Source: News.com.auhttp://www.news.com.au/world/asia/japan-executions-inside-the-secretive-efficient-death-chambers/news-story/e650b790265fcf2dafc2f8ba9fa1e52fTHERE are polished floors, clean surroundings and symbolic statues.But this place is far from peaceful and there’s a reason why it’s known as the Tokyo death house.This is where Japan hangs its criminals in secrecy so tight that not even the convicted know when their time is up.Last week’s execution of two convicted murderers has once again cast light on the country’s practice of putting people to death, a method labelled cruel and inhumane by human rights groups.Nishikawa, 61, was convicted of killing four female bar owners in western Japan in 1991, while Sumida, 34, was sentenced to death for killing a female colleague in 2011 and dismembering her body.The government remained unrepentant despite calls from activists to stop the hangings.“Both are extremely cruel cases in which victims were…
Japan executions: Inside the secretive, efficient death chambers
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Indonesia ombudsman finds rights violations in execution of Nigerian
Source: Reuters (28 July 2017)https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-execution-idUSKBN1AD10OJAKARTA (Reuters) - The office of Indonesia's ombudsman has unearthed evidence of rights violations in the execution of a Nigerian drug convict last year, an official said on Friday.Humphrey Jefferson was still seeking clemency from President Joko Widodo at the time of his execution, which meant he still had a chance of being pardoned, said Ninik Rahayu, an official of the ombudsman's office who is overseeing the case.Jefferson, sentenced to death in 2004, had also sought a second judicial review of his case by the Supreme Court, but his request was denied by the Central Jakarta court without proper explanation, Rahayu said, in what she called maladministration.If the court had taken on Jefferson's case, his execution would have had to be delayed until its final verdict."When one is given the death penalty, all of the procedures must be done according to the…
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//blawgsearch75.rssing.com/chan-6519914/article26243-live.html
A truck driver is being charged with human trafficking after eight people were found dead in a tractor trailer last week. The rig, which was parked at a Walmart in San Antonio, was being used to illegally transport immigrants. In addition to the eight victims, nearly 40 more passengers needed emergency medical treatment; two more died in the hospital. Human trafficking is a serious crime, and due to the severity of this particular tragedy, the truck driver may face the death penalty. The victims died due to heat-related injuries after spending about 12 hours in the back of an unventilated trailer. The criminal complaint against the driver, 60-year-old James Bradley, stated that, ”During the first hour of transportation, everyone seemed to be OK. Later, people started having trouble breathing and some started to pass out. People began hitting the trailer walls and making noise to get the driver’s attention. The driver never stopped.” According to reports, the…
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Making your divorce as amicable as possible
If you and your spouse have decided to divorce, you may have started to think about what can be done to keep the process drama-free and efficient. One of the many things you and your spouse can do is to maintain an objective attitude and take proactive steps to keep relationships amicable. At Gatlin Voelker, PLLC, we have helped many Kentucky couples through divorce proceedings. The Huffington Post suggests multiple ways in which you and your spouse can avoid the often-toxic contention in many divorces that leads to extensive legal battles. Here are some of the things you can do: Be realistic: Often, it can be easy to get caught up in the small everyday hurdles that occur during divorce. However, do your best to remain realistic and to envision the big picture. Keeping things in perspective and staying focused on your desired end-result can allow you to keep your efforts streamlined. Be wise: Divorce is undoubtfully stressful and you may find yourself wanting to…
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New bill could cause accidents to be viewed as federal crimes
Legislators recently introduced a new bill called the Back the Blue Act of 2017, which would make it a federal crime to “kill, or attempt or conspire to kill” a public safety officer who is funded by the federal government. At the time of the crime, the officer must be carrying out official responsibilities, or the crime must occur because of the officer’s official duties. The bill, however, fails to include an important aspect of crime referred to as “mens rea,” or guilty mind. Mens rea differentiates between deadly accidents, or honest errors, and vicious crimes. It makes certain that people are penalized for deliberate transgressions of the law or purposeful, morally blameworthy behavior. According to the bill, the crime is punishable by fines and a prison term of 10 years to life for injuring such officers, and 30 years to life, or the death penalty if an officer is killed as a result of the injury. The attempt and conspiracy crimes that are…
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Week of July 24 - 28, 2017
