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Steve Smith

@edmlawyersteve.bsky.social

350 followers 250 following 3.4K posts

Criminal defence lawyer in Edmonton, AB (not a fan of electronic dance music). He/him. Posts mostly about topics other than Canadian criminal law; should be treated as lacking any credibility whatsoever on such topics. Reskeet probably = endorsement.

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Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 16d

Like a horse who's been sued by other horses.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 10h

I think they're probably a reliable source on the narrow question of what they were told by the person who sent them the video.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 10h

The remainder of Yegwave's post: "The witness says an officer later parked in front of their car and told them to leave if they weren’t involved, and they drove off."

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 10h

From Yegwave's post: "According to the person who recorded, the man said he hit the ditch after swerving to avoid a porcupine. When EPS arrived, the video begins. This occured on Winterburn Rd & Yellowhead Rd. (cont)

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 10h

Apparently unjustified use of conductive energy weapon by Edmonton Police Service members. Video posted by the Yegwave Instagram account earlier this evening.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 19h

Another tactic these cunning rapscallions are using to mask their violent extremism is to refrain completely from violence. Is there no end to their nefarious schemes?

hannah gais @hannahgais.bsky.social · 19h

Those are three people in inflatable frog suits.

@MrAndyNgo
Now that the local and national press have started to cover the Portland ICE area round-the-clock in reaction to the President, Antifa have devised a plan where they are encouraging one another to come in animal costumes.

The costumes serve the function of masking the violent extremism to make the direct action appear like a family-friendly gathering on camera, and to whitewash the past ultraviolence.

In 2019, Antifa devised a similar plot by giving out free "milkshakes" at a protest. But they couldn't contain their bloodthirst and nearly killed me when they saw me. In 2020, they mobilized a fake "Wall of Moms" where female Antifa supporters and members wore yellow shirts to act as human body shields while violent rioters behind them hurled projectile weapons.

photo of three people in inflatable frog costumes

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Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

It was intended as all compliment (I trust it didn’t come as news to you that your post was—gloriously—dumb?).

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

Now, if, contrary to what paragraph 7 says, she *was* occupying it as a secondary residence, because the meaning of that phrase is broader than what the government is arguing, then yes, she's not guilty (at least on that basis). But that doesn't mean there's a gap in the indictment.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

Yes. But paragraph 6 says that she was required to occupy it as a secondary residence. Paragraph 7 says that she was not occupying it as a secondary residence. Thus, the indictment alleges that she was non-compliant with the requirements. That's all I'm saying.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

Okay, well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Have a good one.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

*If* that accurately describes what was required, then paragraph 7, which says that she did not occupy and use the residence as her secondary residence, does allege that she was in breach of the agreement, regardless of whether she was using it in one of the prohibited manners.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

"...which requires JAMES, as the sole borrower to occupy and use the residence as her secondary residence, and prohibited its use..."

As worded, it says that she was both required to use the residence as a secondary residence, and prohibited from using it as described.

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Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

I’m a layman when it comes to the relevant law, but 6 appears to say that she was required to occupy it as a secondary residence, and then 7 appears to say that she did not do so. Regardless of any rental arrangement, required or otherwise, that doesn’t appear to me to leave a gap.

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Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

I'd assume that it doesn't vary by judicial district (within the federal system), and I know that at least some federal grand juries don't require unanimity, so I expect that that's true of all of them.

But it might vary by judicial district! U.S. criminal law always seems weird to me.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

jury of any remotely plausible legal theory, if there wasn't that damned opposing counsel there making counter-arguments.

So I don't really fault grand juries. I think the system will inevitably return indictments of dubious merit. Maybe that's not a problem when you still need a trial to convict.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

and lost, cases in which I tried to paper over some significant weaknesses).

But part of the equation is the adversarial system, in which there is an opposing side also represented by counsel. I'm not a terribly compelling courtroom presence, and I still think I could convince almost any (cont)

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Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

I'm a criminal trial lawyer. In Canada, we don't have grand juries, so I can't speak from any experience there, but I have a lot of respect for trial juries. I think they're good at detecting bullshit and detecting weaknesses in a litigant's cases (and I speak as somebody who's presented, (cont)

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

i know grand juries have a relatively low bar for bringing indictments but i find myself wondering WTF is up with some of these grand jurors

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Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

*testament. God dammit.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

Can I point to any objective difference between Springsteen in the "Dancing in the Dark" video and Rick Astley in the "Never Gonna Give You Up" video? I cannot. But Springsteen is cool, while Astley is not.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

This is, to be clear, not to disparage the cool of either Dylan or Springsteen; in particular, I've always found it testement to Springsteen's that he manages to still today seem cool in the video for "Dancing in the Dark", in which he looks more 1984 than any other man has ever looked.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

In fairness, no other kind of photo of him exists.

Sam Adams @samadams.bsky.social · 1d

you should probably not illustrate your article about how Johnny Cash "can seem deeply uncool" with a photo in which he looks cool as fuck

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

But seriously, is it more likely that he's so isolated himself from criticism that nobody in his circle is willing to explain to him that he sounds like an idiot, or that he just thinks it makes him look powerful to act like he can defy math? Both seem pretty likely to me, so hard to say.

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

After he first said this shit months ago, you'd think somebody would have explained basic math to him, but instead he's doubling down. No, more than that, he's tripling down, quadrupling down, increasing down by 500%, 1000%, even more than that...numbers that nobody thought possible.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump: "We're gonna be reducing the cost of medicines by 100%, 200%, 300%, 500% and even more than that."

Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

"In a world in which Dylan and Springsteen exist, Johnny Cash is still pretty fucking close to cool personified." There, fixed it.

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Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

Speaking as a big fan of Dylan and Springsteen: what?

bendwalsh.bsky.social @bendwalsh.bsky.social · 1d

wtaf are you talking about

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Steve Smith @edmlawyersteve.bsky.social · 1d

RFK Jr., with a fetus in his mouth: “It’s healthy to eat the placenta.”

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