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Miami, Florida. Trade Américas Expo. June 20-21.

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Latin America has become one of the most dynamic growth regions in the world and a hotbed of commercial opportunity. With a US $4.8 trillion economy, 600 million citizens and a growing middle-class, the countries of Central and South America and the Caribbean represent markets of growing importance for businesses and institutions looking to increase [...]

20 Idaho Peace Officers Graduate POST Patrol Academy Class

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MERIDIAN – Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) is proud to announce that Patrol Basic Academy #175 graduated during a ceremony this afternoon at the POST Academy in Meridian.  The 20 graduates represent law enforcement agencies from throughout the state.  All peace officers in Idaho are required to complete a ten week basic academy in order to be certified.  The strenuous curriculum focuses on the foundation of knowledge and practical skills necessary for patrol duties. Members of the POST Class #175 and their law enforcement agencies are:Joshua Allen Meridian Police DepartmentSikko Barghoorn Adams County Sheriff’s OfficeKarl Bowcutt Shelley Police DepartmentShawn Bybee Twin Falls Police DepartmentKolby Call Caribou County Sheriff’s OfficeSamuel Claunch Rexburg Police DepartmentDavid Cushing Twin Falls Police DepartmentRichard Garcia Ada County Sheriff’s Office – Class PresidentJesse Gleason Madison County Sheriff’s OfficeShaine Gunderson Moscow Police DepartmentChad Kingsland Jerome County Sheriff’s OfficeGermain Neumann Ada County Sheriff’s OfficeJason Pettingill Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office – Class Vice PresidentJames Pickard Ada County Sheriff’s OfficeWess Robinson Payette County Sheriff’s OfficeEric Rose Idaho Falls Police DepartmentJared Scott Ada County Sheriff’s OfficeBridger Smith Teton County Sheriff’s OfficeScott Sorenson Chubbuck Police DepartmentNicholas Woods Clearwater County Sheriff’s OfficeDuring the 10 week POST Basic Patrol Academy students, or recruits, are trained to assume responsibilities of a peace officer in the State of Idaho which include, but are not limited to:Physical requirementsLaw and courtroom procedureFirearms and defensive weaponsEmergency vehicle operationCommunication techniques EthicsDuring the ceremony the graduates were addressed by Rory Olsen, POST Deputy Division Administrator, Chief Jeff Lavey, Meridian Police Department, Richard Garcia, Class President, Tim Braseth, POST Training Specialist and the Honorable Melissa Moody, 4th District Judge, who also administered the code of ethics to the recruits. Other highlights of the ceremony include the presentation of several awards for marksmanship, physical fitness, driving and written exams which include:Top Student AwardJesse Gleason, Madison County Sheriff’s OfficeTactical Edge Award (Student chosen by classmates whom they would most want by their side as a partner in the field)Wess Robinson, Payette County Sheriff's OfficeTop Shooter Award (Student with the highest score on the firearms range) Shawn Bybee, Twin Falls Police DepartmentTop Driver Award (Student with the highest score in the driving course)Wess Robinson, Payette County Sheriff's OfficeUpon graduation the graduates will be required to complete additional training depending on the law enforcement agency that they are employed with.  This may include further course work, as well as, further field training in an “on the job” setting. Other awards given this afternoon include: Firearms Possible (Shot 100% on the range)Jesse Gleason Madison County Sheriff’s OfficeEric Rose Idaho Falls Police DepartmentSharpshooter (Shot 98%- 99.9% on the range)Sikko Barghoorn Adams County Sheriff’s OfficeShawn Bybee Twin Falls Police DepartmentRichard Garcia Ada County Sheriff’s OfficeWess Robinson Payette County Sheriff’s OfficeJared Scott Ada County Sheriff’s OfficeBridger Smith Teton County Sheriff’s OfficeScott Sorenson Chubbuck Police DepartmentMarksman (Shot 96%- 97.9% on the range)Samuel Claunch Rexburg Police DepartmentDavid Cushing Twin Falls Police DepartmentShaine Gunderson Moscow Police DepartmentJason Pettingill Jefferson County Sheriff’s OfficeFitness Excellence (Scored 95%+ on one fitness readiness test)Germain Neumann Ada County Sheriff’s OfficeEric Rose Idaho Falls Police DepartmentJared Scott Ada County Sheriff’s OfficeScott Sorenson Chubbuck Police Department

In deep praise and thanks to lawyers and friends Dax Cowart and Bob Hilliard.

