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California Proposition Poll

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SurveyUSA has this poll on California's ballot propositions, among other things."Proposition 62, which would end the death penalty in CA and replace it with life in prison, trails by 15 points today and is headed for defeat." If that sounds familiar, it's nearly identical to what the same poll found about two weeks ago, noted in this post."Proposition 63, which outlaws large-capacity magazines and requires background checks on ammo purchases, leads by more than 2:1 and will pass."  "Proposition 64, which would legalize, regulate and tax recreational marijuana, is supported 52% to 41%. Caution advised."And Proposition 66, which would streamline the death penalty and allow us to restart executions?  They didn't poll on it.  Again.The pollsters note: Polling ballot measures and citizen initiatives is an inexact science. In general, having nothing to do with California specifically and having nothing to do with…

Friday Night Open Thread

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Is anyone not sick of hearing about Donald Trump? There's a new report by the Inspector General finding the DEA misused money for informants. It paid informants $237 million between 2011 and 2015. We found that the DEA did not adequately... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Send in the Clowns

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Americans are freaking out over non-existent killer clowns. Again. This isn’t news. Not anymore, if it ever was. Since the early 80s, there have been several localized rumor-panics in North America and Europe involving sightings of phantom clowns attempting to kidnap children. They have also been referred to as Killer Clowns and Kidnapping Clowns. At first glance, it would be tempting to think that there may be a group of criminals dressing up as clowns. Yet, when you examine the reports, a curious trend appears: they are almost never caught, and vanish into the shadows. There is also a lack of tangible evidence. All police have to go on is eyewitness testimony, which is notoriously unreliable, especially given that most witnesses are children. Another curious fact is that the children always seem to get away. The clowns appear totally incompetent. (Robert Bartholomew, Ph.D., “Phantom Clowns in South Carolina Are Nothing New: Killer Clowns From Your…

The Jude Cause And The Ferguson Effect

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In two apparently unintentionally competing op-eds, social science revealed some problems in dealing with the concepts of cause and effect in its effort to “explain” a rise in violent crime in a few cities. Neil Gross writes about the Ferguson Effect, noting two studies that show that it’s nonsense, except when it’s not. One, there is now some evidence that when all eyes are on police misconduct, crime may edge up. Progressives should acknowledge that this idea isn’t far-fetched. Far-fetched? Nobody said it was far-fetched, but correlation doesn’t prove causation. Two, while it makes for a tidy political narrative to say “Ferguson effect,” researchers have not pinned down the underlying mechanisms. Against Ms. Mac Donald’s theory, the Baltimore study reveals that a decline in broken-windows policing alone does not elevate crime rates. And the study by Professors Rushin and Edwards tells us that crime can rise following the…

@Instapundit and Twitter, The “Crystal Meth of Social Media”

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Whether you love or hate Tennessee lawprof Glenn Reynolds, best known as Instapundit, who has been an unabashed conservative voice on the internets throughout a period when academia was gushing progressivism, there are a few things that can’t be denied. First, that he’s shown the fortitude of speaking against the tide. As a result, Glenn collected a huge following, because not everyone feels compelled to select their own personal pronouns. Second, he knows social media. He knows its power. He knows its failings. He knows the pretense it instills in its shallow fans that they are passionate advocates when they’re doing nothing more than preaching to their choir or enjoying a cute little circle jerk. Spend enough time online, and establish enough credibility to have people hear what you have to say and you learn things. You can’t help it. And boy, has Glenn learned things. SO WHAT I’VE DONE WITH TWITTER is just to log out for now. The robo-tweets of…

Florida DUI Manslaughter Bond Revoked for Facebook “Like”

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An interesting legal debate has cropped up in Palm Beach County over a Facebook “like.”  CBS 12 reports the defendant, Paul Maida, who has been linked to a deadly DUI accident in Boca Raton, has had his bond revoked for “liking” a post on his ex-girlfriend’s Facebook page. The judge had ordered him not to have “contact” with his ex-girlfriend. That woman is reportedly a key witness in the state’s case against Maida, who is accused of striking a 66-year-old bicyclist in April 2014 on Yamato Road. Maida is accused of fleeing the scene, which carries it’s own penalty in fatal crashes of a minimum mandatory 4 years in prison if convicted. Investigators say Maida eventually drove back to the scene of the crash, but only after switching seats with his girlfriend, who was reportedly not impaired.  A judge in Palm Beach County overseeing his bond hearing ordered that if Maida was released on bond, the 31-year-old was to…

“Bill Cosby” Law to Take Effect in California

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In Canada there is no statute of limitations for criminal offences. If you committed a robbery,sexually assaulted a person, or even murdered a person decades ago, the law is coming for you, if they find sufficient evidence to prosecute. Admittedly, historical cases are more difficult to prove: evidence is lost, witnesses die, and memories fade, but Canadians recognize that a crime is a crime is a crime and the passage of time ought not to excuse an offender of his or her criminal wrongdoings. Not so in the United State, where criminals can beat the system if they have not been prosecuted within certain proscribed time periods.  Justification for limitation laws include that an alleged offender ought not to have to defend himself after a lengthy period of time has passed, again because of lost evidence, faded recollections and other “fairness” arguments. That this approach clearly prejudices victims has apparently fallen on deaf ears, until now. This week…

The Atlantic: Body Cameras Are Betraying Their Promise

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The Atlantic: Body Cameras Are Betraying Their Promise by Robinson Meyer: They’re not transparent. They’re not independent. They’re not even turned on when they should be.

