Law and Legitimacy

Ray returns to the Norm Pattis Show to discuss his path to becoming an ordained minister, the role of religion in American society and public life, and share a few stories unique to himself and to his relationship with Norm.  Ray gets very personal, sharing the story of his psychological break, his temporary institutionalization, and the story of his journey into the faith.  Norm, admittedly preoc...

Norm is joined in the first hour by Jimmy Vallee, Managing Principal of Valhill Capital.  Jimmy joined the Norm Pattis Show a few weeks ago, but the two were cut off. Norm invited Jimmy back for a more robust discussion.  The two discuss the fundamentals of cryptocurrency, from function and technoligy, to the general ambition of blockchain development.  Jimmy has been very active in the securities...

Norm goes the second hour alone and takes the opportunity to talk dynamically about the danger identitarians pose to the fabric of American culture.  Norm begins with an examination of a recent Wall Street Journal column, "Why Black Americans Are Buying More Guns". Plaintiffs in the two most recent second amendment cases (D.C. v Heller; McDonald v. Chicago) have one characteristic in common. Do yo...

Norm opens the show discussing the history of The Weather Underground, the Richard Nixon impeachment behind Watergate, and why Americans should be suspicious of the modern moment as we approach the the J6 Congressional Hearings.  Norm also discusses what the recent election results in California may mean for the future of progressive district attorneys all over the country.  Then, Norm fields an i...

Norm is joined in the second hour by long-time friend and client, and friend of the Law and Legitimacy podcast, Jacqueline Polverari, an advocate for those individuals needing assistance with reentering society after nonviolence felony convictions resulting in incarceration.  After spending time in a federal corrections facility, Jacqueline discovered the immense difficulty inherent in transitioni...

Norm opens the show stressing the importance of brave voices in media, specifically radio and broadcast. The context? The Congressional hearings on the January 6 Commission meets Thursday of this week. Norm has attacked the legal foundations of the J6 Committee, and even sued on behalf of a client in the Committee's crosshairs based on the obvious foundational deficiencies in the Committee's forma...

How are the Roe v. Wade debate and the American gun debate related? Norm spends the second hour in a legal and intellectual deep dive into foundational constitutional principles—the federal bill of rights, the notion of the "silly putty constitution", the emergence of non-explicit "rights" through inference, and where that leaves us today in the abortion and gun debates.  Norm believes SCOTUS will...

Norm is joined as he is every Monday by W. Michael Boyer, the editor and producer of Norm's podcast, Law and Legitimacy, and North Carolina-based business and regulatory attorney.  Norm opens the show with a monologue regarding the privacy rights of parents whose children are killed at the hands of mass shooters. Mike hops in to continue the analysis of the recent public focus on mass shootings, p...

How much do you think you know about what your government is doing? At the state level? Locally? Norm is joined in the second hour by Steve Farley and Kevin Blacker to discuss a project undertaken by Connecticut Port Authority that may not have had authority to begin in the first place, costing Connecticut taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Steve and Kevin detail the nature and scope of...

Norm opens the show with words of appreciation for Harini Logan of San Antonio, Texas, the winner of the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Language is beautiful! Congratulations, Harini!  What did Hobbs have to say about words? They are "wise men's counters." You are what you read, think, and speak. In other words, the language we use defines us.  Norm is then joined by Shelton Tucker to discuss...

Norm is joined in the second hour by longtime friend and retired Supervisory U.S. Probation Officer, Ray Lopez. Ray is also a sentencing mitigation expert, specializing in federal death penalty cases, and a published author and evangelist. Ray evangelizes "redemption" to the most hard core of criminals in the United States.  Ray discusses his pathway into his professional career, beginning with th...

Norm opens the show debriefing the outcome of the Depp-Heard trial. Is the #MeToo movement dead?  Heard's testimony was not credible. She was not a spokesperson for the tenets of the #MeToo movement. There will be appeals. Among them, the judgment against Depp is perhaps the most likely to be overturned. Norm is then joined by former judge and Connecticut mediator and arbitrator, Robert Holzberg. ...

Norm opens the second hour by discussing the incompetence of Governor Ned Lamont and the misguided $4M Connecticut voter initiative.  He is then joined by real estate expert, Tyler Dubuis, who talks with Norm about pandemic and post-pandemic real estate trends in the Northeast Kingdom (i.e., northern Vermont).  Why are there no Home Depot's in the Northeast Kingdom?  Why go to Vermont? Isn't that...