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By Fairfax County/Northern Virginia/Maryland/Beltway criminal defense lawyer Jon Katz. Defending DWI/ DUI/ Drunk Driving, drugs, marijuana/medical marijuana/cultivation, sex cases, felonies and misdemeanors. Fighting relentlessly for the best possible results for his clients. http://katzjustice.com We cannot only look within and to ourselves for inspiration to succeed in life, because life is too short, we are all connected, and we do not need to reinvent the wheel. On the flip side, the answers to most of our most pressing questions and challenges are found first right within ourselves, with the benefit of the lessons we have already learned from ourselves, from others, and from our experiences. With that backdrop, I take the time on my website from time to time to bow to and thank those who have particularly befriended, encouraged and inspired me on life's path.  Today I deeply thank and bow to my friends and lawyers Dax Cowart and Bob Hilliard.  I met Dax and Bubba Bob (he calls his sons bubba and me bubba, not from any low-rent approach) in August 1995 at the Trial Lawyers College ("TLC"), where I spent the entire month on a beautiful Western Wyoming ranch, ten miles from the nearest paved road, devoting that huge part of my life to becoming a better lawyer and person.   I was a public defender lawyer at the time, which was not as big a financial and time burden to be at the TLC as if I had been my own boss as a solo or small firm practitioner. Bob was already a great and achieved lawyer with his own small personal injury law firm in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Dax had already experienced tremendous ups and downs in his life, then just a few years from trying his first case before a jury. Dax had already experienced a huge physical trial twenty-two years earlier, when he was severely burnt in a propane gas explosion, which his father did not survive.   BOB HILLIARD Bob was my roommate for those four weeks at TLC, for no reason at first other than that we were back to back on the alphabet of the fifty attendees. He knew I was yearning to return to private law practice and ultimately to become my own boss. He heard my financial concerns about being my own boss, with no salaried and benefited safety net beneath me, but with huge heights at the ready to soar higher than I had ever soared. Bob shared with me how he became his own boss and never looked back.  Before attending the TLC, I was not quite sure what to make of plaintiffs' personal injury lawyers. I got the sense that so many of them saw their clients as mere dollar signs, but of course putting clients ahead of money earns a lawyer more money than putting money ahead of clients. Bob and many other personal injury lawyers at the TLC made clear how much they put their clients ahead of money, often at huge personal financial sacrifice and risk.  Bob had more faith at the time in my ability to make it as my own boss and to soar at it than I did. He saw greatness in me that I had not yet discovered, and knew that it would come out the more that I developed more confidence. (That confidence particularly came full speed ahead once I took the plunge to being my own boss.) He saw the compassion and caring I have for people, and my passion for justice. One year later, I left the public defender's office to join a trial lawyer firm. Two years after that I, I finally became my own boss. That was fifteen years ago, and I have never looked back.  After the TLC ended, I was in touch with Bob on and off. He has been like Charlotte in Charlotte's web (except for the gender difference and that he has survived many years more on this earth), who taught me the lessons I needed to know, and left me to move forward without needing to be in touch with him further. One day around two years later when I emailed Bob about a personal issue I was having with another lawyer at my last firm where I was an employee, Bob sent a brief reply saying essentially: "I trust you to work out this problem the right way, and you can trust yourself to do the same thing" He was right. He was just reminding me to look within myself first when facing a challenge.  When it comes to disharmony at home, Bob suggested remembering what made me fall in love with my wife in the first place. He is the real McCoy, and I will forever be grateful to Bob.  DAX COWART Over two decades before I met Dax, he and his father returned to their car where, unbeknownst to them, an odorless propane gas leak had sprung from a rusting underground pipe. When they tried to get their car to start, after it first would not, the spark from the car created a ball of fire that killed Dax's father and left Dax so badly burnt and in such excruciating pain that he asked the first person who found him for a gun, to shoot himself out of his misery. The man declined, Dax's mother blocked his efforts to stop medical treatment, and Dax started his long road to recovery, blinded forever in both eyes, and with most of his fingers gone.   Subsequently, Dax went to law school. By the time I arrived at the TLC, his experience was apparently a subject of study in the right to die movement, which Dax very much supports. Dax told me that his desire to die rather than face the excruciating pain after the fire did not mean that he did not want to be alive now that he does not have that depth and severity of physical pain any longer.  All of us have our handicaps, whether physical, mental or both. People who transcend their handicaps inspire me. Dax's handicaps just happened to be physical.  Nobody at the TLC walked around in business suits nor body armor. In fact, anyone who hid their real selves and their real feelings at the TLC would not get a great reception from most of the others there. We gathered around a campfire several nights a week, with a lot of people singing (which seemed to overdo it too often, making for less conversation and joking with those who were singing); spent time in small and large groups from post-breakfast to pre-dinner developig ourselves as better people and better lawyers (becoming a better lawyer requires becoming a better person at the same time); and spending free time together (with me spending some of that free time running several miles almost daily, overcoming the thinner mountain atmosphere day by day).  One song that I did not get tired of was Dax's rendition of Bad News, which Johnny Cash used to sing. I like Dax's interpretation even more than this Cash version. Dax completely floored me in his cross examination during a mock trial. He stood there with his stick cane and entire persona filling the entire room, and took total control of that barn-turned-courtroom, to his persuasive best.  I have had numerous discussions with Dax, revealing our true selves. Leaving the TLC, it was all the harder to make any effort at making cocktail party conversation anywhere, even at cocktail parties; I had reached the deep point of no return. Depth is where it is at.  Whether or not their both being native Texans has anything to do with it, Bob and Dax are both very passionate people who transcend courtroom attire even when wearing it. Here they are on 20/20 in 1999 for a story about Dax. Here is Bob in 2011 discussing a lawsuit he filed over the shooting death by U.S. border patrol agent(s) of a young man on the Mexican side of the border who allegedly was throwing stones. Are you able to watch these videos without being deeply moved? Continue reading "In deep praise and thanks to lawyers and friends Dax Cowart and Bob Hilliard. "

