Gun Recovered in Officer Shooting tied to 5 AK Murders: A gun used in the shooting of an Alaska police officer over the weekend has been linked to at least five homicides in Anchorage this year. Ben Anderson and Michelle Theriault Boots of the Alaska Dispatch News report that on Saturday morning, while responding to a report of a theft suspect, Anchorage police Officer Arn Salao was shot four times in what was described as an "ambush" by James Dale Ritchie, 40. Two other officers arrived during the shootout and returned fire, killing Ritchie. The gun used by Ritchie, a Colt Python .357, was confirmed Tuesday to be linked to five murders, including a double homicide in July, another July homicide and a double homicide in August. Investigators are still working to determine Ritchie's ties to the crimes. Salao is expected to survive.Army Appeals Court Upholds Death Sentence: A United States Army court of appeals…
News Scan
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Prop. 66 Count Update
As California counties continue to count previously unprocessed ballots, the percentages for Proposition 66 remain quite steady at 51-49. I have run a calculation using the county returns so far and the number of unprocessed ballots for each county.Assuming that the unprocessed ballots for each county come in at the same yes/no percentages as the ballots for that county counted so far, the statewide totals will remain 51-49. That assumption has held quite well so far, but of course we will not know until it is done.
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Lack of Miranda Warnings Not Sufficient to Establish Involuntary Testing in Georgia DUI Case
Under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, individuals may not be subjected to an unreasonable search and seizure without a warrant. These protections apply in full force to the testing of bodily substances, such as blood, for the presence of alcohol as seen in tests following DUI arrests. Such tests are considered a search, and police officers bear the burden of showing that a warrant was obtained, or that an exception to the warrant requirement can be found. One exception to the need for a warrant is when an individual consents to the search. In Georgia, police officers frequently ask that drivers consent to blood alcohol testing during a DUI investigation. However, such consent must be obtained freely and voluntarily. In many instances, as in the case below, criminal defendants will object to the admission of test results at trial under the argument that their consent was not voluntary. In State v. Young, Ms. Young was pulled over after Georgia…
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VOP for Being Kicked Out of Drug Treatment
Have you ever seen a fist fight live? I hate fist fights, and violence in general (not liking violence is a bold statement, I know, I’m really going out on a limb here). It is painful to watch such raw violence. And, do you know what happens to the guy who gets knocked down after taking one too many fists to the face? The fight is over, right? Wrong. The guy on the ground will now be the proud recipient of several kicks to the head and body. The cliche is true, you shouldn’t kick a man while he’s down. Kicking someone while they’re down comes in many flavors, not all of them are physical. Our real life story of the day documents probation’s kicks to a probationer while she’s down, followed by a prosecutor adding a few cheap shots, and last but not least–a “honorable” judge gets a few licks in that would make a UFC fighter wince. Our story begins at a motel, the kind…
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Mail Fraud, a Barber Who Don't Cut Hair Strait and the "Lulling Letter" Doctrine
Chicago White Collar Attorney Michael J. Petro discusses mail fraud, a barber who don't cut hair strait and the "lulling letter" doctrine. U.S. v. Kenneth Anderson, 809 F.2d 1281 (7th Cir. 1987) (Ed. Note - Barber Kenneth Anderson used to cut Chicago attorney Michael J. Petro's hair as a little boy). During the time of the events resulting in this case, Kenneth Anderson was a barber in Crown Point, Indiana. John Marine worked at Division 1 of the Lake County County Court in Crown Point, Indiana. Anderson received a telephone call from a "Dan Mingo" on July 16, 1982. Unbeknownst to Anderson, Mingo was an undercover agent of the Indiana State Police named Gerald J. Hole. Mingo had received a fabricated ticket for driving under the influence of alcohol. Mingo told Anderson of his plight and was told to come to the barber shop. There, Anderson and Mingo agreed on a price of $1,600 to fix the…
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A BOSTON CRIMINAL LAWYER CHECKS IN WITH AN UPDATE OF CRIMINAL LAW BLOGS, HATE SPEECH AND HATE CRIME
Hello again. First things first. We recently had a presidential election. The country was pretty divided in that one. As a result, some folks were going to be left angry no matter who won. Donald Trump won. Some people are very angry. That’s fine. Dissent and free speech are what this country is all about. To an extent. Attorney Sam’s Take On Speech, Hate, Assault and Battery We have discussed the issues of “hate crimes” before. While a crime like assault and battery is assault and battery, regardless of the purported reason, such actions under certain circumstances are considered more heinous and so are given special attention. This would include cases of domestic violence and “hate crimes”. A “hate crime” can involve speech or actual physical violence. Usually, the hate motivation has to do with race, sexual identity, or some other protected class. In other words, if you suddenly start throwing rocks at someone…
