The Illustrated Guide to Law

The comic that teaches what the law is, how it really works, and why.

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  • CRIMINAL LAW
    • Crime
      • 1. Introduction: What IS Crime?
      • 2. More than “Don’t”
      • 3. Crime and Punishment
      • 4. Meet the State
    • Punishment
      • Introduction
        • 1. Punishment: “Take That!”
        • 2. One Tool
        • 3. What IS Punishment?
        • 4. A Hell of a Thing
        • 5. Options
      • Rehabilitation
        • 6. For the Love of God, Why?
        • 7. I Can Fix Him
        • 8. Is Rehabilitation Necessary?
        • 9. Does Rehabilitation Work?
        • 10. Tough Love
        • 11. It Ain’t Easy
      • Deterrence
        • 12. Deterrence: Don’t Do That Again!
        • 13. Specific Deterrence
        • 14. General deterrence
        • 15. Measuring Deterrence
        • 16. Does Deterrence Work?
        • 17. When Deterrence Works
        • 18. Perception Is Everything
        • 19. Who Knows?
        • 20. Can’t We Be Civilized
      • The Three 'R's
        • 21. Removal
        • 22. Removal: Off the Streets
        • 23. Removal: Problems
        • 24. Removal: Civilized?
        • 25. Retribution: What’s It Worth?
        • 26: Retribution: Proportional Suffering
        • 27. Retribution: Civilized?
        • 28. Retaliation: Striking Back
        • 29. Retaliation: Civilized?
    • Guilt
      • Introduction
        • 1. Introduction: “I Didn’t Mean To!”
        • 2. Justice
        • 3. Who Deserves Punishment?
        • 4. Culpability
      • Mens Rea
        • 5. Jack and Jill
        • 6. Jan and Dean
        • 7. Bonnie and Clyde
        • 8. Romeo and Juliet
        • 9. Ricky and Lucy
        • 10. Mens Rea = Mental State
        • 11. Guilty mind
        • 12. Accident
        • 13. Negligence
        • 14. Recklessness
        • 15. Knowledge
        • 16. Intent
        • 17. The Mens Rea – O – Meter
      • Axes of Evil
        • 18. Awareness
        • 19. Responsibility
        • 20. Blame
        • 21. Indirect Cause
        • 22. Let’s Play “Pin the Blame on Somebody”
        • 23. Two Axes: Mens Rea, and Responsibility
        • 24. Intent Without Causation
        • 25. The Third Axis: Depravity
        • 26. Punishing Awfulness
        • 27. Deserving It
      • Actus Reus
        • 28. What Have You DONE?
        • 29. An Assault
        • 30. The Elements of Crime: Guilty Mind, and Guilty Act
        • 31. Voodoo
        • 32. Causation
        • 33. A Series of Unfortunate Events
        • 34. Cause In Fact, and Proximate Cause
        • 35. Concurrence
        • 36. He Missed and Maimed Mamie Instead
        • 37. Transferred Intent
      • Attempt
        • 38. Attempt: “At Least You Tried”
        • 39. It’s All About You
        • 40. Schemes
        • 41. Dreams
        • 42. Making Scenes
        • 43. Working
        • 44. Digging
        • 45. And Then There’s Maude
        • 46. She Takes Her Shot
        • 47. Thought Crime?
        • 48. Mere Intent
        • 49. Taking Steps
        • 50. Apply the Purposes of Punishment
        • 51. Different States, Different Laws
        • 52. A Continuum
        • 53. Subjective Mind vs. Objective Action
        • 54. Attempt Is Always On Purpose
        • 55. A Safety Valve
        • 56. Abandoned Attempt
        • 57. Abandonment: Timing Is Everything
        • 58. A Change of Heart
        • 59. Impossibility
        • 60. Frick’s Frustration
        • 61. Frack’s Frustration
        • 62. Attempt: Summing Up
      • Conspiracy & Solicitation
        • 63. Conspiracy: “We’ll All Go Down Together”
        • 64. Assembling the Crew: The Wheels, The Brains
        • 65. Assembling the Crew: The Expert, The Heavy
        • 66. The Plan
        • 67. The Supplies
        • 68. The Job
        • 69. The Line
        • 70. The Signal
        • 71. The Wires
        • 72. The Glitch
        • 73. The Hitch
        • 74. The Getaway
        • 75. The Mess
        • 76. The Rendezvous
        • 77. The Showdown
        • 78. The Cavalry
        • 79. Solicitation
        • 80. Accomplices
        • 81. Accomplice Liability
        • 82. All Kinds of Accomplices
        • 83. Not Every Helper is an Accomplice
        • 84. Criminal Facilitation
        • 85. Conspiracy: Inchoate Crime
        • 86. Conspiracy: Agreement and Action
        • 87. Conspiracy: Agreement and Intent
        • 88. Conspiracy: A Big Net
        • 89. Conspiracy: The Prosecutor’s Favorite Weapon
        • 90. A Separate Crime
        • 91. Withdrawal from a Conspiracy
        • 92. A Conspiracy of One?
        • 93. Felony Murder
        • 94. Foreseeability
        • 95. Fail. Jail.
    • Defenses
      • Mistake and Insanity
        • 1. “Excuse Me!”
        • 2. Ignorance of the Law
        • 3. Forgiveness vs. Nothing to Forgive
        • 4. Excuse vs. Justification
        • 5. Mistaken Facts
        • 6. Not a Defense If Not a Crime
        • 7. Provocation: Temporary Insanity
        • 8. Provocation: Elements of the Defense
        • 9. Provocation: The Rationale
        • 10. The “Reasonable Person”
        • 11. “Reasonable?” It Depends
        • 12. Insanity
        • 13. Insanity: You Wouldn’t Understand
        • 14. Delusion
        • 15. What’s the Point of Punishment?
        • 16. Insanity Has Consequences
        • 17. Diminished Capacity
        • 18. Blackout Drunk
        • 19. Another Transferred Intent
        • 20. Only on T.V.
      • Entrapment
        • 21. “I Was Entrapped!”
        • 22. Cora Gets Advice
        • 23. Cop Costs Extra
        • 24. Outrageous?
        • 25. Grayson Helps Out
        • 26. Sylvester’s Security
        • 27. Solid Saul
        • 28. Jeez
        • 29. Jen Shops Around
        • 30. Federal Assistance
        • 31. Zeke Blocks It
        • 32. Zeke Freaks
        • 33. All Your Myths Are Wrong
        • 34. Myth #1: A Cop Has to Tell You He’s a Cop
        • 35. Think About It
        • 36. Not a Survival Skill
        • 37. Elements of Entrapment
        • 38. Entrapment Explanation
        • 39. You Were Tricked
        • 40. But Were You Willing?
        • 41. Myths #2 & #3: The Police Can’t Get Involved
        • 42. Some Things Undercovers Can Do
        • 43. Myth #4: The Police Can’t Help You Break the Law
        • 44. Myth #5: The Police Can’t Let You Break the Law
        • 45. Opportunity Isn’t Entrapment
        • 46. Entrapment Overcomes Your Free Will
        • 47. Informants
        • 48. The Power of Cops Compels You
        • 49. False Representation
      • Justification Defenses
        • Introduction
          • 50. Excuse vs. Justification (again)
          • 51. Excuse = An Option
          • 52. Justification = No Alternative
          • 53. The 3 Justification Defenses
        • Necessity
          • 54. Meet Dylan the Dimwit
          • 55. Harry the Hero Helps
          • 56. Immediate Danger
          • 57. Lesser of Two Evils
          • 58. Necessity: Elements of the Defense
          • 59. There’s No Chutzpah Defense
          • 60. Becky’s Bentley
          • 61. Weighing Evils
          • 62. Up a Cliff
          • 63. Dire Decision
          • 64. Trolley Problem
          • 65. “As a Matter of Law”: Policy’s Thumb on the Scales
          • 66. The GREATER Good
          • 67. Volition
          • 68. Equivalent Evil
          • 69. No, That Doesn’t Count
          • 70. No, That Doesn’t Count, Either
        • Duress
          • 71. Duress: “Do or Die”
          • 72. Vicky Meets the Golden Horde
          • 73. Did She Decide?
          • 74. Did She Have a Choice?
          • 75. Elements of Duress: Threat & Fear
          • 76. Elements of Duress: Do or Die
          • 77. Why Duress Is a Defense
          • 78. Stu Meets the Horde
          • 79. Stu and the Snitch
          • 80. 3… 2… 1…
          • 81. …
          • 82. Duress vs. Necessity
          • 83. Duress Doesn’t Always Help
          • 84. Millie the Mule
          • 85. Immediate Danger
          • 86. Overcoming Your Free Will
          • 87. Different States, Different Laws (duress edition)
          • 88. Bob at the Bank
          • 89. Another Guy, Another Bank
          • 90. Stranger Things
          • 91. No Duty, No Defense?
          • 92. Nobody Said the Law Was Fair
          • 93. Trog’s Initiation
          • 94. There’s Still No Chutzpah Defense
          • 95. Duress Is Rare
        • Self-Defense
          • 96. Self-Defense: “It Was Either Him or Me”
          • 97. Drop It or You’re Dead
          • 98. Defense of Property
          • 99. Non-Deadly Force
          • 100. Rico’s Ranch Hands
          • 101. Defending What You Stole?
          • 102. SELF Defense
          • 103. OMG, the Saloon
          • 104. Laredo Luke
          • 105. Blam
          • 106. Defense Against Unlawful Violence
          • 107. Only Necessary Force
          • 108. Throwing the First Punch
          • 109. Pre-Emptive Self-Defense
          • 110. When Fighting Back Is Illegal
          • 111. Same Night, Another Fight
          • 112. So Far, So Good
          • 113. Escalation
          • 114. Defender Becomes Aggressor
          • 115. DEADLY Force Has Different Rules
          • 116. Caleb Crawls In
          • 117. Home Intrusion
          • 118. Deadly Force: Last Resort
          • 119. Deadly Force: Elements of the Defense
          • 120. Your Own Home: No Duty to Retreat
          • 121. Your Own Home: Necessity Still Necessary
          • 122. “Imperfect” Self-Defense
          • 123. Two Gunslingers
          • 124. He Shot First
          • 125. Stand Your Ground
          • 126. Making a Getaway
          • 127. An Accident?
