In State Courts in Michigan when you receive a ticket for a criminal case, are notified that you have a warrant for a criminal charge, or are placed under arrest and taken into custody, the manner in which a bond is obtained may be different. The factors that a Judge or Magistrate considers in Michigan when setting a bond are the same for misdemeanor and felony cases. Generally, a Court will set conditions of pretrial release or detention that addresses two issues: the particular Defendant’s potential to not appear in Court and threat to the public safety. It is supposed to be the least restrictive manner necessary to accomplish these two issues. There are a number of factors that the Court considers that are contained in Michigan Court Rule 6.106. Bond can be set as a personal bond, in a monetary amount (cash, surety, or 10%), or denied (for murder, treason, or some violent felonies depending upon the circumstances). Bond can also be denied…
How Do I Get Bonded Out For A Criminal Case
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Your Murder Case Could Be Thrown Out if Police Don’t Record the Conversation (PC 859.5)
In a fair criminal justice system, the guilty are punished and the innocent are set free. Unfortunately, our system is not always fair, and innocent people sometimes go to prison for crimes they did not commit. In 2015, 149 people were exonerated nationwide for crimes they did not commit. In 27 of those cases, the person was convicted based on a false confession. That is why the California legislature, in conjunction with the Northern California Innocence Project, pushed for a law that requires the interrogation of anyone suspected of committing murder to be recorded electronically. This means that if you are charged with murder, California Penal Code Section 859.5 allows the court to exclude any evidence of your statements if no video and audio recording is made and presented. “Custodial Interrogations” For electronic recording to be required, the interrogation must be a “custodial interrogation.” This means that a law enforcement officer is questioning…
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Florida Cops: Spring Break Patrols Will be in Full Force
Spring break in Florida is something of a rite of passage for many college students across the country. They flock here for a brief, sunny respite from the mid-semester doldrums and flood the state’s beaches and bars. Many communities thrive off this yearly influx of younger visitors. However, state and local police are issuing stern warnings about what is expected of visitors here and what kinds of enforcement actions they can expect. In particular, police are focused on: Public drinking Drinking and driving Underage consumption of alcohol Each of these are crimes under Florida law, and arrests for these offenses tend to spike during spring break. Drug and alcohol use by drivers is perhaps the most serious issue. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports that in March 2016, there were 467 car accidents involving drunk drivers or drugged drivers in Florida. That breaks down to 15 a day. That’s substantially higher than the monthly…
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Keiko Fujimori y sus domésticos
KEIKO FUJIMORI Y SUS DOMÉSTICOS http://diariocorreo.pe/politica/keiko-fujimori-visita-pucusana-y-entrega-ayuda-ante-desastres-737711/ “Asimismo, Keiko Fujimori anunció que visitará Lima Norte para entregar apoyo, pero señaló que dejaba a sus congresistas para colaborar en las labores de limpieza en Pucusana.” Si alguien tiene algo que opinar ruego que lo hagan.
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Bellin on Prosecutors and Mass Incarceration
Jeffrey Bellin (William & Mary Law School) have posted Reassessing Prosecutorial Power Through the Lens of Mass Incarceration on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Prosecutors have long been the Darth Vader of academic writing: mysterious, all-powerful and, for the most...
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Trump, Like Reagan, Hopes To Slam The Courthouse Door In Poor People's Faces
"We promote what Thomas Jefferson described as "the most sacred of the duties of government," which is "to provide equal and impartial justice to all its citizens." And we do it at a cost that amounts to less than one one-hundredth of 1 percent of the federal budget." -- John Levi, Chairman of the Board of LSCMy first job as a lawyer, over 30 years ago, was in a legal aid office. I'm extremely proud of the important work we did on miniscule salaries and limited resources. Our clients were people of limited financial means who sought help navigating the legal system against well-heeled landlords, unyielding government bureaucrats and abusive spouses. We prevented many of them from being evicted or from living in sub-standard housing, helped them obtain government benefits they had been unfairly denied, and protected them from dangerous domestic situations through restraining orders. In those days, the Reagan…
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N.D.Fla.: No IAC for failure to challenge stop when there was plenty of PC
Officers had a wealth of probable cause from consensually monitored conversations to have probable cause to stop the vehicle defendant was riding in. Therefore, defense counsel couldn’t be ineffective for not making a meritless motion to suppress for lack of … Continue reading →
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New law review article: Hiding in Plain Sight: A Fourth Amendment Framework for Analyzing Government Surveillance in Public
Rachel Levinson-Waldman, Hiding in Plain Sight: A Fourth Amendment Framework for Analyzing Government Surveillance in Public, 66 Emory L.J. 527 (2016): Introduction Over the last several decades, the range and capabilities of easily available technologies have expanded at an astonishing … Continue reading →
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News Scan
Florida Prosecutor Refuses to Seek Death Penalty: Florida's Governor has reassigned a case involving the recent murder of a police officer after a State Attorney refused to seek the death penalty. Fox News reports that the prosecution of Markeith Loyd, for the January 9 murders of Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton and his pregnant girlfriend Dade Dixon, was reassigned today after State Attorney Aramis Ayala announced that she would not seek a death sentence for Loyd. In a statement Thursday Ayala said that the death penalty has led to "chaos, uncertainty and turmoil," and was not "in the best interest of the community or the best interest of justice." Governor Scott differed, "These families (of the victims) deserve a state attorney who will aggressively prosecute Markeith Loyd to the fullest extent of the law and justice must be served." AZ High Court Upholds Death Penalty: In a decision announced…
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How America’s justice system is rigged against the poor
From Vox Voices, a compelling video presented by Brooklyn Defender Services that highlights the endemic problems attendant to mass incarceration: More re: narrator Wes Caines here.
