The McKinney criminal defense firm Rosenthal & Wadas received the award for Customer Engagement by Frisco Style. The firm is featured in the October issue of the magazine as one of eight area companies recognized as the Best of Business…Read more ›
Rosenthal & Wadas Named Best of Business in Customer Engagement
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Florida Felony Registration Requirements
I’ve had numerous inquiries about registration requirements for those convicted of felonies within the State of Florida. Many folks, and apparently even some lawyers, believe the registration requirements only apply to those convicted of sex offenses. That is incorrect. Thus, while it is commonly known that certain sexual offenders or sexual predators must register with their local Sheriff’s Office, it is less widely known that there are registration requirements associated with non-sex felony offenses as well. Florida Statute section 775.13 imposes a registration requirement for anyone convicted of any felony in the State of Florida. That section requires “convicted” felons to register with the sheriff within 48 hours of entering any county within the State of Florida. The required registration includes being fingerprinted and photographed. Furthermore, the registration requirement also applies to anyone…
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EFF: Why the Warrant to Hack in the Playpen Case Was an Unconstitutional General Warrant
EFF: Why the Warrant to Hack in the Playpen Case Was an Unconstitutional General Warrant by Andrew Crocker: Should the government be able to get a warrant to search a potentially unlimited number of computers belonging to unknown people located … Continue reading →
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"The Case Against Prisons: Alternatives to imprisonment are working around the world — so why isn’t the United States on board?"
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APPLICANTS SWARM FOR JUDGE BLAKE'S SPOT
JNC - Press Release - Circuit Court Applicants - Judge Blake VacancyTwenty-two lawyers (including some county court judges) with visions of black robes dancing in their heads have filed to replace Judge Blake on the bench.Bonus trivia question: Who did Judge Blake succeed on the bench and how did he get his spot?Query: How does the JNC not send up Milena Abreu who ran a fantastic campaign and lost by the less than one percentage point?See you in court.Site Feed
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Crash near Parma sends one to hospital
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 For Immediate Release: 09/28/16 7:52 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office On Wednesday September 28, 2016, at approximately 11:00 a.m. the Idaho State Police investigated an injury crash on U.S. Highway 95 at milepost 45.8, east of Parma. Sean Moore, 33 of Oregon House, CA, was traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 95 in a 2000 Ford F250. Shea Hurd, 45 of Parma, was also travelling southbound on U.S. Highway 95 in a 1987 Grumman Postal Van. Hurd slowed to make a left turn. Moore struck Hurd's vehicle from behind, and it rolled off the left shoulder. Moore was wearing his seatbelt. It is unknown if Hurd was wearing his. Hurd was taken by air ambulance to Saint Alphonsus…
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California: Sex offenders will have to disclose email addresses, user names under new law
9-28-16 California: Sex offenders will soon have to report their email addresses, user names and other Internet identifiers to police under a bill Governor Jerry Brown signed Wednesday. The bill, authored by state Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), will apply to people convicted on or after Jan. 1, 2017 of Internet-related sex crimes. Law enforcement can use the information only to investigate a
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Spotsylvania Passes Vague Full Time and Attention Law
On September 13, 2016, the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors passed a broad, vague ordinance that prohibits operating a motor vehicle while not giving full time and attention to the operation of the vehicle. On its face, this seems like an innocent ordinance. It was recommended by the Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth’s Attorney in order to respond to “minor” traffic accidents. They claim that the new ordinance gives deputies an option to write tickets that are less than reckless driving when people have a minor vehicle crash. However, in my opinion, there are major problems with the way the ordinance was proposed and how it might be enforced (similar to the issues I pointed out in 2013 with Stafford’s ordinance). I submitted comments about the ordinance to the Board of Supervisors and spoke at the public hearing against the ordinance as written. I was also interviewed on the radio about it. In a nutshell, this ordinance is vague and…
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Terrific NPR segment about prisoners on strike throughout the US
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Notable report on "California’s Historic Corrections Reforms"
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Four Key Questions to Ask Your Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer
