Milwaukee, WI—For Alex Flynn, who has been named one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Wisconsin, a love of the law was inspired by a love of history.

“I have my undergraduate degree in history, and I have always been fascinated with societal attitudes and the attraction to totalitarian government,” Flynn told laws.com in a recent interview.  “It is against extreme ideologies and societal desires exploited by politicians that the individual stands.”

(More on News at LAWS.com, Contact Alberto for interviews “support@laws.com”)

Flynn's passionate defense of people accused of crimes has earned many accolades and led to appearances as a legal analyst on TruTV.  He believes that defending people regardless of what they have been charged with is the principled thing to do: “There are a number of factors that go into the decision to take on a client, but the crime charged or the conduct involved is almost never a factor.  Nothing any individual can do is anywhere near as dangerous as the collective power of the government and state.”

Flynn's love of history is reflected even in where he chose to locate his practice.  At the offices for Alex Flynn & Associates, even the walls have stories.

The “spite house,” located at 1223 N. Prospect, was the result of a feud between 19^th century neighbors.  Jason Downer, a judge and newspaper editor, owned a Gothic Revival house just down the street from the house where Flynn's offices are today.  Downer's neighbor, Francis Hinton, built a house next door that blocked Downer's view of Lake Michigan and a nearby park.

Because no building codes existed that made it illegal for the Hintons to block Downer's view, Downer took matters into his own hands.  He bought the lot next to the Hintons' house, then built a spectacular Queen Anne residence with walls so close to his neighbors that they couldn't possibly see the lake.

Today, the spite house is home to a legal practice dedicated to defending people charged with crimes ranging from misdemeanors to homicides.  Some of these cases have involved defendants whose crimes or professions led to media attention.  “I have been involved in notable cases involving politicians, clergymen, and many others,” Flynn says.  “My advice would be to never speak at length to the media about the details of a case while it is pending.  Be prepared with a concise quip, like: 'We deny any wrongdoing, and will ultimately prevail in court.'”

According to Flynn, the biggest problem facing criminal defendants today is “public fear, and the politicization of criminal statutes.”  Flynn believes that many problems that are currently treated as criminal offenses—for example, drunk driving and drug use—“are fundamentally public health problems, yet we deal with these issues primarily through criminal legislation and public health concerns are an afterthought.”

Flynn says that young criminal defense attorneys or those thinking of entering the profession should “borrow the Nike slogan: 'Just Do It!’ Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.  Be yourself.  Respect the jury.  Never forget that you are doing a tremendous public service just by being there and making the prosecution satisfy its burden of proof.”

To learn more about Alex Flynn and Alex Flynn & Associates, click here.

New York, NY—Representing clients charged with violating criminal statutes and other First Amendment related laws is what Herald Price Fahringer and Erica Dubno do best.

“Many of our cases involve theaters, bookstores, publishers, and a whole variety of activities that come within the scope of the First Amendment’s protections,” Fahringer told laws.com in a recent joint interview with himself and Dubno. “My partner and I feel very fortunate to be able to practice in this area of criminal law, because it involves a great deal of personal satisfaction.”  They also have considerable experience handling all types of criminal and civil appeals.  

(More on News at LAWS.com, Contact Alberto for interviews “support@laws.com”)

With a combined 68 years of experience in the law — him with 50, her with 18 — the duo has become known for being excellent litigators, with Fahringer defending clients like Larry Flynt and Al Goldstein.  “Ms. Dubno is extremely intelligent, especially in the areas of research and litigation,” Fahringer explains.  “She and I have an advantage over an individual attorney, because our personalities and skills mesh so well and we each know how to work together on a case to coordinate our efforts for the best possible defense.”

Cases today look different than when either Fahringer or Dubno graduated from law school.  “Today, we live in a 'Law and Order' culture, where everyone thinks that every case should be like an episode on a TV show,” Dubno says.  “This usually leads jurors to be confused and disappointed.”

Fahringer says that one of the biggest changes to the judicial system has come from the plea agreement.  “When I came out of law school, you took every case to trial — plea deals weren't as available.  Now, about 95 percent of all cases are disposed of by a plea. Undoubtedly, being able to work out a good plea agreement has become very important in our practice.”

