Making the case for making the best of federal sentencing changes in the form of prison reform
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Problems with Smothering Children as Single Parent
Children of divorced or separated parents need their parents to be a supportive presence in their lives, However, single parents can actually harm their children by overparenting. With the absence of a marriage or romantic relationship, a single parent’s children may become the sole focus of his or her life. The parent may also feel guilty about putting the children through the divorce, causing him or her to overcompensate. There are several forms of overparenting that can negatively affect both the children’s and the parent’s personal development: Overprotection: Single parents can take an overly cautious approach towards their children’s safety. They are adverse to even small risks, preferring to shelter their children and tackle the problems themselves. Parents must allow their children to face some challenges on their own. It allows the children to develop problem-solving skills and emotional resiliency. Spoiling: Single…
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Former Catalan President Detained By German Police, Later Released
Update: Puigdemont was released on bail on Thursday. The court in Schleswig-Holstein rejected Spain’s “rebellion” charge as grounds for extradition. On Sunday, March 25 former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont was detained by German police. This arrest was made on the grounds of the Spanish European Arrest Warrant (EAW), which mandates EU countries to arrest the suspect in question. Once in custody, the suspect is then put on trial to determine the proper punishment. In the case of Puigdemont, Spain is asking for his extradition on the grounds of inciting rebellion and misappropriating public funds. According to the rules of the European Arrest Warrant, countries must extradite for a certain list of offenses, but rebellion is not one of them. Because of this, Puigdemont must meet the German criteria for extradition. This is difficult for Germany because their law requires the suspect to have committed violent acts in order to be charged for high…
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THOUSANDS OF MASSACHUSETTS DRUG CONVICTIONS BEING DISMISSED…AGAIN
After a week of various news stories about police officers behaving badly, not so long after my 3-parter about that not necessarily being an unusual exception to the rule…it seemed like this update might be rather timely. According to Boston.com, what’s been forecasted for quite awhile is now apparently happening. The Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) has now ordered the dismissal of thousands of drug cases tainted by a former chemist who authorities say was high almost every day she worked at a state drug lab for eight years. Yes, the old Sonja Farak (hereinafter, the “Chemist”) story again. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and Committee for Public Counsel Services (“CPCS”), the state’s public defender agency, more than 11,000 convictions in nearly 7,700 cases are being tossed. Both agencies are also asking the court to throw out thousands of other cases potentially impacted by the…
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Heat Stroke: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment
As that warm weather heat wave prepares to hit, it’s important that we prepare for what’s to come. Hot days spent on a boat, laying by the pool, playing volleyball with friends… the possibilities are endless and the weather is sure to be perfect. But, because the weather is so nice, the possibility for heat stroke is quite high. Having a heat stroke can be very dangerous, and sometimes deadly. But, how do you prevent it? And what can you do in the event of a heat stroke? Heat Stroke: Signs, Symptoms, Prevention, and Treatment What is a heat stroke? First, it’s important to know that they occur when your body temperature is dramatically elevated, and is actually a form of hypothermia. This form of hypothermia can actually be fatal if not treated quickly and properly. What do I watch out for? Symptoms can be a lack of sweat, disorientation, confusion, dizziness, a lack of sweat, nausea, and red skin among other factors. The strongest indicator his that…
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New Traffic Assessment System in San Jose Could Reduce Motor Vehicle Accidents
San Jose is undergoing a transformation. In addition to job growth, city leaders are aiming to create better neighborhoods while easing the city’s traffic woes and making the area more pedestrian and bike friendly. A recently approved assessment plan for future development promises to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while making travel time more convenient and helping to prevent the number of motor vehicle accidents and injuries which occur each year. Planning Development to Be Smarter, More Convenient When new developments are proposed in communities, whether it be a shopping center, a business office, or a public park, assessments are conducted to determine the potential impacts it will have on traffic in the area. Previously, it was standard in California to use a Level of Service (LOS) assessment system, which measured vehicle delays at intersections, making projections to determine the possible impacts of new structures. In 2013, Senate Bill 743 was…
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Week of April 2 - 6, 2018
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AG Sessions announces new "zero-tolerance policy" for immigration offenses ... which could mean ... (a lot or no) more fast-track sentencing?
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Stevenson & Mayson on The Scale of Misdemeanor Justice
Megan T. Stevenson and Sandra G. Mayson (George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School, Faculty and University of Georgia School of Law) have posted The Scale of Misdemeanor Justice (98 B.U. L. Rev. (2018 Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is...
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Police Drew Blood From Unconscious Defendant in Florida DUI Case. Was it Legal?
