The case of Miguel Navarro, a Hispanic teenager, who was sentenced to 99-years in an adult prison before he could drive or reach high school, has highlighted Texas’ controversial juvenile justice system. Navarro was just 15 in 2007, when he stabbed a 20-year-old during a fight in Katy, Texas. A Houston Public Media report pointed out it was a confused scene and Navarro and his older brother were subjected to racist abuse and attacked by a group of older party-goers. Navarro was arrested and charged with murder the morning after the party. His family was poor and he relied on court-appointed defense attorney. The prosecution sought to try 15-year-old Navarro as an adult. The State of Texas allows juveniles over the age of 14 to be treated as adults if they are charged with certain crimes. Texas has fewer restrictions of treating teen offenders as adults than many other states. A child may be dealt with in the adult courts for any felony offense. The process is known as…
Teen Jailed for 99 Years at the Age of 15, Appeals Sentence
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Dylann Roof tells federal judge he does not plan to present any evidence at penalty phase of his capital trial
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DUI Checkpoints Have to Follow Specific Rules in Florida But Other Checkpoints Do Not
Every now and then, and often during holiday time like New Year’s Eve coming up, the police in Florida and other states will set up DUI checkpoints in strategic areas of the city. These checkpoints are normally located down the street from a popular bar or other area where people often drink alcohol. Florida law does not allow the police to just set up a checkpoint at any time whenever and wherever they want. The police have to plan their DUI checkpoints and follow certain rules for a checkpoint to be legal. For instance, the police must get approval in advance, they must establish certain written rules for the checkpoint, the checkpoint can only last for a certain period of time and they must follow all of those rules during the checkpoint. The police cannot just use their discretion to pick and choose which drivers they are going to stop. They must stop drivers based on a predetermined plan. For instance, the police can decide…
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Masschusetts legislature moves quickly in order to move slower on allowing retail marijuana sales
As reported in this local article, "Massachusetts lawmakers quietly shuttled a bill to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk delaying the implementation of recreational marijuana by six months." Here is more: The bill does not affect the provisions that are already in effect: Personal possession inside and outside a person's primary residence,...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/Nv3u2uvEcJs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Governor Rauner grants five clemency petitions in Illinois on December 23, 2016 and denies one hundred ninety-five
In what may be his final act of executive clemency this year, Governor Rauner has commuted the sentences of just two individuals and pardoned with authorization to expunge three others on December 23, 2016. With regards to the commutations of sentences, both cases were from Bureau County in 1994 and were convictions for trafficking a controlled substance; one sentence was originally for ninety-five years and was reduced to fifty years, the other sentence was for sixty years and was also reduced to fifty years. As for the pardons with authorization to expunge, the earliest case was a 1985 Cook County case ending in a conviction for manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, then there was a 1994 Effingham County case which terminated with a conviction for retail theft and finally, a 2002 Henry County case which resulted in a burglary conviction. One hundred ninety-five petitions for executive clemency were denied on December 23, 2016. As has previously…
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Supreme Judicial Court Decision Makes it Harder for Police to Seize Cellphones
In a move that strengthens individuals’ right to privacy, the state’s highest court ruled that state law enforcement must have particularized evidence that a cellphone is tied to a criminal act in order to be able to seize the cellphone. While the court acknowledged that there is a common sense notion that cellphones are often used by criminals to communicate with other criminals about their criminal activities, or that cellphones could be used for other tasks, like taking pictures that could also be used as evidence in a criminal proceeding, the mere fact that there is only a commonsense notion of these uses of a cell phone is not sufficient override an individual privacy rights. This decision makes it harder for police to seize cellphones. Harder for Police to Seize Cellphones The underlying case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court was Massachusetts v. Onyx White, which involves the police seizure of White’s cellphone as part of their…
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Criminal Charges for Stabbing Someone in Massachusetts
Stabbing Someone in Massachusetts One of the more personal and highly violent criminal offenses in Massachusetts is stabbing another person. Stabbings are usually the result of hot emotions or fits of rage, and they can cause minor, serious, or even life-threatening injuries. Sometimes stabbing can even be fatal. when a criminal defendant is charged with stabbing another person, the charges that they will face usually depend on the seriousness of the stabbing incident. Stabbing someone in Massachusetts is a serious offense. It is a felony. Different Charges for Stabbing Someone Generally speaking, when a criminal defendant stab someone with a knife or other sharp pointed weapon, if the injuries are not life-threatening or fatal, the criminal defendant is usually charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, under M.G.L., Chapter 265, Section 15A. If the victim’s injuries cause permanent disfigurement, loss or impairment of a bodily function or a limb or…
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3 Vehicle Crash near Eastbound Garrity Interchange