Deciding whether to take a case to trial today involves complex decision-making.   Fahringer says that “if the defendant has a viable defense, we will take the case to trial,” He notes there are other problems that can come from taking a plea deal or going to trial. “Today, more than ever, we have to examine the collateral consequences of a conviction,” such as weighing the problem of the client having to register as a sex offender. 

Dubno says that some cases are better off at trial than others.  For example, “when you have a defendant who may be able to testify and take the stand, and if his story is very compelling.” Moreover, “if a defendant has an issue with his immigration status, the plea deal might mean deportation.”

New attorneys should do as much trial work as they possibly can, according to Fahringer.  “To become a good trial attorney, you have to get into the courtroom, just like a boxer has to get into the ring.  You can’t become a good boxer by reading books. At the end of the day, you need to get into the ring to learn how to fight.”

Fahringer, who boxed for Penn State University and the U.S. Army, is known as a First Amendment Champion. He has handled over 15 cases in the Supreme Court of the United States. In addition, he has tried cases in over 27 states and has briefed and/or argued more than 300 appeals.

Both Fahringer and Dubno have been recognized for excellence in legal writing, as well as the practice of criminal law, and their contributions to the law. In 1995, Fahringer was honored with the Thurgood Marshall Award from the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for outstanding contribution to the criminal law.

Today, Fahringer & Dubno provide clients throughout the United States with first rate, high-quality representation. To learn more about their practice visit www.fahringerlaw.com    

Ahmed Ghailani

Ahmed Ghailani was a member of the terrorist group Al Qaeda involved in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Africa. His subsequent capture and trial was notable as a rare civilian trial of someone deemed an "enemy combatant."

Born in Tanzania, Ahmed Ghailani trained with the Al Qaeda terrorist organization and was a key part of the bombing of American embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. The evidence that was presented against Ahmed Ghailani during the course of his trial included proof that he had purchased a truck which had been used in the bombings. Ahmed Ghailani was involved in the purchase of other materials used in the bombing, including the explosive TNT, gas cylinders containing acetylene and oxygen, detonators containing explosives and fertilizer.

After the African embassy bombings,  Ahmed Ghailani fled to Pakistan. While he was in hiding, he was named by the FBI as one of its most wanted fugitives. He was captured by American troops in Pakistan in 2004. Following his transfer into American custody, his status was reviewed by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal. During this time, he was held in custody at undisclosed locations abroad before being transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp maintained by the military in Cuba.

It was eventually determined that Ahmed Ghailani would be tried in civilian court rather than before a military tribunal. Ahmed Ghailani was transferred from Guantanamo Bay to New York City in June of 2009 for a trial which began in October of 2010. During this time, Ahmed Ghailani expressed regret for his role in the bombings. His attorneys prepared a defense that did not deny any of the actions he had been documented performing. Rather, they claimed that Ahmed Ghailani was not aware of the larger purpose organizing his actions. They also claimed that he had been abused while in military and CIA custody, which justified a less severe sentence.

During the course of trial, Ahmed Ghailani faced 285 different charges. One was a charge of conspiracy to destroy United States buildings or property. The other 284 charges included 273 charges of murder or attempted murder concerning the death of casualties of the embassy attacks. During the course of trial, an undercover agent who had sold Ahmed Ghailani TNT was not allowed to testify as a witness.

Despite concerns expressed by the Obama Administration that a jury was likely to acquit such a defendant, Ahmed Ghailani was found guilty of a single count of conspiracy to destroy American structures or property. The judge ruled that due to the nature of the seriousness of the crime, Ahmed Ghailani deserved the maximum sentence of 36 years in jail. In his ruling, the judge rejected both the idea that Ahmed Ghailani was unaware of the purpose of his actions and the idea that any mistreatment by authorities while in legal custody justified a lesser sentence. The judge also ordered that Ahmed Ghailani to pay $33 million to the government and victims' surviving families.

