SCOTUS Stays Georgia Execution: The U.S. Supreme Court has stayed Tuesday's scheduled execution of Keith Tharpe in order to review a claim of racial bias. Kate Brumback of the Associated Press reports that the stay was granted after the Georgia Supreme Court, a Federal District Judge, and the 11th Circuit had all rejected the claim. Tharpe, whose own mental health expert called him a "mean son of a bitch," forced his ex-wife's car off the road as she and her sister were heading to work. He then shot the 29-year-old sister twice with a shotgun and rolled her body into a ditch, before kidnapping his ex-wife and raping her. He was later caught in Macon trying to withdraw money from his ex-wife's credit union. His guilt was undisputed. Tharpe's attorneys say he is deeply remorseful for the killing, and has kicked his drug addiction while in prison. Illegal Immigrants Charged With Rapes: A…
News Scan
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Marcedes Araoz, Reconstrucción con Kambios, Río Piura, Arturo Woodman, Enzo Defilippi
¿En la reconstrucción con cambios el gobierno está actuando con criterio técnico o mercantilista –puro robo-¿ Les ruego amigos que lean el artículo del señor Arturo Woodman sobre los trabajos que el gobierno pretende realizar o está ejecutando en el río Piura CONTRA la opinión del Colegio de Ingenieros de esa Ciudad y luego por favor lean el párrafo que he trascrito del artículo del señor Enzo De Filippi. Existen DOSCIENTOS MILLONES DE SOLES EN JUEGO. HE AQUÍ EL ARTÍCULO DEL SEÑOR WOODMAN Discrepancias en el manejo del río Piura, por Arturo Woodman "Las primeras acciones preventivas por parte del Gobierno se están iniciando con algunas discrepancias técnicas con el Colegio de Ingeniería y universidades locales". (Foto: Ralph Zapata) Arturo Woodman P. 27.09.2017 / 09:28 am Han pasado varios meses desde que…
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What Are the Penalties for a First-Time Probation Violation in California?
“What happens if you violate probation for the first time?” This is a common, important question that is frequently asked of our Ventura probation violation lawyers. The answer depends on the nature of the violation, and is at the discretion of the judge, which is why it is so important to be represented by an attorney at your probation revocation hearing. Continue reading to learn more about the consequences of violating your probation for the first time in California. First-Time Probation Violation Penalties in California Even a first-time probation violation can lead to tough consequences under California law. The exact penalties you will face depend on the nature and severity of the violation. For instance, a minor violation may be penalized with mandatory community service or similar conditions, while a more serious violation is more likely to result in consequences up to and including total revocation of your probation. A few examples of the potential…
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Watch Barry Scheck Live on Facebook for Wrongful Conviction Day
Across the United States, 351 people have been exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing. October 2nd is Wrongful Conviction Day – the annual international observance dedicated to ending wrongful convictions. How will you get involved this Wrongful Conviction Day? Last year, the digital movement reached over a million people worldwide. As part of the 2017 Wrongful Conviction Day lineup, tune into Facebook Live on October 2nd at 2 p.m. EST with Innocence Project Co-Founder and Co-Director Barry Scheck, where he’ll be talking about the significance behind Wrongful Conviction Day and taking your questions. You can also post questions for Barry in the comments section below on this page. On October 2nd, use your voice to make change. It’s as simple as joining the conversation! The post Watch Barry Scheck Live on Facebook for Wrongful Conviction Day appeared first on Innocence Project.
