Author: Jules Epstein

An Al-generated video of a dead victim was used in an Arizona court case, raising questions about how the tech’s use might spread

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An Al-generated video of a dead victim was used in an Arizona court case, raising questions about how the tech’s use might spread An Arizona court has heard “testimony” at the sentencing hearing for a man convicted of homicide from an Al-generated avatar of the victim. Professor Jules Epstein offers an analysis of how Pennsylvania courts might consider a similar admission and why it matters whether such evidence would be heard by a judge or a jury.

Yes, Oklahoma (and the Rest of Us), There Is a Due Process Evidence Rule

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Yes, Oklahoma (and the Rest of Us), There Is a Due Process Evidence Rule In a January 2025 opinion the Supreme Court affirmed a due process protection against “evidence…so unduly prejudicial as to render a criminal trial fundamentally unfair.” Prof. Jules Epstein explains why the case matters in his regular column for The Legal Intelligencer.

Most Black people who shoot white people and claim self-defense are convicted. One Montgomery County man was an exception.

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A Montgomery County man claiming self-defense has been acquitted of homicide after 10 months in jail. Prof. Jules Epstein questions the DA’s charging decision in the case. “If self-defense is a gray area in a case, it may be reasonable to bring some criminal charges,” Epstein said. “But calling it first-degree murder? Putting a person at risk of life in jail? Making it harder to get bail? All of those seem to be wrong decisions.”

No Masks – No Mas

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Other than the Lone Ranger and Zorro and “superheroes,” the ‘good guys’ never wear masks. Then why are ICE agents masked and is it right to be disturbed by that choice? Masking of police officers is not an American tradition. Far from it – police wear badges with numbers and name tags, and travel in marked cars. We even disclose names of police charged with misconduct despite fears about whether they will have protests near their homes.   And masks have been banned in state after state, going back to at least 1845, when New York prohibited them because they permitted insurrectionists to go unpunished, and later in response to the Ku Klux Klan.   How were masks used beyond hiding identity? As one court explained, by 1867 “masked Klan members had assumed the practice of ‘night riding,’ making nocturnal visits to the dwellings of blacks in order to harass and intimidate.” Church of the Am. Knights of the KKK v. Kerik, 356 F.3d 197, 200 (2nd Cir. 2004).   Beyond masks going against tradition, they intimidate not …

Cannons in the foreground, Washington capital in the background

First Let’s Scare Off the Lawyers

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Shakespeare’s Dick the Butcher, in the play Henry VI, uttered the oft-quoted words “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Shakespeare’s intent with these words has been debated, but one interpretation is significant. “Shakespeare insightfully realized that disposing of lawyers is a step in the direction of a totalitarian form of government.” Walters v. Nat’l Ass’n of Radiation Survivors, 473 U.S. 305, 371 (1985) (Stevens, J. dissenting). The Trump script is different but at least as pernicious – ‘the first thing we do, we frighten [indeed threaten] lawyers who challenge the administration’s authority’. What brought this on? Jack Smith, former special counsel prosecuting Mr. Trump, sought legal services after resigning. A law firm offered that assistance at no cost. When that became public, the attack on lawyers commenced with a fury. Wielding power from the Oval Office, the President issued a memorandum against that firm, Covington and Burling, stripping security clearances from some of its attorneys and directing “all agencies to review all Government contracts with Covington & Burling LLP.” Put more …

UNCOMMITTED? THIRD PARTY? VOTE AS IF [BECAUSE] THE WORLD DEPENDS ON IT

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Two weeks out from the presidential election, the nation is divided, polls can’t predict a winner, a third party candidate persists in their campaign, and anger over issues (Gaza being emblematic) pushes some to not vote, vote third party, or vote “to punish” the Democratic candidate. My commitment to activism and progress is strong; my responsibility as a lawyer, law professor, and advocacy/persuasion teacher, is to dissect arguments, identify the reasoning behind it, and look for and expose fallacies or unacknowledged consequences. As I see these trends, read the heartfelt angry statements, and listen to those who take such stances, I fear two things – the consequences of such actions are dire and the reasoning does not hold up. Consider these statements, some direct quotes and others paraphrases of what potential voters have said: I need to see a policy that says something in Israel is going to change [before I vote for Harris] I am becoming a one issue voter The Democrats have done great things. Biden has passed historic legislation, but none of …