Police Must Get a Warrant to Forcibly Draw Blood from Drunk Driving Suspects

Residue of a controlled substance is not punishable

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A cop said that, the defendant was arrested on August 2, 1986, and charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree and Unlawful Possession of Marijuana in an accusatory instrument which reads, in pertinent part, as follows: Deponent states that defendant knowingly and unlawfully possessed a controlled substance, to wit, marijuana and cocaine possession in that deponent recovered from defendant's pants pocket one clear plastic bag containing marijuana, six vials of cocaine in "crack" form and one glass "crack" pipe containing residue. A Lawyer said that, On August 26, 1986, the count charging the defendant with Unlawful Possession of Marijuana was dismissed after the laboratory analysis by the New York City Police Crime Laboratory disclosed that no marijuana possession was present in any of the material recovered from defendant. However, the laboratory report did disclose that cocaine residue was present in the six glass vials and the glass tube recovered from the defendant. A New York Criminal Lawyer said that, the defendant has moved pursuant to Criminal Procedure Law §§ 170.30(1)(a) and 170.35(1)(a) to dismiss the information for facial insufficiency on the ground that possession of cocaine residue alone is not sufficient to sustain a charge of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree. The issue in this case is whether the possession of cocaine residue is sufficient to support a charge of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree. The court in deciding the case, cited the provisions of Criminal Procedure Law § 140.45 provides for the dismissal of an accusatory instrument whenever it is determined that the instrument does not meet the prerequisites of sufficiency set forth in Criminal Procedure Law § 100.40 and "the court is satisfied that on the basis of the available facts or evidence it would be impossible to draw and file an accusatory instrument which is sufficient on its face." The three requirements of sufficiency laid out in CPL Section 100.40 are: 1) that the information conform to the specifications of Criminal Procedure Law § 100.15; 2) that the allegations in the factual part of the information "provide reasonable cause to believe that the defendant committed the offense charged (§ 100.40[1][b] ); and 3) the "non-hearsay allegations of the factual part of the information establish, if true, every element of the offense charged". Article 100 of the Criminal Procedure Law governs the actual form and content of the information and misdemeanor complaint, and provides in section 100.15(3), that "the factual part of such instrument must contain a statement of the complaint alleging facts of an evidentiary character supporting or tending to support the charges." That section also reiterates the requirement that "every element of the offense charged and the defendant's commission thereof must be supported by non-hearsay allegations". Penal Law § 220.03 provides that a person is guilty of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree when he "knowingly and unlawfully possesses a controlled substance." In the instant matter, a minuscule quantity of a controlled substance, analyzed and characterized as residue, was recovered from the defendant. The cocaine residue, while analytically detectible, was no longer a drug in usable form. The defendant could not use this substance to engage in the types of conduct the drug crime possession statute was meant to prohibit--i.e., the defendant could not use this substance to induce an artificial state, transfer it for another person's use, or sell it. The intentions of the legislature in structuring the drug crime laws can be traced through their evolution and revisions in the statutory structure. To a greater degree than former law, increased punishment for possession or sale of certain quantities of proscribed substances, especially those which were not quantitatively graded before, was correlated to a particular view of the dangerousness of the individual substances or their categories, both in terms of their deleterious effect on the individual abuser and the likelihood of their broad distribution either for profit or as gifts. Clearly the legislature was showing its concern for the trafficking of drugs and the effect particular drugs have on those who use them. The legislature demonstrated further concern for efficient drug criminal law enforcement by enacting changes in 1979 in the drug laws. Implied in the legislature's change in the statutory structure is a need to evaluate and reevaluate the severity of both the criminal conduct and the punishment for such conduct with an eye toward efficient drug law enforcement. With a similar focus, this court concludes that possession of mere residue of what was a controlled substance does not violate Penal Law § 220.03. The potential abuse in possessing residue does not rise to conduct which the legislature contemplated as criminal. For the foregoing reasons, the court held that the defendant's motion to dismiss the information is granted.