          • 128. Reckless?
          • 129. To the Rescue
          • 130. Defense of Others
          • 131. “Transferred” Duty to Retreat
          • 132. Lillie Wants to Stay
          • 133. Hank Had a Drink
          • 134. Hank Hurts
          • 135. Two Years
          • 136. He Will
          • 137. Lillie Says Goodbye
          • 138. …
          • 139. What Have You Done?
          • 140. Battered Woman Defense
          • 141. There’s No “He Needed Killin'” Defense
          • 142. You Did the Right Thing?
    • Guilt Without Fault
      • Introduction
        • 1. A Feather
        • 2. Memories
        • 3. MBTA
        • 4. You Did Nothing Wrong? Go to Jail.
        • 5. Soup
        • 6. Impossible
        • 7. Nobody Could Have Guessed It Was Illegal? Go to Jail.
      • Overcriminalization
        • 8. Countless Crimes: Literally Uncountable
        • 9. Unknown Crimes: Literally Unknowable
        • 10. Criminal Law: Vague, Arbitrary, and Capricious
        • 11. Regulatory Agencies
        • 12. Enacting Without Understanding
        • 13. Do It My Way
        • 14. Progressive Idealism
        • 15. A Man of Principles
        • 16. Prescribing, Not Describing
        • 17. Overbroad
        • 18. Zero Tolerance
        • 19. The Law Means What I Say It Means
        • 20. You’ll Just Have to Trust Me
        • 21. Unfair, Unjust
      • History of Overcriminalization and Strict Liability
        • 22. Custom and Tradition
        • 23. Law Is Good
        • 24. Law Goes Bad
        • 25. Ancient Rome: Popularity Over Principle
        • 26. Ancient Rome: Countless, Contradictory
        • 27. Ancient Rome: Bad Government? More Laws!
        • 28. Old England: Common Sense
        • 29. Old England: Common Understanding
        • 30. Old England: Straightforward Law
        • 31. Old England: Mens Rea, Justification, Incapacity
        • 32. Old England: Simple Punishment
        • 33. Old England: Might Makes Right?
        • 34. Old England: Corruption?
        • 35. Old England: The State Gets Involved
        • 36. Old England: The Rule of Law
        • 37. Old England: Proliferation of Laws
        • 38. Old England: Overcriminalization
        • 39. Old England: The Need for Reform
        • 40. Old England: A Snare for the Unwary
        • 41. Old England: Blackstone Suggests Reforms
        • 42. America: Listening to Blackstone
        • 43. America: A New Conception of Crime
        • 44. America: Enlightened Thought
        • 45. America: Prison to Progress
        • 46. America: Rehabilitation, a New Idea
        • 47. Self-Help
        • 48. America: The State Takes Charge
        • 49. Strict Liability: Origins
        • 50. Strict Liability: Principled
        • 51. Strict Liability: Statutory Rape Makes Sense
        • 52. Strict Liability: Changing the Rules
        • 53. Strict Liability: Statutory Rape Law Stops Making Sense
        • 54. Strict Liability: Regulators Love It
        • 55. Strict Liability: Forgetting the Principle
      • Concluding Thoughts
        • 56. Getting Tough on Crime
        • 57. Choking on Our Institutions
        • 58. Sucks to Be You: Crime Becomes a Lottery
        • 59. Video: No Mens Rea? No Problem!
        • 60. Keep Your Head Down
        • 61. Progress?
    • Examples
      • Theft
        • 1. A Violin
        • 2. A Crime?
        • 3. Burglary Means Breaking In
        • 4. Robbery Means Violence
        • 5. Larceny Means Theft
        • 6. Petty Larceny, Grand Larceny
        • 7. Mistake About Value?
      • Assault and Hate Crime
        • 8. Pow! Right in the Kisser
        • 9. Battery Means Bodily Harm
        • 10. Dealing with Defenses
        • 11. Simple? Aggravated?
        • 12. Hate Crime: Born This Way
        • 13. Hate Crime: An Extra Level of Mens Rea
      • Rape
        • 14. Nope.
        • 15. A Rape Law
        • 16. What “Consent” Means
        • 17. First Degree Rape
        • 18. Force? No Consent.
        • 19. Sooo Drunk
        • 20. But She Said Yes
        • 21. Doesn’t Matter
        • 22. If You Knew, That’s Rape 2
        • 23. You Couldn’t Have Known? Not Rape.
        • 24. Regret
        • 25. He Said, She Said
        • 26. Relevant Facts
        • 27. Rape Shield Laws
        • 28. False Accusations
        • 29. Other Considerations
      • Homicide
        • 30. Murder and Manslaughter
        • 31. Manslaughter and Negligent Homicide
        • 32. Another Fight
        • 33. Another Accident?
        • 34. Causation
        • 35. Misdemeanor Manslaughter
        • 36. Predictability
        • 37. Mens Rea
        • 38. Awareness of Risk
        • 39. Provocation
        • 40. Alcohol
        • 41. An Idea
        • 42. A Plan
        • 43. A Gun
        • 44. A Felony
        • 45. Deaths
        • 46. Homicide?
        • 47. Felony Murder
        • 48. Homicide vs. Accident
        • 49. A Terrorist
        • 50. A Bomb
        • 51. An Explosion
        • 52. Depravity vs. Mens Rea
        • 53. Violence for Political Goals = Terrorism
        • 54. Breaking the Mens Rea – O – Meter
        • 55. An Injection
      • Criminal Law: Conclusion
  • CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
    • Introduction: So What?
      • 1. Crim Pro: So What?
      • 2. Hammer Time
      • 3. With Great Power Comes Great… Abuse
      • 4. Out of Control
      • 5. Enter Justice
      • 6. Procedure Is Our Protection
      • 7. Criminal Procedure
    • Meet the Players
      • Player One
      • 1. Life Isn’t Pretty
      • 2. All You’ve Got
      • 3. Meet the Cop
      • 4. A Hard Job
      • 5. No, Not Pretty
      • Player Two
      • 6. Not My Job
      • 7. Still Not My Job
      • 8. Meet the Prosecutor
      • 9. Great Power
      • 10. Great Responsibility
      • Player Three
      • 11. Why? How?
      • 12. All You’ve Got
      • 13. Meet the Defense Counsel
      • 14. Disservice?
      • 15. Greasing the Wheels
      • Player Four
      • 16. Got to Be Fair
      • 17. Fair Enough
      • 18. Enter the Judge
      • 19. Fair Question
      • 20. Trying to Be…
      • Player Five
      • 21. Nope, Not You
    • Search and Seizure
      • Introduction: Police vs. Privacy
        • 1. Police vs. Privacy
        • 2. An Officer Finds Evidence
        • 3. Getting Off on a Technicality?
        • 4. Privacy
        • 5. The Fourth Amendment
        • 6. 4th Amendment: Why?
        • 7. 4th Amendment: Prohibition
        • 8. 4th Amendment: Probable Cause
        • 9. 4th Amendment: The Warrant Requirement
        • 10. A Balancing Act
        • 11. Excluding Evidence
        • 12. Why Exclude Evidence?
        • 13. The Beauty of the Exclusionary Rule
        • 14. The Shield of Justice
        • 15. Bad Understanding = Weird Outcomes
      • Search Warrants and Standing
        • 16. Charlie Gets Arrested
        • 17. Checking Charlie’s Story
        • 18. A Rude Awakening
        • 19. Is It Enough?
        • 20. Get a Warrant
        • 21. Probable Cosplay
        • 22. Something Smells
        • 23. Oh No! Anyway…
        • 24. Standing
        • 25. What If a Warrant is Based on a Lie?
        • 26. No-Knock Warrant, Protective Sweep
        • 27. Can Police Rely on a Bad Warrant?
      • Wiretaps: Electronic Eavesdropping
        • 28. A Tragedy
        • 29. A Suspect
        • 30. Many More Hoops to Jump Through
        • 31. Necessity
        • 32. No Other Way
        • 33. Connect the Dots: Building Probable Cause
        • 34. The Easy Part
        • 35. Minimization
        • 36. Lots of Work to Do
        • 37. Listening Isn’t Everything
        • 38. A Call
        • 39. A Code?
        • 40. Surveillance
        • 41. Wham
        • 42. An Arrest
      • Stop / Frisk / Arrest
        • 43. You’re Being Detained: Seizing the Person
        • 44. Reasonable Suspicion, Probable Cause
        • 45. When Seizure Was Straightforward
        • 46. Search Without Probable Cause?
        • 47. Stop and Frisk
        • 48. Limited Scope
        • 49. Pat-Down
        • 50. Secret Page! Don’t Tell!
        • 51. What IS an Arrest?
        • 52. Sliding Scales of Justice
        • 53. Are You Free to Leave?
        • 54. Example: First Contact
        • 55. Example: Stop
        • 56. Example: Frisk, Arrest
        • 57. It Was Lawful!
        • 58. It Was Unlawful!
      • Automobiles
        • 59. A Traffic Stop
        • 60. A Stop is a Stop
        • 61. Get Out of the Car!
        • 62. Some Right Balderdash
        • 63. Can You Frisk a Car?
        • 64. Plain View
        • 65. What About the Trunk?
        • 66. Asking Permission
        • 67. Consent to Search
        • 68. Don’t Consent
        • 69. Police: Deception is OK. Coercion is Not.
        • 70. The Scope of Consent
        • 71. What’s In the Trunk?
