Imagine you’ve been falsely accused of rape or sexual assault. Now, imagine you’re a law enforcement officer who has been targeted with false sex crime claims while obeying the law and doing your duty. That’s what transpired in North Central Texas starting early Sunday morning, May 20, when Texas Highway Patrol Trooper Daniel Hubbard stopped a woman for a routine traffic violation which turned into a DWI arrest on southbound I-35 in Ellis County, south of Dallas. Hubbard arrested the driver of a 2013 Chevy Malibu, identified as Sherita Dixon-Cole, age 37, of Grapevine, TX, on a charge of driving while intoxicated. He then took her to Ellis County Jail. After her release on bail, Dixon-Cole reportedly engaged civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt. Her attorney then asserted that Hubbard had made advances on Dixon-Cole, groping her and forcing something into her vagina. He called the arrest “prolonged” and elaborated further on the alleged atrocities. The…
False Sex Crime Claims Can Be Refuted, Just Ask This Texas Highway Patrolman
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Noting the gray that surrounds the "enforceability of marijuana-related agreements"
This new article by Joshua Horn and Jesse M. Harris in the Legal Intelligencer provides a useful reminder of how much law (and well as policy) is unpredictable in the modern marijuana universe. The piece is headlined " Cannabis and Banks: What Qualifies as Illegal Activity? Many legal issues arise...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/ezwyJ9pUcxc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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News Scan
Sheriff Fights Gang Control of LA County Jail: Since the 1950s, the Mexican Mafia has established its control over smuggling, drug sales, extortion and other criminal activity inside the Los Angeles County Jail system . Brian Melley of the Associated Press reports that the criminal organization, made up of the leaders of various Latino gangs, works like an illegal government, collecting taxes on drugs and other illegal items and even on candy and deodorant. The Mafia also arranges for the murders of people outside of prison. Recently a federal indictment has charged 83 gang members and associates with numerous federal crimes, moving many to federal prisons. Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell is working with the U.S. Attorney to identify gang leaders who can be charged with federal crimes and moved to federal custody. Among the gangs affiliated with the Mexican Mafia is MS-13. According to the indictment, three MS-13 members…
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How Parents Can Influence Children’s Sex Crime Claims: The Infamous Case of Woody Allen vs. Mia Farrow
One of the biggest reasons why innocent people are falsely accused of sex crimes against children is parental influence to the point of brainwashing. Parents can coach a child to claim a sex crime occurred, even when it didn’t, perhaps to exact revenge against an ex-spouse or gain leverage in a legal dispute for child custody or child support. Take the Woody Allen case. In case you aren’t familiar with this ongoing saga, there’s a bitter and long-running claim by filmmaker Woody Allen’s ex-girlfriend, actress Mia Farrow. For many years she has claimed Allen sexually assaulted Dylan, Farrow and Allen’s adopted daughter, who was seven years old at the time. The claim came soon after Allen ended his 12-year relationship with Farrow and began one with Farrow’s adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, when she was 21 years old. Allen, who was never Soon-Yi’s adopted father, later married Soon-Yi and has been married to her for more than 20 years.…
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It's Not You - White Collar Cases Are Down
If you are in Washington, DC, and practice white collar criminal defense, you have probably seen an uptick in representing individuals related to ongoing investigations from the Special Counsel's Office. But outside of the city, and actual cases, white collar...
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Memorial Day Marks the Unofficial Start of Summer: Don't Let a DUI Charge Ruin the Fun
Memorial Day is often viewed as the "unofficial start" of the summer season. Summer is typically a time of great celebrations, barbecues, fun with family and friends and drinking. As this summer season starts, it is important for all drivers to know and understand the laws and rules of the road, particularly with respect to driving under the influence (DUI).
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M.D.Fla.: No prejudice for IAC where alleged 4A violation produced nothing for trial
One of defendant’s 2255 claims involved a search of a gun safe that had nothing of evidentiary value in it. It didn’t matter at trial, was a “red herring,” and there could be no prejudice. Belitsky v. United States, 2018 … Continue reading →
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The Marshall Project: Your Home is Your…Snitch?
The Marshall Project: Your Home is Your…Snitch? by Daniel Zwerdling: When your appliances work as police informants.
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Can I Be Sentenced to Prison for Firearm or Weapon Possession in New Jersey?
