Do you blawg? If you don’t,
you should. Blawgs (AKA legal blogs) are a time-efficient
way to stay on top of cutting legal issues and debates directly
affecting our practice of law. There are literally hundreds
of Blawgs on the Internet. The following are a handful of
blawgs offering quality information and content useful to
appellate practice.
• What Is A Blawg?
It’s a Law Related Web site with fresh content and
a real person feel. A reliable blawg is like having a
friend or colleague you can always check when you need
an answer about some particular topic. Most blawgs look
like a "log" or "journal" with new
entries placed at the top and a set of links along the
side pointing to similar sites or blawgs. However, some
blawgs look and function like a highly sophisticated Web
site.
• What Are The Benefits of Blawging?
One of the biggest benefits I derive from visiting blawgs
such as CriminalAppeal is the way it keeps me informed
as a lawyer. Visiting blawgs is an efficient way at staying
up to speed on developments touching appellate practice.
ADI’s Top Blawgs Criminal
Appeal
The blawg is the creation of Jonathon Soglin, an appellate
attorney in San Francisco. Jonathan provides excellent summaries
of recent rulings relevant to our practice. Each entry provides
links to the opinion, the court docket, and to any other
relevant information needed for further research. He also
offers a list of other reputable blawgs and Web sites. A
key feature of Jonathon’s blawg is the fact that all
of the entries are indexed by subject matter. A single click
on “burglary” in his “Categories”
column will direct you to all of the recent case summaries
and/or commentaries on relating to that offense. This is
a great issue spotting tool!
Electric
Lawyer
California appellate attorney Grace Suarez created the ElectricLawyer
blog as a free service to other attorneys. On her blog she
publishes “Reasonable Doubts”, daily (or so)
summaries of criminal case opinions from California, the
Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sentencing
Law & Policy
Part of the Law Professors Blogs Network. Professor Douglas
A. Berman, provides visitors with indepth anaylsis of cases
and issues related to sentencing. The site is continuously
updated and is a valuable research tool.
CrimProf
Blog
Part of the Law Professors Blog Network, this site is edited
by Gabriel J. (Jack) Chin, law professor at the Univ. of
Arizona College of Law and Mark A. Godsey, Associate Professor
of Law Univ. of Cincinnati College of Law and the Faculty
Director of the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for
Justice/Ohio Innocence Project The blog provides excellent
analysis of recent developments in criminal law.
Bag and
Baggage
This is perhaps one of the most well known and creative blawgs.
This site is also written by a California appellate attorney.
Denise Howell is frequently quoted in the media for her Blawging
and her knowledge. She majored in English and studied computers
and technological issues while earning her law degree from
Boalt Hall in Berkeley (J.D. 1990). Her blawg combines legal
commentary along with touches of lighthearted fun
How Appealing
Touted as the Web’s first blawg devote to appellate
practice and authored by Howard J. Bashman, an appellate lawyer
in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, this site has more than
10,000 visits a day. Bashman's blawg has even been cited in
a recent Ninth Circuit opinion. This blawg provides an excellent
round-up of legal news and analysis, including discussions
of cases, conferences, and blawging developments. If you are
looking for a listing of legal blawgs, Howard provides a great
list.
A
Criminal Waste of Space
Fourth District Court of Appeal Justice, William W. Bedsworth
offers his own blawg. Justice Bedsworth offers informative
and comedic postings which give appellate practitioners
a little insight into his sense of humor.
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