Shon R. Hopwood

Shon R. Hopwood

shonhopwood@hotmail.com

Website: http://www.thecocklebur.com

Shon R Hopwood’s unusual legal journey began not at law school, but federal prison, where he learned to write briefs for other prisoners. Two petitions for certiorari he prepared were later granted review by the United States Supreme Court, and the story of his legal success was the subject of articles in the New York Times, the Saturday Evening Post, and Above the Law. His work has been published in the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties and Fordham Law Reviews.

He is a consultant at Cockle Law Brief Printing Company, and a student and Gates Public Service Scholar at the University of Washington School of Law.

In August of 2012, Crown/Random House will publish his memoir entitled "Law Man: My Story of Robbing Banks, Winning Supreme Cases and Finding Redemption."

Through a decade of letters, Shon convinced his kind and beautiful wife, Ann Marie, to marry him. He has one cute but incredibly ornery son, Mark Raymond, and a precious and beautiful baby girl, Grace. Shon enjoys liberty, the writing of the Apostle Paul, Amy Hempel, and Raymond Carver, the music of Radiohead, and watching the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.

Shon R. Hopwood

Shon R Hopwood’s unusual legal journey began not at law school, but federal prison, where he learned to write briefs for other prisoners. Two petitions for certiorari he prepared were later granted review by the United States Supreme Court, and the story of his legal success was the subject of articles in the New York Times, the Saturday Evening Post, and Above the Law. His work has been published in the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties and Fordham Law Reviews.

He is a consultant at Cockle Law Brief Printing Company, and a student and Gates Public Service Scholar at the University of Washington School of Law.

In August of 2012, Crown/Random House will publish his memoir entitled “Law Man: My Story of Robbing Banks, Winning Supreme Cases and Finding Redemption.”

Through a decade of letters, Shon convinced his kind and beautiful wife, Ann Marie, to marry him. He has one cute but incredibly ornery son, Mark Raymond, and a precious and beautiful baby girl, Grace. Shon enjoys liberty, the writing of the Apostle Paul, Amy Hempel, and Raymond Carver, the music of Radiohead, and watching the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.

Recent Posts:

Does Tasering a Pregnant Woman Over a Speeding Ticket Violate the Fourth Amendment?

Adam Liptak at the New York Times has this great piece about a petition for certiorari asking the Court to grant a case involving some Seattle police officers, who tasered a pregnant woman because she refused to sign a speeding ticket. The police officers won on qualified immunity grounds in a divided en banc decision from the [...]

Seventh Circuit Throws Out Ban On Audio Recording Police Officers

Illinois has one of the strictest laws in the country when it comes to people audio recording police officers in public. But then again, Illinois is also known for a long history of police corruption, and maybe the State thought it could prevent a few civil rights settlements by banning people from recording their interactions with police. Whatever the motivation behind the law, it doesn’t [...]

The California Bar Wants to Force Law Schools to Provide Practical Skills

The California Bar Association is considering a proposal that would require bar applicants to have taken a practical skills course during law school in order to be admitted to the bar. The Bar Association, however, has received some pushback from two prominent law school deans. Stanford Law Dean Larry Kramer urged caution. And UC Irvine Dean [...]

Why You Shouldn’t Bank With Wells Fargo

If you are concerned about the number of citizens we as a society simply give up on by locking them up for decades, then you might want to think about not banking with Wells Fargo. Charles Davis at Salon writes that the Wells Fargo used bailout funds to invest in the GEO Group, the second largest private prison [...]

Paleo Diet Blogger Threatened With Jail Time

Steve Cooksey is a former diabetic, who decided to start the popular “Paleo” diet. Not only did he lose weight, he became insulin free on the low carb, caveman diet. So he decided to share his success on his blog.  But Steve ran into a problem in the form of the North Carolina Board of Dietetics and Nutrition, [...]

Five Ways to Write Like Paul Clement

On Wednesday, former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement will take the lecturn at the Supreme Court to once again argue a vexing issue of the day. This time around he will be defending Arizona’s immigration policy. By now, people are probably wondering how Mr. Clement ends up arguing so many cases before the Court. Well, [...]