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Understanding the New DOJ Guidance: Part 1 – Tone at the Top
In February, the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section offered a new perspective on what the government expects in a compliance program in the form of a series of questions that companies should be prepared to answer about their program. Although some reported these questions provided limited, if any, new information, we see it differently. The guidance offers companies an unusually detailed roadmap for building or assessing their compliance program when it is explored in conjunction with past guidance. This is the first in a series of posts where we will explore key topics for companies of all sizes from the questions posed within the recent guidance. *** A commitment from high-level management is typically the first compliance component discussed in government guidance and Deferred Prosecution Agreements. Commonly referred to as “Tone at the Top,” this critical concept has previously been described in vague, generic ways. See, for example, this…
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Caught Driving on a Suspended License in MA?
Driving on a suspended license is a crime in MA, but we understand that the decision to do so is often for very practical reasons. Maybe you had to pick up one of your kids, or drive to an interview. The decision to drive on a suspended license isn’t a good one, but it doesn’t make you a bad person either. A MA defense lawyer can help you manage the damage if you’ve been charged with driving on a suspended license. Driver’s licenses can be suspended or revoked for a variety of reasons, including driving under the influence, littering, or having an outstanding warrant. If your license is suspended, don’t drive. But if you already failed to heed that advice, there are several defenses that may be available to you. The underlying offense that resulted in your suspension, and prior criminal history will factor heavily in the outcome of your case. If, for example, you have no other criminal history and your license was suspended because you were…
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Man With 12 Prior DUI Convictions Kills 12-Year-Old in Crash
Last summer, a 12-year-old girl was struck and killed by a drunk driver. That 49-year-old man reportedly had a blood-alcohol concentration of more than three times the legal limit. He also had 12 prior DUI convictions. That is a DUI conviction for every year of this child’s life, which was taken far too soon. Authorities say the man’s driver’s license had been revoked since 1990, and his convictions date back to 1986. As the local town police chief told a local television reporter in Detroit, where this tragedy unfolded, society was in a sense lucky for two decades when it came to this man. Repeatedly, he showed over and over again his willingness to flout the law – and the safety of those with whom he (illegally) shared the road. During his recent sentencing hearing, at which the 49-year-old was sentenced to between 27 and 50 years in prison, he reportedly wept multiple times and told the family he wished that he had died in the fatal DUI…
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John Gotti enters guilty plea for sale of prescription drugs
As reported by NBC New York, John Gotti, the grandson of a notorious New York City mobster who bore the same name, pleaded guilty to the following charges: Second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance Conspiracy to commit a class A felony Third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance arising from two arrests in 2016 According to the Queens District Attorneys’ Office, he could spend 25 years to life in prison for the part he played in an extensive prescription drug operation. Gotti said he would give over $259,000 in drug proceeds that officials confiscated during an arrest on August 4, 2016 and another $7,000 in drug proceeds confiscated in an arrest on June 30, 2016. Similar to his grandfather, Gotti was captured by hidden listening devices. Investigators eavesdropped on his telephone conversations, and placed a bug in his vehicle. Thus, they were able to record his conversations concerning his Oxycodone trafficking business. In like manner, his…
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Soaring Number of Computers Hijacked for Ransom
It has been reported by the San Diego Union Tribune that the amount of computer extortion crimes has significantly increased. Victims are getting notices that they have downloaded a virus and will have to pay X amount to ‘get rid of it.’ Victims are accidentally downloading ransomware. Hackers load malicious software onto people’s computers via emails, decoy ads, bogus news stories, and code embedded through websites. They then charge money to “remove” this ransomware. It is a form of extortion. According to Special Agent Chris Christopherson, who investigates cyber crimes out of the FBI’s field office in San Diego, it is “entirely possible that we’ll have far in excess of $1 billion in losses” worldwide related to ransomware.” The final tally for 2016 has not been completed yet. The FBI claims that every hour, about 4,000 computers around the world become infected with ransomware. This is an exponentially larger…
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Slobogin on Legislative Regulation of Surveillance
Christopher Slobogin (Vanderbilt University - Law School) has posted Legislative Regulation of Surveillance (The Cambridge Handbook of Surveillance Law (David Gray & Stephen E. Henderson, eds., 2017 Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Most of the law governing technological...
