Donald Trump and his incendiary but essentially meaningless border wall talk and executive order do nothing but push people's buttons. Mexican President Pena Nieto today posted a video message to the Mexican people today on Twitter, saying... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Mexico Reaffirms It Will Not Pay For Trump's Wall
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Trump’s Global Gag Rule a blow for women’s rights and lives.
A mere two days after millions of people marched around the word with and in solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington, President Donald J. Trump announced the “Global Gag Rule,” a major blow to women’s rights and human rights worldwide. Trump’s Global Gag Rule prohibits U.S. international aid to groups that so much as educate their communities on safe abortion. Even if an organization is using non-U.S. funding for such activities, they will lose their U.S. funding if they offer counseling, advocate for legal reform, provide abortions, or even provide referrals at any time. Foreign NGOs and clinics, many of whom depend on U.S. funding to deliver life-saving healthcare, must choose between two impossible choices: 1) take the funding they depend on but deny the services their communities need and deserve, or 2) refuse U.S. funding and struggle to keep clinics open, offer services, and advocate for laws that reduce unsafe abortions. This is not…
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Germany Repeals Law Prohibiting Criticism of Foreign Leaders
Germany has repealed a law allowing prosecution of those who criticize foreign leaders. It takes effect 1/1/2018. The Washington Posts suggests it's just in time for Donald Trump. In related news, the Netherlands is proposing to start a... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Absence of Sufficient Proof of a ‘Breaking’ Meant that Homeless Vet Couldn’t Be Guilty of Burglarizing Ocean City Vacation Residence
When you stand accused of a crime, there are several things that the prosecution must do. One of these things is proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, each element of the criminal charges against you. In the case of one recently evicted man in Ocean City, that standard worked in his favor in his fourth-degree burglary case. Since the state lacked sufficient evidence that the man broke into a crawl space, as opposed to merely walking into an open crawl space, the Court of Special Appeals determined that the case against the man was insufficient, and he was entitled to an acquittal on the burglary charge. The case began with a police response to a vacation residence in Ocean City. When the officer arrived, he found the building’s crawl space uncovered, and on the ground was a piece of plywood the size of the crawl space opening. The officer went inside the crawl space and discovered a man there. The man stated that he was homeless and seeking a place to take a nap. After…
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Zalman on Comparative Wrongful Convictions
Marvin Zalman (Wayne State University) has posted Wrongful Convictions: A Comparative Perspective on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Wrongful conviction becomes a social problem when innocence consciousness arises, meaning that a significant number of people view miscarriages of justice as...
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SEC: $7 Million Award to be Split by Three Whistleblowers
On Monday, January 23, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) awarded more than $7 million to be split among three whistleblowers. The three individuals helped the SEC in its investigation and prosecution of an investment scheme. The identity of whistleblowers is protected by law however, the SEC did disclose that the primary whistleblower will receive more than $4 million, while the other two will split more than $3 million. Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, stated, “Whistleblowers played an important role in the success of this case as they helped our agency detect and prosecute a scheme preying on vulnerable investors.” Norberg credited the whistleblowers with helping open the investigation and also providing additional information as the investigation was underway. Norberg served as Acting Chief when Sean McKessey left the position in July 2016, and was promoted to Chief in September…
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Waterboarding for Your DWI Blood
Okay, no it hasn’t gone that far. But where do we draw the line at how far police can go to collect evidence in a driving while intoxicated arrest? This issue is being pushed to the limit. Texas law enforcement agencies argue that alcohol testing is legitimate requirement for being allowed the privilege of driving on our publicly owned Texas roads. Some have argued that the burden for obtaining a search warrant in DWI cases is too big of a burden for law enforcement. But even in the rural counties that I work in, including Walker, Madison, and Leon Counties, there is almost always at least one judge on call. How extreme has the matter of DWI blood draws become? In Georgia, police have been strapping down citizens to a gurney as they forcibly draw blood from the victim. One such video shows the victim screaming, “What country is this?” One victim stated, “We are all American citizens and you guys have me…
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When does criminal defense begin?