Philip Markoff

Philip Markoff was arrested by the Boston Police Department for his alleged murder of Julissa Brisman in 2009. He committed suicide while in prison custody the following year.

Philip Markoff became the primary suspect in police investigations involving three women he met on Craigslist who were offering various forms of exotic services. The first of these women was a paid escort who was tied up and robbed at gunpoint, followed less than a week later by the death of Julissa Brisman. Nine days later, a third woman was the victim of an attempt robbery. The first two incidents took place in Boston, while the third occurred in Warwick, Rhode Island. The similarity of all three incidents and their close proximity attracted a vigorous police investigation.

As part of their investigations, authorities reviewed the phone and internet service records of Philip Markoff. He was arrested while driving on the interstate highway I-95 with his fiance and charged with the murder of Brisman. At his arraignment hearing, Philip Markoff entered a "not guilty" plea in response to all charges which had been filed against him. The judge ordered that Philip Markoff be detained without any bail. The prosecution gathered evidence against Philip Markoff which had been obtained during a search of his apartment, where guns and items used in restraining people were found. Additionally, the state of Rhode Island moved to prosecute Markoff for the third attempted robbery but agreed to suspend legal action until Massachusetts had completed criminal trial proceedings.

The trial of Philip Markoff was delayed by numerous legal complications, including a motion filed his attorney John Salsberg. This lawyer argued that the trial of Philip Markoff had to be delayed because the prosecution had released so much confidential testimony and evidence to the press that it had become impossible to form an impartial jury. The trial was ultimately moved from a scheduled July 2010 start date to March of 2011.

During this time, the amount of media coverage surround Philip Markoff remained consistent. Initially his fiance Megan McAllister issued statements of belief in his innocence. Later, she terminated her engagement to Markoff. During his time in custody, Philip Markoff made three separate unsuccessful suicide attempts, the second of which was prompted by the end of his engagement. These occurred from April to August of 2009, and involved attempts using shoelaces, an attempt to cut his wrists and a deliberate overdose of medication. After his first suicide attempt, Philip Markoff was put on a suicide watch. This was later removed.

In August of 2010, Philip Markoff succeeded in committing suicide. When his body was found, his former fiance's name was written in blood on the walls of his cell. Prosecution efforts have yet to be formally terminated. His successful suicide also caused the Boston City Council to note its concern about inadequate safety procedures in the city's correctional facilities, especially in monitoring inmates who were known suicide risks.

Edison Misla Aldarondo

Edison Misla Aldarondo served as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from 1977 until a series of scandals and legal problems led to his resignation in 2002. The primary legal scandal surrounding Edison Misla Aldarondo had its origins in the mid 1990s, when Puerto Rico began the process of privatizing its formerly state-operated hospitals. This process was overseen by two government entities, the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) and the Government Development Bank (GDB).

Edison Misla Aldarondo was involved in influence peddling regarding the Dr. Alejandro Otero Lopez Hospital (HAOL), which at that time was managed by the Caribbean Hospital Organization (CHC). HAOL received anesthesiology from Caribbean Anesthesia Services (CAS), which wished to purchase the hospital.

To effect this, the co-owners of CAS hired consultant Jose Ivan Ramos Cubano to assist in this transaction. Cubano first arranged for a meeting with the head of the legal department of PRDH and bribed him to allow CAS to purchase CHC's management contract, a necessary preliminary step to acquiring the hospital as a whole. Once this was done, Cubano approached Edison Misla Aldarondo, a close friend of the president of the GDB, Marcos Rodriguez Ema. Edison Misla Aldarondo accepted a bribe to arrange meetings between the anesthesiology company and the GDB.

In 1997, a law firm reviewing the potential hospital buyers warned that CAS should not be allowed to complete the transaction because it owed a substantive debt to the PRDH. However, Ema overruled this recommendation and arranged for CAS to purchase the hospital for $14 million. Ema also created an agreement to allow CAS to repay its debt to PRDH at a later date. Following this successful transaction, Edison Misla Aldarondo received payments totaling $147,000 from the hospital's new owners.

