Grits For Breakfast
Scott Henson, a writer and researcher from Austin, Texas (my home state) has been putting up lots of quality fare at his new blog, Grits for Breakfast. You will find him linked to the right under “Criminal Blogs.” His focus is on criminal justice issues in the Lone Star State, and since Texas style justice is more “wild west” than what you might expect from the second largest state in our mature democracy, he has a fertile field.
Today, he points to an incident that reflects on the true power of blogs:
The Houston Chronicle reported today that the trial of Jamaican immigrant Tyrone Williams, a coyote; who is blamed for the death of 19 illegal immigrants he smuggled into the country, will begin this week. Henson notes that Howard Bashman at How Appealing reported Saturday that the Fifth Circuit issued a stay, delaying the trial until they decide whether the US Attorney can conceal the role of the defendant’s race in their decision to seek the death penalty.
Link.
Now most reporters, especially those at major newspapers like the Chronicle, know how to do their jobs and do them fairly well. But even so, when attorneys read and hear news on legal events, we are amazed at how much the press gets wrong. Distinctions that are important in the law are often glossed over in the media, sometimes to maintain simplicity, but sometimes because the reporters just do not understand what they are reporting on. I expect that any professional has similar reactions when their areas of expertise are covered in the media, but that is what blogs get you: direct contact with those who know. Howard Bashman is a skilled and experienced attorney, and knew enough about the case to be keyed in to look for the stay from the federal court. The reporter and his editor, apparently did not.
Sure, any fool can put out a blog, and even do so under false pretenses. But as a blog reader, you get to know who your correspondents are, and if and when you can rely on them. I would trust Bashman’s analysis on an appellate issue more than I would just about any media report. The media’s retort that blogs cannot provide the kind of reliable information that people buy papers for is not holding up.