        • 72. A Checkpoint
        • 73. Detention Without Suspicion
        • 74. Checkpoints: About Cars, Not Crime
        • 75. Lawful Checkpoint Purposes
        • 76. Strangely Lawful Checkpoint Purposes
        • 77. Roll Down the Window, Please
        • 78. Not Suspicious at All
        • 79. This Can’t Be Happening
        • 80. Search Incident to Arrest
        • 81. Searching the Car and Closed Containers
        • 82. Searching the Trunk?
        • 83. Dog Sniff vs. Privacy
        • 84. Dog Sniff vs. Search
        • 85. The Automobile Exception
        • 86. An Outcome
      • Emergency Exceptions
        • 87. A Quiet Mountain Town
        • 88. A Chase of Life or Death
        • 89. A Pursuit
        • 90. An Unexpected Arrest
        • 91. A Choice
        • 92. A Break
        • 93. A Noise
        • 94. A Seizure
        • 95. Hot Pursuit
        • 96. Hot Pursuit vs. Warrant Requirement
        • 97. Plain View
        • 98. Plain View vs. Warrant Requirement
        • 99. Plain Perception
        • 100. When Police Outweigh Privacy
        • 101. Deadly Force as Seizure
        • 102. Standing vs. Abandonment
        • 103. Standing vs. Concealment
        • 104. Hot Pursuit, Cold Trail
        • 105. To Freeze or Seize
        • 106. Public Safety, Rescue
        • 107. Urgent Need for Assistance
        • 108. Protective Sweep?
        • 109. A New Emergency
        • 110. A Peaceful Mountain Town
      • THE FOURTH AMENDMENT FLOWCHART
    • Self-Incrimination
      • Introduction: Convict Yourself!
        • 1. Introduction: Convict Yourself!
        • 2. Keep an Open Mind
        • 3. Minds Slam Shut
        • 4. Forced to Confess
        • 5. Manipulated Confessions
        • 6. Fraudulent Confessions
        • 7. Punishing the Innocent
        • 8. Innocence Isn’t Everything
        • 9. The Big Concern: Overpowering Your Free Will
        • 10. The Ultimate Abuse of Power
      • History of Self-Incrimination Law
        • 11. It’s Not What You Think
        • 12. England Was Different
        • 13. England’s Proud Principle
        • 14. Torture
        • 15. England’s Bizarre Notion
        • 16. Who Cares if it Works? It’s Wrong.
        • 17. Common Sense and Common Law
        • 18. Star Chamber: Inquisitorial, Not Adversarial
        • 19. Inquisition: Results, Not Rights
        • 20. Inquisitorial Courts: Parliament Fights Back
        • 21. The Accident of Fundamental Rights
        • 22. Deadly Detour: Church and State Become Buddies
        • 23. Deadly Detour: Religious Persecution, the Police State
        • 24. Deadly Detour: Torture & Coercion
        • 25. Deadly Detour: Abuse & Opposition
        • 26. Deadly Detour: An Innocent Person Has Nothing to Fear
        • 27. Deadly Detour: Coercion Is Un-English
        • 28. England Picks Up Where It Left Off
        • 29. Duress is the Colonial Way
        • 30. Enlightenment Ideas
        • 31. A Bill of Rights
        • 32. The Fifth Amendment
        • 33. Bedrock Principle: A Confession Must Be Voluntary
        • 34. The Crime Wave
        • 35. Results, Not Rights: The American Inquisition
        • 36. Nobody Expected the American Inquisition
        • 37. Torture, American Style
        • 38. Outrage and Confusion
        • 39. OMG Science!
        • 40. What Polygraphs are Really For
        • 41. Scientifically Coerced Confessions
        • 42. Interrogation that Gets Results
        • 43. The Right to Counsel?
        • 44. The Reid Technique: Opening Moves
        • 45. The Reid Technique: Sealing the Deal
        • 46. Maybe Use the Fifth Amendment?
        • 47. Miranda v. Arizona
        • 48. Miranda’s Magic Words
        • 49. Miranda’s Fundamental Disconnect
      • Taking the Fifth
        • 50. Jane Has a Webcomic
        • 51. Think of the Children!
        • 52. Senate Hearings
        • 53. Jane Respectfully Declines to Answer
        • 54. INNOCENT People Take the Fifth
        • 55. Contempt is Coercion
        • 56. The Elements of the Privilege
        • 57. Neutralizing the Privilege
        • 58. Can Corporations Take the Fifth?
        • 59. Documents vs. Testimony
        • 60. Samples vs. Self-Incrimination
        • 61. Taking the Fifth to Protect Another?
        • 62. Coercion, But Not State Coercion
        • 63. Talking vs. Taking the Fifth
        • 64. Waiving Your Rights
        • 65. Silence vs. Taking the Fifth
        • 66. How to Take the Fifth
      • Miranda: Custodial Interrogation
        • 67. Miranda’s Magic Words: A Refresher
        • 68. It Begins with an Arrest
        • 69. Speaking of Crime
        • 70. Questions for the Doctor
        • 71. Grill, Interrupted
        • 72. Executing a Search Warrant
        • 73. Another Arrest
        • 74. No Further Questions
        • 75. Guns Drawn
        • 76. Split Them Up
        • 77. What Do You Have to Say For Yourself?
        • 78. There Are No Words
        • 79. I Know My Rights
        • 80. Let’s Change the Subject
        • 81. Choice Words
        • 82. Nice Car
        • 83. A Strange Question
        • 84. A Rough Scene
        • Recap: We’ll All Go Down Together
        • 85. What Can We Use?
        • 86. No Custody, No Miranda
        • 87. Custody Equals Coercion. Unless…
        • 88. Fifth Amendment Custody
        • 89. Custody Examples
        • 90. The First Step: Was It Voluntary?
        • 91. Voluntariness: This Specific Person’s Free Will
        • 92. Traffic Stop vs. Fifth Amendment Custody
        • 93. Custody vs. Stop
        • 94. Stop Becomes Custody
        • 95. This Is What It Sounds Like, When Cops Lie
        • 96. Police Deception and Coercion
        • 97. Is It Interrogation?
        • 98. Consequences
        • 99. Public Safety Exception
        • 100. Custody + Interrogation = Miranda
        • 101. ANYTHING You Say…
        • 102. Custody is Custody
        • 103. Deep Breaths
        • 104. Interrogation Isn’t Just Questions
        • 105. Cops Get a Do-Over
        • 106. Waiver: A Free Pass
        • 107. How Courts Really Decide
        • 108. It’s So Easy (to Waive Your Rights)
        • 109. Does Miranda Make Everything Worse?
        • 110. INVOKING Your Rights: Silence
        • 111. Miranda: A Second Interrogation?
        • 112. Police Safety Exceptions
        • 113. Rights Waived… or Rights Invoked?
        • 114. INVOKING Your Rights: Counsel
        • 115. Rights… Rights… Who’s Left?
        • 116. The Psylent One…
        • 117. Exercising- I Mean, INVOKING Your Rights
        • 118. ALL YOU NEED TO SAY. (But You Need to Say It.)
        • 119. Knowing and Voluntary Waiver
        • 120. Serious Danger
        • 121. A Long Way Away
        • 122. The Different Story
        • 123. Who’s Playing Who?
        • 124. Self-Incrimination Finale: SHUT UP!
      • THE FIFTH AMENDMENT FLOWCHART
    • Eyewitness Identification
      • Introduction: It Was You!
        • 1. Introduction: It Was You!
        • 2. Did You Get a Good Look at Him?
        • 3. Is That Him?
        • 4. That’s the Guy.
        • 5. Minds Snap Shut
        • 6. Life Passes…
        • 7. …And Then
        • 8. So Many Wrongful Convictions
        • 9. Identification is Memory
      • A Memory for Faces
        • 10. Memory Isn’t a Movie
        • 11. Connect the Neurons
        • 12. Proustian
        • 13. Sensation vs. Perception
        • 14. Did You Notice?
        • 15. Working Memory
        • 16. Hold That Thought
        • 17. “Chunking”
        • 18. Make It Last
        • 19. Unlimited Capacity
        • 20. Meet Your Hippocampus
        • 21. Use It or Lose It
        • 22. Making Connections
        • 23. The More Ways You Use It…
        • 24. Learning is a Social Skill
        • 25. You Know More Than You Saw
        • 26. Remember This for Me
        • 27. I Remembered It for You
        • 28. A Feature—Not a Bug
        • 29. That Never Happened? Yeah, I Remember It.
        • 30. Filling In the Blanks
        • 31. You Saw Nothing
        • 32. What Have You Seen?
        • 33. Expectations
        • 34. Context Equals Recollection
        • 35. Thank God for Stereotypes
        • 36. Jumping to Conclusions
        • 37. When Stereotypes Fail
        • 38. Paying Attention Ain’t Free
        • 39. PANIC!
        • 40. No, Seriously. Panic.
        • 41. More Memory Malleability
      • Facial Recognition
        • 42. Wired for Faces
        • 43. Prototypes
        • 44. Diagnosis
        • 45. What’s Different?
        • 46. Different People Have Different Parts That Are Different
        • 47. Cross-Race Identification
        • 48. Faces and Working Memory
        • 49. Cross-Race Identification: Worse Than You Think
      • Identification Procedures
        • 50. Let’s Be Scientific
        • 51. Scientific Experiment
        • 52. Control Group
        • 53. Witness Problems
        • 54. Experimental Error: Influencing the Outcome
        • 55. Suggestibility
        • 56. So Much Suggestibility
        • 57. Confirmation Bias
        • 58. No! Don’t Reinforce THAT Memory!
        • 59. Misleading Questions
        • 60. Who’s There? Interrupting Cow. InterrupMOOOOOO!
        • 61. Let Your Witness Do the Talking
        • 62. Easy Fix
        • 63. Double-Blind
        • 64. Sequential, or Simultaneous?
        • 65. Faulty Fillers
        • 66. Fine Fillers
        • 67. Showups
        • 68. Showup Problems
        • 69. More Showup Problems
        • 70. Serious Showup Problems
        • 71. Police Sketch
        • 72. Sketches Be Sketchy
        • 73. Best Practices
      • Identification Law
        • 74. Law?
