Being charged with a crime, whether it’s a felony or misdemeanor, is a serious matter that should not be taken lightly. Conviction of a criminal offense can carry many different consequences, such as jail time, fines, community service, probation, and a permanent criminal record. If an individual is convicted of a felony, he or she may be precluded from getting certain types of jobs, lose his or her right to vote, be unable to own a firearm, and have other restrictions on the way he or she lives. What Is a Plea Bargain? A plea bargain is an agreement in which a person who has been accused of a crime agrees to plead guilty in return for the prosecutor recommending a lesser sentence or reducing the severity of the offense. Understanding the Risks of Trial Going to trial can be risky. The fact-finder, either a judge or a jury, can act in an unpredictable manner. An experienced criminal defense attorney who has been to trial on numerous occasions will…
Should I Take a Plea Bargain?
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Morning Radio: Solti
Thursday.On point.Stationary.Boss man.Solti was.Top man.Baseball on, volume silent.Solti on the boombox.Loud.Kanye before Kanye.Solti. Boss man.
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DUI Driver crashes into 12 cars, knocks down several street signs and injures two in San Rafael
The San Rafael police department arrested a 29 year old man after receiving a 911 call of reckless driving in the Canal area. Officers from the central Marin County city arrested the driver for felony driving under the influence causing injury, and driving with a blood alcohol content greater than .08%, felony hit and run with an injury, and driving without a license. A San Rafael citizen, who called 911 followed the suspected drunk driver and tackled and detained him before the police officers arrived. After retracing the drive’s route San Rafael Police Officers determined that he was involved in seven hit and run collisions in the Canal Neighborhood. A drunk driving conviction for a first offense in San Rafael or elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area can result in punishment including probation, fines, a DUI school and up to 6 months in jail under the California Vehicle Code. Drivers with…
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Highlighting books that suggest how the "age of mass incarceration may actually be abating"
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West Virginia officially becomes first new medical marijuana state of the Trump era
As reported in this local article, headlined "WV governor signs medical marijuana into law," the latest state to reform its marijuana laws is the Mountain State. Here are the details: Gov. Jim Justice signed a comprehensive medical marijuana bill into law Wednesday, wrapping up what might have been the legislative...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/wHO84-i8qtQ" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Burgum signs law prohibiting high-risk sex offenders from living near ND schools
4-20-17 North Dakota: BISMARCK — Gov. Doug Burgum has approved North Dakota's first statewide restriction on where high-risk sex offenders can live, despite objections from the manager of the state's sex offender program. Burgum signed House Bill 1334 into law Friday, April 14. The new law prohibits offenders deemed a high risk to re-offend from residing within 500 feet of a preschool or K-12
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Court records: Man was burned alive in car trunk in Phoenix
4-20-17 Arizona: At 9:02 p.m. on March 29, Dustin Jones texted a friend that things were "getting weird. I think I’m about to bounce.” The next morning, Jones, 40, was found dead in the trunk of his car, which had been set on fire in Phoenix. The text is included in court documents, which also state that Jones, who lived in Tucson, was visiting a woman in Phoenix. The two were with a second
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Medical malpractice lawsuit reopens against New York hospital
A state appellate panel revived a medical malpractice lawsuit against North Shore University Hospital in New York due to conflicting evidence. According to the four-judge Second Department panel, the trial judge should not have dismissed the case as medical records contradicted the expert witness testimony submitted by the hospital. Plaintiff Joseph Kleinman sued North Shore University Hospital and surgeon George DeNoto after he developed abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) following a complicated, five-hour hernia operation in 2009. The condition involves the buildup of pressure inside an enclosed muscle space. The plaintiff accused the hospital of failing to make a timely and proper diagnosis of his ACS. The hospital’s expert witness, a board-certified surgeon, claimed that Kleinman did not have ACS following his surgery. However, medical records indicated otherwise. In addition, the court said DeNoto had electronically signed the patient’s discharge summary,…
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Police Report Large Annapolis Drug Bust
Anne Arundel County police officers recently executed a search warrant of an Annapolis home and recovered a massive stash of controlled substances. The stash was large in both volume and in variety, as police seized over 11 pounds of high quality marijuana as well as a large quantity of cocaine. Cops also discovered smaller but still significant amounts of LSD, ketamine, heroin and hash oil. Two men were arrested as a result of the search and seizure, which took place at around 3 in the afternoon. Charging documents allege that one of the men jumped out of a second story window and attempted to flee upon becoming aware of the police activity. This man, who lives in nearby Severna Park, allegedly threw a vial of ketamine into a neighbors yard before surrendering to law enforcement. The other defendant who lived at the house surrendered more quietly after opening the door for police. Both men are in their mid twenties and are now facing charges in the District Court for Anne…
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Thursday Open Thread
In the news: 7 things Trump and Sessions Get Wrong About MS-13 Jeff Sessions wants the border wall to hurry up. Ivanka Trump is going to participate in the W20 (Women 20) summit in Germany next week. Her topic is "women's economic... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Perlin on The Development of Therapeutic Jurisprudence
Michael L. Perlin (New York Law School) has posted 'Have You Seen Dignity?': The Story of the Development of Therapeutic Jurisprudence on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper will be presented at a special event, hosted by the Victoria...
