Articles Archive list
My Journey To Libertarianville
Nov 18, 2021
Marc J. Victor traces his path from a Boston liberal household to Republican to eventually libertarian, crediting a law school professor who framed politics as questions of property ownership, along with readings from Rothbard, Hazlitt, and Bergland, for the shift. He's spent his career as a criminal defense attorney fighting for individual freedom, co-founding the Freedom Summit in 2000 with Ernest Hancock.
My Contribution To Science
Nov 18, 2021
Marc J. Victor writes about his brief stint as a superior court judge pro tem, which ended after just one day when he tried to recuse himself from drug cases based on his libertarian principles, leading to his firing by the presiding judge and a formal complaint to the Commission on Judicial Conduct (later dismissed). He frames the whole episode with dry humor, joking that he's discovered the "half life" of a principled libertarian judge on the criminal bench is about thirty minutes.
Don't Be Your Own Worst Enemy
Nov 17, 2021
This piece by Marc J. Victor covers the core rights people forget when facing police contact: you don't have to talk to police or consent to searches, you can decline field sobriety tests (but refusing a blood/breath/urine test costs you your license for a year), and if you're arrested Arizona law gets you in front of a judge within 24 hours. It closes with a pitch for the Attorneys On Retainer program, tying the advice back to having a lawyer relationship already in place before you need one.
Beware of the Dragon Slayer
Nov 17, 2021
A defense attorney successfully fights a misdemeanor driving-on-a-suspended-license charge for a client who had no idea her Arizona license was still suspended due to a paperwork gap between states, winning the case by pointing out the arresting officer never actually witnessed her driving. He closes by needling the aggressive prosecutor, who'd warned him "sometimes the dragon wins," for not being sure whether he or his client was supposed to be the dragon.
Are You Really For Freedom?
Nov 17, 2021
Marc J. Victor argues that real freedom advocacy means defending other people's right to make choices you personally disagree with or find distasteful, not just cheering on freedoms you already use yourself. He says most people's "love of freedom" is actually pretty shallow since it only covers popular or comfortable choices, and true freedom supporters have to accept the uncomfortable implications, like legalizing drugs they'd never touch or letting unpopular groups speak freely.
Are You A Thug?
Nov 17, 2021
This essay by Marc J. Victor argues that every human interaction is either voluntary or coercive, and that people who support coercive acts (whether through crime, taxation, or voting to control others) are "thugs," no matter how that coercion gets dressed up in titles, uniforms, democratic process, or good intentions. He closes by calling for people to abandon coercion in favor of persuasion and voluntary exchange, framing this as the foundation of a truly free society.
Don't Cherish the Second Amendment!
Nov 17, 2021
This article argues that the Second Amendment itself is just words on paper, worth nothing without a culture of genuinely liberty-minded people to back it up, and that the real threat to freedom is government policy, not firearms. Victor's real point: don't worship the amendment, worship the principle behind it, because a piece of text can be reinterpreted or repealed but a free-minded society can't be legislated into existence.
A Celebration for Criminals
Nov 17, 2021
Marc J. Victor argues the criminal justice system is collapsing under decades of government mismanagement, pointing to cost-cutting probation policies that backfire, wrongful outcomes, and rising incarceration alongside rising crime as proof the system no longer delivers justice or safety. He places the blame squarely on the drug war, saying real reform is impossible until it ends, since it keeps expanding who counts as a "criminal" while actual victims and peaceful people bear the cost.
We Don't Need No Stinking Zealous Advocacy
Nov 19, 2020
Arizona's Supreme Court dropped the ethical duty of zealous advocacy for criminal defense attorneys, and Marc J. Victor argues that's exactly what you'd expect from a system where the government controls the judges, prosecutors, and attorney regulation. He backs this up with a personal story: he won an acquittal by exploiting a police officer's false eyewitness ID, faced a bar complaint over it despite the judge's own affidavit clearing him, while the officer's lie under oath drew zero scrutiny.