Don Zeko
@donzeko.bsky.social
Public defender in the South, politics obsessive, nerd stuff enthusiast. Also a dad, although I'm trying to respect the privacy of my increasingly feral children.
Reposted by Don Zeko
I agree with not chatting with the cops. But do this instead.
Turn off your car. Put your keys on the dash. Turn on your dome light.
Keep your hands at 10 and 2. Hand them your license and insurance. Be polite and if they ask questions just say “I’d rather not answer any questions.”
Turn off your car. Put your keys on the dash. Turn on your dome light.
Keep your hands at 10 and 2. Hand them your license and insurance. Be polite and if they ask questions just say “I’d rather not answer any questions.”
Just hand the fucking cop your license. I know of no court that doesn't take "present" to mean "hand over" and not handing it over will get you actual criminal charges.
A woman recently went viral for holding up a window sign during a traffic stop, part of a growing trend of drivers using cards to assert their rights instead of speaking to police.
November 30, 2025 at 12:57 AM
I agree with not chatting with the cops. But do this instead.
Turn off your car. Put your keys on the dash. Turn on your dome light.
Keep your hands at 10 and 2. Hand them your license and insurance. Be polite and if they ask questions just say “I’d rather not answer any questions.”
Turn off your car. Put your keys on the dash. Turn on your dome light.
Keep your hands at 10 and 2. Hand them your license and insurance. Be polite and if they ask questions just say “I’d rather not answer any questions.”
Reposted by Don Zeko
Former US military lawyers speak out:
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
November 29, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Former US military lawyers speak out:
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
What gets me about this is that, unlike pretty much every historical war criminal you could mention, Trump and hegseth don't have anything even resembling an excuse or justification.
Ordering no quarter, as Hegseth effectively did, isn't a newfangled modern war crime. It was understood as a crime as far back as the Revolutionary War. Washington threatened to do reprisals over it. The bad guy in 'The Patriot' is (very loosely) based off a British officer who was notorious for it.
November 28, 2025 at 11:50 PM
What gets me about this is that, unlike pretty much every historical war criminal you could mention, Trump and hegseth don't have anything even resembling an excuse or justification.
Reposted by Don Zeko
An astonishing 80 percent of the Louisiana's death sentences between 1976 and 2015 were later reversed.
A judge recently vacated the conviction of Chris Duncan, who had been on the state's death row for decades.
A judge recently vacated the conviction of Chris Duncan, who had been on the state's death row for decades.
He’s Been On Louisiana’s Death Row for Decades. A Judge Just Vacated His Conviction.
Chris Duncan’s longtime claims of innocence were boosted by the discrediting of bite mark analysis, and by recent reforms now under threat from the state’s Republican leadership.
boltsmag.org
September 22, 2025 at 5:30 PM
An astonishing 80 percent of the Louisiana's death sentences between 1976 and 2015 were later reversed.
A judge recently vacated the conviction of Chris Duncan, who had been on the state's death row for decades.
A judge recently vacated the conviction of Chris Duncan, who had been on the state's death row for decades.
It's going to be hard to convince people that the government was once run by people who didn't publicly revel in their incurable moral rot.
CIA statement about the Afghan man identified as the gunman who shot two National Guardsmen in Washington
November 27, 2025 at 3:20 PM
It's going to be hard to convince people that the government was once run by people who didn't publicly revel in their incurable moral rot.
Reposted by Don Zeko
my sister: why do you delete so many posts
me: sometimes you don't know something's really stupid until you send it out into the world
my mother: *staring at me just a beat too long*
me: sometimes you don't know something's really stupid until you send it out into the world
my mother: *staring at me just a beat too long*
November 24, 2024 at 6:21 PM
my sister: why do you delete so many posts
me: sometimes you don't know something's really stupid until you send it out into the world
my mother: *staring at me just a beat too long*
me: sometimes you don't know something's really stupid until you send it out into the world
my mother: *staring at me just a beat too long*
Reposted by Don Zeko
We can talk about all the other people who failed and much of that is fair, but if Roberts just lets Trump go to trial in DC he’s in prison right this second.
