@CarlG@esq.social avatar

CarlG

@CarlG@esq.social

Attorney in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and former Army JAG officer.

Father of two kids, husband of a school social worker. Owner of two dogs & a cat (or is it the other way around?)

Previously a libertarian/conservative, but currently supporting the Dems until the GOP purges itself of nationalists, bigots, conspiracy theorists, anti-democratic forces, and their enablers.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

CarlG, to random
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

It is sad to see India, a country once known as "the world's largest democracy," sliding so brazenly into despotism. I wonder if they will start hacking their expats to pieces at their embassies next?

https://www.vox.com/world-politics/24160779/inside-indias-secret-campaign-to-threaten-and-harass-americans

andrew, to legal
@andrew@esq.social avatar

Boosting for #legal and #tech friends. Important and underreported issue.

Black taxpayers were between 2.9 and 4.7 times more likely to be audited by a data-driven audit algorithm. The IRS' response is that they're making tweaks.

This is insufficient.

Answers. Accountability. What happened? How did an algorithm exhibit decidedly human biases?

#lawfedi @law https://esq.social/@andrew/112478649419844060

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@andrew @law Forgive what may be a basic question, but I presume from your article that:

  1. The "data-driven audit algorithm" is what is opaque?

  2. Is the 2.9-4.7x range an absolute number regardless of circumstances (which is the way your article seems to read), or is it adjusted for economic variables? For example, if you take two taxpayers with similar incomes, similar deductions and tax rates, is the black taxpayer that many more times likely to be audited as a white taxpayer?

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@andrew @law Note that I would have written more, except that Esq.Social only allows 500-character posts! Wonder who may be in a position to change that... )

Nonilex, to Law
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

4 months after the #FBI raided #MarALago, Trump’s attys discovered 4 docs marked #classified in his personal bedroom.
That revelation was among several cited by US District Judge Beryl Howell in a newly unsealed 2023 opinion that found prosecutors had presented compelling #evidence that #Trump #knowingly stashed #NationalSecurity docs in his home & then tried to conceal them when the #DOJ tried to retrieve them.

#criminal #law #obstruction #ClassifiedDocuments
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/21/trump-classified-documents-bedroom-00159182

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@Nonilex Deference to Trump, or incompetence? The FBI's search of MAL appears to be the least thorough in the bureau's history.

CarlG, to random
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

There must be some kind of mistake. The evidence phase cannot be over, because Trump promised us he would testify. And he is a man of his word, not a coward who chickens out. Right?

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@andrew I think 12' is larger than a regulation dart board...

chrisgeidner, to random
@chrisgeidner@journa.host avatar

The Trump appointee overseeing an “unprecedented judicial investigation” into forum-shopping allegations—levied against some of the nation’s top LGBTQ civil rights lawyers—has threatened to jail some of the lawyers involved.

A huge story out of Alabama: https://www.lawdork.com/p/alabama-burke-threatening-jail-lgbtq-lawyers

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@chrisgeidner Judicial forum shopping is apparently only okay for lawyers who represent right wing causes and file cases in a Podunk division in the 5th Circuit with just one Trump appointee.

Nonilex, to Law
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

#TrumpTrial 🧵 Tues 21 May 2024

Testimony may conclude today in Trump’s #criminal NY #ElectionInterference trial, after 5 weeks & 22 witnesses.

Yesterday the jury was introduced to #RobertCostello, a #Giuliani associate & #lawyer who acted as a “back-channel” for #MichaelCohen to #Trump in the summer of 2018.

Yesterday, Costello behaved so atrociously on the witness stand that Juan Merchan cleared the courtroom to admonish him & the defense attorneys. Costello is due back on the stand

#law

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@Nonilex Aah, Trump is trying the old "I am a very important man and therefore my case deserves unique jury instructions and a higher burden of proof than every other criminal defendant" defense.

Good luck with that one, Donald. It may work with FedSoc judges you appointed, but not a truly independent judiciary.

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@Nonilex Bove is like the frickin' Energizer Bunny. But unlike with batteries, persistence here is not to be applauded.