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Meditations
I had a jury trial in Midland County last week.1 The jury panel was very authoritarian — the prosecutor asked a Likert-Scaled (Strongly Agree — Agree — Disagree — Strongly Disagree) question: “Better that 100 guilty people go free than that one innocent person be punished?” Almost every member of the panel strongly disagreed with that proposition.2 Yet I was fairly sure by the end of jury selection that I had brought most of the panel over to the side of the out-of-town criminal-defense lawyer wearing lace-up shoes3 and his client. I was fairly sure by the end of opening statement that most of the jury thought my client hadn’t broken the law. I would not have had this confidence early in my career. When we first learn to try cases, we learn the mechanics of voir dire, of opening statements, of direct and cross and closing. This is all useful stuff, of course. I remember my civil pretrial litigation professor in law…
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Dallas White Crime Lawyers Explains White Collar Crime: Should Criminals Do the Time?
One of the difficulties surrounding white collar crimes is that many people convicted of financial misconduct have no prior criminal background White collar crimes have dominated news headlines in recent years, as the economy continues to struggle back from the 2008 housing crisis and subsequent collapse. Most recently, Wells Fargo drew attention and sharp criticism when it admitted to creating millions of unauthorized accounts in its customers’ names and then charging them fraudulent fees associated with the accounts. According to the FBI, the term “white collar crime” has been around since 1939 and encompasses a wide range of offenses. In most cases, these are financial crimes perpetrated by people in business or government, however, white collar crimes can also involve individuals in other industries. For example, a Georgia teacher was accused of stealing more than $33,000 from a high school cheerleading squad in 2015, leading to felony fraud and theft…
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What Happens if I Get Arrested for Shoplifting at The Westchester or Galleria Mall in White Plains
Don’t shoplift or don’t get caught may be the best advice anyone – criminal lawyer or not – can give to someone who plans on shoplifting or even wants that angel on his or her shoulder when that spur of the moment pang kicks in. While the former is a far better choice, the reality of the world is that many people do shoplift and countless numbers of those people get arrested and prosecuted for crimes. Whether you are a foreign national with an H-1B or an F-1 visa, a financial services provider regulated by FINRA, an accountant, lawyer, teacher, nurse, bartender, construction worker, student or stay-at-home-mom, the charges you will likely face are the same. Certainly, destroying merchandise by tearing off security devices, changing tags, or being part of a larger crew may impact the ultimate charges you face or tenacity of the District Attorney’s Office in pursuing those charges, but assuming the value of the items stolen is $1,000 or less then the…
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Stalked, Extorted of Blackmailed by a Mistress or Girlfriend in Connecticut? Know Your Rights!
As a criminal lawyer in Fairfield County Connecticut, I’ve seen the same jilted mistress / girlfriend movie all too many times. All these cheating and sugar daddy websites like Seekingarrangement.com and ashleymadison.co start off the same…a presumed “no strings attached” affair between an older, wealthier male and a younger, beautiful woman. At the outset, the terms are simple: man cheats with woman in exchange for him buying her and her friends nice stuff. They travel the world, stay at the best hotels, see the best shows, and enjoy the best restaurants and clubs. And then…most of the time…it all goes to sh*t. Greenwich, Darien & Westport Police Don’t Have the Time or Interest in Mistress Extortion Cases What happens next is all too familiar to many of the best Connection criminal extortion, blackmail and stalking lawyers who handle these types of cases. Eventually, the man moves on or doesn’t keep his end of the…
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