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A lawyers’ guide to the right to silence and answering the “arrest call”


Nobel Peace Prize winner suggests that drug war may be most harmful of all wars currently being waged, combines

Sunday Night TV and Open Thread

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The Critics Choice Awards are on A&E tonight. Why you should watch? T.J. Miller is hosting. I love TJ -- I carpooled him to school from the second grade until high school. TJ got arrested early Friday a.m. in LA after his Uber driver claimed... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

"It’s Time to Let Mary Jane Graduate: Reclassify Marijuana"

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The title of this post is the headline of this notable new New York Observer commentary authored by Faisal Ansari. The fact that this piece comes from the Observer is one reason it is notable, as the publisher of the Observer is Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Prez Elect Donald Trump....<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/i69i8sy_b40" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Veterans group gets attention when urging Trump team to seek to reschedule marijuana

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Tom Angell has this interesting report, headlined "Powerful Veterans Group Pushes Trump On Marijuana Rescheduling," on an interesting discussion of marijuana reform among conservative-leaning folks. Here are the highlights: The nation’s largest military veterans organization is pushing President-elect Donald Trump to reschedule marijuana after he takes office early next year....<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/DS53NFJnEDs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Vermont Gov promising to pardon all marijuana offenses on his way out of office

What is Criminal Conspiracy in Massachusetts?

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Criminal conspiracy is a plan made by two or more people to commit a criminal act, so long as the people involved agreed to commit the act and took action toward its completion. The act itself need not be a crime if those involved intended to break the law. Consider the following scenario: Don and Brenda plan to burglarize a home. They take steps to complete the act – planning the burglary, purchasing face masks and a crowbar, and driving to the house they plan to burglarize. Upon arrival, the would-be burglars are chased away by the unexpectedly at-home residents. Although they didn’t commit burglary, Don and Brenda can still be charged with conspiracy to commit burglary. Does the Conspiracy Need to be in Writing, or Otherwise Expressly Conveyed? No. Written proof of Don and Brenda’s plan to commit burglary isn’t necessary, nor is a verbal agreement such as, “I agree to burglarize 501 Sampson Street with you.” If the action of “two or…

Alabama’s Criminal Laws: Controlled Substances: Possession, Distribution, Manufacture

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The Alabama State Board of Health created a controlled substance list with 5 different sections in it (called schedules I, II, III, IV, and V) and if you are caught with one of the substances on the list you can be charged. You don’t have to go through the criminal court process alone. Feel free to contact us at Skier & Associates so that we can help you with your case. Doing a Google search or reading a blog entry is not an adequate substitute for getting advice from an experienced lawyer who works with these laws every day. Email us at blog@skierlaw.com or call (334) 263-4105 so that we can discuss the specific facts of your case. The information below is only intended to be a general guide to the law. UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES; POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE – Code of Alabama Section 13A-12-211 Someone commits the crime of unlawful distribution of controlled substances if “he or she sells, furnishes,…

From Margin to Center: Sex Work Decriminalization is a Racial Justice Issue

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Sex work is criminalized throughout the United States, typically as misdemeanor offenses. Similar to the way the Unites States treats and criminalizes drug use, the policing of sex work exacerbates stigma, compromises access to resources, justifies violence, and is steeped in racial disparities. Women of color, especially Black cisgender and transgender women, girls, and femmes, are particularly vulnerable. Because sex work and sex trafficking are conflated, interventions are focused on abolishing the sex industry instead of eliminating structural issues that drive exploitation. From profiling to strip searches, from discarded condoms[1] to forcible and extorted sex—law enforcement is a frequent perpetrator of violence against sex workers.  As the Daniel Holtzclaw case in Oklahoma revealed, having a history of sex work and drug use increases vulnerability to police sexual violence.  Black women, who are over policed, impoverished, and live in racially segregated…

Scurich & John on Jurors' Presumption of Innocence

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Nicholas Scurich and Richard S. John (University of California, Irvine and University of Southern California) have posted Jurors’ Presumption of Innocence (Journal of Legal Studies, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The presumption of innocence explicitly forbids jurors from...

"El Mochomito" (Beltran-Guzman) Arrested in Jalisco

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The Beltran-Leyva cartel took another big hit Friday with the arrest of "Mochomito" -- Alfredito Beltran-Guzman, son of Alfredo Beltran-Leyva, who is in custody in Washington, D.C. awaiting the imposition of sentence -- in Zapopan, Jalisco. He was... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Samsung Facing Multiple Lawsuits Over Washing Machines

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In addition to Samsung’s recent troubles with the recall of their new phone for some explosive issues, Samsung has found themselves once again in hot water. Samsung, while known primarily for their handheld electronic devices, is also a manufacturer of a number of appliances, ranging from televisions to washing machines. Samsung has been the subject of several lawsuits regarding one of their models of washing machines. Exploding Washing Machines The type of washing machines was sold nationwide between between March 2011 through April 2016, and some of the units sold have a particularly alarming defect: the potential to explode. Following a news report coming from Georgia of one woman’s washing machine exploding, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) has since issued and announced an official warning about these washing machines. CSPC officials are currently working with Samsung on potential fixes for the issue, as well as methods of recall or replacement.…

Drugged Driving in Massachusetts Following Legalization of Marijuana

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Aside from everything else that happened in the November 8, 2016 election, voters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have just voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use in the state, joining a handful of other states and the District of Columbia.  Clearly many people are excited about this, and there are also those who voted against it. Regardless of our feelings about marijuana, based upon what we have seen in other states, there is a decent chance that more people will be using marijuana than there were prior to legalization.  While this can provide a great deal of revenue for the Commonwealth, there is also a decent chance that people will be driving under the influence of marijuana. This will likely result in more drugged driving arrests and more car accidents caused by people who are under the influence of marijuana.  Again, this is based upon what we have seen in other states, such as Colorado.  While drugged driving may not be as serious a…

Will Maine recount extend into the new year delaying legalization?

