NYTimes: Opinion: The End of Privacy by Andrew Burt and Dan Geer: Given the constant stream of breaches, it can be hard to understand what’s happening to our privacy over time. Two dates – one recent and one long ago … Continue reading →
NYTimes: Opinion: The End of Privacy
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Eyewitness Identification
No matter the offence, the Crown Attorney must always prove the identity of the accused as the person who committed the crime in order to secure a conviction. Depending on the case, sometimes the accused identity is admitted and not in issues. In other cases, the sole issues is the […] The post Eyewitness Identification appeared first on Joshua Rogala | Winnipeg Criminal Defence Lawyer .
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Week of October 2 - 6, 2017
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"Access to Health Care and Criminal Behavior: Short-Run Evidence from the ACA Medicaid Expansions"
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Drunk Driver May Finally Lose License After 28th DUI Arrest
Danny Lee Bettcher of New York Mills, Minnesota, has been arrested for driving under the influence for the 28th time. Yes, that’s correct, 28th time. This past week, an off-duty police officer spotted Bettcher drinking at a local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post. The off-duty officer notified authorities after he saw Bettcher leave the VFW post in his vehicle. Authorities caught up with Bettcher and pulled him over after he ignored a stop sign and drove onto the highway at 10 mph while swerving. According to officers, Bettcher had bloodshot eyes and a beer can was located behind the passenger’s seat. “I am way over. Take me to jail,” Bettcher told police after refusing to take a sobriety test, according to the criminal complaint. According to Assistant County Attorney, Jacob Thomason, Bettcher could be sentenced up to seven years in prison. Although Bettcher’s license was valid at the time of the arrest, it included “a restriction that…
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Star Ledger Editorial: ‘The screaming injustice in Passaic County continues’
Last month, Innocence Project client Eric Kelley and Centurion Ministries client Ralph Lee celebrated a major victory. Their 1996 murder and robbery convictions in New Jersey were overturned based on DNA results which exclude them and point to another man linked to a similar crime. But, sadly, despite the ruling and compelling new evidence, Kelley and Lee remain in prison. In an op-ed released today, the Star Ledger Editorial Board asks why “these wrongfully convicted men are languishing behind bars,” while the man who likely committed the crime walks free, and calls on the New Jersey’s attorney general to “force prosecutors to stop digging in.” Related: NJ Court Vacates 1996 Murder Convictions Based on DNA In 1996, Kelley and Lee were sentenced to life in prison for the 1993 murder of Tito Merino in Paterson, New Jersey. But DNA testing of a hat found at the crime scene excludes both Kelly and Lee and matches to another man—Eric…
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"Federal judge upholds Arpaio pardon and dismisses contempt case"
From Jurist: Last month, 33 members of Congress filed an amicus brief [text] in the matter, asking the court to invalidate Trump's pardon as an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers. The Congressmen argued that the pardon, as it...
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THE USE OF DRUG RECOGNITION EXPERTS CHALLENGED IN FEDERAL COURT
A couple of weeks ago, a complaint was filed in the United States District Court (for the Northern District of Georgia) alleging that the three complainants were subject to a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights when they were arrested and held in jail cells for hours all because a police officer trained as a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) believed they were driving under the influence of marijuana. None of the three ended up testing positive for marijuana. Not only were the complainants’ liberties infringed but as the complaint noted, all three now have a record of arrest, which will stay with them for life and which they will now have to explain to potential employers, landlords, schools and others. The complaint alleges these abuses by the same officer, but the violations alleged against the officer have certainly occurred in other jurisdictions, including California. I discussed the role of DREs and the increasing use of these so-called experts in recognizing…
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THE MAIN INGREDIENT IN ECSTACY, MDMA, APPROVED BY FDA FOR FURTHER STUDY IN THE TREATMENT OF PTSD
For almost as long as the federal government has harshly prosecuted drug use, researchers have been studying the psychologically beneficial effects of the very drugs that can land a person in prison. Clinical studies on both animals and humans have demonstrated the beneficial effects of many hallucinogenic drugs in treating PTSD, anxiety, depression, addictions, and other mental health disorders. Drugs, commonly taken recreationally, such as LSD, Ayahuasca (DMT), Ecstasy (MDMA), and magic mushrooms (psilocybin), show varying degrees of promise in a clinical setting. These drugs, along with marijuana, are currently classified as Schedule 1 drugs by the federal government. A Schedule 1 classification means that “there are no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a research and educational organization focused on discovering beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana, with a…
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Jury Access to Inadmissible Evidence Results in New Trial for Washington Criminal Defendant
A jury must base its decision on the evidence before the court and may not consider evidence outside the record. While courts do their best to ensure that juries are properly instructed and not exposed to outside information, jurors still sometimes consider extrinsic information in robbery and other theft cases. When this happens, a Washington robbery defense attorney may seek a new trial for his or her client. Such was the case recently, when a jury was exposed to a video that had not been admitted into evidence at trial. The defendant was charged with second-degree robbery of a restaurant. Police apprehended him at the end of an alley about five blocks away shortly after the robbery. There were shoe prints in the alley matching the defendant’s shoes. He had a roll of pennies on him and just a few dollars more than what had been taken. The robber’s shirt was found in a garbage can along the alley. The employee,…
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"US Intelligence Unit Accused Of Illegally Spying On Americans’ Financial Records"
From Buzzfeed, via NACDL news scan: The intelligence division at the Treasury Department has repeatedly and systematically violated domestic surveillance laws by snooping on the private financial records of US citizens and companies, according to government sources. Over the past...