M.D.Fla.: Even if def counsel filed and won suppression motion, would outcome of case be different?

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On a search and seizure IAC claim, too, only the Strickland prejudice prong needs to be considered. Even if the evidence were suppressed, would the jury have still convicted? If yes, then no prejudice. Pittman v. United States, 2016 U.S. … Continue reading →

Whose Problem?

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Via Awesomely Luvvie. White people, I’m talking to you. THIS. IS. YOUR. PROBLEM. TO. FIX. Y’all got some work to do, because this system that y’all keep on privileging from, you’ve got to help us dismantle it. Because those of us who are Black and Brown. We have tried. You created this robot, and it is yours to deactivate. My skinfolk don’t have the passcode. This is your monster to slay. Does this persuade you? Will you change your evil ways because Luvvie told you to?   Copyright © 2007-2016 Simple Justice NY, LLC This feed is for personal, non-commercial and Newstex use only. The use of this feed anywhere else violates copyright. If this content is not in your news reader, it means the page you are viewing infringes copyright. (Digital Fingerprint: 51981395c77d7762065ca2c084b63e47)

Who Killed the Mexican Military in Badiraguato/Culiacan?

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The Mexican media is rushing to judgment and claiming the sons of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman are responsible for killing a convoy of military persons who were taking a wounded man to the hospital following a shooting. At a press conference,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

"Marijuana really can be deadly – when encountering police officers"

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The title of this post comes from this Denver Post article by Christopher Ingraham noting new information from the Charlotte-Mecklenberg P.D. that the September 20th shooting that left Keith Lamont Scott dead was precipitated by simple marijuana possession. According to police, plainclothes officers first noticed Scott when he pulled into...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/oeTIqECUaOg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

MS: A case seizure after a consent search leads to no forfeiture; no evidence of wrongdoing

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Claimant was stopped, and he consented to a search producing money. The order of forfeiture is reversed. The facts, when taken as a whole, did not show by more than just suspicion that the money discovered in a driver’s vehicle … Continue reading →

Holroyd & Picinali on Implicit Bias, Self-Defence, and the Reasonable Person

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Jules Holroyd and Federico Picinali (University of Sheffield and London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)) have posted Implicit Bias, Self-Defence, and the Reasonable Person (The Criminal Law’s Person, edited by Claes Lernestedt and Matt Matravers (OUP 2017 Forthcoming))...

IA: Strip search incident shown justified in drug arrest

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Strip search as a search incident to arrest was shown justified on this record. The smell of marijuana came from his person but nothing was on him. State v. Evans, 2016 Iowa App. LEXIS 1004 (Sept. 28, 2016): In this … Continue reading →

Updates: Criminal Case Proceedings in the State of Illinois

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Clients who are involved with the criminal justice system in Illinois are understandably intimidated by the processes and rules. That initial panic is the main reason why so many defendants make a host of mistakes that come back to bite them later on as the case is disposed of. The first issue to consider is that of adequate legal representation. The state-appointed attorney should be a last resort if there are absolutely no alternatives save from self-representation. In serious cases such as murder, rape, or assault the court insists on legal representation. If the client is unable to come up with representation, then an attorney or public defender will be appointed on their behalf. Unfortunately the quality of representation is not as high as would have been the case if you select your own attorney. In any case, it is important to understand the various stages of the criminal case processes so that you are not taken by surprise: Making a criminal complaint: A victim of crime…

Saturday Night Trump Mocking and Open Thread

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The New York Times publishes some of Donald Trump's tax records and says he may have avoided paying taxes for 18 years based on his loss amount for 1995. Alec Baldwin plays the Thumper tonight on Saturday Night Live. [More...] As for a... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

TN: Consent shown justified despite denials because def admitted he attempted to withdraw consent

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The evidence showed defendant consented to a search despite his denials. He admitted, however, “rescinding” his consent, too. State v. Hernandez, 2016 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 727 (Sept. 27, 2016).* Driving without headlights at 3 am is probable cause for … Continue reading →

OH9: Nine air fresheners on mirror and one on each air vent was RS

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Defendant had nine air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror and one over every air vent. That was reasonable suspicion to utilize a drug dog during the computer checks and then another officer running a dog around the car while … Continue reading →

OH7: Obstructing officers from going behind house in alleged violation of curtilage affirmed

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Defendant was convicted for obstruction by seeking to prevent officers from going behind his house in alleged violation of his curtilage. The officers, however, could articulate valid reasons for going there because of flight of somebody else behind the house, … Continue reading →
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