The Skirmish (But Not War) On Discourse

I have noticed a trend in the media, on Facebook, and during face-to-face confrontations. When people have genuine discourse about the issues of the day, the argument inevitably turns into what I call the argument by lowest common denominator: where people attack others rather than their ideas. I have seen more of this of late, usually between media bloggers, [...]

Judge Dismisses Government’s Attempt to Prosecute Man Handing Out Jury Nullification Pamphlets

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood dismissed jury tampering charges against retired chemistry professor Julian P. Heicklen after he stood outside a courthouse and distributed pamphlets containing information about jury nullification. Reason and the New York Times have coverage. If there was ever a time to reprimand an Assistant U.S. Attorney for bringing frivolous [...]

Racist Criminal Laws Examined At The Supreme Court

This week the Supreme Court considered, in Dorsey v. United States and Hill v. United States, whether the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 applies retroactively to those prisoners sentenced before the act took effect. A number of media outlets reported on the oral arguments, including  Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSBlog; Adam Liptak at the New York Times; Mike [...]

167 Law Schools See A Decline In Applicants

The Law School Admission Council recently released a report explaining that 167 law schools have seen a decline in applicants in 2012. That comes as no surprise given the legal job market and the New York Times’ reporting last year on some of the worst aspects of they system. Law Professor Brian Tamanaha over at Balkninzation [...]

Recent Comments:

Shon R. Hopwood
I meant to say in the response above this (I typed that response on my phone while on a bus). It doesn't matter if strip searching everyone would make a jail safer. Given the immensely important privacy and personal dignity interests at stake, the state should have to show that searches of people jailed for minor offenses would make the jail SUBSTANTIALLY more safe. Otherwise, its just not reasonable. Especially if they could use a metal detecting wand or some other method to discover weapons. I also just thought of two other things. First, the belief that somehow people would start purposely going to jail to smuggle in weapons just doesn't seem to fly. In every jail or prison I've ever been (and that is a fair share), weapons are plentiful so it wouldn't make much sense for prisoners to want someone to smuggle in a knife when they can get one anyway. What we are really talking about here are smuggling in drugs. Second, if the Supreme Court rules that some people don't have to be strip searched if there is not reasonable suspicion, and then suspicionless people start going to jail just to smuggle in drugs, the one positive result will be this: a more robust jail economy. Because if jail guards have to start competing against arrestees over the introduction of illicit drugs into the jail the prices for all drugs will go down!!! I kid, I kid.

Shon R. Hopwood
Barbara, Yes, I think Advanced Legal Research will be one of the most important classes I could ever take. The reasons are simple. It will make my research my thorough. And it will make me more efficient. So then I will have more time to write for the CockleBur. I can't imagine NOT taking that course. Shon

Shon R. Hopwood
Cyn, I don't know if David is publishing the book in hardcopy, but I will find out for you. Shon

Shon R. Hopwood
It surprises me that you read this article without recognizing the sarcasm. Of course, I am being flip. I made two arguments in the article. First, I think the Affordable Care Act is constitutional under current Supreme Court precedent. Many people that oppose the ACA would likely agree with me. Second, I think the Supreme Court's decisions on the Commerce Clause are WRONG, which is apparently the same thing you are contending. Other than you misunderstanding what I wrote, I completely agree with everything you said. The federal government is too big, controls too much our life, and has moved far beyond the limits placed upon it by the Constitution.

Shon R. Hopwood
Reid, I lived at Fort Myers (when I served in the Navy), which borders next to Arlington Cemetary. I know that the tombstones are not crosses (I have walked around the cemetary almost daily when I lived there). What I was referring to was the Argonne Cross and the Canadian Cross of Sacrifice that sits among the graves. Shon

Shon R. Hopwood
Jacob, This is one of the best speeches I have heard this year. I was particularly impressed with what you did not recommend, which is to have Libertarians shove their ideas down the throats of all who will listen. That is as wise as it is effective.