Nine Year Old Sneaks on Plane–By Himself

In Minneapolis about a week ago, a young boy without a ticket was able to board a plane to Las VegasALONE!colin.nelson.smallfile

His parents thought he’d spent the night at a friend’s house and didn’t discover he was gone until the next morning when the boy showed-up in Las Vegas.  When the father was interviewed, he put …

FLASHOVER — My New Book is Out

I’m  excited to announce that my third book, Flashover will be published on Sept. 1, 2013!Flashover Cover_Layout 1

Like my previous books, this is a suspense crime novel set in Minneapolis.  The main character is a young, female prosecutor named Zehra who is ambitious to become a judge.  She is assigned a case of an alleged arsonist and hopes a …

George Zimmerman–Now What’s Going on in his Trial?

The George Zimmerman trial in Florida where he is accused of Second Degree Murder for killing Trayvon Martin was about to go to the jury.  The lawyers made their closing arguments and the next step would have been the judge reading the jury instructions to the jury.  These are precise definitions of the law in the state of …

George Zimmerman and Self Defense

colin.nelson.smallfileMany of you are following the murder trial of George Zimmerman in a Florida courtroom.  He is accused of shooting and killing Trayvon Martin during a scuffle in a residential area.  Martin was unarmed and Zimmerman was carrying a pistol.  At  first, it appeared to be an open-and-shut case of murder.

The news media has covered this story …

Ethical Lawyers??

It’s a common complaint that all lawyers are crooked.  After practicing as a lawyer for over 30 years, I can agree that some are crooks—but very few, thankfully.  On the other hand, more lawyers act unethically.  Their behavior doesn’t rise to the level of criminal activity but can still harm the public.

What ethical rules apply to …

Is James Holmes Crazy in Colorado? Part II

The alleged mass-killer, James Holmes, has indicated that he will proceed in his trial—where he is accused of entering a theater and shooting dozens of people—with a plea of Not Guilty by reason of insanity.  In a previous post, I explored the history of this legal procedure and what would happen in a trial.  Colorado’s definition of …

Is James Holmes Crazy in Colorado? Part I

The young man who entered a theater in Colorado and shot dozens of rounds as he walked through the building,  killed 12 and wounded 58 others.  James Holmes randomly shot at people as they ducked to save themselves.  Of the 41 calls to 911, one of the scariest is the 27-second call where you can hear 30 shots …