by Scott Holmes | May 28, 2011 | Criminal Law, Society, Politics and Religion, Spirituality and the Practice of Law, Trial Practice
When a mother loses her son, when he is shot and killed, it is natural to assume there is nothing but anger, hatred, and revenge in her heart. When a sister loses her dear brother, the source of joy and humor in her life, it is natural to assume she feels only ill...
by Scott Holmes | Apr 2, 2011 | Criminal Law, Society, Politics and Religion, Spirituality and the Practice of Law
For two weeks we all sat in the same room hearing about the death of two young men, the shootings of two others, a robbery and a pistol whipping. The families of people shot and killed sat right next to the family of the person accused of the shootings. Jurors sat and...
by Scott Holmes | Mar 20, 2011 | Criminal Law, Society, Politics and Religion, Spirituality and the Practice of Law
As a Quaker, I practice historic testimonies for peace and simplicity. In addition to the Quaker testimonies for peace and simplicity, there is the testimony of integrity. Historically this testimony was expressed as a fierce determination to tell the truth, and a...
by Scott Holmes | Mar 19, 2011 | Civil Rights, Society, Politics and Religion, Spirituality and the Practice of Law
I have represented female police officers fighting for equal treatment at work, gay and lesbian victims of hate crimes, an African American family chased at gun point by a member of the KKK, persons with mental health problems arrested and tasered without cause,...
by Scott Holmes | Mar 16, 2011 | Criminal Law, Society, Politics and Religion, Spirituality and the Practice of Law
The spiritual opportunities that arise as I work as a trial lawyer have not always been clear to me, and they continue to unfold before me as I zigzag across the path of my calling. Matthew 25:35 speaks to this calling: For I was hungry and you gave me something to...
by Scott Holmes | Mar 8, 2011 | Criminal Law, Society, Politics and Religion, Spirituality and the Practice of Law
We recently won a case in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, It is encouraging to see a higher Court acknowledge and remember the purpose of our Constitutional protections against police misconduct. “Moreover, we are deeply troubled by the way in which the...
