Jeralyn Merritt is a criminal defense attorney in Denver. She served as one of the principal trial lawyers for Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City Bombing trial. She has been a television legal analyst since 1996, most frequently appearing on MSNBC and Fox News, and is the creator and principal author of the weblog, TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime (http://talkleft.com).

Blog Entries by Jeralyn Merritt

Presidential Pollsters or Astrology: Which is More Reliable?

Posted January 24, 2008 | 07:56 PM (EST)


Arianna Huffington is not big on pollsters. Today Huffington Post launched a new feature, Huffpollstrology.

It will keep you up to date on the latest poll results, along with the candidates' latest horoscope predictions, the latest online political betting lines, and the latest weather forecasts for key primary...

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This Thanksgiving, Most of All

Posted November 22, 2007 | 02:30 PM (EST)


Like most Americans, I have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

What I'm most thankful for is that I'm not in jail eating processed turkey on a plastic plate.

I'm thinking about the children of the incarcerated. There are more than 2.4 million kids with parents...

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Sexist Attacks on Hillary's Laugh

Posted October 2, 2007 | 12:47 PM (EST)


Shakespeare: Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

A writer named Patrick Healy yesterday critized Hillary Clinton in a tabloid-type trash article in the New York Times because of her laugh which he calls a "cackle." The implication: Hillary is a witch.

...
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Norman Hsu: Where's the Crime?

Posted September 16, 2007 | 03:38 AM (EST)


The New York Times and Washington Post have long articles today in which the reporters try to trace Norman Hsu's fund-raising contributions to Democrats. The articles practically take it as a given that Hsu's fund-raising was illegitimate because he was a a fugitive from...

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Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Bush

Posted July 2, 2007 | 10:52 PM (EST)


President Bush's commutation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's sentence is simply stunning, both in its hypocrisy and its arrogance.

His spokespersons had assured the public he would not interfere in the judicial process until the appeals court had decided the merits of his appeal.

"Scooter Libby still has...
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Google's Latest Hiring Perk

Posted March 10, 2007 | 01:00 AM (EST)


A few months ago I wrote a post about a news article saying Google was looking to hire. They are using psychological profiles to find employees with a good fit for the company. In my fantasy world, I considered how much fun it would be to relocate to San...

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Libby Verdict: Live Blog

Posted March 6, 2007 | 12:00 PM (EST)


Guilty on count 1 - Obstruction

Guilty on count 2 - False Statement, Russert

Not Guilty on count 3 - False Statement, Cooper

Guilty on Count 4 - Perjury

Guilty on Count 5 - Perjury

Update: Dennis Collins, juror. "I am not excited to be...

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Libby Trial: Missing the Forest for the Trees

Posted February 21, 2007 | 12:26 AM (EST)


I'm so conflicted.

I believe that the Office of the Vice President, particularly Dick Cheney and Scooter Libby, went all out to attack Joseph Wilson after his July 6th New York Times Op-ed criticizing the intelligence relied on by the Administration to justify its decision to go to war...

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Fitz' Final Closing

Posted February 20, 2007 | 04:12 PM (EST)


(This is not a transcript. Typos will be fixed later. I will be updating until 4:30, then leaving to fly back home to Denver. For more live-blogging, check out Marcy at Firedoglake.com.)

[Earlier liveblogging from today: Libby Defense Closing, Part One, Government Closing Argument, Part One,

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Libby Afternoon Closings, Part Two

Posted February 20, 2007 | 03:11 PM (EST)


(This is not a transcript. Typos will be fixed later Also check out Marcy at Firedoglake.com)

3:00. Wells is back up.

In a case where what is at stake is a man's reputation and a man's freedom, the benefit of any confusion must go to Mr. Libby. No...

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Libby: Afternoon Closings, Part One

Posted February 20, 2007 | 02:00 PM (EST)


[Earlier liveblogging from today: Libby Defense Closing, Part One, Government Closing Argument Part One]

1:40 Jeffress is up. Will talk about an hour.

He offers a two minute summary of his closing: The Government is going to ask them to find thatLibby made up a story because he...

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Libby Defense Closing, Part One

Posted February 20, 2007 | 11:49 AM (EST)


[This is not a transcript. Typos will be fixed later. Also check Marcy at Firedoglake.

Previously: The Government's Closing Arguments, Part 1]

Wells is up now. The jury is coming in.

I was sitting there listening to the prosecutor talk about my opening. Maybe I was drunk...

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Libby : Government Closing Argument Part 1

Posted February 20, 2007 | 09:37 AM (EST)


Peter Zeidenberg begins the Government's closing argument. The judge intends for closings to finish today.

[This is not a transcript and I will be updating throughout the day. Typos will be cleaned up later]

He begins with Wells telling the jury in opening argument about how the White House hung...

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The Worst Argument for Libby's Acquittal

Posted February 19, 2007 | 12:08 AM (EST)


Former prosecutor Victoria Toensing has an op-ed in the Washington Post today (debunked nicely by Larry Johnson) outlining her case for Scooter Libby's acquittal. In two words: jury nullification.

(Thanks, Victoria, for attempting to personally smear the prosecutor on the eve of closing arguments. I bet if a...

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Libby: Both Sides Rest

Posted February 14, 2007 | 03:17 PM (EST)


It's 3:15 pm and the jury is about to enter the courtroom for the first time today. The defense will be recalling CIA briefer Craig Schmall. John Cline will question him.

But, we still have no judge, no jury and no explanation. Everyone is just sitting around doing nothing. Libby's...

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Libby: A Morning of Legal Maneuverings

Posted February 14, 2007 | 02:03 PM (EST)


Washington, DC got a sliver of snow and ice last night, resulting in a late courtroom start. Judge Reggie Walton began around 11:45 am rehearing the legal arguments from yesterday afternoon about whether there would be more testimony from the CIA briefers, whether Russert would be called back to the...

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Can Team Libby Pull It Off?

Posted February 14, 2007 | 12:59 AM (EST)


The Libby trial is going out with a whimper. PlameGate followers, like Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake, feel cheated. Without testimony from Vice President Cheney or Scooter Libby, there's no bang for the buck.

"When Ted Wells came back from lunch today and announced that he had released Dick...
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Libby To Rest Without Calling Cheney or Libby

Posted February 13, 2007 | 02:45 PM (EST)


Ted Wells announced they will rest their case tomorrow. Neither Libby nor Vice President will testify. Wells said he and Jeffress advised Libby and he accepted their advice.

The defense wants to call the three CIA briefers tomorrow for about 20 minutes. Wells said he will play some Russert tapes...

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Libby Trial Live: Andrea Mitchell Won't Be Called

Posted February 13, 2007 | 11:45 AM (EST)


The early morning today began with more legal arguments over Andrea Mitchell. Bottom line: Wells is not going to call her. Marcy at Firedoglake has the details.

The defense called Jill Abramson of he New York Times. As expected, she testified she had no recollection of Judy Miller...

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Libby Trial: The Media as Pawns or Knights?

Posted February 13, 2007 | 12:57 AM (EST)


Arianna wrote a few days ago that there are two trials going on in the Prettyman courthouse in D.C. One is designed to determine whether Scooter Libby is guilty of making false statements to federal investigators, lying to the grand jury and obstructing justice. The other is a referendum...

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