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How a Traumatic Brain Injury Can Cause Cognitive Problems
If you suffer a traumatic brain injury in a car wreck, a slip and fall or perhaps on the sports field, you may suffer a host of interrelated issues including cognitive problems. Cognition relates to the act of knowing or thinking. It allows people to make judgments and to choose, remember, understand, and use information selectively. The key cognition skills are listed in an article on Brainline. they are: Concentration and attention Processing information and understanding it; Communicating with others; Skills like organizing, planning, and assembling; Judgement, reasoning, solving problems and making decisions.; Controlling your impulses and desires and exercising patience. A traumatic brain injury, depending on its nature and severity can impact many of these functions. That’s why if you have suffered a brain injury in an auto accident, you may struggle to keep your job and relationships with family members may suffer. Any compensation award should reflect your altered…
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The First Amendment For Dotards
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereofYou might think that the establishment clause means that the government cannot establish a national religion or favor one -- or any -- religion over others, but that's because you are part of the immoral majority. What this clause means is that the government cannot establish a religion other than Christianity. And so we all must celebrate Christmas, and finally put an end to the long-running war on this sacred holiday. Separation of church and state simply means that the government cannot tax churches. It does not require, for example, the removal of a monument of the Ten Commandments at a state courthouse. Just ask former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, now a Republican candidate for Senate, with the full support of the GOP, presumably because he promises…
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Want to Know about Judicial Selection? Learn from the Best.
A group of district court judges gathered at the School last week for a class focused on the establishment of school justice partnerships, a central component of the Raise the Age legislation. The class was productive, but there was an elephant in the room that kept distracting everyone. If you’ve been keeping up with the General Assembly’s work over the past month, you likely can call the elephant by name. The elephant was House Bill 717. This bill, which was introduced before the General Assembly adjourned its 2017 regular session, redraws several of the State’s existing superior and district court judicial districts. Its provisions are currently being hammered out in the House Select Committee on Judicial Redistricting. The chairman of the committee is Representative Justin Burr, a five-term representative from Montgomery and Stanley Counties and one of the bill’s primary sponsors. The latest version of the bill is available here, and the latest…
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What Is A Federal Ticket?
In years past police officers had almost no other option but to arrest an individual observed committing a crime. This was true with respect to Maryland state cases and federal cases, but over the years the system has evolved to where a police officer can now charge a person with a crime without having to waste hours transporting and booking that person. When you think of federal crimes the first things that come to mind are complex criminal conspiracies like fraud and bribery (such as the recent college basketball recruiting scandal) or big time drug trafficking cases, but not all federal criminal cases are worthy of news headlines. The big cases technically could be handled by local and state law enforcement agencies because they usually occur on state property where state agencies have jurisdiction, but the Feds have their pick due to their vast resources. Federal ticket cases though are petty offenses that actually occur on federal property, where the only cops that have…
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Child Sex Trafficking and Bypassing Security on a Tablet Computer
This post examines a recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit: U.S. v. Blake, 868 F.3d 960 (2017). The court begins the opinion by explaining that[a]fter a nine-day trial, a jury found Dontavious Blake and Tara Jo Moore guilty of child sex trafficking for managing a prostitution ring involving at least two girls under the age of eighteen. Blake and Moore challenge numerous rulings the district court made before and during trial, and at sentencing.U.S. v. Blake, supra.The court goes on to explain why, and how, the prosecution arose:Blake and Moore had a system for running their prostitution ring. One of them would post ads for prostitution services on the classifieds website Backpage. Moore would then take phone calls from potential customers who were responding to the ads. And Blake would give the prostitutes rides to their appointments and provide muscle. The money was split 50/50 between the working prostitute on the one hand and Blake and…
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Interesting perspectives on the (not-so?) inclusive marijuana movement and industry
I noticed this morning these two very different articles looking at issues of inclusiveness in the marijuana reform space in two very different ways: From Slate here, "By Excluding LGBTQ People, the Growing Cannabis Industry Is Betraying Its Roots" An excerpt: The burgeoning industry has one glaring problem: The gatekeepers...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/bp8O_9U2YI0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Ryo on Subject-Centered Approaches to Immigration Noncompliance
Emily Ryo (University of Southern California Gould School of Law) has posted The Promise of a Subject-Centered Approach to Understanding Immigration Noncompliance (Journal on Migration and Human Security Vol. 5, pp. 285-296) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Unauthorized immigrants...
