So many charges, so little forgiveness. So much fear, so little trust. So many chains, so little freedom. So much guilt, such great condemnation. Such great thick volumes of the law, so few pages granting pardons. This was my day in, day out reality as I worked in the courtrooms as a Certified Court Interpreter. You will enter the courtrooms. The narratives will almost make you believe you are present in the audience. You will follow divorce proceedings, murder felony trials, kids appearing in juvenile hall for truancy, drug trafficking in the schools, and more serious matters. All these narratives become jumping boards for entering the greater courtroom. Here we must all appear before the judgment seat of God. And all our narratives and stories end here, because a new narrative begins. Not our own, but that of Another, our Substitute, our Attorney, our Judge, all in One, Jesus Christ the King of forgiveness! In this courtroom, forgiveness overwhelms the charges. Trust casts out all fear. All chains are unshackled, as the Word of absolution breaks all fetters. "Your sins are forgiven" is the thread that binds all narratives in this devotional. The law gives way to the Gospel. Each story takes us from the earthly courtrooms where we hear mostly sentencing and condemnations, to the heavenly throne of grace. Here, the Judge of the Universe has only one Word: “ Forgiven!” But how, on account of what law? Or on account of whom? You will see the answer clearly spelled out in each of the narratives of “ All Charges Dropped!” Forgiven sinners walk away in total freedom, at this jaw dropping declaration of grace from the Judge of the universe. At God's Word, no guilt remains!

Sean K Ellis was wrongfully convicted in 1995 of the murder of Boston Detective John J Mulligan. Mulligan was white and Sean was black. Enter Elaine Alice Murphy. Sean was her son's childhood friend. That connection would lead to Murphy uncovering "game changing" evidence of police corruption that tainted Sean's trial. The story of seventeen years of prison visits that would become truly life changing for both Sean and Elaine, and an examation of injustice.

A revelatory account of the misdemeanor machine that unjustly brands millions of Americans as criminals. Punishment Without Crime offers an urgent new interpretation of inequality and injustice in America by examining the paradigmatic American offense: the lowly misdemeanor. Based on extensive original research, legal scholar Alexandra Natapoff reveals the inner workings of a massive petty offense system that produces over 13 million cases each year. People arrested for minor crimes are swept through courts where defendants often lack lawyers, judges process cases in mere minutes, and nearly everyone pleads guilty. This misdemeanor machine starts punishing people long before they are convicted; it punishes the innocent; and it punishes conduct that never should have been a crime. As a result, vast numbers of Americans -- most of them poor and people of color -- are stigmatized as criminals, impoverished through fines and fees, and stripped of drivers' licenses, jobs, and housing. For too long, misdemeanors have been ignored. But they are crucial to understanding our punitive criminal system and our widening economic and racial divides. A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018

"Project of the American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Standards Committee, Criminal Justice Section"--T.p. verso.

Examines the causes for mass incarceration of Americans and calls for the reform of the bail system. Traces the history of bail, how it has come to be an oppressive tool of the courts, and makes recommendations for reforming the bail system and alleviating the mass incarceration problem.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.