While California prepares to license its first recreational cannabis shops next month, there are hundreds of thousands who have a marijuana-related criminal conviction for conduct that is now legal or less severe under the new laws. Some of these individuals are still incarcerated and some are on probation, but the majority have served their sentence but have a criminal record reflecting the conviction, which often places barriers to employment, professional licensing, firearm purchases, and even traveling to Canada. Along with the legalization of recreation marijuana, Proposition 64 also included provisions for the reduction of criminal penalties for former marijuana convictions and for resentencing or dismissal of certain prior convictions for the sale of marijuana. Furthermore, certain convictions for conduct that is now legal under Prop 64 (generally, the personal use or possession of recreational marijuana for personal use) can now be dismissed and the record sealed. These…
PETITION TO REDUCE, DISMISS, AND SEAL A MARIJUANA CONVICTION POST PROPOSITION 64
↧
↧
Another review of California's commitment to expunge past marijuana convictions
In recent weeks, I have spotlighted a number of article from a number of outlets discussing marijuana reform's impact on part marijuana convictions. The latest example today comes from the Washington Post via this extended article headlined "Convicted of a marijuana crime in California? It might go away, thanks to...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/p_8KC6KpYkM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
↧
In Defense of Expertise
I recently listened to Sam Harris’s interview with Tom Nichols on Harris’s Waking Up Podcast. Nichols discussed the “Dunning-Kruger Effect.” If there is a zeitgeist for our age, it may well be the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Before I define the Dunning-Kruger Effect, let me describe the setting where you may have experienced it. It is the holidays now. So, you may have experienced it at a family get-together. Likely, your loudest relative on topics in the political arena fancies himself an expert in many things but is likely not an expert in this or any area. And you also may experience it in client consultations in the form of the relative who comes to the office who took a business law course at one time about a decade ago. This relative arrives at the office with the client and acts as the family spokesperson. Or you may see it in the thick handwritten correspondence from the client who has been spending time in the law library. The Dunning-Kruger effect…
↧
//blawgsearch75.rssing.com/chan-6519914/article29044-live.html
US v. Jones, No. 17-15869 (12-15-17)(Per curiam w/Motz, M. Smith, and Nguyen). This is an Az FPD case. The 9th holds that Arizona's armed robbery, Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-1904, does not qualify as a COV under ACCA because of the categorical approach. The 9th follows US v. Molinar, No. 15-10430, 2017 WL 5760565 (9th Cir. Nov. 29, 2017), where the 9th held that Az's armed robbery is not a COV under the force clause of the Guidelines, but was under the enumerated felonies clause. However, Molinar does not apply to ACCA's enumerated felonies clause. See US v. Dixon, 805 F.3d 1193 (9th Cir. 2015). "Therefore, Arizona armed robbery also does not qualify as a violent felony under ACCA's enumerated felonies clause."Congrats to AFPD Keith Hilzendeger (FPD Az -Phoenix). A shout out is also in order for AFPD Ryan Moore (FPD Az - Tucson) for his work and partial but significant victory in Molinar.The decision is…
↧
9th Circuit: Arizona Armed Robbery not a “violent felony” under the Armed Career Criminal Act
United States v. Jones, — F.3d —, 2017 WL 6395827 (9th Cir. Dec. 15, 2017): Armed Robbery in violation of Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1904 not a “violent felony” under the Armed Career Criminal Act In 2006, Rick Allen Jones pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and an armed career criminal, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. 924(e) (ACCA). ACCA imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years on a person who violates section 922(g) and has three previous convictions for a “serious drug offense,” a “violent felony,” or some combination of the two. In Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015), the Supreme Court struck down the “residual clause” portion of ACCA’s “violent felony” definition as unconstitutionally vague, leaving intact the definition’s “force clause,” which refers to offenses that have…
↧
↧
NJ Councilman Suspected of DUI after Crashing into Tree at His Home
A Councilman from Plainfield, New Jersey was arrested on December 9 for allegations that he was driving under the influence of alcohol after a series of curious events took place during and after he struck a tree in front of his home. As reported by neighbors, a Hyndai Elantra allegedly operated by Councilman Barry Goode was driven into a tree late Friday night. In what was assumed as an attempt to stall the engine Goode put the car into park and held his foot on the gas. A concerned neighbor tried to assist by opening the door to the driver’s side of the vehicle so that Goode would not become injured. Goode was then purportedly seen falling onto the ground. A neighbor used a cell phone camera to record the Councilman tumbling to the ground, and police later duplicated the footage for their reports. Continue reading →
↧
Court upholds search under "plain feel" doctrine and expands generic robbery definition