November 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
We can talk about all the other people who failed and much of that is fair, but if Roberts just lets Trump go to trial in DC he’s in prison right this second.
Reposted by Don Zeko
Update: Despite the best efforts of the local prosecutor, Duncan is getting out as I type this.
First day of freedom in three decades.
Here’s a text from his aunt.
First day of freedom in three decades.
Here’s a text from his aunt.
November 26, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Update: Despite the best efforts of the local prosecutor, Duncan is getting out as I type this.
First day of freedom in three decades.
Here’s a text from his aunt.
First day of freedom in three decades.
Here’s a text from his aunt.
Reposted by Don Zeko
The seeming disconnect of prosecuting someone for murder over a killing they didn’t commit—what’s known as “felony murder”—has sparked public outrage and confusion in some cases. Today, forty-eight states permit some version of it.
A Friend’s Death to Mourn, and to Serve Time for
An Alabama teen was shot alongside his friend, then prosecuted for his killing. His case highlights a particularly harsh doctrine in American criminal punishment: felony murder.
boltsmag.org
November 26, 2025 at 6:30 PM
The seeming disconnect of prosecuting someone for murder over a killing they didn’t commit—what’s known as “felony murder”—has sparked public outrage and confusion in some cases. Today, forty-eight states permit some version of it.
Reposted by Don Zeko
We decided we weren’t going to hold our elites accountable for their actions.
It shouldn’t be lost in all this that the case fell apart because Fani Willis similarly believed she was unaccountable to the law and societal standards of ethical conduct.
It shouldn’t be lost in all this that the case fell apart because Fani Willis similarly believed she was unaccountable to the law and societal standards of ethical conduct.
Fani Willis's Georgia case against Trump has been dropped.
For the rest of our lives, we will have to explain to the next generations how it is that Donald Trump and his cronies could have been allowed to get away with what they did after the 2020 election.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/26/p...
For the rest of our lives, we will have to explain to the next generations how it is that Donald Trump and his cronies could have been allowed to get away with what they did after the 2020 election.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/26/p...
Georgia prosecutor kills the historic racketeering case against Trump and allies | CNN Politics
A Georgia prosecutor on Wednesday officially dropped the historic racketeering case against President Donald Trump and others for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, closing the cha...
www.cnn.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:58 PM
We decided we weren’t going to hold our elites accountable for their actions.
It shouldn’t be lost in all this that the case fell apart because Fani Willis similarly believed she was unaccountable to the law and societal standards of ethical conduct.
It shouldn’t be lost in all this that the case fell apart because Fani Willis similarly believed she was unaccountable to the law and societal standards of ethical conduct.
Reposted by Don Zeko
Reposted by Don Zeko
watching people like Charles Murray be (correctly!) horrified by the rise of people like Nick Fuentes is sort of bleakly funny. uh oh! maybe those hysterical libs had a point Chuck! maybe there was something there to worry about!
November 25, 2025 at 6:16 PM
watching people like Charles Murray be (correctly!) horrified by the rise of people like Nick Fuentes is sort of bleakly funny. uh oh! maybe those hysterical libs had a point Chuck! maybe there was something there to worry about!
Reposted by Don Zeko
My lawyer brain's immediate reaction is YOU DON'T NEED TO TALK TO THE FBI
MS NOW confirms: The FBI is working with Capitol Police to schedule interviews with the six Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to refuse to comply with illegal orders.
November 25, 2025 at 7:32 PM
My lawyer brain's immediate reaction is YOU DON'T NEED TO TALK TO THE FBI
Reposted by Don Zeko
solar is about to pass natural gas for power generation in California. good stuff www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...
Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
www.eia.gov
November 25, 2025 at 5:39 PM
solar is about to pass natural gas for power generation in California. good stuff www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...
If I ever get tired of being a lawyer maybe I can get into the personal finance self-help grift where my One Weird Trick is just larceny
Founders on LinkedIn still seem to be struggling with the difference between telling people about their humble beginnings and admitting to straight up committing fraud.