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This Week in Innocence News – October 6, 2017
John Oliver on how bad forensics leads to wrongful convictions On HBO’s Last Week Tonight Sunday evening, host John Oliver explained how the misapplication of forensic science often results in wrongful convictions. Honoring Wrongful Conviction Day The Innocence Project and Innocence Network member organizations celebrated International Wrongful Conviction Day on October 2. Created by the Innocence Network in 2014, Wrongful Conviction Day aims to raise awareness of the causes and remedies of wrongful conviction and to recognize the tremendous personal, social and emotional costs of wrongful conviction for innocent people and their families. Read more Remembering exoneree Clark McMillan The Innocence Project remembers exoneree Clark McMillan, who died of lung cancer on Sunday at age 61. Read more Remembering exoneree John Thompson The Innocence Project remembers exoneree…
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"Amicus brief in the Fourth Amendment cell-site case"
Orin Kerr posts his brief at The Volokh Conspiracy. From his introduction: Carpenter is an extremely important case. It’s actually less important for what it will decide directly (rights in cell-site records) than what it will set the framework for...
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Three faces charges in connection with dumping of sex offender's body
10-6-17 Ohio: HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (WKEF/WRGT) - Three people have been charged in connection with the disposal of the body of a registered sex offender in September 2016. Brian Moore was found dead in a wooded area of Huber Heights, According to the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office, three people were with him and using drugs when he overdosed. Those people then reportedly took his body to
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Cicero settles lawsuit over fatal police shooting for $3.1 million
8-31-17: The Town of Cicero has settled a 5-year-old lawsuit over a fatal shooting by a police officer with a troubled past for $3.1 million. Lawyers for the family of Cesar Munive have alleged the town never should have hired Officer Donald Garrity, who they say shot Munive while he was unarmed in July 2012. They say Garrity lied about being forced to resign from a previous police job in
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Lisa Bloom’s Crisis
Maybe Gloria Allred’s little girl has a brain, but she’s done everything humanly possible to conceal it. Sure, she’s borrowed from mom’s playbook of shameless self-promotion, vapid blathering and trying desperately to get her TV-cutie mug in front of TV cameras by haranguing on behalf of alleged rape victims. But Lisa Bloom is supposed to be a lawyer. Ms. Bloom, who says she is working only as an “adviser” to Mr. Weinstein, is known for her work representing alleged (and often confirmed) victims of sexual harassment, including those who took on Mr. O’Reilly. “Only” an adviser? That’s why they call lawyers “counselors.” Advising is what lawyers do. Advising isn’t an “only” thing. Advising is a lawyer thing, and Bloom’s attempt to slough off her relationship to Harvey Weinstein, who it turns out has been using his clout as movie mogul to nail women who would otherwise never give him…
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Will The ACLU Make “Dr. DRE” A Precedent In Georgia?
Ed. Note: This a guest post by Roswell, Georgia, lawyer Charles Landrum, who has contributed some seriously good thoughts in his comments here and, as the post shows, has some serious thoughts about the potential damage from an ill-advised suit that could well end up establishing a seriously bad precedent. DRE: a “drug recognition expert.” A name-drop giving cops magical powers to detect drugs that don’t exist and drug use that didn’t happen, like when the arrestee is impaired…because he is having an ischemic stroke. See, e.g., Love v. Tift County, Georgia. Unfortunately, there is a strong appeal to refer to cops as “experts.” In Steed v. State, the Court of Appeals pointed out the cop’s training despite it being irrelevant to the run-of-the-mill lay observations giving rise to probable cause: Miller, who, in addition to his regular training, had taken extensive additional training to be recognized as a drug recognition expert…
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CA6: Def’s wife saying she was on the cell phone contract was sufficient create a good faith belief in her apparent authority
Defendant’s wife, who told police defendant was communicating with underage girls on his cell phone, told officers that she paid for the phone and was on the contract. So, viewed most favorably to the government, this was sufficient to establish … Continue reading →
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NICOLÁS MADURO, VENEZUELA Y EL AJEDREZ
Gobierno venezolano lanza software para promover el ajedrez ¿Por qué en lugar de patear pelota nos ocupamos de desarrollar nuestra mente? ¿Qué beneficio individual nos otorga patear pelota? Esta pregunta es para el pueblo no para cuatro gatos hábiles pateando pelota y al rival como regalito. ¿Por qué el gobierno –éste y los anteriores- no apoyan el desarrollo del pensamiento? ¿Por qué ningunea a los profesores y mantiene en la orfandad a millones de nuestros niños desarrollando raquitismo, anemia, padeciendo desnutrición crónica? ¿Se mejorará la vida de nuestros hijos “pateando pelota”? ¿Qué clase de padre podemos ser si valoramos un negocio que puede sacar de la miseria (muy poco probable) a una familia si por lo menos uno de los hijos destaca en “patear pelota”? ¿No es acaso mejor cultivar el pensamiento en todas…
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OH Ct.Claims: Ptf prison visitor didn’t prove her strip search was justified or unreasonably conducted
Plaintiff failed to prove her visitor strip search claim against the prison guards involved. The search was based on sufficient particularized suspicion that drugs were coming in through this visitor. The court finds she didn’t remember signing the form about … Continue reading →
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