The Survivor pool marches on without DOM and former winner Rick Freedman who both went down as cheeseheads last week with their untimely choice of the Packers over Indy. Six remain, including the mysterious Real Fake Former Judge, who has not been shy in his disdain for former Judge Colby and his partner in Survivor Pool crimes, Kenneth Weisman. Coming tomorrow: Which very well respected Circuit Judge who is coming to the REGJB in the new year was forced to exclaim "I'm not black", in response chatter that he was (although he made it clear that he was merely stating a fact and it is clear to us the statement was not racially motivated in any manner.) Also this week: Trump's first one hundred days. We have the inside scoop.See you in court.Site Feed
NFL 2016 WEEK TEN
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The Unmentioned Obama Legacy: Rising Crime
Gallup's crime polling last month yielded some interesting results, apart from the surge in respect for the police. In particular, the poll pointed to this little-noticed fact (emphasis added):Americans' direct experience with crime is at a 16-year high, consistent with a gradual increase -- from 22% in 2001 to 29% today -- in the percentage saying that they or a household member was the victim of a robbery, vandalism or violent crime in the past year.In the same poll, Americans' perceptions of the seriousness of crime nationally and in their local area was unchanged from 2015. But longer term, it has worsened slightly since 2001. As a result, while crime was not at the top of the candidates' or voters' agenda in the 2016 presidential campaign, the issue may be ripe for policymakers at all levels of government to address.What's the smart way for Congress to address the problem of rising crime? By decreasing the cost of committing crime,…
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Trump to Deport "Millions" With Criminal Convictions
Donald Trump announced today he will deport millions of undocumented residents with criminal records first, and then he'll figure out what to do with the rest. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders
Twenty states and the federal government have laws that permit the civil commitment of sex offenders—most notably child molesters—who have been declared by the courts to be “sexually dangerous” to the general community. In a October 2015 report, the New York Times found that the state of Minnesota civilly commits more sex offenders per capita than any other state in the nation. The newspaper said the state has committed more than 700 sex offenders over the past two decades—none of whom have been discharged from their commitment, and only a handful of whom have been “provisionally discharged” to live outside state facilities under strict supervision. Troubled Texas Scheme Led to Civil Commitment Overhaul The Times report pointed to Texas’s former “unique outpatient method” for dealing with sex offenders following their release from prison. The legislature last year revamped the state’s civil…
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Sweden's Largest Neo-Nazi Group Holds Parade to Celebrate Trump
Sweden’s neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR) held its largest march ever on Saturday, celebrating the election of Donald Trump, which it calls the start of a world revolution. The NMR has been promoting "an openly racist and anti-Semitic... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Will Prez-Elect Donald Trump make it legal and easier for veterans to have access to medical marijuana?
The question in the title of this post is prompted by this lengthy new AP article headlined "For Colorado Veterans, Marijuana A Controversial Treatment." Here are excerpts: Tom couldn’t sleep. After six years in the U.S. Navy, he found himself in the civilian world unable to readjust from his time...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/kbVHaDb39JU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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"Hard Bargains: The Coercive Power of Drug Laws in Federal Court"
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Trump Names Reince Priebus as Chief of Staff
Trump has chosen Republican Chair Ron Priebus as his Chief of Staff. He named Steve Bannon his "senior strategist and chief counselor." President-elect Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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TPPF: Texas grand juries need more reform
With the pick-a-pal method for selecting grand juries now ended in the Lone Star state, the Texas Public Policy Foundation has a new report out identifying additional problems with grand juries and suggesting reforms which the 85th Texas Legislature could implement when it convenes in January to make them more fair and just.TPPF recommended creating a right to counsel for certain defendants and witnesses appearing before grand juries, as is the case to greater and lesser extents in 26 other states. For example:In Colorado, all witnesses have the right to counsel in the grand jury room and will be provided such counsel if they cannot afford it. Attorneys are restricted in a similar manner within the grand jury room as in New York. Of those defense attorneys surveyed, 80 percent in New York and 75 percent in Colorado believed their presence in the grand jury room led to fairer questioning. Seventy-six percent of New York defense attorneys and 69 percent of Colorado defense…
