I only made it through ten amendments before I ran out of fingers.

Some critics might suggest that blogging requires only an opinion and the ability to type (and perhaps that blawgging only takes those two plus some legal coursework), but Scott Greenfield consistently provides counterexamples at his Simple Justice blog. Greenfield's writing concerning criminal law generally and criminal defense particularly is compelling stuff; what's more, he backs his opinions with solid arguments and takes no prisoners (pun intended, of course!) when opposing arguments are raised. In short, he's a tremendous example of what a legal blogger should do to rise to the top of the blogosphere. I'm a fan.

For these reasons, I was particularly pleased to see that Greenfield would be hosting this week's Blawg Review #170, and he didn't disappoint. The theme this week is the Fourteenth Amendment, by which Bill of Rights protections are made binding upon the states and which was certified as part of the Constitution on July 28, 1868. Amongst the many highlights of this week's carnival are tricky prosecutors for hire, celebrating defense attorneys willing to go against the grain, and outing a judge who wanted her name kept out of a hit-and-run accident report.

Victoria Pynchon and her colleagues at the IP ADR Blog host next week's edition.