{"id":156254,"date":"2026-07-10T08:16:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T16:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/10\/on-the-other-side-of-the-4th\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T08:16:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T16:16:14","slug":"on-the-other-side-of-the-4th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/10\/on-the-other-side-of-the-4th\/","title":{"rendered":"On The Other Side Of The 4th"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Weather didn\u2019t discriminate this past holiday weekend.\u00a0Brutal is putting it mildly. Climate change is real and if\u00a0you don\u2019t believe me, then read Jeff Goodell\u2019s book of several years ago,\u00a0\u201cThe Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I am not here to debate climate change issues. All you have to do is look around you, and if you don\u2019t, shame on you. We can leave unreality to 47 and his peeps; he can\u2019t control the weather<\/a>, at least not yet. And also read Goodell\u2019s book on rising seas<\/a>. I don\u2019t know which book is scarier. <\/p>\n

Remember the TV show \u201cThe Apprentice\u201d that gave 47 his start? Remember his bombastic sentence? \u201cYou\u2019re fired!\u201d 47 must be rubbing his little hands with glee given that the Supreme Court has now validated his right to fire top government officials. In a 6-3 decision, they pooh-poohed the idea that independent agencies are truly independent and thus are subject to termination by whim. (I wonder what the outcry will be when Democrats are free to hire and fire at will. Just asking.) However, the only exception to a president\u2019s free will is that they cannot fire a member of the Federal Reserve. Lisa Cook still has her job as a Fed member while the lawsuit claiming she falsified loan documents<\/a> wends its way. <\/p>\n

And yay for the rare victory that the Supreme Court gave to mail-in ballots. As a California resident of one of the 18 states that allows mail-in ballots, I am delighted. With mail-in ballots, there is absolutely no excuse for not voting. Voting is critical, regardless of who you choose to vote for. Yes, I have my preferences, but the right to vote is something that many other countries do not (and may never) have. Isn\u2019t that what the 250th anniversary was all about? With mail-in ballots, saying that you don\u2019t or didn\u2019t have time to vote is a flimsy excuse, especially in those states that allow time off from work to vote<\/a>, California being one of them. <\/p>\n

Even after 50 years as a practicing lawyer, I am still gobsmacked at how cavalierly counsel can behave in court. Exhibit 1 is the continuing runaround between the DOJ and federal district judge Leonie Brinkema. The court refused to accept the DOJ\u2019s oral representation that it had driven a stake through the heart of the proposed weaponization fund that 47 wanted. The court ordered declarations to that effect be made under penalty of perjury. The DOJ lawyer told the court that \u201cthe court\u2019s demands were unnecessary,\u201d aka \u201cpound sand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whoa, if I or just about any other lawyer had so responded, we would have been in the custody of the sheriff forthwith, with time to reconsider how to speak to the court. Judge Brinkema determined that the lawsuit challenging 47\u2019s January slush fund was not moot and scheduled briefing<\/a>. Any ethical issue here? Discuss. <\/p>\n

In a closely watched case here in Los Angeles, 10-2 for acquittal was the result.\u00a0Remember the devastating Palisades fire of early January\u00a0 2025? (Not to mention the Eaton fire that devastated communities in the San Gabriel foothills.)\u00a0One controversial issue in the Palisades fire has been how that fire started. A small fire started on January 1, and LAFD extinguished it. But completely? The young man prosecuted by the DOJ for the Palisades fire doesn\u2019t get to walk away, he\u2019s still in jail, awaiting retrial. With a hung jury that favored acquittal by a large margin<\/a>, does retrial make sense?<\/p>\n

The court did instruct the jury with the Allen charge<\/a>, sometimes referred to as the \u201cdynamite charge,\u201d which essentially says that no other jury could do a better job of reaching a verdict and ordered them to continue deliberations. But it didn\u2019t work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The First Assistant US Attorney here in Los Angeles hopes that in the retrial, he will have \u201cbetter jurors.\u201d Good luck with that. Just because 10 of the jurors didn\u2019t buy the prosecution\u2019s theory of the case does that ipso facto make them bad jurors? I don\u2019t think so. The\u00a0prosecution still must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Any ethical issue here? Discuss.<\/p>\n

So many people lost everything, including lives. It\u2019s ridiculous to say that climate change played no part. Phooey on the claim that next time around the government will have \u201cbetter jurors.\u201d Given that the DOJ is 47\u2019s lap dog, is that any surprise? Discuss.<\/p>\n