        • 75. I.D. Issues
        • 76. A Crime
        • 77. An Eyewitness
        • 78. An I.D.
        • 79. Another I.D.
        • 80. A Hearing
        • 81. A Deal?
        • 82. Identification vs. Self-Incrimination
        • 83. Identification and the Right to Counsel
        • 84. Right to Counsel: Timing
        • 85. Right to Counsel: Limitations
        • 86. A Photo Array
        • 87. A Brady Violation?
        • 88. Coaching the Witness?
        • 89. Reliability?
        • 90. Law: It’s About Police, Not Precision
        • 91. So What? Who Cares?
        • 92. Fourth Amendment Issues
        • 93. Fifth Amendment Due Process
        • 94. Are Eyewitness Identifications Inherently Unfair?
        • 95. Urgency vs. Suggestivity
        • 96. Is Memory Legit? 5 Questions
        • 97. Is the Law Stupid?
        • 98. The Judge Rules: The Showup
        • 99. What the Law Wants
        • 100. Tainted Law
        • 101. Fair Suggestions
        • 102. The Judge Rules: In-Court I.D.
        • 103. Taco Time
        • 104. Photo Array Issues
        • 105. Photo Array Concerns
        • 106. Photo Array Arguments
        • 107. More Photo Array Arguments
        • 108. Photo Array Reliability
        • 109. The Judge Rules: Photo Array
        • 110. Is THIS the Eyewitness I.D. Flowchart?
        • 111. THE EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION FLOWCHART
        • 112. A Verdict
        • 113. Enough
        • 114. Saying Goodbye
      • THE EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION FLOWCHART
  • CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
    • Introduction
      • What Is Con Law?
        • 1. Con Law Is Divisive Social Issues
        • 2. Con Law Is Powerful Ideas
        • 3. Con Law is Quite a Ride
      • What Is a Constitution?
        • 4. A Constitution Isn’t Legislation
        • 5. A Constitution… Constitutes
        • 6. A Constitution Creates a Government, and Defines Its Powers
        • 7. A Constitution Is Principles, Not Details
        • 8. The U.S. Constitution Is Brief
      • THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION (Annotated)
    • What Were They Thinking?
      • Why A Constitution?
        • 1. What Were They Thinking?
        • 2. Annapolis
        • 3. The Articles of Confederation
        • 4. A Country in Crisis
        • 5. Even More Crises
        • 6. Hell in a Handbasket
        • 7. Can We Tweak the Confederation?
        • 8. We the People: Popular Sovereignty
        • 9. The Preamble: The Hinge of History
      • The Constitutional Convention
        • 10. Coming to Philadelphia
        • 11. Madison Has a Plan
        • 12. Amend the Constitution?
        • 13. Should Amendments Be Allowed?
        • 14. Do We WANT a Living Constitution?
        • 15. Hamilton Has a Plan
        • 16. April Fools!
        • 17. In the Room Where It Happened? Nope.
        • 18. Hammering Out the Details
        • 19. The Will of the People? Okay, How?
        • 20. Why Two-Thirds?
        • 21. Why Not More? Why Not Less?
        • 22. Who Says? The States or the People?
        • 23. Guvneer Has a Point
        • 24. Does Anybody Have an Answer?
        • 25. They Skipped A Step.
        • 26. The South Brings Up Slavery
        • 27. The Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise, and the Seeds of Secession (long)
        • 28. Protecting the Slave Trade
        • 29. They Skipped Another Step
        • 30. Styling a Final Draft
        • 31. Guvneer Makes Some Changes
        • 32. Really? Really.
        • 33. The Final Day: Mason Makes a Prediction
        • 34. The Final Day: All in Favor?
        • 35. The Final Day: Debates and Disagreement
        • 36. The Final Day: Shut Up, Sherman!
        • 37. The Final Day: Um…
        • 38. The Final Day: The Brink of Disaster
        • 39. The Final Day: A Peculiar Solemnity
        • 40. The Final Day: The Final Vote
        • 41. Franklin Has Something to Say
        • 42. A Nice Speech, But…
        • 43. A Compromise, But…
        • 44. Washington Speaks.
      • What Does It Mean?
        • 45. What Did It Even Mean?
        • 46. Ideas About Interpretation
        • 47. Moving On
    • A History of Government, in Six Revolutions
      • Introduction
        • 48. Ideas: Ponet, Grotius, Hobbes, and Locke
        • 49. The American Mind
        • A Brief History of Government
      • The Cognitive Revolution
        • 50. The State of Nature
        • 51. Cooperation and Trust
        • 52. Loyalty, Intimacy, and Bonding
        • 53. Language, Narrative, and Culture
        • 54. Bands: Family, Equality, and Liberty
        • 55. Natural Regulation: No Hierarchy, No Religion
        • 56. Natural Regulation: Worth, Social Hormones, Conscience
        • 57. Natural Regulation: Peer Pressure, Gossip, Accountability
        • 58. Natural Regulation: Norms and Justice
        • 59. Violence and War in the State of Nature
      • The Junk Food Revolution
        • 60. Agriculture: New Norms, New Permanence
        • 61. Kinship: The Narrative of Lineage
        • 62. Kinship: Tribe and Clan
        • 63. Leaders: Dignity, Virtue, Reverence
        • 64. Ancestors and Marriage, Sacrifice and Piety
        • 65. Regulation: Villages and Chiefs
        • 66. Tribal Justice: Self-Help, Group Identity, and Balance
        • 67. Tribal Justice: Judgment and Enforcement
        • 68. Population Problems: Social Breakdown, War, Crime, and Disease
      • The Institution Revolution
        • Inventing Religion
          • 69. The Institution Revolution: Gods and Government
          • 70. Ritual
          • 71. Sacrifice: Social Bonding
          • 72. Sacrifice: Team Effort and Prestige
          • 73. Sacrifice: Loyalty and Bonding through Belief
          • 74. Sacrifice: Rent-Seeking and Freeloading
          • 75. Foundations: Hierarchy and Patriarchy
          • 76. Inventing the Gods
          • 77. Inventing Religion: Priests, Feasts, and Sacrifice
          • 78. Inventing Religion: Divination and Administration
          • 79. Inventing Religion: From Shrines to Temples
          • 80. Religion = Government. Government = Religion
        • Inventing the State
          • 81. Inventing the State
          • 82. What IS a State?
          • 83. Prerequisites for State Formation
          • 84. Why States?
          • 85. “Law” Codes
          • 86. Institutions of Justice
          • 87. Inequality: Power Stays in the Family
          • 88. Inequality: Hierarchy Becomes Class
          • 89. Inequality: Elites and Wealth
          • 90. Honoring Elites: Chinayë’s Story
          • 91. Civilizations Without Borders
          • 92. The Trouble with Territory
          • 93. What Ruling a Territory Requires
          • 94. Prerequisites for Territorial State Formation
          • 95. The Land of Egypt
          • 96. Egypt Needs Leaders, Gods, and Cities… FAST!
          • 97. Ex Pluribus Unum: Egypt Unites
          • 98. Hor-Aha: Establishing a Territorial Monarchy
          • 99. Justice and Taxes: Legitimizing a Territorial Monarchy
          • 100. Delegation and Dynasties: Ensuring the State’s Survival
          • 101. Egypt: The First Territorial State
        • Inventing the Law
          • 102. What Next?
          • 103. Ancient Law Codes Weren’t Really Laws
          • 104. What Law Codes Were For
          • 105. Hammurabi Ruins Everything
          • 106. Learning from the Law Codes: Jews in Exile
          • 107. Inventing God and Law: Yahweh in the Bronze Age
          • 108. Inventing God and Law: Yahweh Takes Over
          • 109. Inventing God and Law: Yahweh Is.
          • 110. Inventing God and Law: That Old-Time Religion
          • 111. Inventing God and Law: Israel Destroyed. Now What?
          • 112. Inventing God and Law: Religious Reform
          • 113. Inventing God and Law: Josiah
          • 114. Inventing God and Law: Pious Frauds
          • 115. Inventing God and Law: Yahweh. Only Yahweh.
          • 116. Inventing God and Law: God Is Dead
          • 117. Inventing God and Law: Humility Is Hard
          • 118. Inventing God and Law: A New Identity
          • 119. Inventing God and Law: Theocracy
          • 120. Inventing God and Law: Inventing Scripture
          • 121. Inventing God and Law: Deadly Monolatry
          • 122. Inventing God and Law: The Rhetoric of Monotheism
          • 123. Inventing God and Law: You Gotta Have Faith
          • 124. Inventing God and Law: A Funny Thing About Faith
          • 125. Inventing God and Law: The Flip Side of Faith
          • 126. Inventing God and Law: Get It in Writing
          • 127. Inventing God and Law: Another Accident
          • 128. Inventing God and Law: Law’s Complications
          • 129. Complications Continue
          • 130. It Gets Worse
        • Greece & Rome
          • 131. Athenian Segue
          • 132. Bronze Age Athens
          • 133. Fight the Patriarchy
          • 134. The High Life
          • 135. Social Order
          • 136. The State’s Story
          • 137. Death of a Civilization
          • 138. A Dark Age
  • MORE
    • Blog
    • Terrorism
    • Explainers
      • Jurors Have It Hard
        • Jury pg 1
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        • Jury pg 5
        • Jury pg 6
        • Jury pg 7
        • Jury pg 8
        • Jury pg 9
        • Jury pg 10
        • Jury pg 11
        • Jury pg 12
        • Jury pg 13
      • Your Miranda Rights in a Nutshell
      • Qualified Immunity
    • Odds and Ends
      • Happy Birthday!
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      • Pure silliness, completely unrelated to anything
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Posted on October 19, 2012 by Nathan
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The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law
Chapter 13: I Had No Choice!
Necessity pg 13: Jack and Jill

Just one last thing about Necessity:

Two rock climbers high up the face of a sheer tower.

Jack and Jill went up a cliff.

