In response to a twit about Harvard’s first-ever black student commencement, a random law student told me it wasn’t the bad sort of segregation because black students wanted it. While I understood her point, it reflected the irrational infantile perspective that segregation is an unspeakable evil when perpetrated by some and totally wonderful when perpetrated by others. I replied that she didn’t get it (which she naturally denied, as everyone who doesn’t get it invariably insists they do, they *do*), but that the response that failed to honor her opinion was condescending. You bet it was. Not only did I not know who she was or care what she thought, but we were not peers. What could make a law student assume that she was entitled to expect not only my attention, but my respect? The problem with children believing they’re entitled to unearned respect starts in the classroom. Not long ago, there was a discussion about students taking liberties with…
The Casual Student
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Top Ten Favorite Films: #2 The Thin Blue Line
Because sometimes you have to see injustice to believe it.Because prosecutorial misconduct is real.Because innocence is precious.Because the music is wonderful.Because you can see how "eyewitnesses" can get it wrong.Because evidence is fragile.Because sometimes it really is just about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.Because it can change your life.Because afterwards you say to yourself: "I'm going to law school."And you do.To do right.#2
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N.D.Ohio: SW affidavit was so bare bones it never showed nexus or particularity; no GFE
The affidavit for search warrant here failed to show nexus between defendant’s house and drug dealing. There was some suspicion involving others and a stale anonymous tip never corroborated. Nothing implicated defendant except that one co-defendant was driving defendant’s van … Continue reading →
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HAROLD FIELDS AND LEE WEISSENBORN HAVE PASSED AWAY
The REGJB community lost two long-time and experienced lawyers in the last week: Harold Fields and Lee Weissenborn. Harold Fields was a former Dade Public Defender and a long time fixture around our courthouse, especially in the 1980's and 1990's. We didn't see much of him lately, but we knew him during a time when he handled a lot of cases and always did so with professionalism, honesty, and decency. He was well respected by all who knew him. Lee Weissenborn is more of an enigma to us. We knew Lee as many of our colleagues did, as a hard fighting lawyer who handled a lot of post-conviction cases. And that would be the end of our recollection of him, if it were not for this wonderful article in the Miami Herald detailing his political career as a state representative in the 1960's and a state senator in the 1970's. Lee was a delegate to the famous 1960 Democratic National Convention that nominated JFK. There is a great picture in the…
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NYC Second Degree Grand Larceny Dismissed with an ACD: College Student Avoids Felony and Any Criminal Record
Any attorney who claims that white collar crimes are not as serious as those involving violence is a lawyer who likely has neither the knowledge nor experience how thefts, larcenies, frauds and other schemes are investigated and prosecuted in New York City or elsewhere in the Hudson Valley. While a theft crime for Embezzlement, Extortion, or another related offense may not require mandatory prison and incarceration upon conviction in most circumstances for first time offenders, the practical reality is that a sentence “upstate” is far from atypical. Even those who don’t face a sentence of this magnitude recognize that a felony conviction will forever tarnish their name, follow them throughout their lives and careers, and end never be expunged. Want to work in the financial sector, public sector, as a teacher, lawyer, physician, accountant, nurse or merely have a professional career? It will be a long time before you ever, if you can, run away from a…
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"Risky Business? The Trump Administration and the State-Licensed Marijuana Industry"
The title of this post is the title of this short essay authored by Rob Mikos and available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made it clear that he opposes legalization of marijuana, a drug he considers “only slightly less awful” than heroin. Such comments...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/AviF-DHEkxk" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Morning News Notes
Several news items on crime and more-or-less related issues in the WSJ this morning:Felicia Schwartz reports, "The Trump administration accused the Syrian government of operating a crematorium to cover up what U.S. officials called 'mass murders' at the notorious Saydnaya prison outside Damascus."Paul Vigna reports that the WannaCry ransomware extortionists got $66,000 in Bitcoin, but actually cashing it in may expose them. Question: How would we punish the extortionists if we catch them? This is, after all, a "nonviolent" offense despite the fact that it caused many very sick people in Britain to miss medical treatments. We are constantly assured by The People Who Are Soooooo Much Smarter Than The Rest Of Us that "nonviolent offenders" are per se harmless and of low culpability, so we should let them off with little more than a finger wag. That is the enlightened and "smart" thing to do, the…
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Four Fraternity Members Please Guilty to 2013 Hazing Death
On Monday, four men who were initially charged with murder pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter for the 2013 hazing death of would-be fraternity brother, Chun Hsien Deng. The 18-year-old student died at a weekend retreat for potential Baruch College members of the Pi Delta Psi, an Asian-American fraternity. In December 2013, Deng traveled to a rental house in the Poconos for a hazing ritual that – according to a statement by Baruch College – would never have been allowed on campus. In the early morning hours, Deng was forced to strap a heavily-weighted backpack to his back, put on a blindfold, and follow other pledges through the so-called “glass ceiling,” a symbol of the Asian-American plight. According to a grand jury report, Deng became defiant, speaking out of turn and kicking one of the fraternity members. In response, the fraternity members became physically aggressive with their pledge, knocking him to the ground and,…
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What Happens if I Refuse to Take a Breathalyzer Test in Illinois?
Illinois has some very strict laws, rules, and regulations involving DUI’s. I frequently receive questions from clients asking about whether they should or should not take a breathalyzer when they are requested to by a police officer. There is no simple yes or no answer to that question. Whether someone who has been stopped for a DUI should submit to a breathalyzer test or not it is a very complicated question that depends on each case and the specific facts surrounding each case. All I can do is explain what the legal consequences of a refusal to submit to a breathalyzer test would be and what could happen if you take a breathalyzer test and you fail that test. Let’s talk about what a breathalyzer test is. The only way to test how much alcohol is in somebody’s blood is with a blood test. A breathalyzer test measures the amount of alcohol in your breath. That reading gives a very accurate estimate of how much alcohol is in your…
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Brennan Center releases "A Federal Agenda to Reduce Mass Incarceration"
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What’s the Difference Between Burglary, Robbery, and Theft in Utah?