\n

Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She\u2019s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact \u2014 it\u2019s not always civil. You can reach her by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>oldladylawyer@gmail.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post On The Other Side Of The 4th<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Weather didn\u2019t discriminate this past holiday weekend.\u00a0Brutal is putting it mildly. Climate change is real and if\u00a0you don\u2019t believe me, then read Jeff Goodell\u2019s book of several years ago,\u00a0\u201cThe Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I am not here to debate climate change issues. All you have to do is look around you, and if you don\u2019t, shame on you. We can leave unreality to 47 and his peeps; he can\u2019t control the weather<\/a>, at least not yet. And also read Goodell\u2019s book on rising seas<\/a>. I don\u2019t know which book is scarier. <\/p>\n

Remember the TV show \u201cThe Apprentice\u201d that gave 47 his start? Remember his bombastic sentence? \u201cYou\u2019re fired!\u201d 47 must be rubbing his little hands with glee given that the Supreme Court has now validated his right to fire top government officials. In a 6-3 decision, they pooh-poohed the idea that independent agencies are truly independent and thus are subject to termination by whim. (I wonder what the outcry will be when Democrats are free to hire and fire at will. Just asking.) However, the only exception to a president\u2019s free will is that they cannot fire a member of the Federal Reserve. Lisa Cook still has her job as a Fed member while the lawsuit claiming she falsified loan documents<\/a> wends its way. <\/p>\n

And yay for the rare victory that the Supreme Court gave to mail-in ballots. As a California resident of one of the 18 states that allows mail-in ballots, I am delighted. With mail-in ballots, there is absolutely no excuse for not voting. Voting is critical, regardless of who you choose to vote for. Yes, I have my preferences, but the right to vote is something that many other countries do not (and may never) have. Isn\u2019t that what the 250th anniversary was all about? With mail-in ballots, saying that you don\u2019t or didn\u2019t have time to vote is a flimsy excuse, especially in those states that allow time off from work to vote<\/a>, California being one of them. <\/p>\n

Even after 50 years as a practicing lawyer, I am still gobsmacked at how cavalierly counsel can behave in court. Exhibit 1 is the continuing runaround between the DOJ and federal district judge Leonie Brinkema. The court refused to accept the DOJ\u2019s oral representation that it had driven a stake through the heart of the proposed weaponization fund that 47 wanted. The court ordered declarations to that effect be made under penalty of perjury. The DOJ lawyer told the court that \u201cthe court\u2019s demands were unnecessary,\u201d aka \u201cpound sand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whoa, if I or just about any other lawyer had so responded, we would have been in the custody of the sheriff forthwith, with time to reconsider how to speak to the court. Judge Brinkema determined that the lawsuit challenging 47\u2019s January slush fund was not moot and scheduled briefing<\/a>. Any ethical issue here? Discuss. <\/p>\n

In a closely watched case here in Los Angeles, 10-2 for acquittal was the result.\u00a0Remember the devastating Palisades fire of early January\u00a0 2025? (Not to mention the Eaton fire that devastated communities in the San Gabriel foothills.)\u00a0One controversial issue in the Palisades fire has been how that fire started. A small fire started on January 1, and LAFD extinguished it. But completely? The young man prosecuted by the DOJ for the Palisades fire doesn\u2019t get to walk away, he\u2019s still in jail, awaiting retrial. With a hung jury that favored acquittal by a large margin<\/a>, does retrial make sense?<\/p>\n

The court did instruct the jury with the Allen charge<\/a>, sometimes referred to as the \u201cdynamite charge,\u201d which essentially says that no other jury could do a better job of reaching a verdict and ordered them to continue deliberations. But it didn\u2019t work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The First Assistant US Attorney here in Los Angeles hopes that in the retrial, he will have \u201cbetter jurors.\u201d Good luck with that. Just because 10 of the jurors didn\u2019t buy the prosecution\u2019s theory of the case does that ipso facto make them bad jurors? I don\u2019t think so. The\u00a0prosecution still must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Any ethical issue here? Discuss.<\/p>\n

So many people lost everything, including lives. It\u2019s ridiculous to say that climate change played no part. Phooey on the claim that next time around the government will have \u201cbetter jurors.\u201d Given that the DOJ is 47\u2019s lap dog, is that any surprise? Discuss.<\/p>\n

\n

Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She\u2019s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact \u2014 it\u2019s not always civil. You can reach her by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>oldladylawyer@gmail.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post On The Other Side Of The 4th<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weather didn\u2019t discriminate this past holiday weekend.\u00a0Brutal is putting it mildly. Climate change is real and if\u00a0you don\u2019t believe me, then read Jeff Goodell\u2019s book of several years ago,\u00a0\u201cThe Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet.\u201d I am not here to debate climate change issues. All you have to do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":156147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Climate-killing-JVeZGd.jpg?fit=636%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}