The Lawrence Eagle Tribune posted a couple of articles concerning Cameron Dambrosio, the eighteen year old Methuen, Massachusetts High School student accused of posting terroristic threats on his Facebook page. Apparently Dambrosio's threats suggested that he wanted to kill people...
Methuen Massachusetts Teenager Arrested and Charged With Communicating Terrorist Threats
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Jodi Arias Trial set to conclude in just over a week
The murder trial for Jodi Arias, the admitted Arizona killer of ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, continues this week. Testimony is set to wrap up on Wednesday, May 1, and then closing arguments are scheduled for Thurs. and Fri., May 2 and 3. The long-running trial has seen Arias take the stand in her own defense, breaking down at the sight of...read more →The post Jodi Arias Trial set to conclude in just over a week appeared first on Arizona Criminal Law & Defense Blog.
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Gustafson on Degradation Ceremonies and the Criminalization of Low-Income Women
Kaaryn Gustafson (University of Connecticut - School of Law) has posted Degradation Ceremonies and the Criminalization of Low-Income Women (3 U.C. Irvine Law Review, Vol. 3, 2013, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article, a call for both...
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New re-licensing program in Seattle Municipal Court.
Seattle Municipal Court announced on April 23, 2013 that it had started a new re-licensing program.This program primarily helps those drivers and/or defendant's whose license were suspended because of unpaid traffic tickets. Driver's charged with Driving without a Valid License...
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Jail Time for Lawyer Who Falsified Closing Statements
David Kinney, 54, Woodbridge, Connecticut, was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford to 21 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for participating in a mortgage fraud scheme and for making false statements to federal law enforcement. According to court documents and statements made in court, [...]
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Title Agent Sentenced for Failing to Pay Off Mortgages
Jeffrey Garbinski, 44, Butler, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy and money laundering in connection with siphoning money from real estate closings intended to pay off mortgages. The defendant pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon. In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that [...]
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Convictions for Saginaw Woman Accused of Torture and Assault of Mentally Disabled Man Upheld by Michigan Court of Appeals
A few weeks ago, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that an error was not made by the judge in the trial of Henretta Little who was convicted on charges of kidnapping, torture, and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. The charges were in connection with a man who lived with Little and her cousin, Laprincess Jones.
The alleged victim was mentally disabled, according to a news article at Mlive.com. Little, who is 31 years old, was convicted in December of 2012 and sentenced to 18 years in prison. News articles state that Little and her 26-year-old cousin lived with the man, who was in his 20s at the time and collecting disability checks from the state. The two women reportedly imprisoned the man inside the house and beat him with various objects, according to police. Jones struck a plea deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to assault and imprisonment in exchange for her testimony against Little.
The victim in the case testified that his feet and legs were injured on numerous occasions by Little, who struck him with a hammer. He also told the court that he was forced to sleep in a locked chest-like bench at the foot of Little's bed.
Little was pregnant when the trial began on December 6, however it was postponed two days later when she thought she had gone into labor, however that proved not to be the case. The trial continued the next week, ultimately ending in Little's conviction.
Little's attorney appealed the convictions based on Jones' plea agreement. Little argued that her attorney should have been allowed by Saginaw County Circuit Judge James T. Borchard to question her cousin (Jones) on the maximum penalties Jones faced on the original charges against her, and that the jurors should have been instructed on the same.
Judge Borchard said that because Little faced the same charges as Jones, it was not proper for the jury to be informed on the maximum penalties of the charges. Michigan court of appeals judges agreed, and upheld her conviction. The appellate judges wrote that the defendant's lawyer had a reasonable opportunity to challenge Jones' inconsistent statements as well as her credibility based on her plea deal.
Individuals who have been convicted of a criminal offense should know that it doesn't necessarily mean you have reached the end of your rope - there may be other options. However, not all Michigan criminal appeals lawyers will reach a positive outcome, so it is important that you choose an attorney who is aggressive, capable, and has years of experience with the appeals process.
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Alleged Sexual Assault Victim to Testify Against Former Saginaw Township Catholic School Athletic Director
A woman is scheduled to testify on Thursday, May 2 regarding an alleged sexual assault she endured at the hands of Gary S. Moreland, a former Saginaw Township Catholic school athletic director, more than 20 years ago. The defendant, who is now 72 years old, allegedly began assaulting the victim when she was six years old. Moreland's attorney, Matthew L. Reyes, denies the accusations against his client.
Moreland is charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against someone younger than 13 and five counts of fourth-degree CSC. According to a news article at Mlive.com, Moreland was around 50 when the alleged sexual assault began.
The victim is a distant relative of the defendant, and says that an incident involving penetration took place in the early 90s, when she was between six and eight years old; she could not remember her exact age, but said that the defendant put her on his lap and assaulted her in a basement. She alleges that on several occasions when her family returned to visit family in the area, Moreland touched her inappropriately.