In United States v. Graves, No. 16-3995 (3d Cir. Dec. 13, 2017), the Court affirmed Shaun Graves's 100-month sentence for a single count of unlawful firearm possession. In doing so, the Circuit rejected Graves's claims that he was subject to an unreasonable investigatory search. More significantly, the Court held that Graves's two prior North Carolina robbery convictions qualified as "crimes of violence" under the Sentencing Guidelines, see U.S.S.G. 4B1.2(a)(2), because they were not broader than generic robbery, as defined by an overwhelming majority of states.Harrisburg Police Officer Dennis Simmons stopped, handcuffed, and frisked Graves based on suspicion that he had participated in a nearby shooting. Prior to the stop, Simmons observed Graves walking in a high crime neighborhood at night with another man, both of whom matched descriptions of the shooting suspects. And when Simmons first saw Graves from his…
↧
Antitrust Settlement Ends Price Fixing Case
Antitrust Settlement Ends Price Fixing CaseEarlier this month, a Birmingham, AL manufacturer of ductile iron products, agreed to pay $8.8 million to settle antitrust claims. The Federal Trade Commission sued McWane and two competitors in 2012, alleging that the companies conspired to fix prices. Star Pipe Products and Sigma Corp., settled in 2015 for a combined total of $8.5 million. The government alleged that the companies colluded to fix prices of pipe fittings used in municipal water treatment plants. According to federal prosecutors, the companies agreed to fix prices between 2008 and 2011. The initial federal complaint also suggested that the companies created a market allocation scheme to protect McWane’s industry-leading position. The final settlement enables the FTC to repay direct purchasers of the iron pipe fittings. According to the government, direct purchasers of the pipe products suffered from lack of true competition.Federal antitrust lawyer Antitrust…
↧
JUAN SHEPUT Y SUS ILUSIONES AMARILLAS
Artículo 118.- Atribuciones del Presidente de la República Corresponde al Presidente de la República: …. …… 5. Convocar a elecciones para Presidente de la República y para representantes a Congreso, así como para alcaldes y regidores y demás funcionarios que señala la ley. Las personas de siempre sostienen que adelantar las elecciones es inconveniente para el País, la economía sufriría (el mercado especulativo adquiriría mayor protagonismo y quien paga los platos rotos son, también, los de siempre, LOS POBRES es mi agregado) las inversiones seguirían paralizadas y el costo de organizarlas no se justifica. Veamos primero si el adelanto de elecciones lo ordena el actual gobernante, el inciso trascrito lo autoriza ¿Por qué? Porque precisa: “Conovocar a -----, NO dice Convocar en el último año de su mandato y con una…
↧
↧
Tuesday Talk*: The Leong Ultimatum
Denver lawprof Nancy Leong was invited to be a panelist at the 10th Circuit Bench and Bar Conference to talk about Qualified Immunity, an extremely important criminal law and civil rights issue about which she’s written. She accepted the offer months ago, without knowing who else would be on the panel. There is nothing unusual about this. Last Friday, she learned the identities of her fellow panelists. Last Friday I got an email from Magistrate Judge Suzanne Mitchell. I noticed that the other three people on the panel appeared to be white men from two states: David Lee (Oklahoma City), Louis Bullock (Tulsa), and Toby Crouse (Kansas). (Links added.) What became immediately apparent was that these were three white men, which Leong found unacceptable. I don’t think 3/4 of the speakers on a civil rights topic should be white men. Especially not at the major annual conference for an entire circuit. And so she sent an email to the group about it. The initial…
↧
China sentences 10 people to death in sports stadium as thousands watched
Source: The Independent (18 December 2017)http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-public-execution-sports-stadium-10-people-thousands-sentence-dead-a8116906.htmlThousands of people at a sports stadium in China watched as 10 people were sentenced to death before being taken away for execution.The public sentencing was held in Lufeng, in southern Guangdong province, where 12 people were held on charges of producing and trafficking drugs, murder and robbery.Video footage from the stadium showed those on trial being brought into the stadium in police trucks with their sirens blaring. They were flanked by four police officers wearing dark sunglasses. Seven of the 10 who were executed were convicted of drug-related crimes, The Paper reported, while the others were found guilty of murder and robbery. After being convicted, they were taken to be executed. Local media reports are unclear on what happened to the other two people.It marks the second time in six months an open…
↧
King: The Perils of Prosecuting a President
It is true, I have never investigated and prosecuted the President of the United States. Until recently, a special prosecutor, or formerly, the independent counsel, was usually a once-a-term appointment and far more often focused on those around the President. No one in Washington D.C. is interested in a former public defender turned prosecutor leading a federal investigation into political elites, especially without the blessing of an Ivy League education. But the Law School of Twitter Punditry, combined with clueless legal punditry, has shamelessly indulged the progressive fantasy that the presidency of Mike Pence will start any day. Let’s take a trip through reality and examine some of the issues. The major threshold issue is that the President has the power to pardon federal crimes, and this power is unreviewable. No doubt that Mueller and his team has considered this fact in their approach to the investigation. Indeed, some reports suggested that the federal…
↧
Janhuba & Cechova on Monitoring, Deterrence, and Football
Radek Janhuba and Kristyna Cechova (Charles University in Prague - CERGE-EI (Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute) and Charles University in Prague - Faculty of Social Sciences) have posted Criminals on the Field: A Study of...
