“The deliberate falsity or reckless disregard of the truth applies only to the affiant—here, Officer Ramirez—and not to any nongovernmental informant like Rodriguez. … What is more, we note that both Officer Ramirez and Rodriguez appeared before the issuing judge, … Continue reading →
IL: Franks falsity applies to the officer, not the CI; also, the CI testified before the issuing magistrate, and that bolster’s credibility
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Iraq Suspends Mosul Advance Due to High Civilian Deaths
Iraq has suspended its advance on ISIS in Mosul due to the vast increase in civilian deaths from coalition bombings. Iraqi military leaders have halted their push to recapture west Mosul from Islamic State as international outrage grew over the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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E.D.Tex.: Suicide by cop as exigency requires actual engagement with law enforcement
The government’s claim of exigency from an alleged fear of “suicide by cop” is rejected here. “The Government invokes the inherent danger of suicide and, in particular, suicide by cop, but suicide by cop requires engagement with law enforcement. The … Continue reading →
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Notable perspectives on state and direction of modern criminal justice reform efforts
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OH5: Child sexual assault victim’s story to the police led to SW for 2d grade teacher’s classroom for CP
Defendant was a second grade teacher convicted of gross sexual imposition on some of his female students too whom he also showed child pornography. One of them ratted him out to the police, and that resulted in a search warrant … Continue reading →
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Creating new discretion for police to use deescalation methods
An excellent and necessary bill that's so far flown under the radar needs a quick referral and vote if it's going to pass this year. HB 3824, filed on the next to last day of bill filing by state Rep. Toni Rose, alters antiquated language about Texas law enforcement duties which has been in place in Texas since the days of the Republic (when there were far fewer laws, and lawmen).The legislation changes a couple of "shall" arrests to "mays," making Texas law more amenable to officers implementing deescalation strategies in the field. If the law says the officer "shall" arrest the kid who stole a candy bar from the corner store, for example, then what choice did she have but to chase him into traffic?In real life, officers exercise this sort of discretion every day. Why not codify what's already reality instead of pretending that officers can even know about, much less enforce, all the minor crimes sprinkled everywhere through…
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"Recognizing Redemption: Old Criminal Records and Employment Outcomes"
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Harris County litigation frames debate over bail bill
Grits remains excited about bail-reform legislation being promoted by Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht and Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller this session, and carried at the Lege by John Whitmire (SB 1338) in the Senate and Andrew Murr (HB 3011) in the House. Those are some big guns aimed at a big problem.The bills have been filed and at this point we're waiting to seen when the legislation will get a public hearing. There's still plenty of time, but the clock is definitely ticking.Creating even more urgency for legislative action, an article from Courthouse News makes it sound like Harris County is losing its bail litigation against civil rights advocates in federal court. So the state may want to reform the system itself rather than wait for a judge to declare it constitutional and make the changes the way she prefers. Here's another story from Courthouse News describing the risk-assessment tool which would be used in Harris…
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OH5: Consent was invalid when def was told she’d only be charged with tampering if she didn’t disclose the heroin on her person
The evidence supported the trial court’s finding that defendant’s consent to search was not freely and voluntarily given because the officer’s explanation to defendant incorrectly intimated that she could be charged with tampering with evidence if it was concealed on … Continue reading →
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Case o' The Week: Silver clouds and black linings - Rodriguez and Review of Title III Wiretap Applications and Orders
The good news? The Ninth imposes a new (and higher) two-step standard on the district courts, when reviewing Title III wiretap applications and orders. (The bad news? The Ninth finds the government meets that standard, here).United States v. Rodriguez, 2017 WL 971809 (9thCir. Mar. 14, 2017), decision available here.Players:Decision by visiting D.C. District Judge Friedman, joined by Judges Paez and Tashima. Facts: Several district judges granted wiretap orders targeting Rodriguez and an alleged Mexican Mafia drug conspiracy. Drug charges were eventually filed in the court of the third, presiding district judge. The third DJ reviewed the entire wiretap motion using only the (deferential) abuse of discretion standard, then denied the motion. Id. at *4. The government filed an § 851 prior. Id.at *8-*9. Rodriguez was convicted after a trial and was sentenced to 600 months. Id. at *1.Issue(s): “[Rodriguez] argues that the…
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College Students Could Face Harsh Penalties for DWI
Just a couple of days can make a big difference in the consequences of a DWI for college students in Minnesota. That’s because Minnesota takes under-age drinking extremely seriously, so a college student under age 21 who is caught drinking and driving faces much stricter limits and much stiffer penalties. These harsh penalties make it […] The post College Students Could Face Harsh Penalties for DWI appeared first on Minneapolis DWI Lawyer Douglas T. Kans.
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National College for DUI Defense and Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association conclude successful Mastering Scientific Evidence seminar in New Orleans
Last week, on March 22 and 23, 2017, the National College for DUI Defense and Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association successfully concluded their jointly sponsored annual Mastering Scientific Evidence seminar in New Orleans. Speakers included Robert Hirschhorn on Winning Voir Dire in Breath, Blood & Accident Cases, Amber Spurlock on Mining for Gold in Blood Discovery: Obtaining What You Need & Using It To Win, Donald Bartell on Successfully Defeating Hospital Blood Test Cases, Dean Jim Nesci on The Cure for Bad Breath 3.0, Alan Wayne Jones, BSc, PhD, DSc on Over 40 years and 400 Published Articles in Alcohol Research: Pushing Science to the Limits, Robert J. Belloto Jr., R.Ph., M.S.2, Ph.D. on Prescription Medication & Alcohol: Interaction and Metabolism – Determining Therapeutic v. Non-therapeutic Levels, Alfred E. Staubus, Pharm.D., Ph.D. on Breath Testing: Reported Measurement of Uncertainty for Various Evidential…
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Arrested for Retail Fraud from Sephora?
