In the absence of any other hook to hang your hat on, there was no doubt that the slaughter in Vegas would immediately become a “we need to have a discussion” about gun control by people who knew nothing about guns. This was a given. But what about people who made their bones on other issues. Were they to be left out of the discussion? There was Harvard’s newest darling, Shaun King, connecting dots that no rational person could see. Bet you didn’t know that, because you looked to the killer’s motive, his goals, to figure out whether this was an act of terrorism. But look at those sweet numbers, the retwits and likes (and those were from yesterday, so there’s a good chance a few more geniuses have embraced this deep thinking), and you can easily see why Shaun King has morphed from Daily News pundit to Harvard scholar. That Shaun King turned this into whiteness is nothing surprising. That’s his gig, without which he would have to get a…
Short Take: Mass Murder And Opportunities
↧
↧
Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Procedure eJournal
are here. The usual disclaimers apply. Rank Paper Downloads 1. Forensic Science: Daubert's Failure Paul C. Giannelli Case Western Reserve University School of Law Date Posted: 06 Sep 2017 [2nd last week] 355 2. Feeding the Machine: Policing, Crime Data,...
↧
WaPo: An innocent man lost his spleen after police shot him during a drug raid. The courts and city government say tough luck.
WaPo: An innocent man lost his spleen after police shot him during a drug raid. The courts and city government say tough luck by Radley Balko: In August 2011, a SWAT team in Binghamton, N.Y., conducted an early morning drug … Continue reading →
↧
New book: “The Rise of Big Data Policing: Surveillance, Race, and the Future of Law Enforcement” | “Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how technology is changing American policing.”
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, The Rise of Big Data Policing: Surveillance, Race, and the Future of Law Enforcement (Kirkus 2017) Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how technology is changing American policing. Review by the publisher: A survey of … Continue reading →
↧
Roundup: Justice delayed after Harvey, ICE raids focused on non-criminals, and other stories
Here are a few odds and ends on a beautiful Saturday morning that merit Grits readers' attention:The Dallas News published a good primer on bail reform issues with lots of links.After supporters of Attorney General Ken Paxton tried to stop payments to the special prosecutors on his case, I suppose turnabout is fair play. Now that the Court of Criminal Appeals has backed prosecutors in the pay dispute, those prosecutors are looking at donations to Paxton's own legal defense fund.Everyone concerned with abolition of the Driver Responsibility Surcharge should read this.How did Hurricane Harvey affect the justice system in Houston? One word: Delays. Especially bad news for misdemeanor defendants.Contrary to their initial PR blast, ICE raids in Austin earlier this year did not involve any "egregious" cases of criminal immigrants, instead focusing on non-criminals. Emails recently uncovered via FOIA show top brass were disappointed.I'd linked to it in an…
↧
↧
How to Avoid a Marijuana Arrest in a Car in Minnesota: Top Nine Tips
The other day I was talking to a prosecutor on behalf of a client. I let him know that my objective was to keep my client’s public record clean of words like “marijuana,” “drug paraphernalia,” and “criminal conviction.” He responded mischievously with “You know how he could avoid all that don’t you? Don’t get caught.” He was joking, but like many jokes there was some truth in it. As of this writing, eight states in the U.S.A. have legalized marijuana for responsible use by adults 21 years and older; and, the majority of the U.S. population now lives in a state with legal medical marijuana. We should all know by now that marijuana is safer than alcohol. There is no lethal overdose possible with marijuana, unlike alcohol, aspirin, and many prescription drugs. But in Minnesota in 2017 despite a majority in the polls favoring legalization, criminal Prohibition lingers…
↧
Hurricane Nate Readies for Landfall Tonight
Hurricane Nate is on track to make landfall this evening. The storm is now packing maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. It is moving speedily to the north at 26 mph. Hurricane warnings are in place from Grand Isle, La., to the Alabama border... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
↧
Police in Florida Cannot Always Come to Your Door, But Some Signs Will Not Prevent Them
In Florida, the police are generally not allowed to enter a person’s home to search or investigate a crime without permission from the homeowner or a valid search warrant. In some cases, the police cannot even go onto your property to search or investigate if the property is properly fenced and it is clear people are not welcome on the property. The right to privacy in one’s home is one of the strongest constitutional protections. However, for homes that are not adequately fenced in, the police are normally allowed to go up to anyone’s door, knock and ask questions. As long as it appears that the general public would be allowed to go up to a door and knock, the police can too. The residents can refuse to answer the door or they can refuse to answer any questions if they do open the door, but the police are welcome to try and knock and see if they can get someone to talk or even let them in. If the residents do not cooperate, the…
↧
Road Closure on I15 near Idaho Falls and Roberts
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Idaho State Police District 6 1540 Foote Dr. Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402-1828 (208) 525-7377 FAX: (208) 525-7294 For Immediate Release: 10/07/2017 2:22 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office There are road closures on I15 at the US20 Junction, near Idaho Falls and milepost 135, near Roberts due to low visibility from a dust storm. Please use alternate routes of travel. 3490 -------------
↧
↧
Star and Stripes: Factions forming as Congress attempts to curb US spy power
Star and Stripes: Factions forming as Congress attempts to curb US spy power by Karoun Demurjian of the The Washington Post: WASHINGTON — Schisms are brewing on Capitol Hill over a new bipartisan effort to limit the authority and extend … Continue reading →
↧
Prosecutorial Misconduct in California
Defending Criminal Cases in California — Prosecutorial Misconduct Recently, it has come to light that dozens of persons accused of serious crimes in California were convicted on the heels of a prosecutor cheating or acting unethically in a case, often time referred to as prosecutorial misconduct. Specifically, wrongful convictions included Christopher James Lloyd who suffered a […] The post Prosecutorial Misconduct in California appeared first on Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney-Pasadena Ontario | Leib Law.