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 For Immediate Release: 12/28/2016 3:10 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office On Wednesday, December 28, 2016, at approximately 9:40 a.m., the Idaho State Police responded to a three-vehicle crash in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 84 near the Garrity Blvd interchange in Nampa. A 2007 GMC Sierra pickup, driven by Carrie Lupton, 45, of Nampa, was attempting to merge into the eastbound lanes, when she lost control of her vehicle and struck a 2012 Freightliner tractor-trailer, driven by Lonnie Smith, 57, of Weiser. Smith's tractor-trailer overturned, blocking two of the eastbound lanes. A 2003 BMW 330, driven by Russel Njilay, 19, of Meridian, was traveling eastbound and…
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New Florida Supreme Court Ruling Spurs Success in Man’s Request for Acquittal in Hit-and-Run Case
If you or a loved one is facing criminal prosecution, there are many things that can help you get to a successful outcome. Sometimes, that event can be a ruling in another case. In the situation of a man who was accused of violating the state’s hit-and-run law, he was able to overcome the charges against him and achieve success in the Fifth District Court of Appeal after the Florida Supreme Court clarified that the accident at issue in his case did not qualify as a “crash,” which was required in order to trigger a prosecution under the statute. The underlying events that led to this prosecution involved a dispute gone very wrong. According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, the dispute related to an unpaid debt or a drug deal “gone bad.” Regardless of the motivations, the scene involved Joseph Daugherty inside the driver’s seat of a parked car and Joshua Krodel trying to gain entry to the car through a window. Daugherty shifted the car…
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Federal Contractor Fraud
Contractor Fraud The US Government is in an and of itself a massive part of the overall American economy. The level of commerce associated with the various goods and services needed to perform the myriad of government functions cannot be overstated. Whether it is providing medical insurance through Medicare or Medicaid, or the construction of military weaponry or a host of other services the government provides, the government’s usage of private companies to accomplish these goals is vast. With such a significant scope and complexity comes a high price tag and a large opportunity for federal contractor fraud. Conversely, that same complexity also presents challenges for persons and companies trying to legally provide and bill the Government for lawful services. Definition of Contractor Fraud 18 USC 1031(a)(2) outlines federal contractor fraud and it refers to stealing from the federal government when fulfilling obligations under any government contract. Federal courts…
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Virginia Marijuana Defense – Hashish oil possession as a felony versus marijuana possession as a misdemeanor
In Virginia, marijuana possession is a misdemeanor but hashish oil possession is a felony. How is that possible, when hashish oil comes from marijuana and when the Virginia Code does not define hashish oil? Virginia Code § 54.1-3446 designates hashish oil as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, but provides no details nor definition of hashish oil beyond: “Hashish oil (some trade or other names: hash oil; liquid marijuana; liquid hashish).” Hashish oil squarely fits under Virginia’s statutory definition of marijuana: “The term ‘marijuana’ when used in this article means any part of a plant of the genus Cannabis, whether growing or not, its seeds or resin; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds, or its resin. Marijuana shall not include any oily extract containing one or more cannabinoids unless such extract contains less than 12 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol by weight, or the…
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President Obama Pardons Non-Violent Drug Convictions
This week President Obama pardoned or commuted the sentences of 231 people, the largest single-day clemency announcement since he became president. The majority of the pardons and commutations over the past years have been given to people with non-violent drug convictions. President Obama Pardons 231 Non-Violent Drug Convictions Over the past few years the United States is seemingly coming to terms with the realization that criminalizing illicit drugs and treating offenders in a purely judicial way has little if any effectiveness in dealing with the drug problem. The U.S. drug problem causes our government to spend millions of dollars, with the result being the largest prison population in the world instead of reducing the illicit drug problem. As a result, it’s come to measures like Obama’s granting clemency to reduce the number of prisoners in prison. Little to Show for Criminalizing Drugs Considering the time, effort, and money, the U.S. has spent in an effort to…
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Eldest Bundy Son Wants Hearing to Challenge Detention Status
Ryan Bundy, the eldest son of Cliven Bundy and member of the clan involved in the armed occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon has asked for a hearing to challenge his detention status in a Nevada jail. He claims that he poses no risk for flight and poses no threat to the public. He and his brother Ammon Bundy were transferred to Nevada after they and the six accomplices involved in the standoff were acquitted by a jury in their Portland, Oregon trial. The Bundy family now awaits a second criminal trial for their 2014 armed standoff against Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agents on their father’s ranch in Nevada. Ryan is serving as his own attorney for the trial in Nevada, just as he did during his federal trial in Oregon. Ryan and his brother Ammon Bundy both refused earlier this month to enter a federal courtroom in Las Vegas for a lengthy pretrial and date-setting hearing before a different magistrate judge. They, along with their father Cliven…
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Perlin on Forensic Psychologists and the Conditions of Institutionalization
Michael L. Perlin (New York Law School) has posted 'Your Old Road is/Rapidly Agin': International Human Rights Standards and Their Impact on Forensic Psychologists, the Practice of Forensic Psychology, and the Conditions of Institutionalization of Persons with Mental Disabilities on...
