Generally, when a criminal defendant receives a jail sentence, that sentence cannot be modified unless the conviction is changed or overturned. This rule promotes finality in the justice system and allows for more certainty among defendants, prosecutors, and victims. Congress has provided one exception to this rule. When a defendant is sentenced to a certain amount of time in prison, based on the sentencing guidelines at the time, and these guidelines are later changed, the defendant may petition for a reduction in sentencing if his or her sentence would be reduced under the new guidelines. A recent case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit considers such a petition and looks at when district courts are permitted to make additional factual findings in order to justify rejecting sentence reduction petitions. In United States v. Peters, Peters and his brother were indicted in 2008 for drug trafficking crimes, including conspiring to…
Fourth Circuit Addresses Requests for Reduction in Sentencing – United States v. Peters
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Tolling the Statute of Limitations after State v. Turner
The court of appeals held last month in State v. Turner, __ N.C. App. __, 793 S.E.2d 287 (2016), temp. stay allowed, __ N.C. __ (2016), that the issuance of a magistrate’s order charging a defendant with driving while impaired did not toll the two-year statute of limitations applicable to misdemeanors. The court reasoned that the provision setting forth the statute of limitations, G.S. 15-1, was explicit in requiring that an indictment or presentment be issued within two years. The court said that only one extension of this rule had been recognized: Pursuant to State v. Underwood, 244 N.C. 68 (1956), a defendant may be tried upon a misdemeanor charged by a warrant within two years of the offense. Because Turner was not charged by presentment, indictment or warrant and the State failed to “commence the prosecution of its case” within two years of the offense, the court of appeals ruled that the trial court properly dismissed the charges. Last month’s…
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News Scan
Parolee Charged With Violent Crime Spree: A man on parole for gun charges is currently being charged with five robberies over the course of five days. The Chicago Tribune reports that Isaiah Scaife, 19, was arrested on Monday in connection with a string of armed robberies that took place in November of 2016 during which one victim was shot in the face, and another had their vehicle stolen. Scaife is being charged with attempted murder, aggravated vehicular hijacking, armed robbery, aggravated robbery and attempted armed robbery.Parolee Admits to Shooting at Police from Stolen Car: Michael Deshaun Hill, a recent parolee, has accepted a 20 year prison sentence on charges of armed robbery and attempted capital murder. According to John Lynch at Arkansas Online, following his parole for a 2013 conviction on charges of unlawful discharge of a firearm, Hill fled from police officers after stealing a vehicle at gunpoint. During the chase, Hill reportedly discharged several shots at…
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Pennsylvania Superior Court Finds Error in Defendant’s Conviction of Three Counts of DUI for Same Conduct
Albert Williams appealed his convictions for general impairment driving under the influence (DUI), recklessly endangering another person (REAP), and fleeing or attempting to elude police. The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated the judgment, and remanded for resentencing–specifically, regarding Williams’ being convicted of three counts for the same conduct. In April 2014 at approximately 2:20 a.m., City of Pittsburgh Police Officer Lee Myers observed a Dodge driven by Williams make a left turn through a red light. Officer Myers began to follow Williams, and Williams proceeded to crash into a concrete barrier. Before Officer Myers could get to the site of the crash, Williams backed up the car and then began driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Officer Myers activated his lights and sirens and began to pursue Williams, who was traveling at over 25 miles per hour. Continuing to travel in the wrong direction, Williams drove…
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"Free marijuana to be handed out Inauguration Day"
The title of this post is the headline of this notable new article that reports that the "DC Cannabis Coalition says it plans to hand out thousands of joints of marijuana on Inauguration Day — for free — to urge federal legalization of pot." Here is more: The group plans...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/vf9ieiO4rcE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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YOU'VE BEEN ARRESTED - NOW WHAT? HERE ARE FIVE THINGS YOU MUST DO AFTER YOUR FLORIDA ARREST
Police in Florida who are convinced that a crime has been committed are recently being given more discretion to not always make an arrest by either issuing a notice to appear or by forwarding the case to the State Attorney's Office where prosecutors conduct further investigation before either declining to file the case or issuing an arrest warrant. A notice to appear could typically be given in a nonviolent misdemeanor case such as the minor drug offense of Possession of Marijuana or Possession of drug Paraphernalia as long as the marijuana amount was small. Forwarding the case to prosecutors often involves nonviolent felonies or cases where either the applicable law is in some doubt or the facts and circumstances of the case are not clear with further investigation needed. For example, in scheme to defraud, fraud, and many grand theft cases the sheer complexity of the facts in question may delay an arrest as an investigation by prosecutors and detectives moves…
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"Why Dylann Roof Has a Right to the Death Penalty" ... OR "Why Dylann Roof Representing Himself Is A Constitutional Tragedy"
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Lamenting big criminal justice problems in the little state of Delaware
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House Corrections Committee issues juicy interim report
There's all sorts of interesting stuff in the new House Corrections Committee interim report. From debtors prison policies to pretrial detention to how to handle nonviolent drug offenses to solitary confinement and reentry, this document covers a lot of ground. More this weekend after I've had a chance to go through it, but for now Grits wanted to share the link.