Many people assume the words “theft,” “burglary,” and “robbery” all mean the same thing. While it’s true all three terms describe a crime involving someone else’s property, there are significant differences in the way each offense is legally defined. It’s important for defendants to understand exactly what they are being accused of committing, so to help explain the differences between these crimes, Salt Lake City criminal lawyer Darwin Overson compares the legal definitions of burglary, theft, and robbery as they exist in the Utah Code. Robbery vs. Burglary and Theft Every single crime that a person can be charged with is formally defined somewhere in the Utah Code. The prosecutor needs to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant’s actions matched the definition supplied for the crime being alleged. If any of the defendant’s actions – or in some cases, even the defendant’s intentions…
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How Will A DWI Conviction In Texas Affect You?
How Will a DWI Conviction Affect My Future Employment? Clients often fear that employers will check their criminal history and find a DWI conviction and then not hire them. It is easy to understand from the employer’s perspective. An employer might feel concerned that if he hires someone who has a DWI on his record, that the employee will show up for work hung over, or show up for work still intoxicated, or who will have a drink or two at lunch when the employer needs him to be sober. Some clients ask me about their specific field and they want to know if a DWI conviction will bar them from getting hired. This is outside the scope of my expertise. I don’t practice employment law; I only practice criminal law. However, I can say that generally the more sensitive the type of work involved, the more likely it is that a DWI conviction will negatively affect employability. For example, if a client has a security clearance and is convicted of driving while intoxicated, he…
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Warrentless Breath Tests Again In The Spotlight In Minnesota
A Minnesota man challenging the constitutionality of the state’s implied consent law lost his case in front of the Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday. Under the law, a person suspected of driving under the influence can be charged with a separate crime if they refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test, even if the police officer does not have a warrant. Enter Wesley Eugene Brooks. He has been stopped for DUI three times – once in Shakopee, once in Minneapolis and once in Prior Lake – between July of 2009 and January of 2010. In two instances, Brooks provided a warrantless urine sample, and in the other he provided a warantless blood sample after being told he could be charged with a more serious crime for refusing to provide the sample. Supreme Court’s Decision Changes Things Brooks challenged the constitutionality of the warrantless search at the Minnesota Supreme Court in October 2013, but the court ruled that he wasn’t coerced into providing the…
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State v. Glisson and Multiple Conspiracies
When a group of confederates undertake to commit a series of criminal acts, is there one conspiracy or multiple conspiracies? The case of State v. Glisson, ___ N.C. App. ___, 796 S.E.2d 124, (Feb. 7, 2017), dealt with that issue. The answer, it turns out, is fact-specific and less than crystal clear. Facts. The facts in Glisson involved a series of sales of oxycodone, an opiate, by the defendant to an undercover agent in Jones County. There were three transactions, leading to a total of 18 charges against the defendant. The defendant’s husband accompanied her to each sale, and there was at least some circumstantial evidence indicating he was aware of the transactions. The first two transactions took place a month apart; the final transaction occurred around three months later. The defendant was ultimately convicted of multiple conspiracy counts, including conspiracy to traffic opiates (among other charges). As readers may be aware and as previously noted , conspiracy to…
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Goldman on Emojis
Eric Goldman (Santa Clara University - School of Law) has posted Surveying the Law of Emojis on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Everyone loves emojis! It’s easy to see why. Historically, most online communications have emphasized text, and emojis add...
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Exigent circumstances justify warrantless search of apartment
Just how far does the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution go to protect against a warrantless search of an apartment? That question was again considered this week by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in US v. Yoga Almonte-Baez, a case in which the petitioner was convicted of drug trafficking crimes and sentenced to 156 months in prison. On appeal, Almonte-Baez claimed that the warrantless search of an apartment violated his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. Almonte-Baez was inside an apartment that was rented by another man – Jose Medina – who was the subject of an ongoing investigation by DEA. That investigation revealed a plot by two persons thought to be part of a drug-trafficking ring to rob Medina, whose apartment turned out to be a stash house for drugs and money. Investigators decided to act when they found out details of the attempted robbery plan, and located Medina’s car at the apartment complex.…
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What is a Class B misdemeanor in Illinois?
A Class B misdemeanor in Illinois carries a maximum penalty of up to 6 months (180 days) imprisonment in county jail and a maximum fine of $1,500 plus any mandatory court costs. The defendant may be placed on a period of court supervision, conditional discharge or probation for a maximum of 2 years. Sentencing guidelines for a Class B misdemeanor can be found under Illinois law 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-60. Speeding 26 to 34 mph over the posted speed limit is one of the most common Class B misdemeanor offenses in Illinois. This offense is also referred to as aggravated speeding, excessive speeding or misdemeanor speeding. Overall, Class B misdemeanors are actually far less common than Class A misdemeanors in Illinois. Although Class B misdemeanors are not as severe as Class A misdemeanors or felony offenses, they are still criminal charges carrying serious potential consequences. Any criminal conviction on your record may have long term consequences on your…
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New lifetime GPS tracking for old sex offenders raising concerns in Missouri
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In last-minute appeal, condemned Georgia inmate urges extension of bar on juve capital punishment to those under 21
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Progressive defense attorney wins key primary and now seems poised to become Philadelphia District Attorney
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