A 39 year old Los Angeles woman, Jennifer Choi, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to stealing nearly $1 million over her 10 year career. Choi’s job was to schedule hairstyling and makeup services for HBO’s actors and actresses. Without HBO’s knowledge, Choi developed her own company called Shine Glossy, which claimed to provide makeup and styling services, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Through her company, Shine Glossy, she submitted phony invoices for services that were not provided, falsely using the names of actors, making the invoices appear legitimate. Continue reading →
Ex-HBO Employee Steals Nearly $1 Million
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"Nation's Criminal Defense Bar Welcomes Passage by House of Representatives of the Email Privacy Act"
From the NACDL website: Washington, DC (Feb. 6, 2017) – Today, the House of Representatives passed the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 387). This bill is a long overdue update of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), a bill passed in...
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Englewood may overhaul sex offender residency rules after law makes nearly the entire city off limits
2-7-17 Colorado: Proposed measure would reduce buffers from schools, daycare centers from 2,000 feet to 1,000 feet Englewood city leaders on Monday readied a major overhaul to a decade-old law that severely restricts where sex offenders can live in this city of 32,000 south of Denver. Englewood’s law, enacted in 2006, prohibits sex offenders from taking up residence within 2,000 feet of a
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WHY 45 SHOULD WIN IN THE 9TH CIRCUIT
Longtime and careful readers of this blog well know that other than the sheer entertainment value of the current presidency, there is little we like or respect coming from 45's White House in terms of policy. But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals should reverse the District Court judge and lift the stay on the order. Here is why:It is bad precedent for a court to meddle in a president's national security order.Trump's travel ban is racist. Much like the decision in Korematsu, it is un-american, representing the worst of our country's xenophobic and nativist tendencies. But only the president gets the Presidential Daily Briefing. Only the president gets ALL the intelligence from the various US intelligence agencies. And therefore, as much as we do not like, trust, or respect this president, there should not be precedent of an appellate court substituting its judgment for that of a president's judgment in the area of national security.…
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Notable commentators making notable arguments against marijuana legalization
The Weekly Standard has this notable new commentary authored by John Walters (pictured here), David Murray and Brian Blake under the headline "The Risky Business of Commercial Marijuana." The authors are notable because they all served in the Office of National Drug Control Policy during the George W. Bush administration,...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/9lICGwCLB8o" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Death of Sandra Bland Sparks Legislation in Texas
The death of an African American woman in a Texas police cell in 2015 has paved the way for a new bill in the state legislature that would change police procedure. Lawmakers have made 14 recommendations that could form the basis of the Sandra Bland Act, reported the Texas Tribune. The recommendations were drawn up by Texas House County Affairs Committee. Its report to lawmakers suggests sweeping changes that include improving the training of police officers to stop situations escalating, improved mental illness awareness, more jail-to-treatment diversion programs and the elimination of consent searches during stops. The Bland case shocked the public and the law enforcement world in Texas because a woman who ended up in a police cell after a traffic infraction, later took her own life. Former Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Brian Encinia stopped Bland in Prairie View in 2015. The 28-year-old woman from Illinois failed to signal a lane change. What should have been a…
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Man Poses as Justin Bieber to Get Nude Pictures of 9 Year Old Girl
A 24 year old man named Bryan Asrary was arrested in Revere, Massachusetts, on December 18th after allegedly soliciting nude photos from a Los Angeles County minor. Los Angeles Sheriff’s detectives from the human trafficking bureau started an investigation after being told that an 11 year old girl had been extorted for sexually explicit pictures. The girl told detectives that this started two years before, when she was 9. She was viewing the Instagram page of Bieber when she received a direct message from another Instagram user who said he knew Bieber and could arrange a text meeting with the victim. The victim, who was excited about the proposition, accepted the offer and was directed to make an account on the social media site, Kik. The girl then communicated with someone on Kik who she thought was Justin Bieber. Asrary, who was posing as Bieber, began demanding nude photos of the girl; threatening harm if she did not cooperate. She complied and sent nude selfies and…