Trump could have invoked the "advice of counsel" defense, but didn't want to have to meet his disclosure obligations to use it. Raising the same issue repeatedly by calling it a slightly different name is, as Merchan aptly put it, "disingenuous."

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

NEW 🧵starts HERE.

Plz remember to use NFL (Not For Laffy, no hashtag) so I can ignore those replies while live-posting. TY!

1/... Tyler McBrien:

It's 2:09 p.m., Trump walks in with his defense team in tow.

Alan Dershowitz is still here as well.

All five members of the prosecution are already seated.

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@GottaLaff A correct decision from Merchan.

With the trial apparently not finishing up this week, and the resources of the Manhattan DA's office, bringing in someone from CSPAN to authenticate the image is a procedural hitch, but not an insurmountable hurdle.

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@GottaLaff This is rich - the defense objects to the exhibit w/o a witness to authenticate it ,then complains when their objection may delay the trial by a day?

There are often sound reasons for not objecting to exhibits beyond just rolling over, and Trump's lawyers (permissible) insisting that the DA go by the book on this one will not hurt the People's case, but only hurt their own client by prolonging the trial, and running up legal fees. FAFO.

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@mastodonmigration @GottaLaff Whether or not to object to a piece of evidence is a two-pronged analysis:

  1. Is there a legally cognizable objection?

  2. Even if there is a sound objection, is there any point in objecting? If it's going to come in anyway with some basic effort by the People, objecting now and inconveniencing your own witnesses who are present and ready to testify seems like an "own goal".

Trump's lawyers should talk to him about the wisdom of not objecting.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

#TrumpTrial started earlier than I did today. Grabbing coffee, starting THREAD HERE🧵1/… #Trump #legal

Here’s the list of Trump’s allies attending his trial today:

AG Alan Wilson
Rep. Eric Burlison
Rep. Andrew Clyde
Rep. Mary Miller
Rep. Keith Self
John Coale
Alan Dershowitz
Will Scharf
Steve Witkoff
Bernie Kerik
Kash Patel
Vernon Jones
Jerry Kassar
Chuck Zito

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@GottaLaff What a dumb answer from Cohen, assuming it's vaguely verbatim, as it suggest he will still lie in court now if it suits him.

A much better answer would be that going to jail for lying for Trump has taught him the error of his ways, and the "new" Cohen is not about to risk perjury charges to lie on anyone's behalf.

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@GottaLaff This is kind of Evidence 101 - a photo must overcome both hearsay (a rando pic says Schiller was with Trump is being offered for the truth of the matter), and a "foundation" (the photo is what it purports to be).

I suspect someone from the media outlet could lay a foundation, and maybe even get past a hearsay objection with a creative business records argument, thereby obviating the need to chase down the original photographer.

Nonilex, to conservative
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

🧵 Monday 20 May 2024

has a huge posse today, including ; , a party leader in NY; , fmr NYPD commissioner who was imprisoned for tax fraud & false statements; , lawyer who defended Trump during his first impeachment, & , legal adviser who was in AZ for attempts to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election.

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@Nonilex As soon as the DA said that they could have the witness there by tomorrow morning, the die was cast.

Trump's lawyers objected, and like the proverbial dog who doesn't know what to do once they catch the car, the defense realized belatedly that insisting on a live witness was worse than simply agreeing to the photo's admissibility.

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@Nonilex I am surprised the Trump defense waited until after their own case, (such as it was) before making this motion. My criminal law days were a long time ago, but my recollection is that a motion to dismiss typically comes immediately after the prosecution has rested.

18+ skykiss, to Bulgaria
@skykiss@sfba.social avatar

⚡️ Russian troops have executed a Ukrainian disabled person in a wheelchair near a hospital in , according to Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

Authorities suspect the victim was trying to move away further from the medical facility, but was shot by the Russian forces, reported by United24 Media May 17, 2024.

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@skykiss Because Putin's MAGA apologists have normalized his atrocities, this is a good reminder of why Ukraine is in an existential struggle against such evil.

KimPerales, (edited ) to ai
@KimPerales@toad.social avatar

🚨"DANGEROUS. It lays the path for centralized, device-level client side scanning.

