Conducting Performance Evaluations

published or submitted for publicatio

The Boardwalk

From their stakeouts below, Kids are careful not to look directly up, The way you avoid looking at the sun when you step outside, Because the sun streams fire and painted planks spit sand at the little gods of mischief. [excerpt

Asset Forfeiture and Attorneys’ Fees: The Zero-Sum Game

The history of asset forfeiture law spans almost as long as the history of the United States. However, in the last thirty years, the number of crimes for which asset forfeiture can be levied has grown exponentially both on the federal and state levels. As a result, a growing number of defendants face asset forfeiture. When these criminal defendants seek legal representation, they place their attorneys in a difficult legal and ethical position. Asset forfeiture has developed in such a way that the criminal defense attorney cannot provide her client with zealous advocacy if the attorney seeks to retain her fees. Additionally, the law is designed to prevent these attorneys from withdrawing their representation once they learn that the funds being used to pay their fees are tainted. This Note examines these, and other, ethical dilemmas that arise for criminal defense attorneys whose clients may be subject to asset forfeiture. Ultimately, this Note proposes a statutory fix to resolve these ethical issues to ensure that lawyers retain their hard-earned fees and clients receive zealous advocates

Method and apparatus for stable silicon dioxide layers on silicon grown in silicon nitride ambient

A method and apparatus for thermally growing stable silicon dioxide layers on silicon is disclosed. A previously etched and baked silicon nitride tube placed in a furnace is used to grow the silicon dioxide. First, pure oxygen is allowed to flow through the tube to initially coat the inside surface of the tube with a thin layer of silicon dioxide. After the tube is coated with the thin layer of silicon dioxide, the silicon is oxidized thermally in a normal fashion. If the tube becomes contaminated, the silicon dioxide is etched off thereby exposing clean silicon nitride and then the inside of the tube is recoated with silicon dioxide. As is disclosed, the silicon nitride tube can also be used as the ambient for the pyrolytic decomposition of silane and ammonia to form thin layers of clean silicon nitride