In MA, as in all states, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated is illegal. When it comes to land vehicles, passengers are also prohibited from consuming alcohol while in the vehicle. But what about boats? Can boat passengers imbibe? The answer is yes. Passengers can drink alcohol on a boat, but the operator cannot. And as with cars and trucks, a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher is above the legal limit. Consequences of BUI Although boat passengers can drink alcohol on the boat, they cannot become intoxicated. In fact, it is illegal for both the vessel owner and operator to allow anyone on board to become intoxicated while boating. If your boat is stopped by the Coast Guard or Harbor Patrol, you may face the following consequences if you are boating under the influence (BUI): Coast Guard or Harbor Patrol may ask you to submit to a breath test and field sobriety test. You can refuse both, but if you refuse the breath test, you will likely face the…
Boating Under the Influence in MA
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Florida Adopts Tougher Opioid Trafficking Penalties
A new Florida law signed by Governor Rick Scott takes aim at opioid trafficking and possession, imposing harsher penalties for those convicted of dealing and using pills, heroin, fentanyl and more. The measure, House Bill 477, enacts new mandatory minimum sentences for opioid users and dealers and establishes new bans on trafficking drugs that include synthetic marijuana and fentanyl. The new law sets mandatory minimum sentences for convicted dealers, which will force judges to lock away drug offenders for extended periods of time with little opportunity for discretion. All this is despite the growing realization that “tough-on-crime” drug laws simply do not work, and disproportionately affect poverty-stricken and minority communities. Meanwhile, the state will receive $27 million in federal grant money to help pay for its enforcement. Of course, we understand that the state has a vested interest in this, given that Florida is in the midst of a crisis of…
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Former Prosecutor Charged with Felony Reckless Driving
A former Michigan prosecutor recently injured a man in a drunk driving accident. Having prosecuted many drunk drivers, Joshua Kuiper should have known better. He was charged with felony reckless driving after he crashed into Daniel Empson, who was retrieving something from a parked car. Kuiper was driving the wrong way on a one way street at the time of the incident. The former attorney was out in celebration of another prosecutor’s retirement. Dram Shop Laws In addition to the dangers of drunk driving, Kuiper should have known about dram shop laws. Named after the traditional term for a unit of liquor, dram shop laws hold bars liable for injuries caused by patrons they’ve over-served. Empson has filed an injury lawsuit against three bars that he alleges over-served Kuiper before the accident. Continue reading
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Short Take: I Can’t Do What, Dear Host?
An email arrived from my friendly neighborhood internet hosting service, A2Hosting, informing me (as well as, I suppose, everyone else paying them money) of changes to their Terms of Service. Having been as much of a slacker as every other relatively normal person on the internet, I had never bothered to read them before. But I had a moment and so… B Certain content is prohibited…Use of our network to host content related to or to engage in the following activities is strictly prohibited. Strictly prohibited? Sounds very serious. So what content will the people I pay to host SJ not allow me to post? Websites or links to websites advocating human violence and hate crimes; That’s pretty vague. So I can’t link to PoliceOne when they’re advocating a good perp beating? And I can’t comment on hate crimes, or the existence of hate crimes, or whatever it is you’re talking about since you fail to define any of this? Websites promoting…
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Rushin & Carroll on Bathroom Laws as Status Crimes
Stephen Rushin and Jenny E. Carroll (Loyola University Chicago Law and University of Alabama - School of Law) have posted Bathroom Laws As Status Crimes (Fordham Law Review, Vol. 86, No. 1, 2017) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A...