But Jacko was a dope.

Transcript
Posted in Criminal Law, Defenses, Uncategorized | Leave a reply

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  • CRIMINAL LAW
    • Crime
      • 1. Introduction: What IS Crime?
      • 2. More than “Don’t”
      • 3. Crime and Punishment
      • 4. Meet the State
    • Punishment
      • Introduction
        • 1. Punishment: “Take That!”
        • 2. One Tool
        • 3. What IS Punishment?
        • 4. A Hell of a Thing
        • 5. Options
      • Rehabilitation
        • 6. For the Love of God, Why?
        • 7. I Can Fix Him
        • 8. Is Rehabilitation Necessary?
        • 9. Does Rehabilitation Work?
        • 10. Tough Love
        • 11. It Ain’t Easy
      • Deterrence
        • 12. Deterrence: Don’t Do That Again!
        • 13. Specific Deterrence
        • 14. General deterrence
        • 15. Measuring Deterrence
        • 16. Does Deterrence Work?
        • 17. When Deterrence Works
        • 18. Perception Is Everything
        • 19. Who Knows?
        • 20. Can’t We Be Civilized
      • The Three 'R's
        • 21. Removal
        • 22. Removal: Off the Streets
        • 23. Removal: Problems
        • 24. Removal: Civilized?
        • 25. Retribution: What’s It Worth?
        • 26: Retribution: Proportional Suffering
        • 27. Retribution: Civilized?
        • 28. Retaliation: Striking Back
        • 29. Retaliation: Civilized?
    • Guilt
      • Introduction
        • 1. Introduction: “I Didn’t Mean To!”
        • 2. Justice
        • 3. Who Deserves Punishment?
        • 4. Culpability
      • Mens Rea
        • 5. Jack and Jill
        • 6. Jan and Dean
        • 7. Bonnie and Clyde
        • 8. Romeo and Juliet
        • 9. Ricky and Lucy
        • 10. Mens Rea = Mental State
        • 11. Guilty mind
        • 12. Accident
        • 13. Negligence
        • 14. Recklessness
        • 15. Knowledge
        • 16. Intent
        • 17. The Mens Rea – O – Meter
      • Axes of Evil
        • 18. Awareness
        • 19. Responsibility
        • 20. Blame
        • 21. Indirect Cause
        • 22. Let’s Play “Pin the Blame on Somebody”
        • 23. Two Axes: Mens Rea, and Responsibility
        • 24. Intent Without Causation
        • 25. The Third Axis: Depravity
        • 26. Punishing Awfulness
        • 27. Deserving It
      • Actus Reus
        • 28. What Have You DONE?
        • 29. An Assault
        • 30. The Elements of Crime: Guilty Mind, and Guilty Act
        • 31. Voodoo
        • 32. Causation
        • 33. A Series of Unfortunate Events
        • 34. Cause In Fact, and Proximate Cause
        • 35. Concurrence
        • 36. He Missed and Maimed Mamie Instead
        • 37. Transferred Intent
      • Attempt
        • 38. Attempt: “At Least You Tried”
        • 39. It’s All About You
        • 40. Schemes
        • 41. Dreams
        • 42. Making Scenes
        • 43. Working
        • 44. Digging
        • 45. And Then There’s Maude
        • 46. She Takes Her Shot
        • 47. Thought Crime?
        • 48. Mere Intent
        • 49. Taking Steps
        • 50. Apply the Purposes of Punishment
        • 51. Different States, Different Laws
        • 52. A Continuum
        • 53. Subjective Mind vs. Objective Action
        • 54. Attempt Is Always On Purpose
        • 55. A Safety Valve
        • 56. Abandoned Attempt
        • 57. Abandonment: Timing Is Everything
        • 58. A Change of Heart
        • 59. Impossibility
        • 60. Frick’s Frustration
        • 61. Frack’s Frustration
        • 62. Attempt: Summing Up
      • Conspiracy & Solicitation
        • 63. Conspiracy: “We’ll All Go Down Together”
        • 64. Assembling the Crew: The Wheels, The Brains
        • 65. Assembling the Crew: The Expert, The Heavy
        • 66. The Plan
        • 67. The Supplies
        • 68. The Job
        • 69. The Line
        • 70. The Signal
        • 71. The Wires
        • 72. The Glitch
        • 73. The Hitch
        • 74. The Getaway
        • 75. The Mess
        • 76. The Rendezvous
        • 77. The Showdown
        • 78. The Cavalry
        • 79. Solicitation
        • 80. Accomplices
        • 81. Accomplice Liability
        • 82. All Kinds of Accomplices
        • 83. Not Every Helper is an Accomplice
        • 84. Criminal Facilitation
        • 85. Conspiracy: Inchoate Crime
        • 86. Conspiracy: Agreement and Action
        • 87. Conspiracy: Agreement and Intent
        • 88. Conspiracy: A Big Net
        • 89. Conspiracy: The Prosecutor’s Favorite Weapon
        • 90. A Separate Crime
        • 91. Withdrawal from a Conspiracy
        • 92. A Conspiracy of One?
        • 93. Felony Murder
        • 94. Foreseeability
        • 95. Fail. Jail.
    • Defenses
      • Mistake and Insanity
        • 1. “Excuse Me!”
        • 2. Ignorance of the Law
        • 3. Forgiveness vs. Nothing to Forgive
        • 4. Excuse vs. Justification
        • 5. Mistaken Facts
        • 6. Not a Defense If Not a Crime
        • 7. Provocation: Temporary Insanity
        • 8. Provocation: Elements of the Defense
        • 9. Provocation: The Rationale
        • 10. The “Reasonable Person”
        • 11. “Reasonable?” It Depends
        • 12. Insanity
        • 13. Insanity: You Wouldn’t Understand
        • 14. Delusion
        • 15. What’s the Point of Punishment?
        • 16. Insanity Has Consequences
        • 17. Diminished Capacity
        • 18. Blackout Drunk
        • 19. Another Transferred Intent
        • 20. Only on T.V.
      • Entrapment
        • 21. “I Was Entrapped!”
        • 22. Cora Gets Advice
        • 23. Cop Costs Extra
        • 24. Outrageous?
        • 25. Grayson Helps Out
        • 26. Sylvester’s Security
        • 27. Solid Saul
        • 28. Jeez
        • 29. Jen Shops Around
        • 30. Federal Assistance
        • 31. Zeke Blocks It
        • 32. Zeke Freaks
        • 33. All Your Myths Are Wrong
        • 34. Myth #1: A Cop Has to Tell You He’s a Cop
        • 35. Think About It
        • 36. Not a Survival Skill
        • 37. Elements of Entrapment
        • 38. Entrapment Explanation
        • 39. You Were Tricked
        • 40. But Were You Willing?
        • 41. Myths #2 & #3: The Police Can’t Get Involved
        • 42. Some Things Undercovers Can Do
        • 43. Myth #4: The Police Can’t Help You Break the Law
        • 44. Myth #5: The Police Can’t Let You Break the Law
        • 45. Opportunity Isn’t Entrapment
        • 46. Entrapment Overcomes Your Free Will
        • 47. Informants
        • 48. The Power of Cops Compels You
        • 49. False Representation
      • Justification Defenses
        • Introduction
          • 50. Excuse vs. Justification (again)
          • 51. Excuse = An Option
          • 52. Justification = No Alternative
          • 53. The 3 Justification Defenses
        • Necessity
          • 54. Meet Dylan the Dimwit
          • 55. Harry the Hero Helps
          • 56. Immediate Danger
          • 57. Lesser of Two Evils
          • 58. Necessity: Elements of the Defense
          • 59. There’s No Chutzpah Defense
          • 60. Becky’s Bentley
          • 61. Weighing Evils
          • 62. Up a Cliff
          • 63. Dire Decision
          • 64. Trolley Problem
          • 65. “As a Matter of Law”: Policy’s Thumb on the Scales
          • 66. The GREATER Good
          • 67. Volition
          • 68. Equivalent Evil
          • 69. No, That Doesn’t Count
          • 70. No, That Doesn’t Count, Either
        • Duress
          • 71. Duress: “Do or Die”
          • 72. Vicky Meets the Golden Horde
          • 73. Did She Decide?
          • 74. Did She Have a Choice?
          • 75. Elements of Duress: Threat & Fear
          • 76. Elements of Duress: Do or Die
          • 77. Why Duress Is a Defense
          • 78. Stu Meets the Horde
          • 79. Stu and the Snitch
          • 80. 3… 2… 1…
          • 81. …
          • 82. Duress vs. Necessity
          • 83. Duress Doesn’t Always Help
          • 84. Millie the Mule
          • 85. Immediate Danger
          • 86. Overcoming Your Free Will
          • 87. Different States, Different Laws (duress edition)
          • 88. Bob at the Bank
          • 89. Another Guy, Another Bank
          • 90. Stranger Things
          • 91. No Duty, No Defense?
          • 92. Nobody Said the Law Was Fair
          • 93. Trog’s Initiation
          • 94. There’s Still No Chutzpah Defense
          • 95. Duress Is Rare
        • Self-Defense
          • 96. Self-Defense: “It Was Either Him or Me”
          • 97. Drop It or You’re Dead
          • 98. Defense of Property
          • 99. Non-Deadly Force
          • 100. Rico’s Ranch Hands
          • 101. Defending What You Stole?
          • 102. SELF Defense
          • 103. OMG, the Saloon
          • 104. Laredo Luke
          • 105. Blam
          • 106. Defense Against Unlawful Violence
          • 107. Only Necessary Force
          • 108. Throwing the First Punch
          • 109. Pre-Emptive Self-Defense
          • 110. When Fighting Back Is Illegal
          • 111. Same Night, Another Fight
          • 112. So Far, So Good
          • 113. Escalation
          • 114. Defender Becomes Aggressor
          • 115. DEADLY Force Has Different Rules
          • 116. Caleb Crawls In
          • 117. Home Intrusion
          • 118. Deadly Force: Last Resort
          • 119. Deadly Force: Elements of the Defense
          • 120. Your Own Home: No Duty to Retreat
          • 121. Your Own Home: Necessity Still Necessary
          • 122. “Imperfect” Self-Defense
          • 123. Two Gunslingers
          • 124. He Shot First
          • 125. Stand Your Ground
          • 126. Making a Getaway
          • 127. An Accident?