↧
↧
Does a Divorce Require Going to Court?
Most people will not have to go to court during the divorce process. This is a relief to many clients who would prefer to avoid going to court and discussing the details of their marriage in front of the public. However, a small percentage of divorce cases may end up being litigated. This typically occurs when the parties cannot agree on some aspect of the divorce, whether it is a property settlement, alimony award, or child custody issue. The Benefits of Avoiding a Court Battle There are a number of advantages to settling your divorce issues out of court. Your legal expenses will be lower, sometimes significantly lower, if you don’t need to litigate any issues before a judge. The divorce process will also be faster and typically much less frustrating and stressful. In North Carolina, you can essentially decide all of the issues that come up during a divorce in a separation agreement. You can’t actually legally end your marriage until you’ve been separated for…
↧
Dallas hospital settles kickback case for $7.5 million
On December 1, the Department of Justice announced that Dallas-based, physician-owned Pine Creek Medical Center had agreed to pay $7.5 million to resolve civil allegations, initially brought by a whistleblower, that the facility paid kickbacks to physicians for patient referrals. According to DOJ’s press release: Pine Creek Medical Center LLC (“Pine Creek”), a physician-owned hospital serving the Dallas/Fort Worth area, has agreed to pay $7.5 million to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act by paying physicians kickbacks in the form of marketing services in exchange for surgical referrals, the Department of Justice announced today. * * * The government alleged that, between 2009 and 2014, Pine Creek engaged in an illegal kickback scheme whereby the hospital would pay for marketing and/or advertising services on physicians’ behalf and, in return, the physicians would refer their patients, including Medicare and…
↧
Road Blockage
Westbound and Eastbound I90, all lanes, are currently blocked at milepost 18 due to a crash. SJT
↧
CO: The statutory right to notice of right to refuse a consent search doesn’t apply when the automobile exception applies
Colorado requires notice of a right to refuse a consent search of a car. When there is probable cause and exigent circumstances, however, that’s enough for the search without even considering consent. People v. Ball, 2017 CO 108, 2017 Colo. … Continue reading →
↧
↧
CA1: It was def’s burden to show guest standing and he failed
Defendant put on no proof of how long he was in another’s hotel room to claim standing in the room. The district court inferred, without much support, that he slept there for some brief period of time, and that’s not … Continue reading →
↧
A.F.Ct.Crim.App.: AFOSI form that said cell phone consent search would be done in 3 days wasn’t constitutionally binding
An AFOSI form states that a cell phone search has to occur within three days of their acquiring the phone. The court in the past has suggested that form change because it’s unreasonable to expect that it can be done … Continue reading →
↧
Home Invasion: An Illinois Crime Commonly Charged in Connection With Burglary
Earlier this month, a 56-year-old man was sentenced by Illinois Judge Thomas Berglund to serve 30 years in prison in connection with a home invasion that the offender confessed to committing earlier this year, reports The Register-Mail. Reportedly, the homes invasion took place last spring when the offender entered the home of an 83-year-old man and hit the resident over the head with a metal desk lamp. The elderly victim suffered great bodily harm and was discovered by a neighbor two days after the incident occurred. After admitting that this was in fact the course of events that took place, a negotiated plea agreement was reached in which two other charges (residential burglary and aggravated battery causing harm to someone over 60 years of age) were dismissed and the prosecution continued ahead with the home invasion charge for which the offender is now serving time. The Crime of Home Invasion Under Illinois Law Home invasion is a criminal offense that often goes hand in…
↧
More Pages to Explore .....