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SCOTUS Rule Changes
The U.S. Supreme Court today officially adopted a few rule changes effective November 13. The changes mainly related to electronic filing of documents. Links to the new and current rules, summary of changes, and guidelines for electronic submission are available here.
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Admissibility of Polygraph Results in Utah Criminal Cases
Polygraph Results Are the Subject of Expert Testimony Can polygraph tests be admitted in criminal cases in Utah?Generally speaking, polygraph results are not admissible in Utah courts because they do not satisfy Utah Rules of Evidence 702. That is because over time, they have been unable to meet the basic threshold of being inherently reliable in the scientific community. A few cases have set forth the standard of the admissibility of polygraph tests: State v. Rimmasch, 775 P.2d 388 (Utah 1989); State v. Crosby, 927 P.2d 638 (Utah 1996); and State v. Brown, 948 P.2d 337 (Utah )1997). In Rimmasch, the court established a three-part standard for admitting scientific evidence under Rule 702 of the Utah Rules of Evidence: A showing that the proposed evidence is inherently reliable. This can be done through a showing of general acceptance of the principle or technique int he relevant scientific community or by proffering a sufficient foundation to demonstrate the…
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Grover Norquist calls criminal justice reform one of the "conservative movement’s most important recent accomplishments"
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Monica Shah to speak at the Women’s Bar Association panel on Title IX and Campus Sexual Assault on October 19, 2017
The WBA panel on Campus Sexual Assault will bring university administrators and legal professional together to provide their perspectives on issues related to campus response to sexual assault and harassment. These matters have recently taken on new found significance with the Department of Education and Betsy Devos’s announcement regarding the rollback of Obama-era guidance that led to increased enforcement under Title IX. Monica Shah will provide insight on her broad experiences representing both complainants and respondents in Title IX matters, including both students and faculty members. Learn more about the event and register here.
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Texas Refuses DNA Testing for Man Scheduled to Die in November
Innocence Project client Larry Swearingen is scheduled to die on November 16, despite DNA evidence that excludes him from the 1998 murder for which he was convicted. Swearingen was sentenced to death in 2000 for the rape and murder of 19-year-old Melissa Trotter. Swearingen maintains his innocence and is fighting for DNA testing of key evidence, including the victim’s clothes, a rape kit and the murder weapon, but Texas courts have repeatedly struck down his requests. The DNA testing that has been performed supports Swearingen’s innocence claim. Blood from under Trotter’s fingernails excluded Swearingen and yielded an unknown male profile. As Texas made much-needed improvements in its post-conviction DNA testing statute over the years, Swearingen was twice granted testing, but the request was twice struck down by the state Court of Criminal Appeals, which ruled that the court should only consider whether the DNA evidence would exclude Swearingen and should not…
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Should New Jersey be more regularly championed for its profound success in reducing prison populations and crime rates?
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Examining the distinctive marijuana market in the distinctive District of Coulmbia
The District of Columbia — which, if anyone cares, is where I was born a long, long time ago — has long been a distinct part of the United States as a matter of law and practice. For that reason and others, it should come as no surprise that marijuana...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/iR6_6WMXXkM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Al Sharpton makes the case for "decriminalization of marijuana [as] a civil rights cause"
The controversial former Prez candidate Al Sharpton has this notable new commentary in The Guardian under the (anglicized) headline "Why the decriminalisation of marijuana is a civil rights cause." Here are excerpts: There is no greater act of resistance than continuing to march towards the sweeping, systemic victories that have...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/B6-iT3s-Cxs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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LawNewz: DOJ Seeking Info on 6000 People Who ‘Liked’ Anti-Trump Facebook Page
LawNewz: DOJ Seeking Info on 6000 People Who ‘Liked’ Anti-Trump Facebook Page by Alberto Luperon: The ACLU-DC is trying to stop three search warrants that’d let the Department of Justice snoop around protesters’ Facebook accounts over Inauguration Day protests. They … Continue reading →
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