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The Judge That Blew The Case
My client was facing a life sentence for burglary with an assault and armed robbery. She had been a prostitute most of her life, and had been labeled a “Habitual Violent Offender” by the prosecutors, based on her extensive criminal record. The charges stemmed from an incident in which she and a friend allegedly entered the house of one of her clients and held a machete to his throat while the friend took his wallet. She could get life. I was both excited and a little nervous about taking this one to trial because we would be before the infamous Judge Ellen “Maximum” Morphonios, known for her penchant for dishing out thousand-year sentences. She had been profiled by both “60 Minutes” and People magazine and had sometimes exhibited bizarre behavior. After sentencing a rapist to a life sentence, she reportedly stood up and lifted up her robe, revealing her rather shapely legs, and remarked, “That’s the last time in your life that…
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The Judge That Blew The Case
My client was facing a life sentence for burglary with an assault and armed robbery. She had been a prostitute most of her life, and had been labeled a “Habitual Violent Offender” by the prosecutors, based on her extensive criminal record. The charges stemmed from an incident in which she and a friend allegedly entered the house of one of her clients and held a machete to his throat while the friend took his wallet. She could get life. I was both excited and a little nervous about taking this one to trial because we would be before the infamous Judge Ellen “Maximum” Morphonios, known for her penchant for dishing out thousand-year sentences. She had been profiled by both “60 Minutes” and People magazine and had sometimes exhibited bizarre behavior. After sentencing a rapist to a life sentence, she reportedly stood up and lifted up her robe, revealing her rather shapely legs, and remarked, “That’s the last time in your life that…
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News Scan
Trump's Fifth Judicial Appointment Confirmed: On Tuesday the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of former Alabama Solicitor General Kevin Newsom to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Alex Swoyer of the Washington Times reports that this was the fifth Trump judicial pick confirmed this year, far outpacing Presidents Obama and George W. Bush. Obama had zero appointees confirmed by August of 2009, Bush had three by August of his first year in office. So far, in addition to Justice Gorsuch and Judge Newsom, Trump has placed two other judges in federal courts of appeal and one on a district court. There are 28 other Trump judicial appointees awaiting Senate confirmation.
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SCOTUS: Ban on Social Media for Sex Offenders Violates First Amendment
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reports that there are roughly 747,000 registered sex offenders in the United States. The Parents for Megan’s Law says that more than 46,000 of these offenders are registered in Texas. Over the last decade, a consensus developed among child sexual abuse experts that registered sex offenders should not have access to the Internet or the social media sites it makes available to the general public. The underlying premise of this opinion is that sexual predators can use these social media to attract and ensnare unsuspecting children into their grasp. This opinion ultimately filtered its way into both state and federal court systems. Internet restrictions and/or prohibition became a fixture of state probation and parole releases—and in many cases even as standard conditions of release on bail. The U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Center established a Computer and Internet Monitoring Program…
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"Justice Thomas, Criminal Justice, and Originalism’s Legitimacy"
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Baker on Rape and Discrimination
Katharine K. Baker (Chicago-Kent College of Law - Illinois Institute of Technology) has posted Why Rape Should Not (Always) Be a Crime (100 Minnesota Law Review, 221 (2015)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article advances a novel and...
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Domestic Violence E-Book, Part IV
How Often Do Domestic Violence Cases In Florida Involve Alcohol and Drugs? How Often Are Domestic Violence Cases Related To Alcohol And Drugs? Oftentimes when a situation turns physical, it’s because the emotions are running hot and alcohol and potential drugs act as fuel to the fire of those emotions. Drug or alcohol-related domestic violence cases are common because drugs and alcohol tends to exaggerate a situation that may already be a little bit emotional. Continue reading The post Domestic Violence E-Book, Part IV appeared first on Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog.