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Using Prior Inconsistent Statements to Strengthen Your Criminal Defense in Maryland
In a criminal case, there are several things a defendant must do to strengthen his case and give himself a good chance at an acquittal. One of these things is reducing the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses. One way to do that is to introduce previous statements that the state’s witness made that are contrary to what the witness stated on the stand at trial. In one recent sex crime case from Montgomery County, the defendant obtained a new trial on appeal after the trial judge in his case improperly refused to allow him to put on evidence of prior inconsistent statements made by one of the state’s key witnesses. The defendant on trial in this case was a tattoo artist in Damascus, Maryland. In November 2013, he tattooed a 19-year-old customer, who requested a large tattoo across her inner thigh, outer thigh, and right hip area. To accommodate the process, the woman removed her pants but was still wearing a bikini bottom. In the course of tattooing the…
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Lawyer for Family Member in Jail
When a family member is arrested, there is often a period of concern and worry because the family member cannot be reached. Sometimes the family member is deprived of the ability to use a telephone during their initial period of incarceration. A lawyer has greater access to see persons incarcerated, because the 6th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to be represented by counsel. The following are some obstacles that a person has while initially incarcerated. The family may have concerns about the general health and well being of the incarcerated family member. This is especially true when the family member has a physical or mental health issue and needs to receive proper medication. In many instances jails deny persons incarcerated proper medical care and proper medication. The intervention of a lawyer sometimes can correct this situation. The family may have concerns that the incarcerated family…
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Free Speech At Berkeley
"Freedom of speech is something that represents the very dignity of what a human being is. If you cannot speak... I mean, that's what marks us off. That's what marks us off from the stones and the stars. You can speak freely. It is almost impossible for me to describe. It is the thing that marks us as just below the angels. I don't want to push this beyond where it should be pushed, but I feel it." -- Mario SavioI must admit that I love living in my protective, progressive bubble in Berkeley where the political spectrum runs from far left to left. Sure, we have our share of bullying, misogyny and bigotry. And we suffer from plenty of the other problems that plague the country, from vast income disparity to intractable homelessness. But I would venture to say that compared to most communities in America, we are far more more welcoming of those who are marginalized by society due to gender…
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Sale of the Family Home in Washington Divorce
Often, the family home is one of the more difficult assets to address in a divorce. Even if both parties agree to sell the home, the process can still be difficult. In a recent unpublished case, a Washington appeals court determined whether the sale of a home was “imminent,” as required by the divorce decree, or whether the husband was required to pay the wife $15,000 because it was not imminent. The marriage was dissolved by a degree of dissolution that awarded the home to the husband. The wife was required to execute and deliver a quit claim deed. The trial court subtracted $30,000 from the net value of the home for the closing costs and used that reduced value to determine the property award. The court subtracted the closing costs because the husband assured the court he intended to sell the home imminently. The decree included a provision that required him to pay the wife $15,000 if he did not sell the house…
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"'Clientless' Prosecutors"
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Virginia Gov commutes death sentence of defendant who has claimed innocence in murder-for-hire crime
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DUI Drugs Roadside Mouth Swab Test
ROADSIDE MOUTH SWAB DEVICE TESTS FOR SEVEN DRUGS IN A DRIVER’S SYSTEM Police are increasingly concerned about drivers who are under the influence of drugs (DUID), especially since marijuana has been legalized in the state. California Vehicle Code section 23152(e) makes it unlawful for someone to drive under the influence of any drug and as I discussed previously, this includes prescription and even over-the-counter drugs if that drug affects a person’s ability to drive safely. But unlike driving under the influence of alcohol, there is no quantitative standard by which this influence can be measured, it is up to the subjective determination of the cop and other evidence, including observations and the results of a blood test. While there is no current method of road side testing for drugs that measure how much of a drug is in a person’s system, a new device, with a rather ominous sounding name. the Dräger DrugTest 5000, is currently being deployed in Los…
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AN “EXPUNGED” CONVICTION MAY STILL BE A DEPORTABLE OFFENSE
Many people who have been convicted on a misdemeanor charge or certain felonies for which they were not sentenced to prison can, after certain conditions are met, apply to the court for what is commonly called an “expungement” of the conviction. This relief is available under several statutory schemes, the most common being Penal Code section 1203.4. Referring to this relief by the term “expungement” is a misnomer because the conviction is not entirely expunged. But since everyone calls it an expungement, I will use that term here also. When a defendant who has completed probation, or is otherwise discharged from probation, he or she may apply to the court to set aside the verdict of guilty and order the conviction dismissed. I discuss how this process is accomplished here. If the court so orders, the defendant is relieved of the penalties and disabilities resulting from the conviction and no longer carries the many burdens of having a criminal…
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Coulter Speaking At Berkeley, After All
Douglas Belkin and Alejandro Lazo report for the WSJ:Officials at the University of California, Berkeley reversed course Thursday and announced they will allow conservative commentator Ann Coulter to speak at the school next month.Chancellor Nicholas Dirks said the April 27 event was canceled because the school had received "very specific intelligence regarding threats that could pose a grave danger to the speaker, attendees and those who may wish to lawfully protest the event."But after a search beyond "the usual venues" Dr. Dirks said in a statement that the school "identified an appropriate, protectable venue that is available the afternoon May 2."I'm not a fan and won't be going to Berkeley for the event. I called Ms. Coulter "cringe-inducing" on this blog some time back, and nothing since then has changed my view. Even so, it is central to freedom of speech that we protect the cringe-inducing right along with…
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