Suppose a person is relaxing at home in Georgia when there's a sudden, loud knock on the door. The homeowner glances through a nearby window to see several uniformed police officers standing on the threshold. The officers are showing their badges and identification cards and motioning for the homeowner to open the door. In some scenarios, these circumstances may give rise to the need for a criminal defense. With a chain lock still fastened, the homeowner opens the door a crack, at which point an officer asks a question to confirm the person's identity. The officer then asks if it's okay for them to come inside and take a look around as part of an investigation they are conducting in the area. Does the homeowner have to allow the police officers entry? The short answer is no. In fact, if a valid search warrant has not been produced, the homeowner may step outside and lock the door behind. The request to enter can be refused unless a valid search warrant is…
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Treating criminal justice 'like a business,' and other stories
Here are a few odds and ends that merit Grits readers' attention:Violent crime remains lowFBI crime data is out for the first half of 2016. See the full report. After reaching historic lows, violent crime ticked up each of the last two years, mostly concentrated in a handful of cities. Meanwhile, property crime continued to decline. Bottom line, the "American carnage" theme is politicized horse hockey, an analysis from Vox found.Kelly: Treat criminal-justice policy like a businessUT-Austin Prof. William Kelly says if you want government to behave like a business, apply cost-benefit analyses to criminal justice policy. I've been meaning to review Kelly's new book, The Future of Crime and Punishment, which is sitting on a shelf in front of me, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe soon.Dallas pension debacle devolvesTalks have broken down between the city of Dallas and the police/firefighters pension fund. Recriminations, lawsuits, are…
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Federal magistrate judge rules Ohio's new 3-drug lethal injection protocol is unconstitutional and blocks coming scheduled executions
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Trump Immigration Plan Causes Fight, Roommate Loses Ear
Donald Trump's plans are already generating fear and loathing, resulting in violence. In Pittsburgh, PA, a Mexican college student who is legally in the U.S. listened to Trump on TV (while drinking beer) and got in an argument with his... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Presidential Vows to Eradicate Radical Islam Threaten Constitution
During his January 20th Inaugural Address, President Donald Trump vowed to eradicate “radical Islam” from “the face of the Earth.” Islam is a universally recognized religion that is roughly 1500 years old. While the ACLU reports that the U.S. Supreme Court has never defined the term “religion,” federal courts in America have recognized that Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, is a universally accepted religious faith. What the Supreme Court has recognized are “religious beliefs” that are “sincerely held” by people of particular religions such as Christianity and Islam. President Equates “Radical Islam” and Terrorism In the context of Islam, the New York Times has defined the term “radical” to mean “extreme views, practices and policies.” In recent years, the newspaper reported, the term “radical Islam” has assumed dark connotations, to the point…
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It's Medication Time
Every time Trump does a TV interview it's like an infomercial for the 25th Amendment. -- Andy BorowitzThe New York Times argues with itself about whether to call out Trump's blatant falsehoods as lies, but ends up patting itself on the back because it actually, finally used the L-word with regard to his assertion that millions of undocumented immigrants voted in the election. Not so much NPR, whose reporters and executives were reluctant to label Trump a liar "without the ability to peer into Donald Trump’s head" and out of concern that "branding things with a word like ‘lie,’ you push people away from you" and would be seen as "taking sides."I agree that peering into Trump's head would be a terrifying prospect, but when he repeatedly makes statements that are completely at odds with verifiably objective facts, he is either lying or he is…
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Don Francisco y una sentencia histórica
Don Francisco Miroquesada Rada Opina en El Comercio (digital) hoy 26 de enero de 2017, sobre el “matrimonio” de dos personas del mismo sexo celebrado en México, primero nos cuenta cómo conoció a uno de los “casados”, nos indica además que fue a su “matrimonio” en compañía de su esposa no sin antes dar cuenta de los muchos títulos obtenidos por su amigo que, por lo que he leído es un excelente profesional. Sostiene que no se puede discriminar a nadie (estoy recordando) que la RENIEC debe inscribir el enlace entre estas dos personas, en buena cuenta que la sentencia del 7º Juzgado Constitucional apelada por la institución citada, sea confirmada por el superior jerárquico, de no ser así, debe ser ordenado por el Tribunal Constitucional. Al margen que la inscripción de un “acto jurídico” celebrado en otra…