Rumson Man Indicted on Child Pornography Charges

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The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office has charged Matthew Marass, 26, of 18 Forrest Ave in Rumson, Monmouth County, with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography as reported by the Patch.com here.  The possession charge covers the dates of July 16, 2009 to April 15 2011 while the distribution charge only covers two […]

Lee on De Facto Immigration Courts

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Stephen Lee (University of California, Irvine School of Law) has posted De Facto Immigration Courts (California Law Review, Vol. 101, No. 3, 2013) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In Padilla v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court recognized a noncitizen defendant’s...

Lodi man sentenced to 24 years for ‘massive’ child porn collection

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Martin Villalabos, 41, had more than 5,400 photographs and 164 videos, most of whom had yet to reach puberty, engaged in sexual acts with both other children and adults, according to U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.  U.S. District Court Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark sentenced him to 24 years in prison.  Villalabos will be required […]

Idaho Public Safety Dispatchers Graduate From POST Academy Today

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MERIDIAN - Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) is proud to announce that Basic Dispatch Academy Class #59 graduated during a ceremony this morning at the POST Academy in Meridian. The ceremony for the Basic Dispatch Academy Class #59 began at 11:00 a.m. The 18 graduates of the two-week academy represent law enforcement agencies from throughout the state. The academy provides the knowledge and skills necessary to operate as a public safety dispatcher and is required for POST certification as a Dispatch Communication Specialist. Academy students have instruction in the following areas:Call Classification, Call Taking & Call PrioritizationCustomer Service & Effective CommunicationEmergency Medical ServicesEmergency Communications Technology & TTYHazardous Materials Orientation & Emergency Response GuideFire Call HandlingLegal Liability & EthicsPat Down Searches & HandcuffingRadio ProceduresIncident Command System (ICS) & National Incident Management System (NIMS)During the ceremony the graduates were addressed by Rory Olsen, POST Deputy Division Administrator, Michelle Craig, Class President, Stephanie Birch-Harris, Pocatello Police Department, and Kerry LaFramboise, POST Training Specialist. The top student award was presented to Kayla Lafferty from the Teton County Sheriff’s Office and the Leadership “Call for Backup” Award, that was voted on by the class as to who they would want by their side as a partner, was presented to Raquel Jasmer from the Idaho State Police.During her address to the graduates, Stephanie Birch-Harris, spoke of dispatchers as the Thin Gold Line. She explained that between the Thin Red Line of fire fighters, the Thin Blue Line of law enforcement and the Thin White Line of emergency medical services lies the thinnest Gold Line. This Thin Gold Line represents those who are rarely seen but mostly heard, the dispatchers. The calm voice in the dark night and the golden glue that holds it all together. Those dispatchers graduating today and their agencies are: Lynette Benzie Elmore County Sheriff’s OfficeJenaca Burnett Bingham County Sheriff’s OfficeMcKenzie Call Caribou County Sheriff’s OfficeAshley Charvez Shoshone County Sheriff’s OfficeMichelle Craig Washington County Sheriff’s OfficeSarah Harris Shoshone County Sheriff’s OfficeRaquel Jasmer Idaho State PoliceKayla Lafferty Teton County Sheriff’s OfficeKelsie Massolio Idaho State PoliceCasual Merritt Adams County Sheriff’s OfficeColeman Moore Idaho Falls Police DepartmentChristopher Reed Idaho Falls Police DepartmentDavina Shay Fort Hall Police DepartmentJared Smith Lewiston Police DepartmentSusan Sparrow Caribou County Sheriff’s OfficeKimberly Steiner Nampa Police DepartmentChristina Sweetland Bingham County Sheriff’s OfficeHeather VanOsdol Elmore County Sheriff’s Office