          • 128. Reckless?
          • 129. To the Rescue
          • 130. Defense of Others
          • 131. “Transferred” Duty to Retreat
          • 132. Lillie Wants to Stay
          • 133. Hank Had a Drink
          • 134. Hank Hurts
          • 135. Two Years
          • 136. He Will
          • 137. Lillie Says Goodbye
          • 138. …
          • 139. What Have You Done?
          • 140. Battered Woman Defense
          • 141. There’s No “He Needed Killin'” Defense
          • 142. You Did the Right Thing?
    • Guilt Without Fault
      • Introduction
        • 1. A Feather
        • 2. Memories
        • 3. MBTA
        • 4. You Did Nothing Wrong? Go to Jail.
        • 5. Soup
        • 6. Impossible
        • 7. Nobody Could Have Guessed It Was Illegal? Go to Jail.
      • Overcriminalization
        • 8. Countless Crimes: Literally Uncountable
        • 9. Unknown Crimes: Literally Unknowable
        • 10. Criminal Law: Vague, Arbitrary, and Capricious
        • 11. Regulatory Agencies
        • 12. Enacting Without Understanding
        • 13. Do It My Way
        • 14. Progressive Idealism
        • 15. A Man of Principles
        • 16. Prescribing, Not Describing
        • 17. Overbroad
        • 18. Zero Tolerance
        • 19. The Law Means What I Say It Means
        • 20. You’ll Just Have to Trust Me
        • 21. Unfair, Unjust
      • History of Overcriminalization and Strict Liability
        • 22. Custom and Tradition
        • 23. Law Is Good
        • 24. Law Goes Bad
        • 25. Ancient Rome: Popularity Over Principle
        • 26. Ancient Rome: Countless, Contradictory
        • 27. Ancient Rome: Bad Government? More Laws!
        • 28. Old England: Common Sense
        • 29. Old England: Common Understanding
        • 30. Old England: Straightforward Law
        • 31. Old England: Mens Rea, Justification, Incapacity
        • 32. Old England: Simple Punishment
        • 33. Old England: Might Makes Right?
        • 34. Old England: Corruption?
        • 35. Old England: The State Gets Involved
        • 36. Old England: The Rule of Law
        • 37. Old England: Proliferation of Laws
        • 38. Old England: Overcriminalization
        • 39. Old England: The Need for Reform
        • 40. Old England: A Snare for the Unwary
        • 41. Old England: Blackstone Suggests Reforms
        • 42. America: Listening to Blackstone
        • 43. America: A New Conception of Crime
        • 44. America: Enlightened Thought
        • 45. America: Prison to Progress
        • 46. America: Rehabilitation, a New Idea
        • 47. Self-Help
        • 48. America: The State Takes Charge
        • 49. Strict Liability: Origins
        • 50. Strict Liability: Principled
        • 51. Strict Liability: Statutory Rape Makes Sense
        • 52. Strict Liability: Changing the Rules
        • 53. Strict Liability: Statutory Rape Law Stops Making Sense
        • 54. Strict Liability: Regulators Love It
        • 55. Strict Liability: Forgetting the Principle
      • Concluding Thoughts
        • 56. Getting Tough on Crime
        • 57. Choking on Our Institutions
        • 58. Sucks to Be You: Crime Becomes a Lottery
        • 59. Video: No Mens Rea? No Problem!
        • 60. Keep Your Head Down
        • 61. Progress?
    • Examples
      • Theft
        • 1. A Violin
        • 2. A Crime?
        • 3. Burglary Means Breaking In
        • 4. Robbery Means Violence
        • 5. Larceny Means Theft
        • 6. Petty Larceny, Grand Larceny
        • 7. Mistake About Value?
      • Assault and Hate Crime
        • 8. Pow! Right in the Kisser
        • 9. Battery Means Bodily Harm
        • 10. Dealing with Defenses
        • 11. Simple? Aggravated?
        • 12. Hate Crime: Born This Way
        • 13. Hate Crime: An Extra Level of Mens Rea
      • Rape
        • 14. Nope.
        • 15. A Rape Law
        • 16. What “Consent” Means
        • 17. First Degree Rape
        • 18. Force? No Consent.
        • 19. Sooo Drunk
        • 20. But She Said Yes
        • 21. Doesn’t Matter
        • 22. If You Knew, That’s Rape 2
        • 23. You Couldn’t Have Known? Not Rape.
        • 24. Regret
        • 25. He Said, She Said
        • 26. Relevant Facts
        • 27. Rape Shield Laws
        • 28. False Accusations
        • 29. Other Considerations
      • Homicide
        • 30. Murder and Manslaughter
        • 31. Manslaughter and Negligent Homicide
        • 32. Another Fight
        • 33. Another Accident?
        • 34. Causation
        • 35. Misdemeanor Manslaughter
        • 36. Predictability
        • 37. Mens Rea
        • 38. Awareness of Risk
        • 39. Provocation
        • 40. Alcohol
        • 41. An Idea
        • 42. A Plan
        • 43. A Gun
        • 44. A Felony
        • 45. Deaths
        • 46. Homicide?
        • 47. Felony Murder
        • 48. Homicide vs. Accident
        • 49. A Terrorist
        • 50. A Bomb
        • 51. An Explosion
        • 52. Depravity vs. Mens Rea
        • 53. Violence for Political Goals = Terrorism
        • 54. Breaking the Mens Rea – O – Meter
        • 55. An Injection
      • Criminal Law: Conclusion
  • CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
    • Introduction: So What?
      • 1. Crim Pro: So What?
      • 2. Hammer Time
      • 3. With Great Power Comes Great… Abuse
      • 4. Out of Control
      • 5. Enter Justice
      • 6. Procedure Is Our Protection
      • 7. Criminal Procedure
    • Meet the Players
      • Player One
      • 1. Life Isn’t Pretty
      • 2. All You’ve Got
      • 3. Meet the Cop
      • 4. A Hard Job
      • 5. No, Not Pretty
      • Player Two
      • 6. Not My Job
      • 7. Still Not My Job
      • 8. Meet the Prosecutor
      • 9. Great Power
      • 10. Great Responsibility
      • Player Three
      • 11. Why? How?
      • 12. All You’ve Got
      • 13. Meet the Defense Counsel
      • 14. Disservice?
      • 15. Greasing the Wheels
      • Player Four
      • 16. Got to Be Fair
      • 17. Fair Enough
      • 18. Enter the Judge
      • 19. Fair Question
      • 20. Trying to Be…
      • Player Five
      • 21. Nope, Not You
    • Search and Seizure
      • Introduction: Police vs. Privacy
        • 1. Police vs. Privacy
        • 2. An Officer Finds Evidence
        • 3. Getting Off on a Technicality?
        • 4. Privacy
        • 5. The Fourth Amendment
        • 6. 4th Amendment: Why?
        • 7. 4th Amendment: Prohibition
        • 8. 4th Amendment: Probable Cause
        • 9. 4th Amendment: The Warrant Requirement
        • 10. A Balancing Act
        • 11. Excluding Evidence
        • 12. Why Exclude Evidence?
        • 13. The Beauty of the Exclusionary Rule
        • 14. The Shield of Justice
        • 15. Bad Understanding = Weird Outcomes
      • Search Warrants and Standing
        • 16. Charlie Gets Arrested
        • 17. Checking Charlie’s Story
        • 18. A Rude Awakening
        • 19. Is It Enough?
        • 20. Get a Warrant
        • 21. Probable Cosplay
        • 22. Something Smells
        • 23. Oh No! Anyway…
        • 24. Standing
        • 25. What If a Warrant is Based on a Lie?
        • 26. No-Knock Warrant, Protective Sweep
        • 27. Can Police Rely on a Bad Warrant?
      • Wiretaps: Electronic Eavesdropping
        • 28. A Tragedy
        • 29. A Suspect
        • 30. Many More Hoops to Jump Through
        • 31. Necessity
        • 32. No Other Way
        • 33. Connect the Dots: Building Probable Cause
        • 34. The Easy Part
        • 35. Minimization
        • 36. Lots of Work to Do
        • 37. Listening Isn’t Everything
        • 38. A Call
        • 39. A Code?
        • 40. Surveillance
        • 41. Wham
        • 42. An Arrest
      • Stop / Frisk / Arrest
        • 43. You’re Being Detained: Seizing the Person
        • 44. Reasonable Suspicion, Probable Cause
        • 45. When Seizure Was Straightforward
        • 46. Search Without Probable Cause?
        • 47. Stop and Frisk
        • 48. Limited Scope
        • 49. Pat-Down
        • 50. Secret Page! Don’t Tell!
        • 51. What IS an Arrest?
        • 52. Sliding Scales of Justice
        • 53. Are You Free to Leave?
        • 54. Example: First Contact
        • 55. Example: Stop
        • 56. Example: Frisk, Arrest
        • 57. It Was Lawful!
        • 58. It Was Unlawful!
      • Automobiles
        • 59. A Traffic Stop
        • 60. A Stop is a Stop
        • 61. Get Out of the Car!
        • 62. Some Right Balderdash
        • 63. Can You Frisk a Car?
        • 64. Plain View
        • 65. What About the Trunk?
        • 66. Asking Permission
        • 67. Consent to Search
        • 68. Don’t Consent
        • 69. Police: Deception is OK. Coercion is Not.
        • 70. The Scope of Consent
        • 71. What’s In the Trunk?