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A Look at the Severity of Mass. Drunk Driving Laws
According to a recent article from Mass Live, some legislators, including State Rep. Bradley H. Jones Jr., feel that the criminal penalties for drunk driving in Massachusetts are not severe enough. Under the current law, if you are arrested for operating under the influence (OUI), you will likely be given a pre-trial diversion deal that will let you avoid having a criminal conviction on your record. For a second or subsequent offense, when you have already had your driver’s license revoked or suspended, the maximum you will get is two and a half years in a county house of corrections. The county house of corrections is not the same as a state prison, which is called a Massachusetts Correctional Institution (MCI). For Suffolk County, were Boston is located, the house of corrections is South Bay. This means that if a person is convicted of a fifth offense for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, the maximum sentence they will typically receive…
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Koops on Dutch Privacy-Related Crimes
Bert-Jaap Koops (Tilburg University - Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT)) has posted Privacy-Related Crimes in Dutch Law on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Since criminal law is usually considered a last resort for regulators, it provides a...
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Crime and Gang Violence in Boston as We Enter a New Year
Although crime in Boston is reportedly down, murders were up in 2016. There were a total of 47 homicides in Boston last year, which is nine more than 2015. The first homicide of last year was a 16-year-old teen who was shot and attacked with a machete in East Boston. Sadly, he was the third teen to be murdered in that neighborhood in only four months. According to police, all three deaths were part of an initiation for the MS-13 street gang. Suspects are currently awaiting trial. According to Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, the police department has been cracking down on violent gang activity. “Our No. 1 priority is taking guns off the street and taking the violence out of our communities,” said Evans. “Operation Wolfgang” is a joint effort among federal, state and local law enforcement to seize drugs, cash, and guns and clear the streets of a drug ring known as the Mozart Street Gang. 46 People Overdose Every Day in the US According to Suffolk…
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News Scan
Murderers Win Ohio Execution Delay: A Federal Magistrate Judge has delayed the executions of three Ohio murderers, ruling that the state's three drug lethal injection protocol is unconstitutional. AP writer Andrew Welsh-Huggins reports that Judge Michael Merz ruled yesterday that the state's use of the sedative midazolam in the protocol might allow the murderer's to feel some pain during their executions which he interpreted as a violation of the Eighth Amendment. The challenge to the protocol was brought by attorneys representing Ronald Phillips, who was convicted in 1993 of beating and raping his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter, Sheila Marie Evans, who died from her injuries. Does Chicago Need the Feds?: The President recently announced that if Chicago does not take effective action to reduce the epidemic of murders that is plaguing the city, he will send in the Feds to address the problem. While acknowledging that…
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Idaho State Police Road Safe January 28th
The Idaho State Police will be holding a Road Safe Class for the 2016/2017 winter driving season on Saturday, January 28, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The class will be held at the Idaho State Police District 1 Office located at 615 West Wilbur Avenue in Coeur d Alene (Meeting Room A & B). This is the fourteenth year this award-winning program has been offered to the public. This is presented in a classroom setting designed to educate drivers of all ages (teens, adults and seniors), on the typical problems associated with winter road conditions in Idaho. The class consists of a PowerPoint presentation and video giving safe driving tips, as well as suggestions to prepare for the winter driving season. Other topics discussed will be how to deal with aggressive drivers, DUIs, and other driving problems and situations encountered on the roadways. The class will last for approximately 3 hours. There is no cost for the class. PLEASE CALL (208) 209-8620 Monday - Friday 8…
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Entire Senior Staff of State Department Resign En Masse
Not a good day for Donald Trump or Rex Tillerson, his choice for Secretary of State. The entire senior staff of the State Department just resigned. The entire senior level of management officials resigned Wednesday, part of an ongoing mass... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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