Please, Don't Put It In Writing

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report.jpgI know we lawyers are always saying, "Get It In Writing". Sometimes, this can be a bad thing. Especially in a criminal case, when it comes to scientific evidence, we defense attorneys do not want everything in writing. Why, you ask? In the State of Florida, someone accused of a crime may elect to "participate in discovery". This is a fancy term meaning that the defense attorney files something with the prosecutor saying "show me everything you got". Once a defense attorney files a demand for discovery, the prosecution turns over everything they've got. Every police report. Every written statement. Every lab report. The names and addresses of every witness. Every picture taken in the case. Every video. Every fingerprint card. Every photo line-up. Everything. But, the problem with electing to participate in discovery is that it's a two way street--now the defense must also turn over every document they have as well. In my experience, 99% of all Florida criminal defense attorneys "participate in discovery". I know one local guy who never has, and never will. That means, he has never conducted a deposition of a state witness (because doing a deposition counts as "participating in discovery"). The reason he doesn't participate is: (1) he must then turn over everything he has to the state, and (2) he can usually obtain documents regarding the case from a public records request. Remember also, when a defense attorney opts out of discovery, he is not obligated to list the witnesses he will call at trial. So, the state has no idea what witnesses he may have, or what experts he may have because providing witness names is only required as part of discovery participation. Ah yes, the sweet element of surprise. So, now you know how 1% of the criminal defense attorneys out there do not participate in discovery, let's get back to the 99% who do participate in discovery.

Illinois bill would expand felony DUI provisions

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Illinois law prohibits Driving Under the Influence (DUI). 625 ILCS 5/11-501 In terms of alcohol, this prohibition takes two forms. The first form of Illinois DUI law makes it illegal to drive under the influence. In these types of case, the prosecutor must prove that as a result of consuming alcohol, the accused was impaired in his ability to operate a motor vehicle. At times, this can be difficult to prove, despite an array of tools that the courts and General Assembly have made available to law enforcement, such as standardized field sobriety tests, the preliminary breath test, the presumption that if you refuse a test, it is evidence of a "guilty mind" and a general relaxation of a defendant's rights under the United States and Illinois constitutions. Therefore, the DUI laws have been repeatedly altered to stack the deck even further against the defendant. There is a second type of DUI, known as "per se" because the State does not have to prove that your driving is impaired due to alcohol. it is automatically assumed that you are guilty of DUI if the prosecutor is able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that your blood alcohol content (BAL) was .08 or higher when you were operating a motor vehicle. There are purported safeguards built into the process to ensure that the machine that calibrates your BAL is accurate and is administered by someone properly certified by the Illinois State Police to do so. 20 Illinois Administrative Code Part 1286. These rules establish the police training, lab procedures, breath test certification and sampling protocol that relate to the breath test. However, courts have bent over backwards to let in evidence that is not properly documented. Thus, despite the clear requirement that police maintain a log of breath test results, courts have let the police off the hook when the log cannot be produced. People v. Claudio 371 Ill. App. 3d 1067 (2007)