↧
Today's Edition of Trump Unhinged
Trump's latest tweet about North Korea is causing a fuss: President Donald Trump on Saturday lamented decades of "failed" foreign policy with North Korea, saying "only one thing" will work. "Presidents and their administrations have been... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
↧
The New Sexting / Child Porn Law that Every Connecticut Parent Should Understand
Connecticut lawmakers are finally catching up with teenagers and technology. Last week, a new Connecticut law went into effect that at long last protects and provides legal relief for Connecticut teenagers experimenting with “sexting” (that’s when teenagers consensually swap naked photos of each other with their cell phones). The new law finally distinguishes teenage sexting from traditional child pornographers and child predatory crimes. Under the new law, sexting between certain minors is no longer a felony crime that can be transferred to adult court and carries years of mandatory jail time. Now it’s a Class A misdemeanor for juveniles under 18. Yes, it’s still a crime, and still serious, but no longer carries the devastating career-killing, life-changing consequences that engaging in this conduct threatened our teenagers with before this new law was enacted. Who Benefits from this New Connecticut Sexting Law As many of the top…
↧
↧
Graves of Slaughtered Coptic Christians Found, ISIS Participants Disclosed
The 2015 ISIS video showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians on a beach in Sirte, Libya was one of its most brutal. It featured an English-speaking spokesman who sounded American. One of the big mysteries was his identity -- and which... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
↧
ABELARDO SÁNCHEZ LEÓN Y EL NEGOCIO DEL FÚTBOL
http://elcomercio.pe/opinion/colaboradores/insospechada-leccion-nuestro-futbol-abelardo-sanchez-leon-noticia-464027 “La selección nos ha dado una lección a todos los peruanos después de muchísimos años, de muchísimas juergas, de alojamientos en hoteles caros y de algunos resultados espantosos: nos ha demostrado que la seriedad, no la pompa fatua, es garantía de buenos resultados. Después de mucho tiempo, es un espejo donde podemos mirarnos.” Dejé de interesarme por el negocio de “patear pelota” desde México 70 cuando nos ubicamos octavos con dos goleadas a cuestas la de Brasil y luego la de Alemania, ambas por 4 a 2. Quedar octavos y con dos goleadas no era, no es y nunca será un resultado que merezca relievarse, comprendí entonces que todo no era más que un vil negocio donde los seres humanos están a la venta según sea el éxito…
↧
False confessions, coercive interrogations, hardly a new problem
Not a Texas topic, but until this NY Times obituary, I'd never heard the story of how the late, great Connie Hawkins - an ABA, Globetrotter, and NBA star in the '60s and '70s - was banned from pro ball in his prime based on false and unproven allegations of game fixing. Hall-of-fame coach Larry Brown has said of Hawkins, “He was Julius before Julius, he was Elgin before Elgin, he was Michael before Michael.” But to the criminal justice system, he was none of those things. He was a suspect in a game fixing scandal, so he got the same treatment as every other young black suspected criminal might have received in the 1960s. (Shudder)As has been the case with so many modern exoneration stories, his problems arose from the use of coercive interrogation tactics, and his name was cleared thanks to an exceptional act of journalism:Hawkins’s path to the N.B.A. was buoyed in part by a 1969 article in Life magazine by David Wolf. “Evidence recently…
↧
Smarter Sentencing Act reintroduced in Senate with lots of support from both parties
↧
↧
Self-Defense and Texas Gun Law
Last week the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas gave us some insight into the current state of guns laws in Texas and the availability of a self-defense claim handing out a decision entitled State of Texas v. Gamino. In August of 2013, Mr. Gamino and his girlfriend were leaving a bar at closing time in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. While walking back to Gamino’s truck they passed a group of three men sitting on a street corner. Gamino heard one of the three, who we will refer to as Khan, quote a line from a movie that was extremely lewd. Gamino thought the comment was meant for his girlfriend and confronted Khan. Khan testified at trial that he was not talking to Gamino or his girlfriend. Khan stated that Gamino said, “I’ve got something for you.” Khan stated that Gamino then walked to his truck and pulled out a gun which he then pointed…
↧
New California law limits reach of registry for lower-level sex offenders
↧
Reviewing the newest recreational marijuana markets to be coming on-line
CNN Money has this new article focused on the three states about to have their recreational marijuana markets up and running in the wake of 2016 legalization votes. The piece is headlined "Retail marijuana is spreading to California, Massachusetts and Maine," and here is how it gets started: The mainstreaming...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/iMG8HIwhj7I" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
↧