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The question in the title of this post comes from this local article on the progress of the recount of the marijuana legalization initiative in Maine, which began last week and (very likely?) could extend into 2017. The unofficial result from Election Night was a victory of 4,073 votes for...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/pBBa37MREeU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Philippines: Don’t Reinstate Death Penalty

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Source: Human Rights Watch (3 December 2016)https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/03/philippines-dont-reinstate-death-penalty(New York) – The Philippine House of Representatives should reject a proposal to reinstate the death penalty, Human Rights Watch said today. On November 29, 2016, the Judicial Reforms Subcommittee approved Congress House Bill No. 1 (Death Penalty Law), which would reinstate capital punishment for “heinous crimes,” including murder, piracy, and the trafficking and possession of illegal drugs. A house vote on the bill is likely before the end of 2016.“The Philippine government should acknowledge the death penalty’s barbarity and reject any moves to reinstate it,” said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director. “The failure of the death penalty as a crime deterrent is globally recognized and the government should maintain the prohibition on its use.”In a joint letter drafted by the International Drug Policy Consortium…

China court finds man executed 21 years ago innocent

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Source: Straits Times (2 December 2016)http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-court-finds-man-executed-21-years-ago-innocentBEIJING (AFP) - China's top court on Friday (Dec 2) cleared a man executed 21 years ago for murder - more than a decade after another man confessed to the killing.The case of Nie Shubin, who was 20 years old when he faced a firing squad in 1995 after being convicted of rape and murder, is the latest miscarriage of justice in the Communist-ruled country."The Supreme People's Court believes that the facts used in the original trial were unclear and the evidence insufficient, and so changes the original sentence to one of innocence," it said in a statement on a verified social media account.Chinese courts have a conviction rate of 99.92 per cent, and concerns over wrongful verdicts are fuelled by police reliance on forced confessions and the lack of effective defence in criminal trials.Overseas rights groups say China executes…

Opinion holding scheme to defraud depositor constitutes bank fraud

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Justice Breyer delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court in Shaw v. United States.

Civil Rights Case Will Proceed Against Officers Who Shot Mentally Ill Woman

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Police are trained to “shoot to stop.” This means rapid fire “center mass” into the chest of someone who may be posing a threat to the officer or someone else. The police fire multiple times until the perceived threat has been eliminated; in other words, the subject is lying dead on the ground or is so critically wounded as to be unable to act.   On May 21, 2010, Alex Garcia was a University of Arizona Police Department (UAPD) “officer-in-training.” He was assigned to ride patrol with Corporal Andrew Kisela.   Campus Police Can Arrest Off Campus   Campus police are common on college and university campuses in this modern age.  These departments are generally known as “campus police.” The officers who serve in these departments usually have arrest powers beyond university campuses— 80 percent of campus police officers can arrest off-campus, according to the U.S. Justice Department in a 2011-2012 report.…

Client Control and Conceding Guilt

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Today the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case of Tyler v. Louisiana, No. 15-8814.  Tyler's complaint is that his lawyers ignored his direction to focus on the guilt aspect of the case and instead focused solely on penalty, effectively conceding his guilt.  I have more sympathy with Tyler's claim than I do with most ineffective assistance claims.  There is a fundamental principle in the attorney-client relationship that the client chooses the goals and the attorney uses his professional judgment regarding the best way to achieve the client-chosen goals.  I have letters from death row complaining that, on appeal, the client has chosen a "give me liberty or give me death" goal, directing the lawyer to focus solely on the guilt verdict, and the lawyer has ignored the direction.In the Tyler case, though, some of the reporting is leading people to believe that the guilt case against Tyler was thin and his lawyers effectively…

The Law Firm, the HP Mini Laptop and Receiving Stolen Property

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This post examines an opinion from the Missouri Court of Appeals:  State v. Smith, 2016 WL 6956763 (2016). The court begins by explaining how the prosecution arose:In October 2011, property was stolen from a Jackson County law firm, which included, among other things, one HP mini laptop computer. Following a lead, police sought and executed a search warrant at the home of Ezra J. Smith. There, police discovered the missing laptop, which was identified by its serial number. Additional investigation confirmed that the laptop still displayed the previous owner's name on the welcome screen and had been used to access Smith's email account. During Smith's trial, the IT manager for the law firm provided testimony that confirmed the laptop found at Smith's home was the same laptop stolen from the law firm. On the issue of the value of the laptop, the IT manager provided the following testimony:Q: Are you aware…
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