In Florida and other states, when the police arrest a a person they suspect is guilty of DUI (driving under the influence), the police will almost always ask that person to submit to a blood alcohol test. First, as many people are unaware, this request and the actual test in Florida almost always takes place after the suspect has been arrested and taken to the jail. Therefore, if the suspect blows a low number, or even 0.0, the police are not likely to release, or “unarrest”, the suspect. That person is spending the night in jail regardless of a low or high alcohol reading. Also, blood alcohol tests are normally administered in the form of a breath test, or breathalyzer. After the arrest and once the person is taken to the jail, the suspect is taken into a room where the breathalyzer operator is located, and he/she is asked whether he/she will submit to the breathalyzer test. There are DUI cases where it is not feasible to administer a breathalyzer…
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Washington Petitioner for Domestic Violence Protection Order Must Show Relationship
Many people think “domestic violence” is limited to people who are or have previously been married or in a romantic relationship. Under Washington law, however, domestic violence is defined to include incidents between family or household members. Sometimes, whether a Washington domestic violence protection order can properly be issued turns on the relationship between the parties, as seen in a recent case. A woman petitioned for a domestic violence protection order against a man to whom she referred as her “uncle.” The man was seeking repayment of money he had lent the woman, and she alleged he made threats against her and her children. The man’s attorney challenged whether a domestic violence order was applicable because the parties had never lived together and were not closely related. The woman had to explain her relationship to the man through an interpreter. She told the court her father had told her the man was…
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Washington Father Granted Custody Because Mother Moved
Under Washington child custody law, there is a rebuttable presumption in favor of granting a parent’s request for relocation. To deny a relocation, the trial court must find that its detrimental effect would outweigh the benefits to the child and the parent seeking relocation. RCW 26.09.520 sets forth 11 factors to be considered by the court. In a recent case, a mother appealed a trial court’s denial of her request to relocate and its modification naming the father as the primary residential parent. The agreed parenting plan had named the mother as the primary residential parent and allowed the father residential time on Wednesday evenings and every other weekend. The parents lived within 7.6 miles of each other. The mother subsequently filed a Child Relocation Act petition. The husband responded by seeking primary residential placement. The trial court granted the mother a temporary relocation order, and the mother and children…
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Washington Appeals Court Finds Requesting ID Not Improper Seizure
The Washington Constitution, like the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, protects individuals against unlawful searches and seizures. Evidence obtained through an unlawful search or seizure may be excluded. Washington drug crime attorneys know that whether evidence is excluded often turns on whether the encounter between the defendant and law enforcement constituted a seizure, as seen in a recent case. The trial court entered findings of fact based on the undisputed facts. The police received an anonymous tip that a woman with an active arrest warrant was staying in a particular room at a hotel. The hotel clerk told them the room in question was registered to a different name. The clerk told them to trespass from the hotel anyone other than the registered guest in the room. One of the officers recognized the defendant when she answered the door of the room. She was not the woman for whom they were looking. The defendant told the…
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Medical Errors Are Deadlier Than You Think
At the hospital, you should feel safe, but recent reports suggest that the number of people who suffer maltreatment caused by medical errors is much higher than previously believed. When someone is injured or dies because of a medical error, someone must be held accountable to compensate the injured patient or the family of the loved one. Contacting an experienced attorney to evaluate the facts and circumstances of your case should be the first thing on your mind when you’re the victim of medical error. You may be entitled to considerable compensation. Medical Errors Doctors and nurses are praised for the work they do, but they are human beings just like you and me. And, human beings sometimes make mistakes. When a medical professional has been working for a lengthy period of time, fatigue can occur along with a lack in concentration. This can lead to critical mistakes. In other instances, hospital policies are to blame for the mistakes that doctors make. For example,…
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Eric Kelley and Ralph Lee Exonerated Today After Wrongly Serving Over 24 Years
