Sample Federal Criminal ComplaintFlorida Federal Drug Defense Attorney, W.F. ''Casey'' Ebsary, Jr. has published a Typical Federal Criminal Complaint for Drug Charges. The names and identities have been edited. The Criminal Complaint was used by Federal Agents in a recent drug investigation.Typical Federal Criminal Complaint for Drug ChargesI, the undersigned complainant, being duly sworn, state the following is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief, On or about May 26, 2009, in Polk County, in the Middle District of Florida, an individual did, possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids, a Schedule Ill controlled substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841. I further state that I am a Special Agent with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and that this Complaint is based on the following facts:SEE ATTACHED AFFIDAVITI, Special Agent, being duly sworn, hereby depose and state as follows:I am a…
Florida Federal Drug Defense Attorney Publishes Typical Federal Criminal Complaint for Drug Charges
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"Reconciling Katz and the Fourth Amendment Text"
Orin Kerr has this post at The Volokh Conspiracy. In part: Monday was the 50th Anniversary of Katz v. United States, the Supreme Court's big decision on the Fourth Amendment's "search" test. I often hear that Katz created a vague...
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Crash with blockage
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 For Immediate Release: 12/27/17 11:16 a.m. Please direct questions to the District Office At this time the Idaho State Police are investigating a crash eastbound Interstate 84 near mile post 68, East of Boise. The left lane of travel is blocked by emergency vehicles. 3560 -------------
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Can You Be Punished for Suspicion of Drunk Driving?
It has always been a cornerstone of the United States Constitution that a citizen is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. No citizen can be punished based merely upon a police officer’s suspicion that he or she has committed a criminal offense. Except, perhaps, in drunk driving cases. See, for example, my posts DUI and the Presumption of Guilt and The DUI Exception to the Constitution. In a recent example of this widely-prevailing view, consider a recent decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in the case of Hunsucker vs Fallin (December 20, 2017), as reported by TheNewspaper.com: Oklahoma Supreme Court Slams DUI Law Oklahoma City, OK. Dec. 27, 2017 — Oklahoma’s attempt to crack down on drunk driving went too far. In a ruling last week, the state Supreme Court declared the Impaired Driving Elimination Act violated the due process rights of motorists by, among other provisions, requiring police officers to…
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What You Need to Prove Your Slip and Fall Accident
One of the most dangerous things about this time of the year is the weather and what the weather can do to you. In many instances, bad weather conditions can cause you to slip and fall or trip and fall, leaving you injured or hurt. In fact, there are many conditions that could lead to this type of injury such as an uneven sidewalk, an untreated parking lot, or a neglected spill. When those circumstances present themselves, you might want to instantly sue who the responsible party is. However, it is not that easy. If you plan on pursuing legal action, you must provide sufficient evidence that your slip and fall accident was not your fault. Without certain evidence, there is no reason to believe you have a valid lawsuit. There are four elements that are very important to proving these kinds of cases and incidents. Without the following, your chances might be slim to none in having a case: Duty on the part of the defendant: According to New Jersey law, a commercial property owner…
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Massachusetts House and Senate Agree on Some Aspects of Sweeping Criminal Justice Reform
Over the last few months, the Massachusetts Senate, and then the House, debated and passed bills that would make significant changes to the state criminal justice system, ultimately resulting in a more flexible and forgiving system, with a greater ability for those who have gone through the system but subsequently stay out of trouble to move on with their lives. Both chambers’ bills would crack down on certain specific offenses, such as increasing penalties for selling or trafficking in opioids like fentanyl, but reduce mandatory minimums and other penalties like those for non-violent drug offenses, sometimes retroactively. And both would take a less strict and punitive approach toward low-income defendants who cannot afford to post bail or to pay fines and fees. Both houses expressed a desire to expand options for pretrial diversion, which allows defendants in certain situations to avoid criminal punishment and emerge without a criminal record after undergoing treatment…
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Alimony and the New Tax Plan
Alimony and the New Tax Plan As everyone knows President Trump has signed into law the new tax bill. This tax bill has been a frequent subject of congress, the media, and various advocates. The change that most affects many Ayo and Iken clients is the new tax treatment for alimony payments. The change promises to effect future alimony negotiations, future court cases, and decisions whether to reopen past alimony judgments. This is a decision of national significance and will affect alimony in every single state. You are probably aware the new tax law eliminates a key tax provision that affects alimony and its impact: Payments of alimony shall no longer be deductible Receipt of alimony payments shall no longer be considered taxable income In other words alimony will now receive similar tax treatment as child support. This change represents a huge shift in the treatment and calculation of alimony. It will be years before…
