Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Alex Simpson (attorney)


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete. Spartaz Humbug! 14:09, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

Alex Simpson (attorney)
AfDs for this article: 
 * – ( View AfD View log  Stats )

Much like the now-deleted article Audrey McGinn, this was created as undisclosed paid editing for the California Innocence Project. The article relies primarily on self-published sources such as press releases. While this subject has been cited in some local news articles over the years, it does not met the notability requirement of "significant coverage" in reliable sources. Additionally, the article is clearly a puff-piece with plenty of extraneous detail, written with promotional intent. As another user pointed out, this article is longer than the article we have for Thurgood Marshall. Cosmic Sans (talk) 12:31, 21 March 2019 (UTC)
 * Automated comment: This AfD was not correctly transcluded to the log (step 3). I have transcluded it to Articles for deletion/Log/2019 March 21.  —cyberbot I   Talk to my owner :Online 12:51, 21 March 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Law-related deletion discussions. Coolabahapple (talk) 23:13, 21 March 2019 (UTC)


 * Keep WP:ANYBIO Meets WP:GNG. Well sourced as it is. Lubbad85 (talk) 15:15, 26 March 2019 (UTC)


 * Keep As Comic Sans points out, I was indeed a paid editor for this article and I originally didn't realize I had to disclose that fact. Comic Sans has not pointed out, however, that, soon after it was pointed out to me that my omission violated Wikipedia’s terms, I acknowledged my error and have revealed on both the article’s talk page and my user page that I was compensated. Furthermore, when Comic Sans proposed this article for deletion, Comic Sans did not notify me, as the creator of the article, on my Talk page as is customary, and seems not to have followed the proper procedures, which is odd for someone who is implicitly criticizing me for not following proper procedures.


 * It is furthermore not at all true, as Comic Sans alleges, that the content of the article consists primarily of press releases (though admittedly there should be fewer primary sources), nor that the article is a mere “puff piece.” Cited secondary sources in which Mr. Simpson’s opinions and observations have appeared, or to which he has contributed full interviews, include The Los Angeles Times, SF Gate, KPBS, NBC-TV Los Angeles, ABC-TV, RT, The Sacramento Bee, The Press-Enterprise, The San Bernardino Sun, etc.


 * In his print and broadcast media appearances, Mr. Simpson has served as a subject matter expert on at least four topics: a) the death penalty; b) the flawed nature of eyewitness identifications; c) legislation regarding the use of new evidence of innocence; and d) monetary compensation for those who have been exonerated. The links at citations 26, 27, 28 and 50 quote him on various issues relating to the death penalty, and for all of these, he doesn’t discuss any of his own clients, which implies that he was asked to appear as a recognized expert on the topic. He was also allowed to testify as an expert witness at a joint session of the California legislature relating to a proposed death penalty bill (see citation 29). The links at citations 15 and 25 relate to his views on eyewitness identifications. At the links at citations 9 and 21, Simpson comments on laws to make it easier to prove innocence. The links at citations 22, 23 and 38 relate to the issue of compensation for exonerated prisoners.


 * Mr. Simpson has also published scholarly articles about these topics (see citations 5, 30 and 31). Finally, Mr. Simpson has been named in the Acknowledgements section of the book Forensic Testimony: Science, Law and Expert Evidence by C. Michael Bowers, and is prominently mentioned in the recently-published book Burned by Pulitzer Prize winner Edward Humes.


 * Comic Sans has cited the observation of another Wikipedia editor to the effect that this article is longer than the Wiki article on Thurgood Marshall. (My personal opinion is that the Marshall article is actually much too short, given that jurist’s historical prominence, but I won’t quibble.) The fact that Wikipedia has no single editor-in-chief to decide which articles are to be allowed inclusion, and how long each article ought to be, makes such paradoxes inevitable. And in fact, I agree with Comic Sans that this article is overly long and should be trimmed. But the issue that Comic Sans raises concerning the proper length of the article is utterly irrelevant to the question at hand, which is whether the article ought to exist at all, which it clearly should.


 * Dylanexpert (talk) 03:28, 27 March 2019 (UTC)
 * The nominator is not actually required to notify you of the AfD nomination, so I suggest you withdraw your personal attack on Cosmic Sans. Note that you, as a paid editor, "must respect the volunteer nature of the project and keep discussions concise" (WP:PAYTALK). That's a requirement. Bakazaka (talk) 23:38, 27 March 2019 (UTC)
 * Bakazaka: The nominator is not actually required to notify the creator of an article of an AfD nomination, true, but as a matter of courtesy this should be done, and was done by the editor who nominated the above-mentioned Audrey McGinn page for deletion. I have tried to keep the discussion as concise as possible. You have not addressed any of my arguments above, which would tend to refute the WP:PROMO argument. And for the record, although I was paid to create the article, I am not being paid to defend it, so on this page I am as much a volunteer editor as Comic Sans or you.
 * Dylanexpert (talk) 14:22, 28 March 2019 (UTC)


 * Delete as unambiguous WP:PROMO, aggravated by paid article creator's wall of WP:PAYTALK text in this AfD, which shows great disrespect for the time and attention of volunteer editors who do not get paid to filibuster for their clients. By policy, Wikipedia is not a platform for promotion. Bakazaka (talk) 23:28, 27 March 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of California-related deletion discussions. Bakazaka (talk) 23:47, 27 March 2019 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Randykitty (talk) 17:23, 28 March 2019 (UTC)  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus. Relisting comment: Need a bit more discussion on source quality and whether the text as-is is unduly promotional.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 06:06, 5 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Delete Per the previous commenters, this subject does not pass basic notability requirements. The obvious COI problems here are a waste of every volunteer's time. Does not pass WP:GNG and should probably get some WP:SALT. Skirts89 09:55, 5 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Comment - Thank you Cosmic Sans for this AfD. We may also want to look at the other paid articles, Justin Brooks and Michael Semanchik. What do you think about listing those for AfD as well? I have serious concerns about their notability, and obvious WP:PROMO problems. Skirts89 09:59, 5 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Comment - You're welcome. I'm going to be looking at potentially nominating all of these COI articles as time goes on. I want to make sure I give each article due consideration before I nominate it for deletion instead of doing them all at once. It could very well be that one of the subjects is notable even if the article was created as part of an undisclosed paid editing project. Cosmic Sans (talk) 14:48, 5 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Comment - To my embarrassment, I must confess that I misread the name of the user "Cosmic Sans" as "Comic Sans," because of the name's similarity to the Comic Sans typeface font. This may be the reason for claims to the effect that I was being disrespectful to volunteer editors, when that was not my intent, and I apologize for the misunderstanding. However, I stand by my earlier arguments in my "Keep" comments, which have yet to be addressed by those editors, including Cosmic Sans, who voted to "Delete." Dylanexpert (talk) 15:34, 8 April 2019 (UTC)
 * WP:PAYTALK: Volunteers should be aware that paid editors may be submitting evidence of their talk-page posts to justify their salaries or fees. No editor should be expected to engage in long or repetitive discussions with someone who is being paid to argue with them. Bakazaka (talk) 21:39, 8 April 2019 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.