A 2001 investigation by the Puerto Rico Department of Justice led authorities to Cubano, who agreed to cooperate. In October 2001, Cubano recorded conversations he had with Edison Misla Aldarondo. In these recordings, Edison Misla Aldarondo openly discussed his illegal actions and outlined plans to create a false story concerning the payments he had received. These recordings led to an indictment by a grand jury by the end of the month. Subsequently, Edison Misla Aldarondo was convicted in a jury trial and sentenced to 71 months in jail.

In addition to his involvement in corrupt privatization practices, in 2002 Edison Misla Aldarondo was charged with rape of a minor. Witness testimony revealed that Edison Misla Aldarondo had taken advantage of a friend of his step-daughter by plying both girls with alcohol and prescription medication. During the hearings, it emerged that Edison Misla Aldarondo had also molested his step-daughter periodically over the course of eight years. Following his incarceration for the case described above, Edison Misla Aldarondo negotiated with the prosecution to plead guilty to attempted rape rather than rape, for which he was sentenced to an additional 13 years in prison.

Clarence Ray Allen

Clarence Ray Allen was convicted of multiple murders in California. His death penalty sentence was executed despite public controversy about his age the time of death, which was 76.

Clarence Ray Allen first came to the attention of the law because of a burglary he organized in 1974. He invited over Bryon Schletewitz, the son of his friends Ray and Frances Schletewitz, who owned a grocery store. By distracting Bryon, Clarence Ray Allen obtained the keys to the star. He then robbed the store with his son Kenneth and two other accomplices. Subsequently, Kenneth's girlfriend, Mary Ann Kitts, told Bryon about how she had helped arrange the burglary, and Clarence decided that she had to be murdered. Under his two direction, two associates attempted to poison her with cyanide before finally strangling her. The body of Mary Ann Kitts was never recovered.

From August 1974 through March 1977, Clarence Ray Allen planned and executed a series of robberies, not all of which were successful. One, an armed robbery of a K-Mart, ended with a gang member fatally shooting a bystander. Arrested for his role in the heist, Clarence Ray Allen was tried and convicted first for the robbery, then again for the murder of Mary Ann Kitts.

After being sentenced to jail on the first set of charges, Clarence Ray Allen was appealing the second conviction when he befriended fellow prisoner Billy Ray Hamilton, who was also incarcerated in Folsom State Prison in California. Allen convinced Hamilton to murder eight of the witnesses who had testified against him. Hamilton agreed and was released in August of 1980. After informing Kenneth Allen of his intentions, Billy Ray Hamilton went to the grocery store, murdering three of the employees and wounding another two. He was arrested within a week of the events.

Shortly thereafter, Kenneth Allen was arrested on separate drug charges and agreed to testify about the events leading up the killings in return for a plea bargain. In 1980, Clarence Ray Allen was put on trial for triple murder and conspiracy to kill eight individuals. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. Clarence Ray Allen filed an appeal, which was rejected by the California Supreme Court in 1987.

The appeals process led to another hearing before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2005. During these proceedings, the judges granted that the lawyers representing Clarence Ray Allen had performed their task inadequately, depriving him of his right to counsel, and that several other errors had occurred during the course of trial. However, they found that the evidence against Clarence Ray Allen was so unquestionably overwhelming that no retrial was necessary. A plea for clemency from the state's governor was rejected, as was a request for the Supreme Court to hear the case and another appeals court claim that executing a 76-year-old in ill health constituted cruel and unusual punishment. Clarence Ray Allen was executed by lethal injection in January of 2006.

Gary McKinnon

Gary McKinnon is a Scottish computer hacker who was the subject of a decade of legal dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States. He came to the attention of law enforcement authorities when he hacked into 97 computers between February 2001 and March 2002. The computers hacked into by Gary McKinnon belonged to both the United States military and the space agency NASA. The stated purpose of his activities was to obtain evidence of alien technology which Gary McKinnon stated he was certain American authorities were concealing.

