Joel Cohen

September 24, 2019 | New York Law Journal

We do want and expect judges to bring experience, real-world knowledge and common sense to the table when they decide cases. We also, though, need to have a reasonable idea of how they have reached their determinations.

By  Joel Cohen

7 minute read

August 12, 2019 | New York Law Journal

In his Ethics and Criminal Practice column, Joel Cohen tackles the question: What is the obligation of a prosecutor when a past injustice surfaces, or even begins to surface? He writes: When an obvious injustice surfaces regarding a case previously prosecuted, shouldn’t the prosecution office and the prosecuting attorney (or his or her successor) always have at least a moral (if not ethical) obligation to move heaven and earth to try to set it right?

By Joel Cohen

11 minute read

July 30, 2019 | New York Law Journal

Where would the body politic be now regarding the president's conduct? We would likely be nowhere.

By Joel Cohen

5 minute read

July 19, 2019 | New York Law Journal

To Sexton, there is little more important than dialogue—or, rather, dialogic dialogue where people seek to learn from each other.

By Joel Cohen

8 minute read

July 11, 2019 | New York Law Journal

With the philosophy that no one should be defined by the worst thing he ever did, The Fortune Society advocates for, and represents the true benefits of, restorative justice.

By Joel Cohen and Dale J. Degenshein

5 minute read

June 10, 2019 | New York Law Journal

In his Ethics and Criminal Practice column, Joel Cohen discusses cases in which the tenor and context of attorney remarks caused the disciplinary rules or court sanctions to kick in.

By Joel Cohen

9 minute read

May 21, 2019 | New York Law Journal

Chairman Schiff, presumably with the support of the House Intelligence Committee, has frankly gone way over the top.

By Joel Cohen and Gerald B. Lefcourt

7 minute read

April 30, 2019 | New York Law Journal

Think of it this way. When you visit your physician, don't you want your doctor taking contemporaneous notes about your blood pressure, your heart rate, etc.? Or do you want him relying on his memory for what his findings were last visit or how they will compare to next time?

By Joel Cohen

7 minute read

April 12, 2019 | New York Law Journal

“General deterrence”—the goal of deterring the criminal conduct of others—is a key component of sentencing. That is, a sentence not necessarily (or at least only) designed to deter you, but to deter the community at large.

By Joel Cohen

6 minute read

April 08, 2019 | New York Law Journal

Ethics and Criminal Practice columnist Joel Cohen discusses prosecutorial discretion in relation to the Jeffrey Epstein case, the Mueller Investigation, and the Jussie Smollett case, and writes: “Is prosecutorial discretion a good thing? Many argue that it can be lawless and tyrannical.” He then looks at why discretion makes sense, “even if there is a glitch or two.”

By Joel Cohen

9 minute read