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BODY CAMS FOR SPPD–SECRET POLICY FOR USE.
BODY CAMS FOR SPPD–SECRET POLICY FOR USE.Posted by: Edmund R. FolsomJanuary 5, 2017The South Portland Police Department has announced that it will soon begin equipping its officers with body cameras. That will make SPPD the largest police department in Maine to use body cameras. As a general proposition, police use of body cameras is a good thing. But SPPD’s Chief, Ed Googins, has announced that the Department will not release to the public its detailed policies on when his officers will and won’t turn on the cameras, citing the “operational impact” of policy disclosure. Call me suspicious. You see, I have found that people don’t always tell the truth about things. That’s a big reason body cameras are potentially good– they potentially keep things honest. When a citizen makes a false claim against a cop, an audio/video recording of the event cuts through the crap. When a cop…
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Pedestrian Deaths Reach 25-Year High In Minnesota
Failure to yield to a pedestrian can result in a traffic citation for a careless driver, but it can have much more severe consequences for the individual on the street. The state of Minnesota learned that lesson the hard way in 2016, as drivers hit and killed more pedestrians last year than in the past 25 years. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety announced that 60 pedestrians were struck and killed on Minnesota roads in 2016, which represented a nearly 50 percent increase from 2015 when 41 pedestrians were killed by vehicles. It is the highest yearly total since 1991, when 61 pedestrians were killed. Why The Increase? Pedestrians aren’t running unannounced across the streets at higher rates than in years past, so why did pedestrian fatalities spike in 2016? Police officers and city officials believe distracted driving likely played a big role in the uptick, as it’s already been noted that distracted driving crashes rose in 2016. “It is distressing to…
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Will NAFTA-Influenced Border Cities Continue to Thrive Under Trump’s Presidency?
Throughout his campaign, Donald Trump referenced his tearing up of NAFTA as a positive change of policy for border city voters who have long feared the effects of globalization on their local economies. Now that the end of NAFTA could, in fact, become reality, many residents and lawmakers living in border cities, such as Laredo, El Paso, and Nogales, have come forward in support of the 1994 treaty, citing examples of its positive effect on their booming economies. Local officials in Laredo, Texas say roughly 1 in every 3 jobs benefits from international trade. Laredo, which is the nation’s busiest inland port, sees an average of 14,000 tractor-trailers cross the border daily; it is also the only city along the U.S.-Mexico border that the President-elect visited during his campaign. Although President-elect Trump’s assessment of NAFTA may have resonated with voters in the Midwest, who lost their jobs after several factories were moved to Mexican…
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Marijuana reform and clemency conversations at the state and federal level
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How do I report nursing home abuse in Pennsylvania and New Jersey?