In New Jersey, simply possessing a firearm can lead to criminal charges carrying the potential for substantial fines and long-term imprisonment. The same is true for certain other types of weapons as well. Under Section 2C:39-5 and other provisions of the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice, individuals arrested for possession of firearms and other weapons can be charged regardless of whether or not they were involved in any other criminal activity, and possessing a weapon during the commission of a crime can trigger an additional charge carrying additional fines and prison time.
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Clifton, NJ Drunk Driver Ends Up In The River – Car And All
A Clifton woman took an unusual route on New Year’s Eve. Nutley police spotted her Jeep Wagon in the middle of Third River, near Passaic Avenue and Satterthwaite. After helping the driver, 22-year-old Sarah Mawajdeh, exit the vehicle and the water, police determined that she was likely intoxicated. She was ultimately charged with DWI, refusal, careless driving, and driving on a suspended license in NJ. Her car, which was partially submerged, had to be towed from the river by a towing company. Mawajdeh seems likely to ring in 2018 with a much longer suspension of her driver’s license, but all isn’t lost for her. There are defenses in every DWI case in New Jersey, and an experienced New Jersey DWI defense lawyer can make a big difference for you. If you’ve been charged with DWI in New Jersey, get the kind of help you need to move on from it. Call Matthew Reisig today at 732-625-9660 for a free consultation.
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What Happens When a Person Under the Age of 21 Gets a DUI?
I am currently in the midst of a California DUI case where my client was under the age of 21 at the time of their arrest. At the beginning of their case, my client asked me what could happen to him. Unfortunately, it’s a common question as many people who are not legally allowed to drink are caught driving with alcohol in their systems. As most of us know, the age at which someone is legally allowed to have alcohol is 21-years-old. Although the age of majority is 18, for purposes of this article, I’ll refer to a person under the age of 21 as a “minor.” Under California Vehicle Code section 23136, otherwise known as California’s “Zero Tolerance” law, it is illegal for a minor to drive with a blood alcohol content of 0.01 percent or more in their system. It does not matter whether the alcohol in the minor’s system came from an alcoholic beverage or some other source like medicine. Nor does it matter whether the minor was…
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COOPERATIVAS, ¿Deben ser fiscalizadas por la SBS?
Muchos de los problemas que enfrenta el ser humano, aun cuando no sean de su dominio, pueden aproximarse a su solución si utilizamos el análisis y especialmente el sentido común. Un problema que el Congreso, ha encarpetado, ya sabemos por quién, es la supervisión de las Cooperativas por la SBS. El argumento principal de quienes dirigen tales negocios, es un cuento, el "bien común" que sostienen en su razón de ser. En tal orden de ideas, pensemos en lo siguiente: Primero.- ¿Quienes son clientes de las Cooperativas? ¿Los grandes empresarios? poco probable, pero no descartable debido a la voracidad de los ricos. ¿podrían ser las medianas empresas?, tampoco me parece probable. ¿Las micro y pequeñas empresas? gran posibilidad. Se han preguntado ¿Por qué una persona guarda bajo el colchón grandes cantidades de…
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Remembering Texas' now-defunct drug-task-force system
On Twitter, a reader came up with a blast from the past, asking whatever happened to Texas' multi-jurisdictional drug task forces, which I'd written about in two different public-policy reports back when I worked for the Texas ACLU, along with countless Grits posts in the mid-aughts:Too Far Off Task (2002), andFlawed Enforcement (2004)The answer, long-time readers may recall, is that Gov. Rick Perry de-funded all of Texas' task multi-jurisdictional narcotics forces in 2006, shifting half the money to drug courts (and other types of specialty courts) and half to border security (this was the first pot of money spent to bolster border security in Texas on essentially nativist grounds).This transition was the result of a multi-year campaign which began in the aftermath of the Tulia drug stings in 1999, an episode which in many ways marks the beginning of the modern criminal-justice reform movement in Texas.The timeline went thusly: In 2005, the Legislature put the…
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Jain on Proportionality and Other Misdemeanor Myths
Eisha Jain (University of North Carolina School of Law) has posted Proportionality and Other Misdemeanor Myths (98 Boston University Law Review 953 (2018)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Criminal law theory is laden with faulty assumptions about misdemeanors. This...
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News Scan
Environmental Rules Block Closing Border Tunnels: For several years, U.S. Border enforcement agents have faced months to years of delay in closing tunnels on the US/Mexico border because of federal environmental regulations. Alex Pappas of Fox News reports that efforts to fill the tunnels, which have been utilized to smuggle people and drugs into the U.S., have been blocked by laws such as the Endangered Species Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, resulting in long delays while federal agencies review the environmental impact. Officials note that while most of the delays have occurred during the Obama administration, they have continued as lawmakers work to pass bills lifting the regulations. Border Enforcement officials cite the example of a sophisticated 2,500 ft. tunnel in San Diego that the EPA found to contain a small wetland, requiring a bird study that took four months before the tunnel could be filled.