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Why Michael Flynn Should Not Accept a Trump Pardon
Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has pled guilty in a Washington, D.C. federal court to a single count of lying to the FBI. The guilty plea is part of a “plea agreement” reached with Special Counsel Robert Mueller who is currently investigating possible political collusion and criminal wrongdoing between the Russian government and the Donald Trump presidential campaign. This criminal investigation includes possible obstruction of justice by President Trump and other possible criminal wrongdoing by his family members and political associates before the president’s election and during his tenure in office. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(e) not only recognizes but regulates plea agreements between the Government and a criminal defendant. The plea agreement Flynn entered into with the Special Counsel imposes four contractual obligations on him: He must answer all questions by the Special Counsel and any Federal, state, or local…
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In defense of using risk assessments at bail hearings
Echoing sentiments your correspondent expressed in a segment our November Reasonably Suspicious podcast and amplifying them with additional research, three statisticians recently made the case in the New York Times that, despite allegations that some algorithms promote racially discriminatory outcomes, they remain "powerful tools for combating the capricious and biased nature of human decisions." Here's a notable excerpt:Bail decisions have traditionally been made by judges relying on intuition and personal preference, in a hasty process that often lasts just a few minutes. In New York City, the strictest judges are more than twice as likely to demand bail as the most lenient ones. To combat such arbitrariness, judges in some cities now receive algorithmically generated scores that rate a defendant’s risk of skipping trial or committing a violent crime if released. Judges are free to exercise discretion, but algorithms bring a measure of…
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Interview: Peter Neufeld, co-founder of the national Innocence Project, on prospects for state and national forensic-science reform
In the December episode of the Reasonably Suspicious podcast, we published an excerpt from an interview Grits conducted with national Innocence Project co-founder Peter Neufeld. We mainly discussed forensic-science topics including the abolition of the national forensic science commission, of which he was a member, and DNA mixture controversies. You can listen to the full interview here.Find a transcript of our conversation below the jump.Transcript: National Innocence Project Co-founder Peter Neufeld interviewed by Scott Henson, Policy Director at Just LibertyScott Henson: I wanted to start ... in your speech to the Texas Defender Service luncheon, you had talked about Texas having, really, I guess for the nation, sort of a surprising role in some of these innocence and forensics issues, and in particular about our Forensic Science Commission and our junk-science writ. I feel like Texans almost take these things for granted now. Can you give us, from your perspective, what…
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//blawgsearch75.rssing.com/chan-6519914/article29211-live.html
US v. Wells, No. 14-30146 (12-19-17)(Walter w/concurrence by Nguyen and partial dissent by Tashima). This is a significant opinion, reversing double first degree murder convictions for improper admission of prejudicial profiling evidence. Along the way, the opinion disapproves of the government’s interference in appointment of counsel (although the removal of second counsel by the magistrate court was not an abuse of discretion); and reassigns the case on remand to a different judge. All the panel agrees the government should “tend to its own knitting” when it comes to representation, the concurrence would not have chided the magistrate judge with a “cautionary note”. The dissent would not have reassigned to a different judge. The significance of the reversal goes to the improper use of a “profile” for workplace multiple-homicide violence. The expert’s profile was substantive evidence of guilt that the prosecutor argued…
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"Sessions rescinds protection against excessive fining by local courts"
From Jurist: Since taking over the DOJ, Sessions has disapproved of using guideline protocols to drive policy. In a November memo [text, PDF], Sessions stated that: the Department has in the past published guidance documents—or similar instruments of future effect...
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Update: Injury Crash East of Boise
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 For Immediate Release: 12/27/17 2:39 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office ***Update*** On Wednesday, December 27, approximately 11:00 a.m., the Idaho State Police investigated a one-vehicle rollover on Interstate 84 at milepost 68, east of Boise. Amber Banks, 33 of Boise, was travelling eastbound in a 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser in the left lane of travel. Banks' vehicle went off the left shoulder and rolled into the median. Banks was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle. Banks was transported by ground ambulance to St. Alphonsus in Boise. The crash is under investigation by the Idaho State Police. 3560/3318 ***End Of Update*** At this time the Idaho…
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“INTERPOL Reviewing 40,000 Wanted Notices for Political Abuse” – What’s Behind the Message?
