Author: Mario Nicolais
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Nicolais: Rolling Stone Magazine gets rolled in court
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For nearly 10 years I worked as an attorney with an emphasis on First Amendment law. Consequently, about once a week I had random calls from people who wanted to sue someone else for slander or libel. After about 20 minutes explaining the elements of law, the drawn out trial process, the Herculean task of…
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Nicolais: Sexual assault all over again
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“His words are weightless to me. You cannot bargain or barter the truth.” It has only been a few months since I last wrote about a sexual assault case from Boulder, but yet another tragedy is under the spotlight. The quote above is taken from a letter the victim wrote and read aloud in court,…
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? Nicolais: On elections and judges
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Recently I went to the Colorado Judicial Institute’s Annual Award Dinner. Because CJI is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the merit selection system in Colorado, it invited a keynote speaker from a state where judges stand for election to share her experiences. In her sweet, southern accent, former Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb captivated…
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? Nicolais: Supreme Court reviews pulling back the jury curtain for racial bias
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The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees “an impartial jury” to all defendants. But what seems to be a clear and concise rule becomes much less so in practice. Most dramatically, whatever is said among deliberating jurors cannot be used to prove bias. No matter how far from impartial such statements may remove a…
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? Nicolais: Soros drops $100k in lies on Jeffco DA race
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George Soros wants to buy a district attorney in Jefferson County. At the end of September, he penned a check for $100,000 for just that purpose. And the downright deceitful mailers he is running against current DA Pete Weir prove he’ll say anything to get his money’s worth. To put Soros $100,000 into perspective, Weir…
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Nicolais: Who pays when everyone loses?
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The latest chapter in the Aurora theater shooting didn’t include the man who injured and murdered so many innocent people just over four years ago. Instead, it pitted those left behind against one another: the scarred victims and families of his crazed depravity against the company that owned the theater he chose for his crimes.…
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Nicolais: Political calendar countdown … to Oct. 7th?
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Tick-tock, tick-tock. The political world is officially measuring the distance to this November’s election in days, now. What once seemed endlessly far, the race to Nov. 8 is in the homestretch. But Oct. 7 is even closer. If the date doesn’t make anything jump immediately to mind, that’s all right. It probably doesn’t for most…
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Nicolais: Campaign compliance season kicks off in an absurd system
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Traditional political lore holds Labor Day as the beginning of election season. That probably comes as a shock to anyone following the presidential race this year. In the era of perpetual campaigns, there is no longer a beginning or end, but rather phases cycling through dialing for dollars and speaking on the stump. But in…
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Nicolais: Black Lives Matter better off without Kaepernick
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Colin Kaepernick is an imbecile. Anyone associated with the Black Lives Matter movement should run away from the idea of Kaepernick as an advocate. It will not end well. It isn’t too dissimilar than appointing Donald Trump as the spokesman for conservative values. It does more damage than good. At the outset, it’s important to…
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Nicolais: Feds discontinue use of private prisons
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It’s closing time for federal prisons run by private companies. And the reasons why say a lot about the current criminal justice system. According to a memo released by the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Prisons will be “beginning the process of reducing – and ultimately ending – our use of privately operated…