From detecting 'scams' it's a short step to "detecting patterns commonly assc. w/seeking reprod. care - w/providing LGBTQ resources - w/tech WKR whistleblowing."
-M Whittaker

Google: We're testing a new feature that uses Gemini Nano to provide RT alerts during a call if it detects conversation patterns commonly assc. with scams. This protection all happens on-device so your conversation stays private to you.

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@KimPerales If the surveillance state is not actually being this, you know they are on the sidelines cheering.

First, they give us an easy feature to help fight something everyone hates (scams) to soften us up and condition us to accept eavesdropping.

Then once the tech has been perfected and is ubiquitous, they expand it until it's standard on every phone.

And I can't talk, since our house is filled with Google Home speakers.

CarlG, to random
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

Read what Trone is really saying. He will only spend his wealth to beat the Republican if he is the Democratic nominee. So his support for the Democrats is pretty shallow: "if I ain't the guy, screw you all."

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4656934-david-trone-angela-alsobrooks-larry-hogan-maryland-senate-primary/

msquebanh, to legal
@msquebanh@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

settlement was under $8 for each patient violated😡

What a fucking bad joke!

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@msquebanh As usual, the plaintiffs' attorneys negotiate a settlement (saving the costs and risks of litigation) by which the actual victims get chump change, while the lawyers are the only ones who make any money.

This parasitic behavior could be curbed by restricting attorneys fees to a multiple of what the median victim receives, such as 1000 times as much. That would give them an incentive to reach proper settlements, not reward them for low balling.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

" voters will not vote on if state will estab an indep redistricting committee after a ruling from Nevada Supreme Court today. ...affirms a lower court order from March that disqualified the ballot initiative.

The challenged two ballot initiatives, proposed by Fair Maps Nevada PAC, would have estab 7-member indep redistricting commission that would draw congl & legislative districts for future elections. Legis currently draws,& will cont to draw, state’s map" https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/nevada-supreme-court-keeps-redistricting-ballot-initiative-off-2024-ballot/

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@GottaLaff I presume the Dem glee at this initiative being shot down is because they control both houses in NV so will keep the power to create district boundaries.

Good for the Dems, and for balancing out states where the GOP gerrymanders the crap out of boundaries to preserve their control.

But do two wrongs make a right? Having boundaries determined by nonpartisan commissions is fairer than them being political decisions, so I'm not sure this result is truly worth celebrating.

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@GottaLaff Marc Elias posted a self-congratulatory message over on Twitter heralding the win against the "bogus" initiative. And he spearheaded the fight against it.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Wow.

Via Acyn, who has video:

Ari Fleischer: needs to talk about Judge Merchan’s daughter.

McDowell: I think that violates the gag order

Kayleigh: No, he can criticize the judge

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@GottaLaff It's real hard to take the morons on Fox News seriously. They are merely a MAGA echo chamber, and even the legal guests who once had credibility (Dersh or Turley) long ago replaced sober analysis with shrill commentary just to get more TV time.

Nonilex, to Florida
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

Mother F⁕⚠︎er!!!!

Judge indefinitely #delays #Trump’s #ClassifiedDocuments trial in #Florida
U.S. Judge #AileenCannon said there are too many pre-trial issues to address to set a new trial date now.
#NationalSecurity #law #criminal #conspiracy #obstruction #espionage #SpecialCounsel #JackSmith
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/05/07/trump-classified-documents-trial-delayed-cannon-florida/

CarlG,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@Nonilex I saw someone quip that Cannon is the most effective member of Trump's defense team.

CarlG, to random
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

Good for him. This quote from the Republican former GA lieutenant governor sums up my own position as well, except I abandoned the GOP in 2016 when Trump got the nomination, without needing to wait for multiple indictments.

"Unlike Trump, I've belonged to the GOP my entire life. This November, I am voting for a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass."

https://www.ajc.com/opinion/geoff-duncan-why-im-voting-for-biden-and-other-republicans-should-too/LFLE5YWCBBA6VDGJAJKMNPCDKQ/

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