On December 1, 2017, the Associated Press reported that according to a confidential memorandum INTERPOL was reviewing 40,000 red notices to ensure they were not politically motivated. A red notice is a request any of the 192 member countries can disseminate via INTERPOL’s channels to seek the location and arrest of a wanted person for the purposes of his or her extradition. Article 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution strictly forbids the organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character. However, in a number of cases INTERPOL has found that some of its member countries have used the organization’s resources to persecute political opponents and other victims of unlawful criminal prosecutions. The memorandum reflects the November 20 meeting between INTERPOL and European Union officials held after two European Union citizens, Dogan Akhanli, a German-Turkish writer, and Hamza Yalcin, a…
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News Scan
Inspector General Scolds Obama DOJ: The Department of Justice Inspector General found systemic flaws throughout the DOJ in handling complaints of sexual harassment over the last five years according to a story by Washington Post reporter Sari Horwitz. The cases examined by the IGs Office were obtained by WaPo through a Freedom of Information Act request. Some of the cases involved presidential appointees, FBI special agents in charge, U.S. Attorneys, federal prison wardens and senior level Justice Department employees. In some cases perpetrators received little or no discipline and later received bonuses and performance awards. The information indicates that sexual harassment incidents had increased significantly in recent years and that some incidents presented potential criminal activity, but were never referred to the IG for investigation.
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Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht raises notable sentencing issue in SCOTUS cert petition
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Wall Street Journal taking a close look at "Murder in America" while NYC hits a record low
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Be Safe This New Year’s Eve. Do Not Drink and Drive!
The holiday season is finally coming to an end. As we bid our farewell to 2017, many of us have plans to go out and celebrate the beginning of the new year. With all the celebrations come high levels of alcohol consumption, and that means there’s going be an increase in drunk driving incidents. According to a study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 89 percent of drivers find it unacceptable to be behind the wheel while drunk, yet 14 percent of drivers admit to driving their vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. So even with the best intentions in mind, we still get behind the wheel after having too much to drink. And that leads to DUIs and major accidents that can be life-threatening. We get it; you want to celebrate the new year. But there are ways you can celebrate without driving while drunk. We have compiled a list of things you should do instead of getting behind the wheel this weekend: Don’t drink or limit yourself: This is an obvious one.…
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News Scan
The False Narrative on Criminal Justice Reform: In an opinion piece in the Orange County Register columnist Sal Rodriguez joins the chorus of pundits assuring the reading public that California's criminal justice reforms, which have released some 30,000 habitual felons into communities and kept them there with reduced sentences, have not caused any appreciable rise in crime. He then chastises those in law enforcement who have noted that crime is increasing as "fear mongers." Among those Rodriguez specifically targets is Michele Hanisee, President of the LA Deputy District Attorneys Association and a seasoned prosecutor. Ms. Hanisee's response to the accusation and the narrative provides a mini-education about the real world of law enforcement. Baltimore Wins Murder Sweepstakes for 2017: While the murder rate has been trending down in most U.S. cities this year, Baltimore is suffering the highest murder rate in its…
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JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2018: COUNTY COURT
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS: JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2018 ................. COUNTY COURT Currently, there are 25 County Court seats up for election. Of those 25 seats, six judges are retiring at the end of their term; and at least 18 of the other 19 will be running for reelection. The only undecided incumbent, Judge Andrew Hague.We have been communicating with Judge Hague and he has told us that he is still examining all options, including: running for reelection, retiring early and throwing his seat to the JNC and Governor Scott, and serving out through the end of his current term. OPEN SEATS GROUP 2: (Judge Mary Jo Francis retiring): Jeffrey CynamonJacqueline Woodward (switched from County Group 43) GROUP 18: (Judge Deborah White-Labora retiring): Laura Cruz (first filed in Circuit and then switched to County)Mike Mirabal (switched from County Group 33) GROUP 32: (Judge Caryn Canner Schwartz retiring): Rosy Aponte (first filed in Circuit and then switched to…
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