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Maximum Medical Improvement: What Does This Mean for Me?
There comes a turning point in every worker’s compensation case; whether it be returning to work, stopping benefits, or having reached maximum medical improvement. The latter, referring to a point in which your injury has gotten as good as it’s gonna get. But, what exactly is maximum medical improvement? When do I know I’ve reached it? And where do we go from here, being that you still need medical assistance? Maximum Medical Improvement: What does it mean? And what’s the next step? Maximum medical improvement (or, MMI) signifies the point act which you’ve reached your maximum potential for recovery. You might not be back to your 100%, and you still might need assistance— maybe even indefinitely. But, it’s as good as it’s going to get for you. How do I know I’ve reached this point? That decision is going to come from your doctor. They will be there with you every step of your recovery journey. Therefore,…
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Pinellas Sheriff’s Office to be out this Memorial Day Weekend…
A friendly heads up this weekend for those of us who will be enjoying the official beginning of summer. The PCSO has announced that they are participating in a Memorial day enforcement operation. Cleverly named the 2018 Memorial Day S.A.L.E. (Sea Air and Land Enforcement), it began 9:00 a.m. today and will continue until 5:00 p.m. Monday. Per the official release ” The detail will utilize the Marine Unit to conduct vessel safety inspections and enforcement of marine laws to include impaired vessel operation. The Flight Unit will assist the Traffic and DUI Unit in the enforcement of speeding, aggressive driving, and driving under the influence. The detail is part of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Strategic Policing through Education and Enforcement for Drivers (SPEED) highway safety grant and the DUI Enforcement Enhancement Program grant. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is committed to reducing deaths, injuries, and property damage…
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Misdemeanor DWI Enhancement for Repeat Offense: Punishment Issue
Is a Prior DWI Conviction an Element of a DWI Misdemeanor Repetition Offense or is it a Punishment Issue? The Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled that for purposes of misdemeanor DWIs, the fact that a person has been previously convicted of one DWI is an issue to be reserved for punishment and is not an element of the offense that can be brought before a jury in the guilt-innocence phase. The decision handed down by the Court of Criminal Appeals this week could mean that cases tried by the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office over the last couple of years could be reversed. The issue before the Court of Criminal Appeals was whether one prior DWI (which enhances the DWI from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor) is a punishment enhancement or whether the existence of a prior DWI was an element of the offense. This question is crucially important to every DWI-Misdemeanor Repetition (sometimes called DWI-Second) case tried to a jury in the state because…
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Misdemeanor DWI Enhancement for Repeat Offense: Punishment Issue
Is a Prior DWI Conviction an Element of a DWI Misdemeanor Repetition Offense or is it a Punishment Issue? The Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled that for purposes of misdemeanor DWIs, the fact that a person has been previously convicted of one DWI is an issue to be reserved for punishment and is not an element of the offense that can be brought before a jury in the guilt-innocence phase. The decision handed down by the Court of Criminal Appeals this week could mean that cases tried by the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office over the last couple of years could be reversed. The issue before the Court of Criminal Appeals was whether one prior DWI (which enhances the DWI from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor) is a punishment enhancement or whether the existence of a prior DWI was an element of the offense. This question is crucially important to every DWI-Misdemeanor Repetition (sometimes called DWI-Second) case tried to a jury in the state because…
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Five New York doctors accused of taking bribes for drug prescriptions
Five New York doctors were charged for their participation in a scheme that involved accepting bribes and kickbacks from a pharmaceutical company in return for prescribing large quantities of its highly addictive cancer painkiller. An indictment identified the doctors as Alexandru Burducea, Gordon Freedman, Dialecti Voudouris, Todd Schlifstein and Jeffrey Goldstein. Federal prosecutors said they were all based in Manhattan and affiliated with either New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital or co-owned a private medical office. The doctors allegedly accepted between $68,000 and $308,000 in bribes from Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics Inc. over a four-year period that started in August 2012. They received the money to speak at sham educational programs that were actually social events at fancy restaurants. In return, the doctors prescribed large volumes of a potentially addictive fentanyl spray that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. All five doctors were released on bail…
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