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Case o' The Week: Double Trouble - Lucas and discovery for (suspected) Petite Policy and Double Jeopardy Violations
State plea of guilt. Sentence imposed.Feds charge same crime. (Ninth indisposed).United States v. Lucas, 2016 WL 6595972(9thCir. Nov. 8, 2016), decision available here.Players: Decision by Judge Tallman, joined by Judges McKeown and Wardlaw. Hard-fought appeal by ND Cal AFPDs Dan Blank and Carmen Smarandoiu. Facts: Lucas ran after being stopped for BART fare evasion. Id. He fell when tazed: a pistol fell out of his shorts, then a second pistol was found. Id. Lucas pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession in state court, was sentenced, and was scheduled for release on his state sentence. Id. Two weeks before his release date on his state case, he was charged federally with being a felon in possession (same guns, same event). Id. at *2. As soon as he was released from state custody, he was brought into federal court. When pressed the AUSA said that she had obtained a Petite waiver. Id. The “important federal interests”…
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When SCOTUS encourages aggressive policing
Here's the abstract to a new academic paper titled, "The Wrong Decision at the Wrong Time: Utah v. Strieff in the Era of Aggressive Policing," which goes on Grits' to-read list:On June 20, 2016, the United States Supreme Court held in Utah v. Strieff that evidence discovered incident to an unconstitutional arrest of an individual should not be suppressed given that the subsequent discovery of an outstanding warrant attenuated the taint from the unlawful detention. Approximately two weeks later the issue of aggressive policing was again thrust into the national spotlight when two African-American individuals — Alton Sterling and Philando Castile — were killed by policemen in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Falcon Heights, Minnesota, respectively, under questionable circumstances. Though connected by proximity in time, this article will demonstrate that these events are also — and much more importantly — connected by decades of Supreme Court…
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The Evidence You Need for a Self-Defense Instruction in Washington
A spilled beer at a bar escalated to a physical conflict and ultimately led to a customer’s stabbing of a guard. In the customer’s assault trial, he argued unsuccessfully for a jury instruction about self-defense. The Washington Court of Appeals upheld the decision not to issue the instruction. The law requires the defendant to have evidence of three things in order to warrant the instruction, and this defendant had none of the three. In the case, the defendant, Edilberto Guzman-Morales, was partying at a nightclub in Whatcom County when a security guard approached Guzman-Morales about a disturbance, and the customer indicated that someone had spilled his beer. The guard made various attempts to persuade Guzman-Morales to go outside. Eventually, a few feet from the club’s entrance, Guzman-Morales stabbed the guard. According to the guard, this stabbing prompted him to put Guzman-Morales in a chokehold. Police arrived and arrested Guzman-Morales. At the…
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Monday Open Thread
I'll be offline Monday and Tuesday, so here's a new open thread. I'll be glad to miss the news as to the new UnPresident. It's still too difficult to process. I'm debating whether to start a second blog tracking his moves.... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Armed Robbery, Habeas Corpus and the Sufficiency of the Evidence
This post examines an opinion from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan – Southern Division: Welch v. Winn, 2016 WL 4205994 (2016). The District Court Judge begins the opinion by explaining that[t]his is a habeas case brought pursuant to 28 U.S. Code § 2254. Petitioner Cedric Welch was convicted after a jury trial in the Kent County Circuit Court of armed robbery, Michigan Compiled Laws § 750.529; and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, Michigan Compiled Laws § 750.157a. Petitioner was sentenced as a fourth-time habitual felony offender to concurrent terms of 21-to-50 years' imprisonment for his two convictions.The petition raises five claims: (i) insufficient evidence was presented at trial to sustain Petitioner's convictions, (ii) the trial court erroneously admitted expert witness testimony, (iii) Petitioner's confrontation rights were violated by admission of a non-testifying co-defendant's…
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Who voted to legalize marijuana in California?
