Defendant’s alleged nervousness, on the totality, wasn’t enough for reasonable suspicion. The officer testified to his nervousness, but the video doesn’t support it. The court just does not believe that the officer could see defendant’s heart “pounding” through his t-shirt. … Continue reading →
E.D.Pa.: Dashcam video doesn’t support officer’s claim of nervousness
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False Rape Accusations: Does the Stain Ever go Away?
My client looked at me with a tear in his eyes when we won his rape case at a preliminary hearing. “Henry” was going to be a free man and we hugged each other as he was eternally grateful but the reality is that his life of freedom would still end up being one that was a living hell. My client was innocent, in fact, the individual that lied about him rolled the dice on his future just because she could and the joy of the judge saying that his case would not be bound over to Circuit Court was soon be replaced with the horrors of what his life had become. The allegation against him was false but the pain of what he had endured at the hands of a liar with a motive to destroy him would never make up for what he lost. After some time had passed, we kept in contact with each other. Henry was a good man but would forever be looked at in a different light. When asked about the experience, Henry somberly spoke of his ordeal: “She took everything from me. I lost my job…
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Family Sues Sheriff Department After SWAT Mishap
A family in Johnson County, Kansas has opened a case in federal court against the County, its Sheriff and seven deputies after some stunning events in 2012. The Harte family had their home raided in the early hours of the morning by a SWAT team searching for marijuana. The raid had been orchestrated for over seven months after officers noted Robert Harte making a purchase from a hydroponics store. After searching through the Harte family’s trash and finding a substance they believed to be marijuana the officers put plans for the raid into motion, and raided the family’s house on April 20, 2012 at 7:30 in the morning as the family was preparing for work and school. The Harte Family’s Case The SWAT team that raided the Harte’s home only to find out that the family was using the hydroponic equipment for an indoor vegetable garden containing tomatoes, melons, and squash. In addition, it was determined by the court that the substance that officers thought to…
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D.Ariz.: Checking gun SN during frisk was unreasonable
While an officer can take a gun during a frisk, the officer can’t run the serial numbers [compare New York v. Class on VINs] as a part of a frisk. United States v. Shipley, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83985 (D. … Continue reading →
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DE: Positive probation drug screen 15 days earlier, with nothing more, wasn’t RS for a probation search of the house
Positive probation drug screen 15 days earlier, with nothing more, wasn’t reasonable suspicion for a probation search of the house. State v. Fax, 2017 Del. Super. LEXIS 270 (June 2, 2017). Geolocation information from a coconspirator’s cell phone was used … Continue reading →
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News Scan
No Trump Obstruction of Justice: ..."under our Constitution, the president has the authority to direct the FBI to stop investigating any individual...Yet virtually every Democratic pundit, in their haste to `get' President Trump, has willfully ignored these realities. In doing so they have endangered our civil liberties and constitutional rights," writes Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz in this OpEd. "I think that it is important to put to rest the notion that there was anything criminal about the president exercising his constitutional power to fire Comey and to request -`hope'- that he let go the investigation of General Flynn," he added. Included in his testimony yesterday is the news that the former head of the FBI leaked a private conversation with the president as reported by ABC News, and that Trump, according to Comey, encouraged investigations that might identify questionable contacts with the…
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When the AG Pushes the FBI to Get Its Message Straight...
...we are swimming in dangerous waters. I have been unable to think of any reason beyond political assistance to the Attorney General's preferred candidate that Loretta Lynch told the head of the FBI not to call the Bureau's email investigation what is was -- an investigation.Take a look.This was partisan behavior by the sitting head of the Justice Department intended to influence the outcome of the presidential election. Oddly, I haven't heard any of those currently outraged say beans about it.I might add that it's not clear whether Ms. Lynch gave this instruction before or after her closeted, tarmac meeting with her candidate's wealthy and well-connected spouse. I haven't heard too much about that, either. I wonder how long I should wait for a five-part series in the New York Times.
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Release Prisoners to Save Tax Dollars. Oh, Never Mind.