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A LITTLE ROAD RAGE CAN LEAD TO BIG TROUBLE IN ILLINOIS
We’ve all been cut off or frustrated by other drivers. But no matter how hostile the other driver may be, it’s best to stay in your car, keep cool and if necessary, call the police. A recent Illinois case illustrates the criminal charges that can result when two parties allow road rage to overwhelm their better judgment. In People v Yeoman, defendant was in a car behind the victim at a red light. Defendant honked his horn to let the other driver know the light had changed. The victim, a senior citizen named Frank Egas, then repeatedly gave defendant the finger, refused to let him pass and cut him off. Defendant’s wife and children were also in the car. Defendant and his wife left their car to confront Egas. After returning to their car, Egas got out and began to yell at them. Defendant punched Egas in the face. He then fell backward and later died. The defendant was charged with two counts of second degree murder, aggravated battery on a public way,…
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How We Interview Trial Counsel
Ineffective counsel claims are probably the least fun part of the job at the state level in Georgia. Unlike the Federal system, where an evidentiary hearing on an IAC claim is often left for habeas proceedings, Georgia IAC must be raised at the first available opportunity, or it is deemed to be waived. This system has its benefits, but it also creates pressure on the appellate attorney to raise ineffective assistance of counsel, regardless of the issue’s viability. Having done many IAC interviews over the years, I have some basic things that I have learned to do in my approach. Recognize that this interview is part of the job. Awkwardness can feel like an inevitable part of this process. But it does not have to be horrible. There are some things that I always acknowledge up front. What I am doing here is part of the process. And the lawyer you are about to interview had a difficult job to do. Criminal defense can feel like a thankless task. And if the trial attorney is a…
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Three Injured in Rollover Crash on I86
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Idaho State Police District 5 5205 South 5th Ave. Pocatello, Idaho 83204-2299 (208) 236-6466 FAX: (208) 236-6068 For Immediate Release: 02/08/2017 02:08 pm Please direct questions to the District Office At approximately 8:17 am, Wednesday, February 8,2017, the Idaho State Police investigated a one-vehicle rollover westbound on Interstate 86 at milepost 47, two miles west of the Rainbow Road exit. Abel Guerrero, age 34 of Pocatello, was driving a 2000 GMC Sierra Pickup when he encountered a patch of ice and lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle rolled and came to rest in the median. Two juvenile passengers were ejected and all three occupants were transported by ground ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center. None of the occupants were wearing seatbelts. EH/SC -------------
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Florida’s Kidnapping Laws
Kidnapping Laws First and foremost, it is a serious felony to kidnap another person. The term “kidnapping” is defined under Florida’s statute 787.01 as using force, a threat of force, or acted secretly to imprison, abduct or confine… The post Florida’s Kidnapping Laws appeared first on Chapman Criminal Defense Firm.
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State v. Parisi Answers DWI Procedural Riddle
Criminal procedure aficionados, close your red books and riddle me this: A district court judge in a DWI case preliminarily grants a defendant’s motion to suppress. The State appeals to superior court. The superior court affirms the district court’s determination and remands the case for entry of an order suppressing the evidence and dismissing the charges. The district court enters the order. Does the State have the right to appeal? That’s the essence of the question the court of appeals answered yesterday in State v. Parisi, ___ N.C. App. ___, ___ S.E.2d ___ (2017). The answer? No, the State has no right to appeal from the district court’s final order. Why? There is no statutory right to appeal from a final order by a district court suppressing evidence. And, on these facts, neither the superior court nor the district court was authorized to dismiss the charges. Here’s what happened. Parisi was stopped at a checkpoint and subsequently arrested…
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Anarchy in School
Once upon a time, when American education was run by people with sense, it was understood that learning to be a good citizen was part of education, along with academics and phys ed. An environment with fair rules that are fairly administered and where breaking them has adverse consequences develops in children a healthy respect for the norms of behavior and for the rights of others.Katherine Kersten describes in the City Journal the disastrous effect of St. Paul school giving control of school discipline to ideologues who believed that "disparate impact" in school discipline was the result of teachers' biases and that dramatically reducing standards of behavior and frequency of discipline was the solution. In fact, it produced anarchy.St. Paul's experience makes clear that discipline policies rooted in racial-equity ideology lead to disaster. This shouldn't be surprising, considering that the ideology's two major premises are seriously…