Norm opens the show by welcoming the audience back to the Cold War. What did the Daily Wire report about Russian comments regarding its own missle, SATAN-2, capabilities? Is American foreign policy being intelligently managed? Is the war going to war? And if so, why? Norm is joined by Frederico "Andino" Reynal, an attorney and former federal prosecutor based in Houston, Texas.  Norm queries Andino...

Norm opens the second hour debriefing a recent decision handed down in a client's case. Sentencing is to promote respect for the law. New Jersey is now calling for non-enforcement of warrants for low level crimes. That should be helpful for promoting respect for the law.  Norm is joined in the second hour by David Weiss, host of the "Flat Earth Podcast" all about the Flat Earth theory. David belie...

Norm opens the first episode of the week with a monologue reflecting on the fifteen additional mass shootings that have occurred in the United States in the short days since the Uvaldi, Texas, elementary school shooting, and makes a call for congressional term limits.  He is then joined by Michael Boyer, the editor and producer of Law and Legitimacy, for a multi-varied discussion beginning with th...

Norm and Mike connect on a Sunday afternoon for a well-deserved long form episode.  Uninhibited by the Ad Man, the duo begin with the elusive topic of "justice" by debriefing one of Mike's recent case resolutions.  Norm asks Mike to unpack the basics of trademark law in view of the anecdotal facts attendant to the relevant case. The two discuss the procedural considerations, the pressure of keepin...

Norm opens the second hour by getting reprimanded by an avid listener. He is also joined by Connecticut civil rights attorney, Mario Cerame, to talk about our coveted first amendment to the United States Constitution. Mario is the self-described "nerd" at his firm, Brignole Bush and Lewis, practicing at the intersection of individual rights and government action.  How is a lay person supposed to k...

Norm opens by recalling his whereabouts on the day of the Sandy Hook shooting, and what he saw this morning that brought him to a new low.  We get the government we deserve, but do we not deserve better than this? We has become of service? What has become of honor? Law enforcement in Uvaldi have some explaining to do.  Norm points out the proposition that government has no duty to protect citizens...

Norm continues eviscerating Beto O'Rourke in the second hour.  He then turns his focus to how we should go about the conversation of what to do about guns in America.  Norm's law partner, Kevin Smith, recommended to Norm that he read Nicholas Kristoff's piece in the New York Times. Norm admits that, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't take such a suggestion, especially given the topical nature...

Norm is joined in the first hour by the godfather of 1983 litigation, the esteemed John R. Williams. John is a close friend and lifelong mentor for Norm.  Norm wants people to get to know John, who has been practicing in New Haven, Connecticut, since 1969.  Originally from North Dakota, John went to Harvard for undergraduate studies where he worked summers for a conservative republican senator who...

Norm is joined in the second hour by former federal prosecutor, David X. Sullivan.  David retired from the U.S. Attorneys Office after 30 years and ran for Congress in Connecticut's 5th Congressional District in the 2020 election.  David ran on a platform that countered the burgeoning tide of what he viewed as socialism and disregard for the basic rule of law as seen through the Summer Riots of 20...

Norm opens the show with a solemn monologue focused on the latest carnage in a Texas elementary school.  Something is broken. And we know to a moral certainty that the world we are living in is changing and our collective responses are what it requires to make it a better place.  Norm raises the question: why NOW in our history are all of these mass shooting happening? Why now for Columbine, for S...

Norm opens the second hour reading an excerpt devoted to the life of P.T. Barnum from Robert Wilson's, "Barnum in American Life."  Norm is joined in the second hour by Kathy Maher, the Executive Director of The Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  Who is P.T. Barnum? Norm and Kathy talk about Kathy's path into her position with The Barnum Museum, her initial hestitation, and how she became o...

Norm opens the show discussing the shocking SCOTUS decision in Shinn v. Martinez-Ramirez, which curiously holds that evidence of bad lawyering such that a person is exposed to the penalty of death is insufficient to compel federal judicial intervention to preserve the life that might have otherwise been spared.  Norm unpacks federalism and the concept of habeus corpus. What is the latter? A remedy...