        • 72. A Checkpoint
        • 73. Detention Without Suspicion
        • 74. Checkpoints: About Cars, Not Crime
        • 75. Lawful Checkpoint Purposes
        • 76. Strangely Lawful Checkpoint Purposes
        • 77. Roll Down the Window, Please
        • 78. Not Suspicious at All
        • 79. This Can’t Be Happening
        • 80. Search Incident to Arrest
        • 81. Searching the Car and Closed Containers
        • 82. Searching the Trunk?
        • 83. Dog Sniff vs. Privacy
        • 84. Dog Sniff vs. Search
        • 85. The Automobile Exception
        • 86. An Outcome
      • Emergency Exceptions
        • 87. A Quiet Mountain Town
        • 88. A Chase of Life or Death
        • 89. A Pursuit
        • 90. An Unexpected Arrest
        • 91. A Choice
        • 92. A Break
        • 93. A Noise
        • 94. A Seizure
        • 95. Hot Pursuit
        • 96. Hot Pursuit vs. Warrant Requirement
        • 97. Plain View
        • 98. Plain View vs. Warrant Requirement
        • 99. Plain Perception
        • 100. When Police Outweigh Privacy
        • 101. Deadly Force as Seizure
        • 102. Standing vs. Abandonment
        • 103. Standing vs. Concealment
        • 104. Hot Pursuit, Cold Trail
        • 105. To Freeze or Seize
        • 106. Public Safety, Rescue
        • 107. Urgent Need for Assistance
        • 108. Protective Sweep?
        • 109. A New Emergency
        • 110. A Peaceful Mountain Town
      • THE FOURTH AMENDMENT FLOWCHART
    • Self-Incrimination
      • Introduction: Convict Yourself!
        • 1. Introduction: Convict Yourself!
        • 2. Keep an Open Mind
        • 3. Minds Slam Shut
        • 4. Forced to Confess
        • 5. Manipulated Confessions
        • 6. Fraudulent Confessions
        • 7. Punishing the Innocent
        • 8. Innocence Isn’t Everything
        • 9. The Big Concern: Overpowering Your Free Will
        • 10. The Ultimate Abuse of Power
      • History of Self-Incrimination Law
        • 11. It’s Not What You Think
        • 12. England Was Different
        • 13. England’s Proud Principle
        • 14. Torture
        • 15. England’s Bizarre Notion
        • 16. Who Cares if it Works? It’s Wrong.
        • 17. Common Sense and Common Law
        • 18. Star Chamber: Inquisitorial, Not Adversarial
        • 19. Inquisition: Results, Not Rights
        • 20. Inquisitorial Courts: Parliament Fights Back
        • 21. The Accident of Fundamental Rights
        • 22. Deadly Detour: Church and State Become Buddies
        • 23. Deadly Detour: Religious Persecution, the Police State
        • 24. Deadly Detour: Torture & Coercion
        • 25. Deadly Detour: Abuse & Opposition
        • 26. Deadly Detour: An Innocent Person Has Nothing to Fear
        • 27. Deadly Detour: Coercion Is Un-English
        • 28. England Picks Up Where It Left Off
        • 29. Duress is the Colonial Way
        • 30. Enlightenment Ideas
        • 31. A Bill of Rights
        • 32. The Fifth Amendment
        • 33. Bedrock Principle: A Confession Must Be Voluntary
        • 34. The Crime Wave
        • 35. Results, Not Rights: The American Inquisition
        • 36. Nobody Expected the American Inquisition
        • 37. Torture, American Style
        • 38. Outrage and Confusion
        • 39. OMG Science!
        • 40. What Polygraphs are Really For
        • 41. Scientifically Coerced Confessions
        • 42. Interrogation that Gets Results
        • 43. The Right to Counsel?
        • 44. The Reid Technique: Opening Moves
        • 45. The Reid Technique: Sealing the Deal
        • 46. Maybe Use the Fifth Amendment?
        • 47. Miranda v. Arizona
        • 48. Miranda’s Magic Words
        • 49. Miranda’s Fundamental Disconnect
      • Taking the Fifth
        • 50. Jane Has a Webcomic
        • 51. Think of the Children!
        • 52. Senate Hearings
        • 53. Jane Respectfully Declines to Answer
        • 54. INNOCENT People Take the Fifth
        • 55. Contempt is Coercion
        • 56. The Elements of the Privilege
        • 57. Neutralizing the Privilege
        • 58. Can Corporations Take the Fifth?
        • 59. Documents vs. Testimony
        • 60. Samples vs. Self-Incrimination
        • 61. Taking the Fifth to Protect Another?
        • 62. Coercion, But Not State Coercion
        • 63. Talking vs. Taking the Fifth
        • 64. Waiving Your Rights
        • 65. Silence vs. Taking the Fifth
        • 66. How to Take the Fifth
      • Miranda: Custodial Interrogation
        • 67. Miranda’s Magic Words: A Refresher
        • 68. It Begins with an Arrest
        • 69. Speaking of Crime
        • 70. Questions for the Doctor
        • 71. Grill, Interrupted
        • 72. Executing a Search Warrant
        • 73. Another Arrest
        • 74. No Further Questions
        • 75. Guns Drawn
        • 76. Split Them Up
        • 77. What Do You Have to Say For Yourself?
        • 78. There Are No Words
        • 79. I Know My Rights
        • 80. Let’s Change the Subject
        • 81. Choice Words
        • 82. Nice Car
        • 83. A Strange Question
        • 84. A Rough Scene
        • Recap: We’ll All Go Down Together
        • 85. What Can We Use?
        • 86. No Custody, No Miranda
        • 87. Custody Equals Coercion. Unless…
        • 88. Fifth Amendment Custody
        • 89. Custody Examples
        • 90. The First Step: Was It Voluntary?
        • 91. Voluntariness: This Specific Person’s Free Will
        • 92. Traffic Stop vs. Fifth Amendment Custody
        • 93. Custody vs. Stop
        • 94. Stop Becomes Custody
        • 95. This Is What It Sounds Like, When Cops Lie
        • 96. Police Deception and Coercion
        • 97. Is It Interrogation?
        • 98. Consequences
        • 99. Public Safety Exception
        • 100. Custody + Interrogation = Miranda
        • 101. ANYTHING You Say…
        • 102. Custody is Custody
        • 103. Deep Breaths
        • 104. Interrogation Isn’t Just Questions
        • 105. Cops Get a Do-Over
        • 106. Waiver: A Free Pass
        • 107. How Courts Really Decide
        • 108. It’s So Easy (to Waive Your Rights)
        • 109. Does Miranda Make Everything Worse?
        • 110. INVOKING Your Rights: Silence
        • 111. Miranda: A Second Interrogation?
        • 112. Police Safety Exceptions
        • 113. Rights Waived… or Rights Invoked?
        • 114. INVOKING Your Rights: Counsel
        • 115. Rights… Rights… Who’s Left?
        • 116. The Psylent One…
        • 117. Exercising- I Mean, INVOKING Your Rights
        • 118. ALL YOU NEED TO SAY. (But You Need to Say It.)
        • 119. Knowing and Voluntary Waiver
        • 120. Serious Danger
        • 121. A Long Way Away
        • 122. The Different Story
        • 123. Who’s Playing Who?
        • 124. Self-Incrimination Finale: SHUT UP!
      • THE FIFTH AMENDMENT FLOWCHART
    • Eyewitness Identification
      • Introduction: It Was You!
        • 1. Introduction: It Was You!
        • 2. Did You Get a Good Look at Him?
        • 3. Is That Him?
        • 4. That’s the Guy.
        • 5. Minds Snap Shut
        • 6. Life Passes…
        • 7. …And Then
        • 8. So Many Wrongful Convictions
        • 9. Identification is Memory
      • A Memory for Faces
        • 10. Memory Isn’t a Movie
        • 11. Connect the Neurons
        • 12. Proustian
        • 13. Sensation vs. Perception
        • 14. Did You Notice?
        • 15. Working Memory
        • 16. Hold That Thought
        • 17. “Chunking”
        • 18. Make It Last
        • 19. Unlimited Capacity
        • 20. Meet Your Hippocampus
        • 21. Use It or Lose It
        • 22. Making Connections
        • 23. The More Ways You Use It…
        • 24. Learning is a Social Skill
        • 25. You Know More Than You Saw
        • 26. Remember This for Me
        • 27. I Remembered It for You
        • 28. A Feature—Not a Bug
        • 29. That Never Happened? Yeah, I Remember It.
        • 30. Filling In the Blanks
        • 31. You Saw Nothing
        • 32. What Have You Seen?
        • 33. Expectations
        • 34. Context Equals Recollection
        • 35. Thank God for Stereotypes
        • 36. Jumping to Conclusions
        • 37. When Stereotypes Fail
        • 38. Paying Attention Ain’t Free
        • 39. PANIC!
        • 40. No, Seriously. Panic.
        • 41. More Memory Malleability
      • Facial Recognition
        • 42. Wired for Faces
        • 43. Prototypes
        • 44. Diagnosis
        • 45. What’s Different?
        • 46. Different People Have Different Parts That Are Different
        • 47. Cross-Race Identification
        • 48. Faces and Working Memory
        • 49. Cross-Race Identification: Worse Than You Think
      • Identification Procedures
        • 50. Let’s Be Scientific
        • 51. Scientific Experiment
        • 52. Control Group
        • 53. Witness Problems
        • 54. Experimental Error: Influencing the Outcome
        • 55. Suggestibility
        • 56. So Much Suggestibility
        • 57. Confirmation Bias
        • 58. No! Don’t Reinforce THAT Memory!
        • 59. Misleading Questions
        • 60. Who’s There? Interrupting Cow. InterrupMOOOOOO!
        • 61. Let Your Witness Do the Talking
        • 62. Easy Fix
        • 63. Double-Blind
        • 64. Sequential, or Simultaneous?
        • 65. Faulty Fillers
        • 66. Fine Fillers
        • 67. Showups
        • 68. Showup Problems
        • 69. More Showup Problems
        • 70. Serious Showup Problems
        • 71. Police Sketch
        • 72. Sketches Be Sketchy
        • 73. Best Practices
      • Identification Law
        • 74. Law?