Being arrested and charged with a crime is a traumatic experience. You are handcuffed and transported to a police station. You are deprived of your freedom until you make bond. It can be overwhelming, especially if you or a loved one is a first-time offender. Questions begin flooding your mind about the charges, the potential penalties, and how your life could be changed forever depending on the outcome. If you or a family member is in this situation, the most important thing you can do is speak to an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney about your case. Below are four questions you should ask any criminal defense lawyer you meet with during a consultation. What Evidence is the District Attorney’s Office Using to Proceed with these Charges? The State is required to hand over any evidence or testimony it plans to use against you at trial to your Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. Your attorney needs to thoroughly examine this evidence in…
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Forensic Lab Mistakes and How They can Help in Your Defense
In order to convict you of a crime, a prosecutor is required by law to prove all of the elements of the crime, which can require various types of evidence. Evidence can take the form of police testimony, witness testimony, physical items, documents, and more. One type of evidence that prosecutors commonly rely upon is the results of tests conducted in a forensic laboratory. Many law enforcement agencies have forensic labs that help in investigating crimes as well as processing certain types of evidence from crimes. Forensic evidence is commonly used in the following types of cases: DUI – If an officer suspects that you were driving under the influence (DUI)1 of alcohol or drugs, they may conduct breath or blood tests to see if you have intoxicating substances in your system. These samples will be processed by the forensic lab. Drug charges – In order to prove you possessed drugs, the lab must test the substance in question to show it is an illegal controlled…
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What Happens Now? – Same Sex Marriage & Divorce
What Happens Now? – Same Sex Marriage & Divorce Gay marriages have faced one stumbling block after another over the past fifty years. Some of the highlights of that history include: In 1970, two same-sex University of Minnesota students applied for a marriage license, which was subsequently denied because both were men. Jack Baker and James McConnell sued Hennepin County District Court clerk Gerald Nelson on the grounds that Minnesota law made no mention of gender, however the trial court, the state Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Nelson’s decision. In 1973, Maryland became the first state to pass a statute which banned marriage between same-sex couples. In 1983, Karen Thompson began an eight-year struggle to gain legal guardianship of her lover, Sharon Kowalski, after a drunk driver left Sharon severely brain-damaged and a quadriplegic. Sharon’s parents denied Karen access to Sharon, however in 1991, Karen…
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Fleeing from Police a Reasonable Response in Massachusetts
The highest court in neighboring Massachusetts made a potentially huge statement in one of its most recent cases, ruling that – in light of the police violence against young black men – running away from officers should not weigh heavily in a cop's determination of whether they have a reasonable suspicion to stop them. What Happened The case, Commonwealth v. Warren, started when police responded to a robbery in Boston. The victim reported that someone had taken things out of his bedroom and run away. He described them as three black males, one wearing a red hoodie, one wearing a black one, and the last wearing “dark clothing.” One officer later saw two black men, both in dark clothing. The officer called to them, but they jogged away. Moments later, another officer found the same two, called to them again, and they ran away. Both of the men were pursued and eventually apprehended. A subsequent search of one of the men, Jimmy Warren, revealed…
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Certiorari Grants from the Long Conference
The U.S. Supreme Court Justices met Monday for their annual pre-term conference to consider petitions built up over the summer asking them to take cases from lower courts for full review. As usual, they released an orders list today, the Thursday after the Long Conference, announcing the cases they have taken up, so briefing can begin immediately. Expect a much, much longer list Monday of cases they turned down.Pretty slim pickings for criminal law. Nelson v. Colorado, No. 15-1256, is a quirky case about refunding restitution and fees when a conviction is reversed on appeal. Lynch v. Dimaya, No. 15-1498, is a crime-related immigration case diving once more into the definition of "crime of violence."From the Cases You Have to Look Up Just for the Name File comes the civil case of Lewis v. Clarke, No. 15-1500. No, Sacagawea is not the Real Party In Interest, but the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority was a party early in the proceedings.
