John G. Browning News
Legally Speaking: The 411 on 911 'Emergencies' (Part 2 of 2)
In the previous installment of this series, we examined the unusual "emergencies" for which people have justified calling 911.
Legally Speaking: The 411 on 911 'Emergencies' (Part 1 of 2)
Reasonable minds can differ on virtually anything. What one person considers trash can be another's treasure, and what one individual feels is an emergency might not command the same level of urgency from others.
Legally Speaking: And A Wild Year It Was ...
As readers of "Legally Speaking" know, from time to time throughout the year I chronicle the most bizarre cases, theories and parties that the legal system has to offer.
Legally Speaking: 'Tis the Season ... For Legal Troubles
Ah, Christmastime. Despite the garland, sugarplum fairies, jolly old St. Nick and all of the other festive trappings of the season, you can always count on the legal system to continue its inexorable march toward justice unfazed.
Legally Speaking: Scents and Sensibility -- When Evidence Doesn't Pass the Smell Test (Part 2)
In the first installment of this series, we examined how the controversial use of so-called "dog-scent lineups" led to wrongful accusations � and in some cases incarcerations of several innocent individuals in Texas.
Legally Speaking: Low Points In Closing Arguments
I've always loved closing arguments � the rhetorical battle for the hearts and minds of the jurors, the "Rashomon"-like war of competing narratives as lawyers blend storytelling and verbal counterpunching.
Legally Speaking: Scents and Sensibility -- When Evidence Doesn't Pass the Smell Test (Part 1)
"So lay Argo about the house, all shivering with dog-ticks. Yet the instant Odysseus approached, the dog knew him." Homer, "The Odyssey"
Legally Speaking: Of Milestones, and Miles to Go
2009 will go down as a year marked by milestones � some national in scale, and others of a more distinctly local bent.
Best of Legally Speaking: I Can't Make This Stuff Up
Editor's Note: Following is a "Best Of" Legally Speaking column which first appeared in the Southeast Texas Record on Nov. 25, 2008.
Legally Speaking: Still Litigating In The Twilight Zone
I've never been the biggest fan of legal shows on television.
Legally Speaking: Costumes That Come Back to Haunt You
I often warn students contemplating going to law school that the experience will change the way they look at things. Nothing is ever quite the same after you begin "thinking like a lawyer."
Legally Speaking: The Great Pretender
In the film "Catch Me If You Can," Leonardo DiCaprio played a character (based on a true story) who leads federal agents on a merry chase as he poses as an airline pilot, a doctor and a lawyer, leaving a trail of forged checks in his wake.
Legally Speaking "Will We Keep Rockin' In the Free World? Music, Torture, and Gitmo"
On Oct. 22, a coalition of liberal activists and musicians announced the launch of the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo, an effort designed to restore momentum to President Obama's now-stalled intent to shut down the detention facility.
Legally Speaking: Extreme Debt Collecting
In last week's column, I related the experience of a young Illinois woman who found herself on the receiving end of a debt collection notice � sent via her social networking page!
Legally Speaking: You've Been Served -- Without Ever Leaving the Computer
When most people think of being served with legal documents, they picture the process server knocking at the door, literally the bearer of bad news.
Legally Speaking: The Broken Gavel Awards
Last week, I wrote about judges who missed their calling, judging by the content of some recent orders and opinions from around the country.
Legally Speaking: Judges Who Missed Their Calling
Like most trial lawyers, I spend a fair amount of time appearing in front of and interacting with judges. With most of them, it's hard to imagine them as anything but judges � issuing rulings from the bench in all their black-robed, gavel-wielding glory.
Best of Legally Speaking: Angel On My Shoulder
Legally Speaking is on vacation this week. Following is one of John Browning's most poignant columns, which originally ran April 23.
Legally Speaking: More Believe It or Not Moments
Last week, I shared some of the recent cases from around the country that were shocking, odd, even unbelievable � but true.
Legally Speaking: Those 'Believe It or Not' Moments
As children, my brother Michael and I used to pore over paperback collections of the old "Ripley's Believe it or Not" newspaper items, our eyes widening and our mouths agape at the incredible-but-true accounts of oddities from around the globe.