Nursing home abuse can leave seniors with physical and emotional scars, impact their quality of life, and even lead to premature death. If you believe your aging loved one or another senior is suffering nursing home abuse, you need to report it as soon as possible. Learn how to report nursing home abuse below.Who do I call first to report nursing home abuse?When the abuse causes a life-threatening situation and a nursing home resident is in immediate danger, do not hesitate to call 911.If you suspect abuse but the senior is not in immediate danger, report the abuse to nursing home administration or your loved one’s doctor.Do not, however, stop there. You also need to report the abuse to the proper county or state authorities to launch an investigation and protect these elders from their abusers.You need to be aware of the information these agencies will need from you when you make the report. This will include your name and contact information, the name of the victim, the…
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Georgia Court Holds Evidence of Irregularities in DUI Testing Goes to Weight Rather Than Admissibility
While the various tests employed to evaluate whether a driver is intoxicated have become quite routine over the years, discrepancies and irregularities, or simple mistakes, may still occur. Although mistakes may be understandable, this does not make the field sobriety tests inadmissible, and courts must evaluate whether a discrepancy in testing is something that a jury should be allowed to weigh in considering a criminal defendant’s guilt, or if it constitutes an error that requires that the results of the test be thrown out altogether. A recent case before the Georgia Court of Appeals looks at this question when considering results from a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test (HGN). In State v. Walsh, Mr. Walsh was investigated after his car was found stopped in the middle of the road with the brake lights on but the headlights off. When the officer approached his vehicle, he found Mr. Walsh passed out in the driver’s seat of the car. The officer…
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News Scan
Cop Killing Suspect Offered Plea Deal: A member of the notorious prison gang Barrio Azteca, facing trial for killing a Texas police officer, has been offered a plea bargain reducing the murder charge to manslaughter. Rudy Gutierrez of the El Past Times reports that John Perry, is charged with intentional murder of a police officer for ramming a motorcycle officer at an El Past stop light with his car. Witnesses say that Perry was driving at high speed when he intentionally hit motorcycle officer David Ortiz as the officer waited at the stoplight. Both vehicles burst into flames. It took officer Ortiz four days to die from his injuries. Under the plea deal the capital murder charge would be dropped if Perry pleads to manslaughter. Due to Perry's previous conviction for stabbing and attempting to beat a man to death with a baseball bat, the normal 20 year prison sentence for manslaughter would increase to 45 years.
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Cohen on French Prosecutors as Judges
Mathilde Cohen (University of Connecticut - School of Law) has posted The French Prosecutor as Judge. The Carpenter's Mistake? (Prosecutors and Democracy: A Cross-National Study (Maximo Langer & David Alan Sklansky eds., Cambridge University Press, 2017, Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here...
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Mauro: SCOTUS Bar Warming Up to Conway as SG
Veteran Supreme Court reporter Tony Mauro reports for NLJ that the Court's bar is warming up to the possibility that George Conway of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz may be the next Solicitor General. His abilities are being praised by many, and the fact that he has only argued one case in the high court is virtually irrelevant.The fact that Conway has only argued once at the Supreme Court is not rare or disqualifying, according to Yale Law School scholar Lincoln Caplan, author of "The Tenth Justice," a 1997 book about the solicitor general's office. The newest justice, Elena Kagan, had never appeared in an appellate court before, and other 20th century SGs, including Robert Bork and Archibald Cox, had limited prior Supreme Court litigation experience.The expectation that a new SG should be a veteran at the Supreme Court lectern, Caplan said, is the result of the "reconstitution" of the specialized Supreme Court bar. Decades ago,…
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Henrico Reckless Driving 96 Mph Reduced To Minor Speeding Infraction
Henrico Reckless Driving 96 Mph Reduced To Minor Speeding Infraction John Weiland of the traffic defense law firm of Weiland ... The post Henrico Reckless Driving 96 Mph Reduced To Minor Speeding Infraction appeared first on Weiland Upton.
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Dru Sjodin's killer fights death penalty
1-5-17 North Dakota: It’s been more than 13 years since Dru Sjodin was kidnapped and murdered by Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., a convicted sex offender. While a federal jury sentenced Rodriguez to death more than a decade ago, the case remains active today. In 2003, Sjodin, a 22-year-old college student at the University of North Dakota, was kidnapped from a mall parking lot in Grand Forks, North
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