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HARD RIGHT SHIFT TO LAW & ORDER ALLOWS SPINELESS FLORIDA JUDGES TO GIVE HARSH SENTENCES
Even the toughest sentencing judges in Florida's vast array of federal and state courts seemed to mellow over the past few years as they accepted the fact that harsh sentencing especially for nonviolent offenses such as drugs, fraud or grand theft was abhorrent. As defense lawyers focused media attention to the devastated families and loved ones of defendants ruined by the criminal justice system it slowly became clear to society at large and even to law enforcement, prosecutors and judges that in daily use the harsh sentencing based on absurd sentencing guidelines and unfair minimum mandatory sentencing that often subverted justice and that they had gone too far in criminalizing nonviolent behavior with significant jail time. Judges could no longer effectively convince us that when they gave inhumane sentences that it was only because they lacked discretion under the sentencing guidelines. The most politically sensitive judges were the first to see that times…
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On debtors prison policies as job security for government bureaucrats
Not all judges view poor defendants who can't pay fines for petty offenses as a source of "job security," but neither is the attitude uncommon, nor in the present political environment, disqualifying. The Houston Press' Meagan Flynn has the story of Houston magistrate Judge Joe Licata, In a recent case involving a woman with high Driver Responsibility surcharges: Licata warned her that, if she didn’t pay the fines for these tickets and renew her license after paying surcharges to the Department of Public Safety, “then you’re gonna get arrested every time you get pulled over.” That was nothing to her, Clearey responded — because she had already become trapped in a cycle of arrests. “It’s nothing to me either,” Licata told her. “It’s job security.”Tis as true as it is horrifying that he would view it through that lens.The Texas Organizing Project has produced a video with examples of…
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Death Sentence Affirmed for Former "Exoneree"
Once upon a time, Timothy Hennis was hailed by the anti-DP crowd as an innocent man, wrongly convicted and sentenced to death by a badly flawed system and subsequently exonerated.Then improved DNA technology proved him stone cold guilty.Drew Brooks reports for the Fayetteville Observer:An Army appeals court has upheld the death sentence of Timothy Hennis, a former Fort Bragg soldier who in 1985 butchered a mother and two of her young children. A four-judge panel in the Army Court of Criminal Appeals filed an opinion last month after a review of 49 possible errors in Hennis' 2010 court-martial, which was the third time he stood trial in the case.The court found that Hennis' claims of double jeopardy were without merit, as was his claim that the Army did not have jurisdiction in the Fayetteville murders."We conclude the approved sentence is correct in law and fact," the court opinion said. "Further, under the circumstances of this case, including…
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FedSoc National Lawyers Convention
The Federalist Society's National Lawyers Convention is underway in Washington. The theme is "The Jurisprudence and Legacy of Justice Scalia." Regrettably, I am not able to attend this year. Duty calls.Live streams of some of the panels and links to video of concluded panels are available at the FedSoc Blog. The criminal law panel is at 3:30 EST today. Not sure if it will be live streamed. Justice Thomas is the dinner speaker at 7:00 EST. Update: They are live streaming the Separation of Powers panel instead.Of course, there is much more to the convention than the presentations, interesting as they are. Conversations in the hallways and at the events with people I only see "face-to-face" once a year are just as valuable. I am sure that the question of who will be the next Attorney General is a hot topic, and the question of who will be nominated as the successor to Justice Scalia is even…
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W.D.Ark.: Search for electronic evidence can be intense; digital media can be “mere centimeters long”
A search for digital evidence in a Facebook threat case led to a plain view of firearms and drugs, and the search was valid. The digital evidence could have been on flash drives “mere centimeters long” and that permitted an … Continue reading →
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Cal.3d: This suspicionless parole search wasn’t unreasonable or harassing
While a suspicionless search condition can be harassing and thus unreasonable, this one wasn’t. People v. Perkins, 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS 980 (3d Dist. Nov. 14, 2016): “‘[A] parole search could become constitutionally “unreasonable” if made too often, or at … Continue reading →
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Jury Awards $150,000 to SC Man in Wrongful Prosecution/Stand-Your-Ground Case
Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “The person that called the police doesn’t want to press charges, can I still be prosecuted?” In a lawsuit for malicious prosecution, a York County jury has awarded a $150,000 verdict to a Rock Hill-area man for the county Sheriff’s Office 2012 arrest of the man in a Stand-Your-Ground case in which he argued he should never have been charged. Continue reading →