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News Scan
A Better Death Penalty for California: CJLF Legal Director Kent Scheidegger has this op-ed in the Los Angeles Times.Death Recommended for OH Man who Killed Daughter: After jurors found an Ohio man guilty of murdering his two-year-old daughter, they decided Wednesday to recommend a death sentence. Kevin Grasha of Cincinnati reports that Glen Bates, 34, was found guilty Monday of aggravated murder and child endangering in the 2015 death of his daughter, Glenara. Glenara died of battered child syndrome, starvation and acute and chronic head injuries, the most serious of which occurred when Bates swung her into a door frame "like a baseball bat," according to prosecutors. The judge will announce whether she will accept the jury's recommendation of a death sentence for Bates on Oct. 17. Bates' former girlfriend, Andrea Bradley, 30, is facing the same charges.Gov. Brown Give Felons More Time to Change Record Under…
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Challenging Restitution in a New York Theft Case: NY PL 60.27 and the Restitution Hearing
Where a defendant is to plead guilty or in fact accepts responsibility for an arrest involving a Grand Larceny crime in New York, there is often an amount of restitution that prosecutors attempt to secure as part of a negotiated plea. No, the District Attorney is not mandated or required to make a victim of a Scheme to Defraud, Grand Larceny or other theft whole, but it is common for prosecutors to proactively secure as much of the monies possible and for defendants to make that payment in advance or in the future as part of the disposition. Where a theft, by embezzlement or any other scheme, is charged as Fourth Degree Grand Larceny (New York Penal Law 155.30), Third Degree Grand Larceny (New York Penal Law 155.35), or Second Degree Grand Larceny (New York Penal Law 155.40), there will almost always be a component of restitution up front if the accused has the means. Why? Barring the monies or property being returned, the crimes themselves reflect a wrongful taking of in…
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Dismissing a Probation Violation
Who can dismiss a probation violation? A probation violation report is not a new criminal charge. It is, rather, a “statement of the violations alleged” under G.S. 15A-1345, necessary to give a defendant the notice that is constitutionally and statutorily required before the court may respond to a violation. (Violations of unsupervised probation are governed by the special notice rules set out in G.S. 15A-1344(b1).) And yet, probation violation reports are often “dismissed” like criminal charges. Sometimes there are technical problems with an allegation, like when it wasn’t filed before the case expired, or when the probationer is alleged to have violated a condition to which he or she is not actually subject (like an absconding violation by a probationer who falls within the absconding donut hole). Sometimes, an alleged violation is rolled into a plea negotiation where the State agrees not to go forward on a violation in exchange for a…
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Bailey on Cyberbullying and Cyberviolence
Jane Bailey (University of Ottawa - Common Law Section) has posted Canadian Legal Approaches to 'Cyberbullying' and Cyberviolence: An Overview on SSRN. Here is the abstract: As early as the mid 1990s Canadian economic and social policy prioritized getting young...
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How Does Withholding Evidence Affect A Post Conviction Petition?
Withholding Evidence Must Prejudice A Defendant in Order to Obtain Post Conviction Relief Withholding evidence can result in overturning a conviction. In Gordon v. State, 2016 UT App 191, the Utah Court of Appeals addressed the issue of how a prosecutor’s withholding evidence can affect a defendant’s post-conviction relief petition. Lee Lundskog was found dead outside a convenience store in Salt Lake County the morning of September 29, 2001. The autopsy showed the manner of death to be homicide caused by numerous blows to his head. An eyewitness reported seeing someone repeatedly kicking and stomping Lundskog’s head. The eyewitness described what the attacker looked like, and Adrian Gordon fit the description. The eyewitness later identified Gordon, and another witness saw the same man wave Lundskog toward him right before Lundskog was stomped on the head. Gordon was arrested for Lundskog’s homicide and convicted of first-degree murder. Gordon appealed…
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