VA - Ex-Norfolk cop (Jason M. New) must pay $500K in rape lawsuit

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Original Article 06/11/2013 By Patrick Wilson NORFOLK - A jury has ordered a former police officer to pay $500,000 in damages to a woman who claimed he raped her while answering her 911 call... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Is the Breath Test Accurate? A Spokane DUI Lawyer’s Perspective

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How accurate is the breath test instrument on DUI arrests? What if the result is .10 or .11? Does that mean you are automatically guilty? What is the margin of error? There are many things that can effect the breath test accuracy.  Let’s take a look at them one by one. Contaminants There are certain [...]

Arrested in Long Beach Island (LBI)? You need an Experience Criminal Lawyer!

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As the warm weather are rolls in, and July 4th is getting closer, beach-lovers head to Long Beach Island (LBI) and with that migration, arrests will most certainly increase. When there is a sudden increase in population, (and an increase in drinking), the local police departments increase their presence in the areas of Beach Haven, Ship Bottom, Long Beach Township, Surf City, Barnegat Light and Harvey Cedars. Long Beach Island is a memorable place with great restaurants, music, beaches and other great activities, it is also a place where many people get arrested over the summer months. If you have visited LBI, you know it is a beautiful place, but often juveniles and adults get arrested for disorderly person offenses while on vacation and it can unfortunately have a tremendous effect on their lives. Whether the arrest be for a borough ordinance violation, Possession of Marijuana less than 50 grams, Drug Paraphernalia, Criminal Mischief or Simple Assault, all these matters require court appearances and are considered Disorderly Person Offenses. A Disorderly Persons offense can have long-term effects on your life. It holds a maximum of 6 months in jail, probation and fines. It is imperative that you have an experienced criminal defense attorney fighting for you in these local municipalities of Beach Haven, Long Beach Township (which includes Brant Beach, Holgate, Brighton Beach, Beach Haven Crest, Beach Haven Terrace, Beach Haven Gardens, Haven Beach, The Dunes, Spray Beach and North Beach Haven), Surf City, Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars and Ship Bottom. If the matter is classified as an indictable offense, whether is it be 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th degree the matter will be transferred to the Superior Court located in Toms River, New Jersey. Again, it is important to have an attorney with experience on your side.

Man is high when arrestec

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An accused man was questioned at length by his attorney to establish that he no longer used heroin and was involved in a methadone program. His direct testimony was interlaced with differing references to his having been off heroin for...

FB, Google Get Limited Disclosure Approval

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The Government has agreed to let Facebook and other web companies publish some details about the number of surveillance requests it has received. Facebook has already posted their numbers. For the last six months of 2012, it received between... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

CA - Murder trial for Robert Vasquez to begin in 2011 death of sex offender in O.C.

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Robert Vasquez Original Article 06/14/2013 By Emily Foxhall A man accused of killing a registered sex offender in a San Juan Capistrano mobile home park and attacking a second victim days... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

UK - Former prison officer (John Cornwell) is behind bars himself after child sex conviction

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John Cornwell Original Article 06/15/2013 By Neil Hunter A prison worker convicted of child sex offences is now behind bars himself after his barrister told a court: "His life is in... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

AL - Operation Safe Summer: Madison Co. Conducts Sex Offender Sweep

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Original Article 06/14/2013 HUNTSVILLE (WHNT) - There is a new effort by several law enforcement agencies to target sex offenders in Madison County. The goal is to make sure they’re living... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Perry vetoes empower prosecutors, except for one Travis County drunk Democrat