(Paterson, NJ – April 6, 2018) Today, Innocence Project client Eric Kelley and Centurion client Ralph Lee were exonerated of their 1996 felony murder and robbery convictions, marking the end in their fight for justice of more than 24 years. In September 2017, a New Jersey Superior Court Judge vacated the convictions based on DNA evidence identifying another suspect. The post-conviction DNA testing of a hat recovered at the scene that the prosecution long maintained had been worn by the assailant excluded both Kelly and Lee and matched to another man who had recently been released from prison for committing a similar crime. Kelley and Lee were released on bail shortly after, with the prosecution appealing both the decision and their release. However, in March 2018, the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the decision by Paterson Superior Court Judge Joseph Portelli vacating the convictions. “Today was an unexpected, but…
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CJLF Files Amicus Brief in US v. Cal
The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation has filed an amicus brief in United States v. California, USDC ED Cal. No. 2:18-cv-00490. Here is the Summary of Argument:The Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has been construed very narrowly by the Supreme Court, but it has not been stripped of all meaning. Among the privileges that the Supreme Court has found included is the duty and right of every citizen to assist federal law enforcement and to give information regarding violations.By the same principle, citizens have a right and duty to ensure their own compliance with federal law. Because the contours of the law are often uncertain and underlying facts are often unclear, ensuring compliance sometimes means going further than the measures that may, in retrospect, be found to meet the bare minimum for compliance. A state law that punishes citizens for doing anything more than the bare minimum required by federal law therefore, in practice, impairs the…
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VICENTE ESTEBAN GONZALES NAVARRO
¿Quién es VICENTE ESTEBAN GONZALES NAVARRO? Es el nuevo Viceministro de Justicia con experiencia municipal en San Miguel y Villa El Salvador, también en el Gobierno Regional del Callao, donde presentó su Libro "Tu presencia de Hecatombe" Quiero compartir con ustedes lo que dos brillantes escritores peruanos, Winston Orrillo (me parece que falleció hace algún tiempo) y Manuel Pantigoso en la presentación (del libro), dijeron. He extraído sólo parte de ambos discursos: Tu presencia de Hecatombe” Vicente Esteban Gonzáles Navarro “En todo esto hay una llama inflamada en este libro, este es un libro que no se puede leer indiferente. El hombre que ha escrito este libro es un hombre con una profunda, una entrañable emoción. Y el drama del personaje que vive y que describe, es un drama cotidiano, es un drama de miles y miles de seres humanos…
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The ACLU Effect
Paul Cassell and Richard Fowles have this paper on SSRN with the provocative title What Caused the 2016 Chicago Homicide Spike? An Empirical Examination of the "ACLU Effect" and The Role of Stop and Frisks in Preventing Gun Violence. Paul has this post at the Volokh Conspiracy discussing the paper. Here is the abstract:Homicides increased dramatically in Chicago in 2016. In 2015, 480 Chicago residents were killed. The next year, 754 were killed-274 more homicide victims, tragically producing an extraordinary 58% increase in a single year. This article attempts to unravel what happened.This article provides empirical evidence that the reduction in stop and frisks by the Chicago Police Department beginning around December 2015 was responsible for the homicide spike that started immediately thereafter. The sharp decline in the number of stop and frisks is a strong candidate for the causal factor, particularly since the timing of the homicide spike so…
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SEÑOR PRESIDENTE, INGENIERO MARTÍN VIZCARRA
Señor Presidente del Perú, debe usted delegar bien las responsabilidades, si no lo hace se lo van a almorzar completito. Vea usted El Peruano de hoy 06 de abril de 2018, PRODUCE ha designado a su personal de confianza con gente renunciante de Transportes y Comunicaciones , Transporte y comunicaciones ha designado a algunas personas de Vivienda y Construcción también renunciante y en la misma fecha. NO se trata Señor Presidente de Experiencia sino de personal ENQUISTADO EN LA ADMINISTRACIÓN PÚBLICA DE CONFIANZA DEL NUEVO TITULAR DE PRODUCE circunstancialmente, por algo será señor Presidente. Es un chiste de muy mal gusto declarar que el Gabinete es totalmente nuevo si se conservan a la gente anterior de apoyo, REPITO, no por experiencia SINO POR AMISTAD Y CONFIANZA. PEOR AUN, DECLARAR QUE BUSCA UN PERÚ JUSTO Y UNIDO Y QUE EL PERÚ ESTA PRIMERO, es una bofetada a la inteligencia. HAY…
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What Happens When a Subpoenaed Witness Refuses to Testify in Orange County, CA?
A Defendant was accused of being a gang member and committing a murder for the benefit of the gang. The District Attorney wanted the testimony from one of the Defendant’s fellow gang members. This potential witness had seen the shooting and had crucial relevant testimony that was wanted by the District Attorney. The witness refused to testify when he was subpoenaed into court. He asserted his privilege against self incrimination, since he could have been accused of being a co-conspirator, and refused to testify. The District Attorney sought to force him to testify by seeking and obtaining a grant of immunity under Penal Code section 1324. Penal Code section 1324 provides that the prosecutor can ask a judge to grant an order of immunity for a witness whose testimony is important to the prosecution as long as the grant of immunity doesn’t do more harm to the public than the good to society that is going to be obtained…
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