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Washington Supreme Court Allows Mother to Obtain Protection Order on Behalf of Son
Washington civil protection order attorneys understand that domestic violence can be a complex issue that reaches beyond the couple. Children may become involved by witnessing the violence or by being threatened. Washington law allows a person to petition for a protection order on behalf of himself or herself, or on behalf of minor family or household members. A Washington Court of Appeals, however, recently held that a mother could not obtain a protection order on behalf of her child when the child was not “present” for the violence and did not have fear of imminent harm, bodily injury, or assault. The Washington Supreme Court disagreed. In this case, the mother petitioned for a domestic violence protection order against her son’s father on behalf of herself and her children following a history of domestic violence. According to the Washington Supreme Court opinion, the man had repeatedly physically and emotionally assaulted his son’s…
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E.D.N.C.: DL checkpoint stopping all cars was reasonable
Defendant was stopped at a driver’s license checkpoint where all cars were stopped. The court finds the checkpoint constitutional. Defendant then consented to the search of his car. United States v. Moore, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116012 (E.D. N.C. May … Continue reading →
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DE: Driving on wrong side of road, smell of alcohol, refusing breath test, failing FST adds up to PC
There was probable cause for taking defendant’s blood from driving on the wrong side of the highway, smelling of alcohol, refusing a breath test, and failing an FST. State v. Dopirak, 2017 Del. Super. LEXIS 358 (July 24, 2017). “Dearry … Continue reading →
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E.D.N.C.: Where probation search didn’t comply with state RS requirement, federal court suppresses it
The state probation search of defendant’s premises did not comply with the state statute requiring reasonable suspicion, so the court does not consider the constitutionality of the search. The search was not for supervision purposes because his supervising officer did … Continue reading →
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Challenge mandatory minimum sentencing for alleged repeat DWIs
Virginia police and prosecutors love seeking mandatory minimum sentencing in DWI cases for blood/breath alcohol levels allegedly at 0.15 or higher, and for repeat DWI offenses. Mandatory minimum sentencing efforts must always be thoroughly challenged. Thankfully, Virginia DWI law makes clear that mandatory minimum sentencing for repeat offenses only applies to substantially similar offenses. Because a Virginia DWI conviction is only available for operating a motor vehicle — Virginia Code § 18.2-266 (limiting DWI prosecutions to motor vehicles) & Va. Code § 46.2-100 (defining “motor vehicle” ) — a defendant charged as a DWI repeat offender needs to attack any non-Virginia state statute that permits a DWI conviction for operating a non-motorized vehicle. Consequently, this week the Virginia Court of Appeals in an unpublished opinion found that California’s DWI statute is not substntially similar to…
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City begins repeal of sex-offender residency rules
7-28-17 California: SAN MARCOS — The City Council has voted to start the process of repealing its sex-offender residency and loitering restrictions after receiving a letter threatening a lawsuit if it didn’t repeal the rules, which courts have ruled unconstitutional elsewhere. The San Marcos City Council’s July 25 vote for the first reading of the repeal was unanimous. Voters in 2006 approved
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Consejo Nacional de la Magistratura
http://gestion.pe/politica/cnm-suspende-su-participacion-acuerdo-nacional-proyecto-presentado-ppk-2196357 Hace algunos meses en este blog manifesté mi rechazo a un ente burocrático como el CNM, es más he propuesto su desaparición y una alternativa de elección de los magistrados, ver artículo del 16 de junio de 2016, toco el plan de "Peruanos por el cambio" en el sector Justicia (páginas 216 a 225 del Plan "JUSTICIA PARA TODOS") Como todo ser humano tengo defectos, uno de ellos lo he confesado es valorar a una persona con sólo mirarla, muchas he acertado y tantas otras me he equivocado. En mi comentario del 18 de julio de 2017, fiel a este defecto expuse mi concepto del Presidente del Consejo Nacional de la Magistratura, bajo el título:"Guido Del Águila Grados y la responsabilidad jurisdiccional". Pienso que NO me he equivocado y no amplio el asunto porqué los que…
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Reince Priebus Out as Chief of Staff
Reince Priebus is out as Donald Trump's Chief of Staff. John Kelly, currently the head of Homeland Security, will replace him. Donald Trump seems to be rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. He and his inexperienced family members,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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"Federal appeals court blocks DC concealed carry law"
From Jurist: The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] on Tuesday rejected [text, PDF] a DC legal restriction that required an applicant to have "good reason to fear for their person or property" in...