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Alfonso Grados - Ministro de Trabajo y la eliminación de todos los beneficios laborales
“Sobre costos buenos y muy buenos, sobre costos malos y muy malos”, tiene el título que en este blog he compartido con todos ustedes el día de ayer 28 de diciembre de 2016. El fondo era, es y será, la fórmula mágica que utilizará el gobierno actual para eliminar las gratificaciones, indemnización, goce vacacional y el pago de la contribución para la salud en estos momentos a cargo del patrón que será en adelante pagará el trabajador. En el artículo de ayer, comentando la noticia de reducir los sobre costos al 10% hoy, según dicen es del 40%, intenté explicar el engaño, el fraude que utilizarán, les explico: si pagan un sol por hora de trabajo, deben aumentar cuarenta céntimos de Sol por cada esclavo a su servicio, es decir, por cada sol que percibe un obrero o empleado (colaboradores se dice ahora) sus amos deben pagar…
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News Scan
Military May Execute Murderer Soon: A federal judge has lifted the stay of execution for an Army cook convicted of rape and murder in 1988. Ryan Browne of CNN reports that Ronald Gray was sentenced to death by a military court for raping and murdering two women. He had pleaded guilty in civilian court to two other killings and five rapes. With the stay lifted, an execution date for Gray may be set within the next 30 days. If Gray's sentence is carried out, it would be the first military execution since 1961. Over 800,000 Illegals Get CA Driver's LIcenses: Tatiana Sanchez of the San Jose Mercury News reports that in the two years since Governor Jerry Brown signed a law (AB 60) allowing illegal aliens to obtain driver's licenses 806,000 have been issued. Supporters of this law argue that people in the country illegally have learned to drive more safely while obtaining licenses and that they can now drive without…
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New law review: Actual Expectations of Privacy, Fourth Amendment Doctrine, and the Mosaic Theory
New law review: Actual Expectations of Privacy, Fourth Amendment Doctrine, and the Mosaic Theory, by Lior Strahilevitz & Matthew B. Kugler (not online yet, if ever).
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Federal military execution seemingly on track for mass rapist/murderer
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ESTV: Gesetzes- und Verordnungsänderungen im Steuer- und Abgabenrecht
Die Eidgenössische Steuerverwaltung (ESTV) hat eine Auflistung mit den Gesetzes- und Verordnungsänderungen bei der direkten Bundessteuer, Mehrwertsteuer, Verrechnungssteuer und den Stempelabgaben veröffentlicht. Die wichtigsten Änderungen für das Jahr 2017 dürften die internationalen Abkommen sowie die entsprechenden Bundesgesetze und Verordnungen rund um den automatischen Informationsaustausch in Steuersachen (AIA) sein. Erwähnenswert ist auch die geplante Lockerung der Praxis bei Meldungen der Verrechnungssteuer im Konzernverhältnis (frühestens Februar 2017). Die Fristen für die Einreichung der Meldung der Ausrichtung von Dividenden werden neu als Ordnungsfristen definiert. Eine weitere publizierte Liste enthält die Bundesgesetze und Verordnungen mit Inkrafttreten in den Jahren 2018–2020. Diese Liste enthält auch Erlasse im Steuer- und Abgabenrecht, bei denen die ESTV massgeblich beteiligt oder für deren…
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"The global experiment of marijuana legalization"
The title of this post is the headline of this notable lengthy new CNN piece. Here are excerpts: In 2016, more countries legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes. Marijuana, or cannabis, is "the most widely cultivated, produced, trafficked and consumed drug worldwide," according to the World...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/QY7QQyZ2CJo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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