most expensive items on the health care agenda, yet little improvements have been made.  You would think this would be easy to fix, right?  Tell that to the politicians. 

Marching…onward?

It is time for spring vacation.  I have worked hard last semester and the beginning of this semester.  Even though I am aware that after I get a “real” job, I will not be able to take long stretches of breaks (in the form of spring break, winter break, summer vacation), I am looking forward to NOT HAVING to study everyday and working at least 3.5 hours per day. 

Ready, Get Set…

I am a slow learner.  My brain requires repeated exposure to information until it clicks.  Eventually.  I hope.  Thus, even though it is February, I am getting ready for the bar.  This means spending the weekend doing the accelerated bar prep, and working on the MBE questions.What really works for me right now is that I am starting to get some of the rules I had missed (e.g. Evidence, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Civil Procedure).  Another advantage is I am figuring out how to stay organized and composed.Right now I am not doing a lot of work.  I am taking it like a marathon.  I hope with small but gradual exposure to MBE questions, I will be ready to go cometh May. Phew.  All this just to prepare for the actual May preparation. 

Steps on the road to mind-reading (Reiner)

A paper from Jack Gallant's group at Berkeley posted on-line before publication in Nature is getting lots of attention, due in no small measure to the eye-catching headline of the accompanying news piece: "Mind-reading with a brain scan."  The paper itself is somewhat more modestly titled, "Identifying natural images from human brain activity", and this represents the data quite a bit better than the slightly sensational news item.  But if ever there was a paper that was newsworthy to neuroethics, this is it.

The authors showed 1,750 images to two subjects (who happen to be the first and second authors on the paper) while imaging blood flow in their brains using fMRI.  The resultant responses were catalogued and then the subjects were shown 120 novel images; using the information gleaned from the previous data run, the investigators were able to predict the blood flow response as measured by fMRI in response to these images with reasonable accuracy (72%  for one subject and a whopping 92% accuracy for the other). 

So is this mind-reading?  The answer is decidedly no, and as Gallant points out,

The next step is to interpret what a person is seeing without having to select from a set of known images. "That is in principle a much harder problem," says Gallant. You'd need a very good model of the brain, a better measure of brain activity than fMRI, and a better understanding of how the brain processes things like shapes and colours seen in complex everyday images, he says. "And we don't really have any of those three things at this time."

In this sense, the study is more properly characterized as an attempt to unravel the neural code, albeit using the indirect measure of the BOLD signal detected by the fMRI machine.  Nonetheless, the findings are sure to raise all kinds of alarms about bona fide mind-reading.  If this study spurs serious discussion of what we will do when we really develop mind-reading technology, it will have made important contributions both to deciphering the neural code and triggering neuroethical debate.  Not bad for a day's work.