Gary McKinnon was questioned by British authorities twice, in March and August of 2002. As the result of an American investigation, a grand jury in Virginia indicted Gary McKinnon in October of 2002 on seven counts of crimes committed via computers. In 2005, the American government filed a request with the British government to extradite Gary McKinnon to the United States for trial. In 2006, a district judge recommended that the extradition request be granted. In general, the United Kingdom has often complied with American requests to extradite, only rejecting the request in 11 cases out of over 130.

John Reid, then the home secretary of the United Kingdom, signed the extradition order for Gary McKinnon in July of 2006. Gary McKinnon appealed this decision, losing an appeal in British high court in 2007 and in the House of Lords in 2008. In August of 2008, Gary McKinnon was examined by a team of psychiatrists who diagnosed him with Asperger's, a type of autistic mental disorder. This diagnosis was then used as the basis of a legal argument that Gary McKinnon should not be extradited to the United States. At this time, it was also reported that Gary McKinnon was threatening to commit suicide if extradited to the United States.

Following this diagnosis, both the European Court of Human Rights and Jacqui Smith, who succeeded John Reid as home secretary, both again declined to halt the extradition process. In 2009, Gary McKinnon successfully applied for a judicial review of his extradition. In February, legal action was taken to attempt to obtain a trial for Gary McKinnon in the United Kingdom rather than the United States but was unsuccessful. 2009 concluded with the extradition order still potentially in effect.

In October of 2012, Gary McKinnon finally was successful in having the extradition request permanently denied by the British government. The decision was made by another home secretary, Theresa May. In her announcement, made in the Parliamentary House of Commons, Theresa May cited a law passed in 2003, the Human Rights Act. Under article 3 of this law, which prohibits cruel and inhuman treatment, she argued that extraditing Gary McKinnon to the United States where he might commit suicide would be a violation of this part of the law. The United States government was unhappy with the decision, which it said was not in accord with the status of the two countries as allies.

According to the US National Library of Medicine, a pseudocommando “is a type of mass murderer who kills in public during the daytime, plans his offense well in advance, and comes prepared with a powerful arsenal of weapons.”  These murderers do not show signs of planned escape after the killings, and research shows that a pseudocommando is often motivated by extreme feelings of anger while trying to issue payback through his or her spree of killings. 

Some of these mass murderers may contact the public or news media, but the National Library of Medicine admits that little analysis has been devoted to analyzing the language and patterns of speech of the pseudocommando before he or she commits the crime.  

The majority of mass murders that qualify as a pseudocommando are males. 

In an article by James L. Knoll IV, MD in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Seung-Hui Cho is described as a pseudocommando.  Cho is the student at Virginia Tech who shot and killed 33 students and faculty, wounded 24 other people, and eventually committed suicide. 

Cho committed the mass murder on April 16, 2007, and he was analyzed by a psychologist on December 14, 2005 after campus students complained he harassed them.  The psychologist believed Cho was mentally ill but posed no risk to himself or the surrounding community. 

Cho did not cause any more trouble until the shootings on April 16, 2007.  On the same day, NBC received recorded video and 43 photographs from Cho.  He showed signs of mental illness, planned the attack, and contacted the media with a manifesto—all indicative of a pseudocommando. 

The most recent mass killing occurred on July 30, 2012 when James Eagan Holmes killed 12 people at a movie theater in Colorado.  Holmes also showed signs of mental illness and planned the attack in advance.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20305080

Napoleon Beazley was convicted by the State of Texas for the murder of John Luttig in 1994.  Beazley was 17 years old at the time of the crime, and his death by legal injection on May 28, 2002 sparked public outrage from a split community.  The two other defendants, Cedric Coleman and Donald Coleman, were 19 and 18 at the time of the crime and received life in prison instead of death by lethal injection. 

The details of the murder are provided below:

Napoleon Beazley took his mother’s car on the night of April 19, 1994 and picked up Cedric and Donald Coleman.  Beazley was carrying a .45-caliber pistol and a sawed-off shotgun and soon followed John and Bobbie Luttig home. 

Beazley took his .45-caliber pistol, ran toward the garage, and shot John Luttig in the side of the side.  John remained alive but stunned, and Beazley quickly ran around to the other side of the car to Mrs. Luttig.  He fired a shot at close range and missed, but Mrs. Luttig still fell to the ground.  Then, Beazley returned to where Mr. Luttig was sitting and shot him point blank in the head. 