Largely, the people who most needed a silver lining in last week's federal election results. The L.A. Times: The initiative that legalized recreational use of marijuana in California found its strongest support among those who voted for Hillary Clinton for president, African Americans and voters ages 18 to 29, according...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/rtGy0k5iXqM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Woman May Have Contracted Hepatitis C At The Dentist
When a patient goes to the dentist for a regular check up and cleaning, they may expect to walk away with a new toothbrush, or a new appointment scheduled, but rarely does anyone expect to leave a dentist’s office with Hepatitis C. This was the case for one unfortunate woman in Bellevue, Washington this month. While the manner in which the woman contracted this virus may seem peculiar and a bit farfetched, this is a particularly serious matter. Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is a common illness in the United States. There are over 200,000 reported cases of the viral infection per year. It is treatable, however, it can be difficult to detect symptoms, and some may not realize its presence until the infection has already begun attacking the liver. Hepatitis C is particularly dangerous, claiming responsibility for nearly 20,000 deaths in the year 2014. Hepatitis C is spready through blood, and contact with other bodily fluids. It is most commonly transmitted by the sharing of…
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New York Criminal Contempt: Can Prosecutors File a Legal Complaint without Naming the Protected Party or Victim
I’ve been arrested for Second Degree Criminal Contempt. I don’t understand why I am being prosecuted for New York Penal Law 215.50. How can the police arrest me or the DA prosecute me without naming the victim or protected party? While I may have posed those questions as a New York criminal defense attorney and not an accused, they are quite reasonable ones to ask. After all, if the complaint against you is not legally sufficient regardless if you’re charged with NY PL 215.50 or any other crime, then ultimately your criminal defense lawyer will likely file a motion to dismiss or seek the dismissal of your criminal case on some other procedural grounds. Generally speaking, however, one of the common difficulties securing a dismissal of a Second Degree Criminal Contempt arrest and charge is that even where a victim is not compliant either a third party or other evidence can corroborate there was contact in violation of a court order. This evidence can come from…
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News Scan
CA Officer Killed, Suspect in Custody: A California sheriff's deputy was fatally shot in the head "execution style" over the weekend, and the suspect was captured and taken into custody. Devon Armijo of KCRA reports that Stanislaus County Deputy Dennis Wallace, 53, a 20-year veteran of the department, arrived at a fishing access on Sunday morning to investigate a report of a suspicious vehicle and person. After finding that the vehicle was reported stolen, he requested backup. When backup arrived they discovered Deputy Wallace dead from two gunshot wounds to the back of the head. The suspected gunman, David Machado, had a felony warrant at the time of the stop and was apprehended by police later in the day after attempting to steal a woman's purse. The charges Machado will face have yet to be released. CA Cop Killer Faces Capital Murder Charges: A California parolee is facing capital a murder charge for fatally…
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//blawgsearch75.rssing.com/chan-6519914/article21099-live.html
US v. Lin, No. 15-10152 (11-14-16)(Farris with Wallace and Watford). The 9th vacates a sentence, and remands for guidelines error. The error came when the court sentenced for sex trafficking and applied the base offense level of 34, which is the level if the offense of conviction is 18 US.C. 1591(b)(1). This carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years. The defendant did not plead to this subsection, nor to an offense that carried a mandatory minimum.The decision is here:http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2016/11/14/15-10152.pdf
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YouTube, Netflix Among Top 10 Apps Drivers Use Behind the Wheel
According to new research published by TrueMotion, drivers are doing much more than just texting behind the wheel. The study found that drivers spent 18 percent of their driving time with a phone in their hand, often using distracting apps behind the wheel. Why is this study different than previous studies?The TrueMotion study looked at the actual cell phone use of 7,595 motorists while they drove more than 4.8 million miles nationwide.This study is noteworthy because it is one of the first studies to use cell phone data instead of self-reported behavior. Distracted driving studies are notoriously questionable, because most motorists do not want to admit breaking the law.What apps are drivers using behind the wheel?The data collected by TrueMotion found that drivers are using a wide variety of apps while driving. Some require little to no interaction, while others require users to watch the screen or type. It is difficult to fault drivers who are using GPS apps or…
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