The Oroville Mercury Register has this editorial.Reducing the massive prison budget was an unspoken incentive that helped some citizens buy into the state's alleged reforms: More criminals would be let out of jail, but at least costs would go down.Wrong. Despite a smaller prison population, the state hasn't cut payroll.The result is that the cost to house an inmate has skyrocketed to a record $75,560 in the next year, according to the state Legislative Analyst's Office. That price per inmate has more than doubled since 2005 and is the highest in the nation.* * *So, to review: California residents got fewer prisoners, higher costs and more crime out of all this "reform." What a deal.
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Reviewing Prez Trump's judicial nomination success so far (and noting Prez Obama's early relative failings)
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THE FRAGILITY OF LIFE
The Miami legal community lost two very different lawyers this week. Naphtali Wacks was murdered by a reckless driver who rammed his car into the back of Wacks' car as he drove to work. We can't help but think that Naphtali woke up like he did any other day, performed his morning ablutions, got into his car, and drove to work, not realizing that his days were numbered. Of course there is the denial of this tragedy. "If he had only lingered over his coffee five minutes longer...If he hadn't made that light on the way to causeway he would have been delayed five minutes and wouldn't have crossed paths with the man who killed him."But fate had other plans, and Naphtali's life crossed paths literally with a man who had literal regard for human life, and Naphtali lost his life in a senseless tragic accident. Friday morning came work that civil super-star lawyer Irving Gonzalez had committed suicide. Mr. Gonzalez is the second high…
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Appell on Gendered Juvenile Justice
Annette Ruth Appell (Washington University) has posted Gendered Due Process of Juvenile Justice (Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, Vol. 53, No. 21, 2017) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Juvenile courts process, adjudicate, and dispose children and families...
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Michelle Carter Suicide-by-Text Manslaughter Trial Begins in MA
In 2014, then-17-year-old Michelle Carter allegedly encouraged her 18-year-old boyfriend Conrad Roy IIII to commit suicide. She did it through text. Earlier this week, Carter’s manslaughter trial commenced, with prosecutors arguing that the now-20-year-old Plainville woman’s texts urged Roy to take his own life. Both Carter and Roy had a history of mental illness. In fact, Roy had attempted suicide in 2012. But what could have possibly motivated Carter to send such damning texts to her boyfriend? Prosecutors claim that she was lonely and did it to improve her social life. According to testimony at the trial on Tuesday, Carter sent the following text to a friend, Samantha Boardman: “Yeah I have school friends that all say they love me . . . [but] no one ever asks to hang out with me. No one ever calls me or texts me. It’s always me who has to do it.’’ To another friend, Carter texted: “Stop telling me how wonderful and beautiful I am.…
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Jury finds Long Island foster father not guilty of child sex abuse
A Long Island man was acquitted of all charges in a case that accused him of sexually abusing six boys he fostered for more than two decades. Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu, 60, was found not guilty of all 17 counts of child abuse, including endangering the welfare of two other foster sons after they came to live with him. It took a Suffolk County jury seven days to arrive at the verdict. From 1996 to 2016, the foster father cared for more than 100 boys, many of whom had emotional, mental and behavioral problems. In his testimony, one 21-year-old mentally ill man said that he was molested by Gonzales-Mugaburu for around three years. He said the ordeal, which began at age 10, left him confused. Another foster son claimed he was abused from the age of 8. He alleged that Gonzales-Mugaburu threatened him and the other boys by saying, “If you say anything to the public, I will kill you.” Gonzales-Mugaburu was investigated in 18 child abuse cases. However, there were no criminal…
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How to avoid mistakes in a high asset divorce
Kentucky couples with high assets have plenty to gain, and plenty to lose. Because of the high stakes feeling of getting divorced with a lot of finances, property, or assets on the line, there are certain mistakes that should always be in the peripheral of a divorcing couple's eye so that they may be avoided. The Wealth Enhancement Group suggests that a financial advisory team be brought in if the assets at stake are particularly high. Note that these people are not a substitute for lawyers or legal advisors. Rather, they will advise a person strictly in regard to their finances and nothing more. They can be a huge help because finances are their specialty, so they know the ins and outs of local, state, and federal tax codes. This way, there is less chance of losing lots of money to the tax impact of a split. MarketWatch also points out that couples should keep an eye on joint liabilities. This includes things like tax liabilities and mortgages, which are usually…