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WaPo: Trump’s speech encouraging police to be ‘rough,’ annotated
WaPo: Trump’s speech encouraging police to be ‘rough,’ annotated by Philip Bump: On Friday, President Trump traveled to Long Island to address a group of law enforcement officials and speak about the administration’s efforts to eradicate the gang Mara Salvatrucha, … Continue reading →
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Louisiana DAs: Have We Got A Deal For You!
For those who yearn for the self-proclaimed Halcyon days of civil rights enforcement under Obama’s Department of Justice, it’s unfortunate that nobody told them that indigent defense in New Orleans was in ruins. No doubt newfound progressive icon Sally Yates would have been on it like Vanita Gupta was on transgender bathrooms. If only they knew.* But the problems of spectacularly underfunded public defense in Louisiana was bad enough before. So prosecutors figured out a way to make it worse. Jay Dixon was heading home from Baton Rouge to Lafayette one day when he got pulled over for speeding. As the deputy handed him the ticket, Dixon said, he was told to flip it over. On the back, Dixon found instructions saying he could pay the ticket by mailing a $175 money order made out to “DA P.T.D.” If he paid the ticket that way, the deputy told him, it wouldn’t go on his record. Plus, it wouldn’t go through court, so he wouldn’t have to pay…
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Court Rejects Feminist Mythology Expert
Did David Mueller lift up Taylor Swift’s skirt and grope her? It’s a fairly straightforward fact question. It either happened or not, and that’s the question of fact for the jury to decide. But Swift’s lawyer, Brian Schwalb of Venable, wasn’t willing to take the chance of an adverse finding, so he tried to gild the lily. He proposed to introduce the “expert testimony” of University of Colorado Boulder gender studies prof Lorraine Bayard de Volo to “explain” Mueller’s masculine fragility. De Volo is a Ph.D. women and gender studies prof, whose scholarship appears to focus on the intersection of gender and the Cuban Revolution. As such, she is a fully qualified expert to convey feminist mythology: Sexual harassment and assault are fundamentally motivated by the perpetrator’s perceived need to assert power and to protect the perpetrator’s status. Throughout David Mueller’s pleadings in…
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Short Take: Practice Makes Perfect
There’s a requirement to be Humboldt County, California, Public Defender. It’s not a particularly hard requirement to meet, but apparently David Marcus, the current office holder, may have a problem. Local attorney Patrik Griego refiled his lawsuit last week, alleging that Humboldt County Public Defender David Marcus fails to meet minimum state qualifications for his post. And this time, Griego is using Marcus’ own words against him in arguing that he is unqualified to represent the county’s indigent defendants as the chief public defender. What is this onerous burden? Wait for it… The heart of the suit rests on a section of the California Government Code that requires a public defender to have been “a practicing attorney in all the courts of the state for at least the year preceding the date of his election or appointment.” A “practicing attorney” doesn’t seem to be too much of a hill to climb for most people, but…
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Aside: The Money Back Guarantee
One of my basic quips here is that if you don’t like a post, you get your money back. The point, obviously, is that you read SJ for free if you so choose. Nobody makes you. You don’t have to like it, whether because you think the writing sucks or you just can’t stand the word “twit,” and you certainly don’t have to agree with anything I write. This is America and you can be as wrong as you wanna be. But of late, I’ve noticed that donations to the cause have dwindled considerably. While I can see how many people read SJ, and the numbers remain remarkably robust, the lack of support is a little disconcerting. My theory is that I write for me, but I post it here so you, the reader, can read it if you want. That’s about as far as I’m willing to go, however. To add the cost of this joint is a step too far, and so I leave it to the readers to decide whether SJ is worth something to them. As Keith Kaplan, who gives a monthly…
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