The victim also states that during her high school years after moving back to Saginaw she worked for Moreland, and that the assault continued in the form of grabbing her buttocks, shoving his tongue in her mouth, and other inappropriate behavior. The defendant was scheduled to go on trial on February 5 before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Janet M. Boes, however trial was adjourned at his attorney's request because he was new to the case.
The woman was in an in-patient rehab center in 2008 when she first spoke of the alleged assault; in December of 2011 an investigation began, and charges were filed against Moreland by prosecutors in April of 2012.
While the woman will testify before a jury of seven men and seven women, her mother and aunt will also testify regarding incidents involving Moreland which allegedly occurred when the two were teenagers.
Michigan sex crime lawyers know that anyone convicted on a charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct may face a lifetime in prison. Even when an individual does not serve life in prison, other severe penalties can ruin his or her life. Being labeled a sex offender will negatively impact the person's life, ruining his or her reputation and causing lifelong shame and embarrassment regardless of guilt or innocence.
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Petersilia & Snyder on California's Prison Realignment
Joan Petersilia and Jessica Snyder (Stanford University and Stanford Law School) have posted Looking Past the Hype: 10 Questions Everyone Should Ask About California's Prison Realignment (California Journal of Politics and Policy. Volume 5, Issue 2, Pages 266–306, ISSN (Online)...
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Florida court clamps down on cops searching through cell phones
Florida justices just made it harder for police to seize your cell phone and riffle through the contents. Read more..
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Judge is suspended for jailing lawyer who advised his client not to answer drug-use questions
A Michigan judge will be suspended for 30 days for jailing a lawyer who asserted his client’s Fifth Amendment rights when the judge asked questions about past drug use. Judge Kenneth Post of Hudsonville will begin the unpaid suspension on May 22, report the Grand Rapids.. Read more..
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Cops Ordered to Return Pot or Face Contempt
With new marijuana laws coming into effect in some states, police officers won’t be tasked as often with seizing small amounts of pot from citizens. But in an unusual case, police are actually being asked, well, ordered, to give some back. Read more..
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More Unauthorized Leaks of Tsarnaev Post-Arrest Statements
All it takes is for one or two unnamed federal law enforcement officials to make an unsubstantiated claim and every media outlet runs with it as if it is true. The latest: Claims that Dzhokhar Tsnarnev told the FBI the bombs for Boston were made in...
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Zeoli, Brenner & Norris on Warrantless Arrest Statutes for Domestic Violence
April M. Zeoli , Hannah Brenner and Alexis Norris (Michigan State University - School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University - College of Law and Michigan State University) have posted A Summary and Analysis of Warrantless Arrest Statutes for Domestic...
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Thursday Night Open Thread
For the last few days, I've been following the twitter feeds of the friends of Dzokhar Tsarnaev who insist he is innocent and has been framed and rebuttal articles by conservative bloggers who think they are full of it. I hope to have a post up...
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Murray on Punishment and the Costs of Knowledge
Yxta Maya Murray (Loyola Law School Los Angeles) has posted Punishment and the Costs of Knowledge (Hearing Heaney, Four Courts Press (2013/14)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A too-bookish law professor doesn't know if literature has helped refine her...
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Sherman on Juvenile Detention Reform for Girls
Francine T. Sherman (Boston College - Law School) has posted Making Detention Reform Work for Girls: A Guide to Juvenile Detention Reform (Annie E. Casey Foundation Juvenile Detention Alternatives Practice Guides, No. 5, 2013) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...
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Marin County DUI Cops out for Cinco de Mayo Weekend
The Marin County Avoid the 13 has County wide drunk driving saturation patrols planned for this weekend. Drivers planning on celebrating Cinco de Mayo by drinking margaritas, tequila, or cerveza should also plan on having a designated driver. Marin Counties'...
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AZ - The University of Arizona Men Against Sexual Assault
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Ohio Court Must Consider DNA Testing for Death Row Inmate
Ohio's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a Portage County court must reconsider DNA testing for a death row inmate who was convicted of the 1990 murders of Cora and Bearnhardt Hartig, an elderly couple. Tyrone Noling's previous requests for advanced DNA testing on a cigarette butt found at the scene of the crime were denied by the lower court. Previous DNA testing of the cigarette butt had excluded Noling, but Noling argues that more sophisticated testing may now be able to identify the source of the DNA. The high court pointed to new standards and expanded criteria for testing approved by Ohio lawmakers in 2010 as their basis for allowing the appeal. The Columbus Dispatch reports:
Carrie Wood, Noling's attorney from the University of Cincinnati-based Ohio Innocence Project, said the ruling is another step in helping prove Noling's innocence but is also a victory for others struggling to get DNA testing approved. "When the new law was passed in 2010, the legislature made it clear that there needs to be more testing in cases and not less," Wood said. "Specifically, the Supreme Court found that DNA's ability to identify the source, or a specific individual, should be significant in the decision to grant DNA testing."
Noling and Wood remain hopeful that the county court will order testing on the cigarette butt in order to compare the DNA samples to that of an alternative suspect. Read the full article. Read more about Noling's case.
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