November 25, 2025 at 1:05 PM
If I ever get tired of being a lawyer maybe I can get into the personal finance self-help grift where my One Weird Trick is just larceny
Curious to hear other's thoughts about it but this seems like the most judicially conservative way to dismiss the case.
BREAKING
A federal judge just DISMISSED James Comey’s case without prejudice because of Lindsey Halligan’s unlawful appointment.
More soon on All Rise News.
Doc storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Background www.allrisenews.com/p/halligan-c...
A federal judge just DISMISSED James Comey’s case without prejudice because of Lindsey Halligan’s unlawful appointment.
More soon on All Rise News.
Doc storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Background www.allrisenews.com/p/halligan-c...
November 24, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Curious to hear other's thoughts about it but this seems like the most judicially conservative way to dismiss the case.
At this point I'm not sure the median congressman can even imagine wielding power.
November 24, 2025 at 5:17 PM
At this point I'm not sure the median congressman can even imagine wielding power.
Reposted by Don Zeko
Cracks me up how you could just replace Venezuela and Venezuelans with Iraq and Iraqis and it’d be indistinguishable from something written in 2002
November 23, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Cracks me up how you could just replace Venezuela and Venezuelans with Iraq and Iraqis and it’d be indistinguishable from something written in 2002
In my line of work you can't choose your clients but you always have to come up with something to say, so part of the job is sometimes making arguments that you know aren't gonna convince anybody. 1/2
Yesteady a colleague I hadn’t spoken to in a while, once a Reagan Republican, called me asking to explain why the Comey indictment had gone the way it did. He’s an ex-AUSA too. Why would they do it this way and not the right way, he was asking. There must be a strategic explanation.
/1
/1
November 23, 2025 at 8:35 PM
In my line of work you can't choose your clients but you always have to come up with something to say, so part of the job is sometimes making arguments that you know aren't gonna convince anybody. 1/2
Reposted by Don Zeko
Trump's domestic Gestapo raided a job site, then handcuffed a US citizen born in Raleigh NC -- even after being shown the guy's REAL ID, which is only available to US citizens and LPRs
CBP+ICE will ignore your identifying documents when it suits their racism
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/a...
CBP+ICE will ignore your identifying documents when it suits their racism
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/a...
November 23, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Trump's domestic Gestapo raided a job site, then handcuffed a US citizen born in Raleigh NC -- even after being shown the guy's REAL ID, which is only available to US citizens and LPRs
CBP+ICE will ignore your identifying documents when it suits their racism
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/a...
CBP+ICE will ignore your identifying documents when it suits their racism
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/a...
Reposted by Don Zeko
I think we’ve all missed some obvious clues
From New England, has unholy appetites, doesn’t appear fully human?
RFK Jr is a Deep One hybrid
From New England, has unholy appetites, doesn’t appear fully human?
RFK Jr is a Deep One hybrid
November 22, 2025 at 6:14 PM
I think we’ve all missed some obvious clues
From New England, has unholy appetites, doesn’t appear fully human?
RFK Jr is a Deep One hybrid
From New England, has unholy appetites, doesn’t appear fully human?
RFK Jr is a Deep One hybrid
Reposted by Don Zeko
Reposted by Don Zeko
Look, it’s unlike me to say something like this — and, frankly, a bit embarrassing — but I want to hear less about these people’s terrible decisions, loose morals, and weird sex stuff and more about this.
November 22, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Look, it’s unlike me to say something like this — and, frankly, a bit embarrassing — but I want to hear less about these people’s terrible decisions, loose morals, and weird sex stuff and more about this.
Reposted by Don Zeko
you will never understand politics if you cannot accept that *some people want bad things*. not because they've been tricked, not because Capital has manipulated them, because they *have bad values*
November 21, 2025 at 5:06 PM
you will never understand politics if you cannot accept that *some people want bad things*. not because they've been tricked, not because Capital has manipulated them, because they *have bad values*
I am slowly coming around to the belief that all medical misinformation exists because people can't handle mortality.
November 21, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I am slowly coming around to the belief that all medical misinformation exists because people can't handle mortality.