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"Capital Punishment of Unintentional Felony Murder"
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Reason: Federal Judge Rules Unlicensed Dogs Aren’t Protected By Fourth Amendment
Reason: Federal Judge Rules Unlicensed Dogs Aren’t Protected By Fourth Amendment by C.J. Ciaramella: Nikita Smith sued the Detroit police after they shot her three dogs on a pot raid. A judge ruled the dogs were “contraband.” A federal judge … Continue reading →
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AP (Police One): Lawsuit: Neb. patrol accused of requiring vaginal exams for female recruits
AP (Police One): Lawsuit: Neb. patrol accused of requiring vaginal exams for female recruits by Margery A. Beck: State Patrol spokesman Cody Thomas said no NSP recruits have undergone the pelvic exams since December 2016 OMAHA, Neb. — The Nebraska … Continue reading →
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Venezuela es la esperanza y el poder la felonía
Ayer, 02 de agosto de 2017, 6.15 pm, RPP; la señora Milagros Leiva entrevistó a la hija del Alcalde de Caracas, señor Ledesma. La entrevistada radica en Italia desde hace siete años según su dicho. Luego de las consabidas quejas "el pueblo venezolano se muere de hambre y por falta de medicinas si llegara a contraer una simple gripe". La entrevistadora le preguntó que pediría para Venezuela, contestó la hija de nombre Vanessa, "Que la Comunidad Internacional se solidarice y aplique severas sanciones al dictador Maduro". Pensemos unos instantes y asumamos que es cierto que los venezolanos se mueren de hambre o por falta de medicinas (deben estar bien escondidos estos abandonados de Dios pues, por lo que se ve en televisión, el pueblo revoltoso y los que declaran que no hay que comer están bien robustos y con energía para tirar bombas caseras), ¿ya pensaron en ese…
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The Limits of Public Order Control
Only marginally, if at all, on-topic, but amusing: Joe Parkinson and Georgi Kantchev have this story in the WSJ. The headline is "British pubs ban swearing, are accused of having %$&# for brains."
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SCOTUS Website Makeover and E-Filing
Late on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court launched its revamped website. Fortunately, the horrible red background on some of the pages was removed even faster than Mr. Scaramucci. The big news is the upcoming launch of electronic filing:The Supreme Court's new electronic filing system will begin operation on November 13, 2017. A quick link on the Court's website homepage will provide access to the new system, developed in-house to provide prompt and easy access to case documents. Once the system is in place, virtually all new filings will be accessible without cost to the public and legal community.That last part is very good news. In the lower federal courts, public documents are available only by payment of a fee that has little relation to the cost of providing the service. On a per-page basis the fee may not seem like much, but it adds up for a small non-profit that needs and uses the system extensively.The good part about the lower…
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Colorado Criminal Law – When The “Victim” Lures You Into Violating A Colorado Restraining – Protection Order
By H. Michael Steinberg – Colorado Domestic Violence Crimes Criminal Defense Lawyer – Attorney Colorado Criminal Law – When The “Victim” Lures You Into Violating A Colorado Restraining – Protection Order – Mandatory restraining orders in Colorado criminal cases, are not “reciprocal.” They are enforced, especially in domestic violence cases, in unjust and unfair ways. This article looks at policy issues regarding the enforcement of these “protective orders.” Colorado laws regarding the protection of “victims” of domestic violence have evolved in the past few decades. While the intention is of these laws is to unquestionably provide protection to the victims of abuse, these laws include policies such as mandatory arrests, so called “no drop” rules, and no contact orders, that have impacts never intended by the state legislators who have marshalled these policies into law. Continue…
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DUI in Maryland: What You Need to Know If Charged with DUI or DWI in Maryland
DUI in Maryland In Maryland there are two types of drunk driving charges you could face. The first is DUI, driving under the influence or DWI which stands for driving while impaired. Between 2003 and 2012, 1,716 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver in Maryland. Maryland DUI laws and penalties The Maryland Transportation code defines the DUI and DWI laws and penalties. The Maryland DUI laws are contained in Maryland Transportation article 21-902. Whereas, the Maryland drunk driving penalties are contained in Maryland Transportation article 27-101. The Maryland DUI laws contain three specific statutes which prohibit driving while the influence of alcohol, driving while under the influence of alcohol per se and driving while under the influence of alcohol while transporting in minor. The Maryland DWI statutes prohibit an individual from driving while impaired by alcohol, driving while impaired by alcohol while transporting a minor. Also driving while impaired by…
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