Osler's Razor

My former colleague in the US Attorney's office in Detroit, Rick Convertino, was acquitted yesterday of charges that he illegally withheld evidence from defense attorneys in a terrorism case. News reports on the case appeared all over the country, most noting that it was a double humiliation for the DOJ-- first Convertino's case fell apart, and then their case against him fell apart. It's a sad story from start to finish.

Much like my colleagues at Baylor Law, my co-workers there were a colorful lot. Some, like Steve Murphy and Jennifer Granholm (who left right before I got there) went on to other things (as did I), while others like Convertino stayed put while things got stickier after 9/11. I have a lot of admiration for career prosecutors, though I think Convertino's case illustrates some of the problems inherent in the job.

Further, affiant sayeth not.