Rejecting The "Gretna Defense"

I usually root for the defense, especially in an impeachment case, since I lost one of those 21 years ago.  (I represented Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr. of Mississippi.)  But there’s no criticizing the Senate’s conviction yesterday of District Judge G. Thomas Porteous of New Orleans.  The case, as detailed in a Senate committee report, presented a…

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Aaron Burr Leaves the Senate

The Washington Post ran a piece on Saturday about how current senators ignore the deeply-felt farewell addresses of their departing colleagues.  Having just completed my manuscript about Aaron Burr’s Western expedition, which will be published next fall — American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America — I was reminded of Burr’s emotional departure from the Senate in…

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Not for 21 years

On Monday morning, September 13, the Senate Impeachment Trial Committee is supposed to begin its evidentiary hearing about whether to remove District Judge G. Thomas Porteous from office.  It is 21 years since the last impeachment trial before a Senate committee, for which I was the lead defense lawyer.  It involved Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr. of…

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