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Week of June 5 - 9, 2017
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Why We Need Mandatory Minimums, Part Eight Zillion
The Washington Post today carries a story of a local man (the former mayor of Fairfax City) who got a sentence of zero for distributing one the most dangerous drugs out there, methamphetamine.This is not a young person, not a minority, not poor, not uneducated -- and it's not pot and not simple possession. This is a grown man with a lot of advantages who is basically getting a walk (he did get time served, a little less than three months, plus "community service" (an especially sick joke since he was already a public servant at the time of his arrest)).He was also, according to the story, unapologetic, and instead portrayed himself as the "victim" of addiction. I was unable to find, however, any evidence of this in the news account beyond his self-serving claims -- not that it would excuse either him or the clueless judge even if it were true.Our country is suffering from crisis-level overdose deaths from hard drugs,…
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News release - Idaho State Police announces new deputy director
For Immediate Release, June 9, 2017 Contact: Tim Marsano, ISP Public Information Officer 208.884.7122 Tim.Marsano@isp.idaho.gov News release Idaho State Police announces new deputy director Following Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter's announcement of Lt. Col. Kedrick Wills as the next Idaho State Police director, Colonel Wills has designated his own replacement. The appointment of Major Sheldon Kelley as the ISP deputy director will become effective once Colonel Ralph Powell retires and Colonel Wills assumes his role as director on June 30. Major Sheldon Kelley, a native of Rupert, Idaho, will assume his new rank of Lt. Colonel on July 2. He began his career with the Idaho State Police in 1997 following six years of service in the United States Army. After attending the Idaho Peace Officer Standards Training and ISP training academies, he was assigned as a resident trooper to the Gooding County area. In 2002, he was promoted to ISP District 3 (Treasure Valley)…
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The Bank, the Quit Claim Deed and Tampering with Records
This post examines a recent opinion from the Court of Appeals of Ohio – Eighth District: State v. Lenard, 2017 WL 2376811 (2017). The court, as courts usually do, begins the opinion by explaining how, and why, the prosecution arose:Lenard was charged with one count of grand theft, in violation of Ohio Revised Code 2913.02(A)(3), and one count of tampering with records, in violation of OhioRevised Code 2913.42(A)(1). Count 1 alleged that Lenard stole property from Steven Mladenovic (`Mladenovic’) valued at $7,500 or more, but less than $150,000. Count 2 alleged that Lenard perpetrated a fraud on Shirley Kummerlen (`Kummerlen’) and/or Fifth Third Bank (`Fifth Third’) by falsifying a quitclaim deed purportedly transferring Kummerlen's house to Fifth Third.In January 2014, Kummerlen moved to an apartment and subsequently listed her North Royalton, Ohio home (`the property’) for sale on Craigslist. She had been trying to sell the…
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Evidence of Possessing Methamphetamine for Sale in Arizona
In a recent Arizona appellate case, the defendant appealed his conviction for the sale of methamphetamine, a class 2 felony under A.R.S. section 13-3407(A)(2), as well as possession of drug paraphernalia, a class 6 felony, and endangerment, a class 6 felony. He argued that there was not enough evidence to convict him on the meth sale charge. Specifically, the police hadn’t found meth on him or inside his car, and his fingerprints weren’t found on plastic bags containing meth. The prosecution hadn’t presented any evidence showing that he possessed meth for sale. Ordinarily, this is evidence like cash, a scale, or a ledger. The appellate court disagreed, explaining that the prosecution had presented quite a bit of evidence that he did possess meth and drug paraphernalia. The defendant had not stopped during a traffic stop, causing detectives to pursue him until he crashed. After crashing, he got out of the car and fled from the officers. One chased by foot, and…
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Mittal & Sharma on International Framework to Combat Cybercrime
Sandeep Mittal I.P.S. and Prof. Priyanka Sharma (LNJN National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science and Raksha Shakti University) has posted A Review of International Legal Framework to Combat Cybercrime on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Cyberspace is under perceived...
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