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Just a couple of criminal-justice related vetoes on Governor Rick Perry's 2013 list, but they were both significant.Perry vetoes only de-incarceration bill of the session This one was particularly a bummer. I do not understand why Gov. Perry picked HB 1790 to veto - out of all the criminal-justice bills sent to him Grits had considered it among the most innocuous, though it was the only piece of legislation passed by the 83rd Texas Legislature that would have even a minor de-incarceration impact. His stated reasoning for doing so makes little sense to me except through the lens of maximizing the prerogative of the executive branch. Here's the text of the accompanying veto message: "The intent of House Bill 1790 can already be achieved under current law. A mechanism already exists to prosecute a state jail felony as a Class A misdemeanor in circumstances where the prosecutor sees fit. Adding the option to reduce the conviction at the back end of a case will cause additional and unnecessary court procedures, reduce judicial efficiency, and add to the costs of our criminal justice system."Certainly in some cases prosecutors can already choose to prosecute a state jail felony as a Class A misdemeanor through their front-end charging decisions. But the point of the bill was to provide incentives for succeeding on probation by dangling a reduced charge on the back end as a carrot. In the version that passed the Legislature, prosecutors would still have veto power. But Perry's complaint appears to be that they're not the exclusive decisionmakers.Perry's cost argument in the veto message is a total red herring. In FY 2012, some 23,449 revoked probationers entered TDCJ, or 31.5% of all new receives during that fiscal year. Lowering that number even a fraction would reduce incarceration costs on a magnitude that far outweighs the cost of an extra hearing, particularly one that only happens if probationers are successful! Bad, inexplicable veto.This theme of maximizing prosecutorial power, it should be mentioned, was also exhibited in the addition of "mandatory life" for 17-year old capital offenders, making the sole purview of prosecutors power that, under the law as it stands, presently resides with juries when sentencing 17-year olds - i.e., the choice to consider sentences less than "life."Travis DA Showdown: Perry follows through on win-win gambitThe other big criminal-justice news out of Rick Perry's veto announcement was the line-item veto of the Public Integrity Unit at the Travis County DA's Office, part of the governor's effort to strong-arm the current drunk DA in charge, Rosemary Lehmberg, to resign. Even Perry acknowledged the unit's "good work" but declared he couldn't justify funding it when the public had lost faith in its leader. (I wonder, btw, if there's been any recent polling on whether Travis County voters want Lehmberg out and a Perry-appointed replacement in: That'd be an interesting opinion survey.) The move was a win-win for Perry; Grits considered it a brilliant stroke from a chess-player's perspective. If Lehmberg had resigned, Perry would appoint her replacement - Terry Keel and John Bradley are the two names I've heard bandied about.Since she called his bluff, OTOH, de-funding the Public Integrity Unit emasculates a prosecutorial division that's currently investigating some of Perry's Republican allies and programs and agencies run by his appointees. That has Democrats crying "foul" but that's insider baseball. The public doesn't react to such charges nearly as strongly as they do the images of Lehmberg kicking the cell door and shouting at jailers. Still, combined with the veto of two bipartisan ethics bills, including a requirement that 501(c)(4)s disclose "dark money" donors, it's not difficult to paint a portrait of the governor's veto decisions as self serving snubs to ethics enforcement. This may be a situation where history could judge that Perry overreached (for example, during any future presidential bid), despite achieving his goal of putting Lehmberg and Travis County Democrats in a short-term political squeeze.The governor vetoed about $7.5 million allocated to the Travis DA's Public Integrity Unit over two years, according to news accounts. According to a report last fall (pdf) the DA has nearly one million dollars in her asset forfeiture account that could cover part of it. I suppose the Travis County Commissioners Court could pony up the rest, though that'd be a bitter pill to swallow. Or, since the question quickly becomes, "How much is the county willing to pay NOT to have a Republican DA," maybe somebody like Steve Mostyn or another partisan political donor could bail them out for a biennium. That's a lot of money but not so much that it's inconceivable some super-rich partisan might think it's worth it, given the stakes. Or, perhaps they could hit up the Obama Administration or some big foundation for an emergency grant to keep the PIU afloat for two years. ¿Quien sabe?If readers can think of other possible scenarios for keeping the Public Integrity Unit open, please offer them up in the comments. And keep in mind: The question now isn't whether or not Lehmberg should resign but what should happen next? They've already lost their budget for two years, there's little else Perry can do to them aside from occasional (and well-earned) animadversions in the press. Those aren't going away until Rosemary Lehmberg leaves office. Until then, how might the Public Integrity Unit be funded for the next two years, or should the county let it die on the vine?
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