Podcast: Guatemala, Polygamy, and Free Legal Information

By: Devin Johnston · May 24, 2009 · Filed Under Podcasts · 1 Comment 

For Sunday 24 May 2009, this is the Law Is Cool Podcast. On today’s show, Omar Ha-Redeye’s feature interview with Nancy Kinney, creator of AdviceScene.com.

The Suspicious Case of Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano

We begin in Guatemala with a story that combines a political intrigue, a slain lawyer, and Twitter. The story begins with Guatemalan lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano, who was shot dead while bicycling on May 10th. The next day, a remarkable video (see below) was released to the Guatemalan press. The video features Rosenberg predicting his own assassination, saying “If you are watching this video, it’s because I was murdered by President Alvaro Colom.”

Rosenberg had been representing a client who was approached by the government to sit on the Board of the state-owned Banrural Bank. Rosenberg claimed that there was corruption within the government related to the bank and alleges that his client was murdered by the government before he could go public with details of the corruption.

Following Rosenberg’s death, activists mobilized an anti-corruption campaign. One blogger posted a message on the social networking site Twitter encouraging Banrural customers to withdraw their funds. As a result of this message, he was arrested on charges of inciting financial panic. He has since been bailed out of prison after an online fund raising campaign.

Update on BC’s Polygamy Trials

From Guatemala to British Columbia where we continue to follow the trial of Winston Blackmore and James Oler who have been charged with the criminal offence of polygamy. The Mormon leaders of the BC community of Bountiful have both pleaded not guilty and elected a trial by judge and jury. The case is now facing an roadblock. Blackmore has applied to the British Columbia Supreme Court to order the government to pay his legal costs. Blackmore already applied for legal aid and was turned down. However, his lawyer Joe Avray will argue that no defendant should bear the costs of a constitutional test case. If Madame Justice Stromberg-Stein grants the application, it could have far-reaching implications for criminal defendants.

Update: Below is a copy of Mr. Blackmore’s Notice of Application, for those of you interested in learning more about the legal argument being presented to the court.

Notice of Application – R. v. Blackmore Notice of Application – R. v. Blackmore Devin johnston Notice of application by alleged polygamist leader Winston Blackmore to have his legal expenses covered by the government.

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Law Research bountiful Blackmore

Feature Interview: Nancy Kinney of AdviceScene.com

Imagine a website that provides free legal information by connecting the public with lawyers and judges. On today’s feature interview, Omar Ha-Redeye sits down with Nancy Kinney, the creator of AdviceScene.com. Advice Scene is an innovative online destination that is doing just that. The site features a legal wiki, ask a lawyer and a morality meter that gauges attitudes about legal and political issues.

Kinney argues that lawyers should not be seen as the gatekeepers to specialized legal information; instead, legal information should be shared freely with the public. She suggests that this will help reduce the costs of litigation because clients with a better understanding of the law will be in a better position to resolve their conflicts without going to trial. Moreover, she argues that better-informed clients will be able to work in partnership with their lawyers without feeling that their lawyer has made all of the important decisions.

The response so far has been very positive. The site has attracted a number of lawyers and even an Ontario judge to participate by answering questions in an online discussion forum.

Music Credit

Today’s podcast uses Creative Commons licensed music from ccMixter. Our thanks to user blues_agent for his song “She of Infinite Sorrows“.

 
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Comments

One Response to “Podcast: Guatemala, Polygamy, and Free Legal Information”

  1. Joseph Smith on May 27th, 2009 11:57 am

    The assertion that Blackmore and Oler are “Mormons” is absurd. While the name of their religious organization is similar to the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they are not Mormons.

    They should be characterized more like their good friend and co-conspirator Warren Jeffs who was indicted of incest and sexual misconduct with a minor. Their correct title should be what they refer to themselves – as Fundamentalists or simply Polygamists.

    Law is Cool: The term appears to be used by Fundamentalist Mormons themselves, but not uniformly. The term “Fundamentalist” without the qualifier of “Mormon” is not easily identifiable anywhere as a descriptor used by the group themselves or those referring to them.

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