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PROMSEX - se olvidaron de la familia natural
He contestado todas las opiniones como la que enseguida leerán y desde todos los enfoques posibles, una batalla si me permiten la licencia, de uno contra la más feroz campaña desinformativa que haya visto a lo largo de mi vida en la que han participado abogados, sociólogos y cuanto humano defiende la famosa “igualdad”, “identidad”, “ideología” de género. Naturalmente nadie se ha permitido opinar o demostrar cuan errado estoy, están empeñados en MENTIR descaradamente excluyendo a los padres de familia SE LES OLVIDÓ que los niños tienen padre y madre y que estos JAMÁS dejarán a sus hijos una puerta sin llave para que experimenten lo que este artículo precisa: “Defendamos el derecho a una educación orientada al bienestar de niñas y niños, que no replique roles y estereotipos de género, y contribuya a…
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Trump's Plan to Bolster Guantanamo With ISIS
Trump now wants to put any future ISIS detainees at Gitmo. Here is the draft of his proposed executive order. Sec. 2. Continuing State of Armed Conflict With Terrorist Groups. The United States remains engaged in an armed conflict with al... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Must State Police Return Wrongfully Seized Marijuana?
Imagine the following scenario. P is a local police officer who stops D for speeding. In the course of a consensual search of D’s car, P finds a small bag of marijuana. State law bans the simple possession of marijuana by most people, so P seizes the drug. However, D...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/lqkzhIt3upI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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“Simple Assault,” Authentication and the Tweet
This post examines an opinion from the Superior Court of New Jersey – Appellate Division: State v. Hannah, 2016 WL 7368984 (2016). The court begins by explaining that[d]efendant Terri Hannah appeals her July 10, 2015 conviction for simple assault after a trial de novo in the Law Division, following her conviction in municipal court. She argues that a Twitter posting was improperly admitted into evidence, citing a Maryland case requiring that social media postings must be subjected to a greater level of authentication. State v. Hannah, supra.The court begins by explaining how the case arose, noting that the Law Divisionfound the following facts based on the testimony in the Vineland Municipal Court. On September 22, 2012, Arnett Blake and his girlfriend, Cindy Edwards, attended a party at a community center. Defendant, Blake's ex-girlfriend, also attended the party.While in the bathroom, Edwards encountered defendant `making rude…
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CONGRATS TO JUDGE ROBERT LUCK
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:AND YOUR NEWEST 3RD DCA JUDGE IS ..... JUDGE ROBERT LUCK*** Judge Luck, age 37, earned a raise today. $8,000 to be exact. You see the salary of a Circuit Court Judge is $146,000 while a Judge on the 3rd gets paid $154,000. $8,000 bucks and no more daily calendars; pretty good gig if you ask me. Oh yeah, and the raise also comes with a lifetime appointment; almost forgot about that. Seriously, Judge Luck is so well deserving of this appointment. He has two degrees from the University of Florida Gators. He clerked for Judge Ed Carnes of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. He even worked for that venerable boutique law firm Greenberg Traurig from 2005-2006. He then joined the U.S. Attorney's Office where he worked for almost seven years. Then, in 2013, at the ripe old age of 33, Governor Scott appointed Luck to the Circuit Court bench. See our coverage here. Luck faced the voters this past summer for the first time and…
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Attorney General Sessions
Jeff Sessions has been confirmed as United States Attorney General, 52-47.Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) voted yes, and Senator Sessions himself voted "present." All others voted down party lines.That is most unfortunate. Jeff Sessions is a well-qualified nominee, and the attacks on him have been shown to be spurious, yet only one Senator from the opposition party has the spine to cross the aisle.
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Senate Confirms Jeff Sessions as Attorney General
The Senate just confirmed Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. Vote talley here. One Dem, Joe Manchin of W Va voted for him. No Republican voted against him. Two independents joined with Dems and voted no. Final vote: 52 to 47. (Sessions... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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