        • 75. I.D. Issues
        • 76. A Crime
        • 77. An Eyewitness
        • 78. An I.D.
        • 79. Another I.D.
        • 80. A Hearing
        • 81. A Deal?
        • 82. Identification vs. Self-Incrimination
        • 83. Identification and the Right to Counsel
        • 84. Right to Counsel: Timing
        • 85. Right to Counsel: Limitations
        • 86. A Photo Array
        • 87. A Brady Violation?
        • 88. Coaching the Witness?
        • 89. Reliability?
        • 90. Law: It’s About Police, Not Precision
        • 91. So What? Who Cares?
        • 92. Fourth Amendment Issues
        • 93. Fifth Amendment Due Process
        • 94. Are Eyewitness Identifications Inherently Unfair?
        • 95. Urgency vs. Suggestivity
        • 96. Is Memory Legit? 5 Questions
        • 97. Is the Law Stupid?
        • 98. The Judge Rules: The Showup
        • 99. What the Law Wants
        • 100. Tainted Law
        • 101. Fair Suggestions
        • 102. The Judge Rules: In-Court I.D.
        • 103. Taco Time
        • 104. Photo Array Issues
        • 105. Photo Array Concerns
        • 106. Photo Array Arguments
        • 107. More Photo Array Arguments
        • 108. Photo Array Reliability
        • 109. The Judge Rules: Photo Array
        • 110. Is THIS the Eyewitness I.D. Flowchart?
        • 111. THE EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION FLOWCHART
        • 112. A Verdict
        • 113. Enough
        • 114. Saying Goodbye
      • THE EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION FLOWCHART
  • CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
    • Introduction
      • What Is Con Law?
        • 1. Con Law Is Divisive Social Issues
        • 2. Con Law Is Powerful Ideas
        • 3. Con Law is Quite a Ride
      • What Is a Constitution?
        • 4. A Constitution Isn’t Legislation
        • 5. A Constitution… Constitutes
        • 6. A Constitution Creates a Government, and Defines Its Powers
        • 7. A Constitution Is Principles, Not Details
        • 8. The U.S. Constitution Is Brief
      • THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION (Annotated)
    • What Were They Thinking?
      • Why A Constitution?
        • 1. What Were They Thinking?
        • 2. Annapolis
        • 3. The Articles of Confederation
        • 4. A Country in Crisis
        • 5. Even More Crises
        • 6. Hell in a Handbasket
        • 7. Can We Tweak the Confederation?
        • 8. We the People: Popular Sovereignty
        • 9. The Preamble: The Hinge of History
      • The Constitutional Convention
        • 10. Coming to Philadelphia
        • 11. Madison Has a Plan
        • 12. Amend the Constitution?
        • 13. Should Amendments Be Allowed?
        • 14. Do We WANT a Living Constitution?
        • 15. Hamilton Has a Plan
        • 16. April Fools!
        • 17. In the Room Where It Happened? Nope.
        • 18. Hammering Out the Details
        • 19. The Will of the People? Okay, How?
        • 20. Why Two-Thirds?
        • 21. Why Not More? Why Not Less?
        • 22. Who Says? The States or the People?
        • 23. Guvneer Has a Point
        • 24. Does Anybody Have an Answer?
        • 25. They Skipped A Step.
        • 26. The South Brings Up Slavery
        • 27. The Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise, and the Seeds of Secession (long)
        • 28. Protecting the Slave Trade
        • 29. They Skipped Another Step
        • 30. Styling a Final Draft
        • 31. Guvneer Makes Some Changes
        • 32. Really? Really.
        • 33. The Final Day: Mason Makes a Prediction
        • 34. The Final Day: All in Favor?
        • 35. The Final Day: Debates and Disagreement
        • 36. The Final Day: Shut Up, Sherman!
        • 37. The Final Day: Um…
        • 38. The Final Day: The Brink of Disaster
        • 39. The Final Day: A Peculiar Solemnity
        • 40. The Final Day: The Final Vote
        • 41. Franklin Has Something to Say
        • 42. A Nice Speech, But…
        • 43. A Compromise, But…
        • 44. Washington Speaks.
      • What Does It Mean?
        • 45. What Did It Even Mean?
        • 46. Ideas About Interpretation
        • 47. Moving On
    • A History of Government, in Six Revolutions
      • Introduction
        • 48. Ideas: Ponet, Grotius, Hobbes, and Locke
        • 49. The American Mind
        • A Brief History of Government
      • The Cognitive Revolution
        • 50. The State of Nature
        • 51. Cooperation and Trust
        • 52. Loyalty, Intimacy, and Bonding
        • 53. Language, Narrative, and Culture
        • 54. Bands: Family, Equality, and Liberty
        • 55. Natural Regulation: No Hierarchy, No Religion
        • 56. Natural Regulation: Worth, Social Hormones, Conscience
        • 57. Natural Regulation: Peer Pressure, Gossip, Accountability
        • 58. Natural Regulation: Norms and Justice
        • 59. Violence and War in the State of Nature
      • The Junk Food Revolution
        • 60. Agriculture: New Norms, New Permanence
        • 61. Kinship: The Narrative of Lineage
        • 62. Kinship: Tribe and Clan
        • 63. Leaders: Dignity, Virtue, Reverence
        • 64. Ancestors and Marriage, Sacrifice and Piety
        • 65. Regulation: Villages and Chiefs
        • 66. Tribal Justice: Self-Help, Group Identity, and Balance
        • 67. Tribal Justice: Judgment and Enforcement
        • 68. Population Problems: Social Breakdown, War, Crime, and Disease
      • The Institution Revolution
        • Inventing Religion
          • 69. The Institution Revolution: Gods and Government
          • 70. Ritual
          • 71. Sacrifice: Social Bonding
          • 72. Sacrifice: Team Effort and Prestige
          • 73. Sacrifice: Loyalty and Bonding through Belief
          • 74. Sacrifice: Rent-Seeking and Freeloading
          • 75. Foundations: Hierarchy and Patriarchy
          • 76. Inventing the Gods
          • 77. Inventing Religion: Priests, Feasts, and Sacrifice
          • 78. Inventing Religion: Divination and Administration
          • 79. Inventing Religion: From Shrines to Temples
          • 80. Religion = Government. Government = Religion
        • Inventing the State
          • 81. Inventing the State
          • 82. What IS a State?
          • 83. Prerequisites for State Formation
          • 84. Why States?
          • 85. “Law” Codes
          • 86. Institutions of Justice
          • 87. Inequality: Power Stays in the Family
          • 88. Inequality: Hierarchy Becomes Class
          • 89. Inequality: Elites and Wealth
          • 90. Honoring Elites: Chinayë’s Story
          • 91. Civilizations Without Borders
          • 92. The Trouble with Territory
          • 93. What Ruling a Territory Requires
          • 94. Prerequisites for Territorial State Formation
          • 95. The Land of Egypt
          • 96. Egypt Needs Leaders, Gods, and Cities… FAST!
          • 97. Ex Pluribus Unum: Egypt Unites
          • 98. Hor-Aha: Establishing a Territorial Monarchy
          • 99. Justice and Taxes: Legitimizing a Territorial Monarchy
          • 100. Delegation and Dynasties: Ensuring the State’s Survival
          • 101. Egypt: The First Territorial State
        • Inventing the Law
          • 102. What Next?
          • 103. Ancient Law Codes Weren’t Really Laws
          • 104. What Law Codes Were For
          • 105. Hammurabi Ruins Everything
          • 106. Learning from the Law Codes: Jews in Exile
          • 107. Inventing God and Law: Yahweh in the Bronze Age
          • 108. Inventing God and Law: Yahweh Takes Over
          • 109. Inventing God and Law: Yahweh Is.
          • 110. Inventing God and Law: That Old-Time Religion
          • 111. Inventing God and Law: Israel Destroyed. Now What?
          • 112. Inventing God and Law: Religious Reform
          • 113. Inventing God and Law: Josiah
          • 114. Inventing God and Law: Pious Frauds
          • 115. Inventing God and Law: Yahweh. Only Yahweh.
          • 116. Inventing God and Law: God Is Dead
          • 117. Inventing God and Law: Humility Is Hard
          • 118. Inventing God and Law: A New Identity
          • 119. Inventing God and Law: Theocracy
          • 120. Inventing God and Law: Inventing Scripture
          • 121. Inventing God and Law: Deadly Monolatry
          • 122. Inventing God and Law: The Rhetoric of Monotheism
          • 123. Inventing God and Law: You Gotta Have Faith
          • 124. Inventing God and Law: A Funny Thing About Faith
          • 125. Inventing God and Law: The Flip Side of Faith
          • 126. Inventing God and Law: Get It in Writing
          • 127. Inventing God and Law: Another Accident
          • 128. Inventing God and Law: Law’s Complications
          • 129. Complications Continue
          • 130. It Gets Worse
        • Greece & Rome
          • 131. Athenian Segue
          • 132. Bronze Age Athens
          • 133. Fight the Patriarchy
          • 134. The High Life
          • 135. Social Order
          • 136. The State’s Story
          • 137. Death of a Civilization
          • 138. A Dark Age
  • MORE
    • Blog
    • Terrorism
    • Explainers
      • Jurors Have It Hard
        • Jury pg 1
        • Jury pg 2
        • Jury pg 3
        • Jury pg 4
        • Jury pg 5
        • Jury pg 6
        • Jury pg 7
        • Jury pg 8
        • Jury pg 9
        • Jury pg 10
        • Jury pg 11
        • Jury pg 12
        • Jury pg 13
      • Your Miranda Rights in a Nutshell
      • Qualified Immunity
    • Odds and Ends
      • Happy Birthday!
      • Patreon Announcement
      • Pure silliness, completely unrelated to anything
      • Something New
      • (Spoiler) Roe v. Wade: How We Got to This Point
      • Let’s Have a Seder!
      • James Wilson: Foundations of a Founder
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