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USF Student Allegedly Made Up Story About Robbery
A female University of South Florida student who said two students robbed her has been arrested and charged with making up the story. The 19-year-old was arrested Wednesday following a follow up interview with USF Police detectives. According to officials, she admitted to making up the story and that there was no robbery. At 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, USF officers responded to a report of a strong armed robbery near the Interdisciplinary Science Building. Police said the student originally told police that two white men in their early 20’s stole her jewelry near the ISA building. Officials said the student told them the men engaged her in conversation, then took her backpack from her and her necklace fell to the ground as a result of the physical contact. After she allegedly admitted she made up the story, she was charged with filing a false police report and was taken to the Hillsborough County Jail. USF police also the student is part of a group of four students who recently…
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IN: Seizure of person justified under community caretaking function
A seizure of the person may be justified under the community caretaking function when the person appears so intoxicated or out of it that he’s a danger to himself or others. McNeal v. State, 2016 Ind. App. LEXIS 408 (Nov. … Continue reading →
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Loeffler et al. on Self-Reported Wrongful Convictions
Charles Loeffler, Jordan Hyatt and Greg Ridgeway have posted Self-Reported Wrongful Convictions among Prisoners on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Recent studies have estimated the frequency of wrongful convictions in U.S. capital cases at approximately 4.1%. Much less is known...
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MA: Officer’s observation of obvious drug transaction by car pulling up on street was PC
The experienced police officer’s observation of defendant reaching into a car with Maine LPN was consistent with “car meets” for drug sales, and that was probable cause. Commonwealth v. Sanders, 2016 Mass. App. LEXIS 164 (Nov. 15, 2016). Plaintiff complained … Continue reading →
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Brendan Dassey, of Making a Murderer Fame, Scheduled to be Released from Prison
The Netflix series “Making a Murderer” aired earlier this year and quickly became one of the pioneering network’s most popular documentaries. The series centered around the 2007 sexual assault and murder of a photographer, and the possible framing of several individuals. One of those individuals, then-16-year-old Brendan Dassey, was questioned without a lawyer present and was later convicted for the murder, along with another man. In August, federal judge, William E. Duffin, overturned Dassey’s conviction. Although the ruling overturned the conviction, Wisconsin’s attorney general, Brad Shimel, has appealed the ruling. However, as of Monday, a federal judge allowed Dassey to go free during the appeal. Critics of Dassey’s conviction argue that he was mentally unfit and was coerced into a false confession. Furthermore, they claim that his court-appointed lawyer did not have his best interests in mind. Prosecutors allege that Dassey, together…
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Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: the Importance of Objecting
Here we go again, another federal criminal case which on appeal goes to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit here in Atlanta, and that court rejects the Defendant because the specific argument was not brought up in the trial court. We have written about this issue many times, the need for lawyers to anticipate issues and, more importantly, the need to “object” or ” preserve” that issue. An opinion issued yesterday in the Eleventh Circuit reminds me about this whole area, in which the appellate court basically kicks the Defendant out of court because a good issue she raised on appeal was never mentioned during the trial itself. The case is United States v. Leon, and can be accessed here. Ms. Leon was charged with a series of crimes arising out of an “investment” offering. Apparently, she was was the assistant for the head of the investment company. At his direction, she made a series of cash…
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How To Respond To The End Of Normalcy
Never more in my lifetime have we needed strong, aggressive, innovative, strategic leadership from the Democratic Party and the progressive movement that fuels it. Donald Trump will be no ordinary President. Rather than helping him protect the country, we must protect the country from the new President. This is uncharted territory. -- Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz)There has been a lot written lately -- far too belatedly -- about the normalizing of the utter outrageousness of Donald Trump's ascendance to the presidency. Let's start with the now undisputed fact that the Russian government interfered with the election, as the NSA director stated, by directing "the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations." How this isn't getting more traction from the media than Hillary Clinton's use of an un-hacked email server is baffling. Add the tantalizing story that…
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