Sephora stores are very proactive in their attempts to curtail retail fraud. The fact that they sell small, popular, and often expensive products seems to tempt persons to steal from them. A disproportionate number of clients that I represent are alleged shoplifters from Sephora stores, which says a lot about how Sephora stores are run. From my observations as a criminal defense lawyer, they have implemented a number of different policies and procedures to combat shoplifting. First, Sephora seems to be willing to prosecute persons detained for shoplifting from their stores. The store also actively bans shoplifters from their stores by no trespassing orders that are given to the persons detained for suspected retail theft. They employ a law firm to civilly seek damages against persons that steal from Sephora. Second, they have a well staffed store. There are many sales associates throughout the store that are trained to interact with…
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Crimea: In the International Blind Spot
Russian security forces attempt to block the way of Crimean Tatars crossing a checkpoint in May 2014. REUTERS/STRINGER By Viachaslau “Slava” Bortnik Amnesty International recently released a public statement raising the worsening human rights situation in Crimea marking three years under Russian rule since the Peninsula’s unlawful annexation in March 2014. Despite Amnesty’s call for human rights in last year’s briefing ‘Crimea in the dark: the silencing of dissent’, Russian and Crimean de facto authorities continue to intensify their persecution of political activists, dissenting voices, and ethnic Crimean Tatars. Russian authorities have banned the Crimean Tatar Mejilis as an “extremist” organization in April 2016, and have used this ploy to further harass and persecute the human rights of this group. Members of the Mejilis are pressed with ungrounded administrative fines for private meetings, as per Russian law, as…
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Arrested for Shoplifting from Kohls
Kohls employs very aggressive strategies to combat shoplifting. Due to this strategy there are many arrests and prosecutions which result from incidents allegedly involving retail fraud. There are a number of policies and procedures that Kohls undertakes to protect the store property and deter theft. First, Kohls is very determined to prosecute persons who they catch shoplifting. Loss prevention are willing to testify at court, when necessary, in support of a shoplifting arrest. They ban the people they catch from shopping in their stores, and seek civil damages as well (usually in the amount of $200). Second, the sales associates at Kohls are trained to interact with customers, and to report suspicious conduct to loss prevention. Continue reading
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Ignition Interlocks Stopped 350,000 Drunk Drivers Last Year
New data from the advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving suggests that ignition interlock devices prevented nearly 350,000 instances of drunk driving in the last year, and more than 2.3 millions instances over the past decade. If you are familiar with ignition interlock devices, you know that a driver must blow into the device in order to get their vehicle to start. If the driver blows above a 0.08 or a lower threshold imposed by the court, the vehicle will not start, and the device records the failed start attempt in a driver log. All of these failed starts are archived, and MADD was recently able to get their hands on the data. Wisconsin Has Most Failed Starts Even though the population of Wisconsin pales in comparison to other larger states, our neighbor to the east registered the most ignition interlock failed starts in the last 12 months. According to the data, Wisconsin had the most failed vehicle starts due to an elevated blood alcohol content of any state in the…
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How Not to Become a Lesson to Others When it Comes to Gun Ownership in Michigan
Does owing a gun or firearm for the purpose of defending yourself and your family increase the risk of an accident, or becoming a victim if you use your gun in protection of yourself or a loved one? In depends on who you talk to, apparently. Over the past 16 years, the number of people who believe having a gun in their homes makes their family safer has nearly doubled according to a 2014 Gallup poll, which indicates 60% of Americans feel their homes are safer with a gun present. In Michigan, the number of FBI background checks performed on state residents buying handguns increased significantly, nearly 141,700 checks taking place over a three-year period between 2012 and 2015. How many Michigan residents have active concealed pistol licenses? About eight percent of the adult population of the state, or just over 600,000 according to surveys. Director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center and Harvard School of Public Health professor David Hemenway maintains there is no…
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Teichman on Convicting with Reasonable Doubt
Doron Teichman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Faculty of Law) has posted Convicting with Reasonable Doubt: An Evidentiary Theory of Criminal Law (Notre Dame Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article presents an evidentiary theory of...
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Should I testify in the Grand Jury? Part Two
This is the second part of a multi-part blog post about how the Grand Jury in New York works and whether a defendant should testify in the Grand Jury. This is written for laypeople to understand and deliberately avoids legalese jargon to make it easier to comprehend. It also is not intended to serve as legal advice. The decision to testify in the Grand Jury is an important one and you should not substitute this post for the advice of an actual lawyer. If you want legal advice, hire a lawyer. With that said, Part One briefly described what the Grand Jury does and how it differs from a petit jury (also known as a trial jury). Part Two will focus on the actual logistical differences between the two kinds of juries and will address why the decision to testify at the Grand Jury involves a different kind of analysis than the decision to testify at trial. As I stated previously, the purpose of the Grand Jury is to determine whether there is enough evidence to accuse someone…
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The Future of DUI Prevention
New technologies will be changing the approach to dealing with DUIs in the coming years. Drivers will have better ways to monitor their own blood alcohol levels, and the vehicles they drive could come equipped to prevent them from driving if they’ve overindulged. Meanwhile lawmakers and law enforcement officers may gain at least one new tool to help them detect DUI drivers and get them off the road. Determining sobriety Suppose you’ve gone to a bar with a few friends and had a couple of drinks over the course of an evening. When it comes time to leave, you feel completely sober…but you have to wonder, since you’re a responsible driver, if it’s really safe to be behind the wheel. (As you probably know, alcohol impairs your ability to make good decisions.) Continue reading
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