Founded
in the summer of 1997, Capital Defense Weekly / A Capital
Defender's Toolbox, is believed to be the oldest "blawg" still in
operation, predating even the first usage of the term "web log",
"blog" and "blawg". Over the
years CDW, as it is often known, has been used as an example of the
future of law reviews,1 a
way to keep current capital defense theories,2
and a showcase of how a website can impact an area of the law.3
Karl,
who has been the primary writer over the years, started off his legal
career as a capital defender doing post-conviction work in state and
federal courts. Over the years as he broadened his practice to more
traditional criminal defense
work and general litigation, the site's name has changed from "A
Capital
Defender's Toolbox" in which "Capital Defense Weekly" was a "product"
to its current name and location. Karl can be found off-line practicing
in Northern New Jersey, appearing at various capital punishment related
events around metro-NYC, and working with various capital punishment
reform
organizations both in the northeast and nationally
Karl Keys writes
Capital Defense Weekly ("CDW"). CDW over the years has been blessed to
have numerous "ghost" writers assist whom always seem to demand
anonymity, mostly to avoid being linked to the blandness of the issues
they don't help out on. On the techie side, during most of CDW's
run Lisa
Spangenberg has provided an invaluable degree when she hasn't been
finishing up her dissertation.
Karl began practicing law in the mid-90s. On his
first day of admission to the bar he represented two death row inmates
under active death warrant; sworn in to the bar in the morning he
argued a stay of execution as lead counsel that afternoon.
At this point in his offline career he has handled well over a thousand
felony cases and more than a few where the defendant was facing life or
even death. Offline Karl is an avid hiker, poker-player, artie,
foodie, Marine Gulf War vet, as well as a board member
of both NJADP & PADP. He has been writing online for a decade
on the death penalty & defense of capital cases, including,
for many years, reviews of every published capital case in the
nation. He and his wife Celia are expecting their first child
this fall.
A small group of
friends and colleagues have served as an informal board. This
site would not
exist but for the determined assistance of Randy Wheeler, Stephanie
McArdle, and Julia Pearson during the first few days of this
site. Randy especially was more than generous with giving permission to
borrow from his now defunct website that literally was the top legal
site in any specialty up until he pulled the plug on it in 1998.
Invaluable during the course of creating the site have been a number of
lawyers who have asked to remain anonymous, as well as several friends
who probably should have asked to remain anonymous. Nancy Esposito,
Esq, deserves special credit as on several occassions she literally
begged me to not hang up the reins. Also deserving special thanks are
Dr. Rick Halperin, Abe Bonowitz, Dick Dieter, Esq., David Elliot, the
invincible Ed Monahan / Ernie Lewis team, Jeff Kirchmeier, amongst
others, who over the years, provided insight, talent, and opened doors
that wouldn't have otherwise been available.
History
The
site that was to become CDW was launched in May 1997. CDW is
arguably the oldest law related blog and one of the oldest non-tech
related blogs as well.
Subscribing
& Archives
CDW
is published forty (40) times (or so) a year. Archives of the web's
oldest blawg (ok arguably oldest blawg) are accessible from the pull
down bar located in at http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/index.html.
[1]SOUTH TEXAS LAW REVIEW AT FIFTY:
LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING AHEAD, 46 S. Tex. L. Rev. 25,
Craig Estlinbaum.
[3] A 'Lawyer's Dozen' of
Internet Websites, Jim Calloway, Oklahoma Bar Journal
(http://www.okbar.org/members/map/articles/dozen.htm last visted March
21, 2005)