Beazley proceeded to search Mr. Luttig’s pockets and found his Mercedes keys.  He escaped with the Mercedes but lost control and crashed the car into a retaining wall.  He soon regrouped with Cedric and Donald Coleman and abandoned the Mercedes. 

Napoleon Beazley and the two other defendants were eventually arrested.  Beazley was sentenced to death by lethal injection on March 17, 1995 and soon begun the appeal process.  Cedric and Donald Coleman received life in prison. 

On June 3, 1997, Beazley filed for state writ of habeas corpus, and the evidentiary hearing began on September 5, 1997.  He was eventually denied relief on January 21, 1998, and the process of denied relief and permission to appeal began.  Napoleon Beazley was eventually scheduled for execution, but he was granted a stay of execution on August 15, 2001.  The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals eventually threw out the stay of execution and Beazley was scheduled for execution on May 22, 2002. 

In a last effort to avoid execution, Beazley petitioned for certiorari review from the Supreme Court on May 22.  The petition was denied, and Beazley was executed on May 28, 2012.  He was the 19^th murderer under the age of 18 executed by the United States since 1976.  He was the 11^th in Texas alone. 

The media covered Napoleon Beazley’s case intensely—as is the case in any execution of a person who committed the crime when they were a juvenile.  The case also received a massive amount of media attention and reaction from the general public because of execution laws and statistics in the state of Texas compared to other states. 

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Texas allowed a total of 487 executions since 1976—more than four times the amount of death penalties granted by Virginia, the closest state with 109 total. 

Khobar Towers bombing

In 1996, a Saudi Arabia building complex housing American soldiers was the subject of a terrorist attack. This incident, known as the "Khobar Towers bombing," was the subject of considerable controversy as to who was responsible.

The Khobar Towers bombing of June 25, 1996 followed a similar 1995 car bombing in the city of Khobar. American forces in Saudi Arabia were already on heightened alert. Despite warnings from various Saudi citizens of plans being made for the Khobar Towers bombing, the American government and military failed to take steps to prepare and protect the facility. However, a soldier on sentry duty noticed the arrival of three vehicles and helped evacuate much of the building prior to the detonation of a truck bomb. 19 Americans were killed in the attack, as well as one Saudi citizen.

Following the Khobar Towers bombing, the American government conducted multiple reviews to determine what kind of new safety standards should be implemented. The FBI initiated an investigation concerning the Khobar Towers bombing. During their investigation, the CIA had already issued warnings that Iran's law enforcement was to be considered a hostile threat. In 1997, the "Washington Post" published a story about Hani al-Sayegh, who Saudi intelligence said drove the get-away vehicle following the Khobar Towers bombing. In 2009, later reports suggested that this story was false and that Hani al-Sayegh disclaimed any involvement in the Khobar Towers bombing.

In 2001, an indictment was issued as the result of the FBI investigation into the Khobar Towers bombing. This indictment named 14 men as participants in the conspiracy to organize the Khobar Towers bombing and stated that all were members of Hezbollah, a militant organization which the government claimed had been obtaining funding from the Iranian government. However, the indictment did not name any members of the Iranian government as being directly involved in the Khobar Towers bombing.

This indictment was issued just within the five year statute of limitations during which this could be returned. At the time of this indictment, a press conference was held in which the Attorney General, John Ashcroft, and the FBI's director, Louis Freeh, stated that the choice not to name any Iranian government members was not motivated by considerations about maintaining diplomatic relations. The government also claimed that some of those in the indictment were already in the custody of the American judicial system.

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the committee investigating those attacks discovered evidence suggesting that the terrorist organization al Qaeda might have been behind the Khobar Towers bombing. Various government officials have since expressed the opinion that Iran was not responsible for instigating or financing the Khobar Towers bombing. None of the people named in the indictment concerning the Khobar Towers bombing received trials for their role in the attack. No official government position concerning who was responsible for the Khobar Towers bombing has been arrived at.