The Lanham Act was made law in 1946 by Congress on the permissions provided by the Commerce Clause. It offers a nationwide trademark registration system that gives protection to trademark owners who have registered to make similar use of their trademark illegal. This applies in cases in which such use could confuse consumers. It also applies if such use erodes the competitiveness or appeal of a popular company mark. The extent to which the Lanham Act is independent can depend on state law. Besides providing a system for trademark registration, the act also provides criteria under which companies can watch the modifications they make to their trademarks. Through these aspects, the Lanham Act oversees unfair competition laws and regulations. It also controls false advertising. Business owners have a legal right against competitors who make misleading claims about their products and business operations. Also addressed in the act are issues of privacy invasion such as the…
What Does the Lanham Act Mean for Chicago Law?
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Why Texas Field Sobriety Tests Are Flawed
Most of us are familiar with field sobriety tests for suspected drunk drivers. A DWI suspect may be asked to walk in a straight line or to stand and turn to indicate if he or she is intoxicated. These tests are still widely used in Texas DWI cases to establish probable cause despite evidence that they are flawed and should not form any basis for a subsequent criminal conviction. Although a positive breath or blood test recording of 0.08 blood/alcohol content (BAC) is required for a DWI conviction, a failed field sobriety test can consolidate a case against a suspected drunk driver. There are numerous reasons to refuse a field sobriety test and few good reasons for a driver to take one. Police officers in Texas may use a bewildering variety of field sobriety tests. However, three are standardized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They are: One-leg stand Walk and turn Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus. These tests are meant to find out if a driver’s…
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No Expectation of Privacy for Cell Phone During Border Search
Donald Trump, Jr. was recently roasted on social media after he posted a video on Instagram showing his three-year-old daughter without a shirt or blouse. The average person viewed the posting as an incident of innocent children and/or classless parenting. But law enforcement sees the issue of a shirtless child differently, at least the Custom and Border Protection (CBP) agency does. These guardians of the nation’s ports of entry see it as evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Hernando Javier Vergara learned this when he returned from a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico to his home in Tampa, Florida. He carried three cell phones with him on that trip: a Samsung phone inside a bag in his luggage, an LG phone, and an iPhone. After identifying Vergara, CBP Agent Christopher Ragan searched the man’s luggage whereupon he found the Samsung. Border Searches of Electronic Devices The law is clear: the Supreme Court in 1977 in United States v. Ramsey held that…
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Judge Orders New DNA Testing in 1995 New York Murder Case
In 1997, Renay Lynch was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after she was found guilty of being an accomplice to the robbery and murder of an elderly woman in Amherst, New York. In January 2018, Lynch’s lawyers, Innocence Project Staff Attorney Susan Friedman and Jane Fisher-Byrialsen of Fisher & Byrialsen, asked the court to grant new DNA testing of crime scene evidence with hope of proving Lynch’s longstanding innocence claim. On May 7, Judge M. William Boller agreed to the testing, requiring that law enforcement officials re-examine the evidence and try to determine whose DNA was present at the murder scene. Related: Innocence Project Case Featured on The Marshall Project and The Takeaway In 1995, 82-year-old Louise Cicelsky was found stabbed to death in her apartment. The investigation was ongoing until 1996 when Lynch, who was one of the victim’s tenants, made a statement to police. Over the course of 18 months, Lynch was questioned about the…
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The Matthew Charles saga: another sad example of why complete abolition of parole was a mistake for federal sentencing
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THE BAR ASSOCIATIONS LINE UP AGAINST JUDGE MILLAN
The pressure on Judge Stephen Millan to resigned intensified over the lead up to the Memorial Day Weekend when the Wilkie Ferguson Bar Association published this letter. WDFJBA Judge Stephen Millan Letter2 12113027 Ver1.0 by Anonymous PbHV4H on ScribdThat was soon followed by a remarkable letter to the Florida Supreme Court calling for Judge Millan's removal signed by the heads of many minority legal associations including the National Black Prosecutors Association, T.J. Reddick Bar Association, Gwen Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association, Haitian Lawyers Association, and the F. Malcom Cunningham Sr. Bar Association. It can be lonely when you use ugly language to espouse repugnant ideas. But ideas and language are one thing. Actions are another. Enter the Herald Tribune's report and analysis on racial disparity in sentencing in Florida. The report had these disheartening findings about Judge Milan:First Degree Felonies: a 93% disparity in…
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Former Cop to Be Missouri Governor
Missouri's embattled Governor Eric Greitens has announced he will resign effective Friday, Shayndi Raice reports for the WSJ.The Lieutenant Governor is Michael L. Parson. From the Wikipedia entry:In 1975, Parson spent six years in the U.S. Army, serving two tours in the Military Police working up to sergeant. He attended night classes at the University of Maryland and University of Hawaii.Following his military service, in 1981 Parson returned to Hickory County to serve as a deputy. In 1983, he transferred to the Polk County Sheriff's Office to become their first criminal investigator. He purchased his first gasoline station, "Mike's", in 1984. The following year he started a cow and calf operation, becoming a third generation farmer.Parson served twelve years as Polk County sheriff before being elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2004.
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Collins on Actuarial Sentencing
Erin Collins (University of Richmond School of Law) has posted Punishing Risk (Georgetown Law Journal, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Actuarial recidivism risk assessments – or statistical predictions of the likelihood of future criminal behavior – drive a...
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No Symptom Work Accidents: Facing Delayed Pain?
Maybe you recently bumped your head while at work. Maybe you were working under a shelf, you sat up, and pop; you have a knot on your head. These kinds of small injuries and accidents happen all the time, and most go unnoticed because it doesn’t feel like a big deal. But no symptom work accidents can end up causing problems in the long run. Ultimately, just because you don’t have immediate symptoms, doesn’t mean there’s no damage… No Symptom Work Accidents: Facing Delayed Pain? We mostly associate pain with something not being right in our bodies. However, sometimes pain and injuries may take some time to show themselves. And if you’re facing a work injury, you might be looking for signs as to whether you should report it or not. So, when you feel okay, you’ll likely keep on going and forget it happened. But, with time, maybe that spot continues to hurt, maybe your neck still cramps every day in that certain position. So, we…
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Two great new judicious commentaries on the federal sentencing guidelines
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Multiple Convictions Stand after Florida Supreme Court Clarifies Sex Solicitation Law
The Florida Supreme Court in 2015 clarified its position on when a person can be charged with soliciting sex and traveling after soliciting sex without running afoul of the rule against double jeopardy, which bans multiple convictions for the same crime. In a recent case, Florida’s First District offered some important insight into how appeals courts are interpreting that ruling. Essentially, multiple text or other messages can be considered different solicitations under Florida sex crime laws. A defendant was charged with two crimes after exchanging sexually explicit text messages with an undercover police officer who he thought was a 14-year-old girl and then traveling to Tallahassee to meet the person for sex. He was convicted of traveling for sex with a child after using a computer to solicit a child for sex and using a computer to solicit a child for sex. He argued on appeal that the convictions violated the rule against double jeopardy by punishing him twice for the…
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As Kim Kardashian heads to White House, I hope she advocates for many federal offenders excessively sentenced
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Handling construction contract disputes
Few things are more disruptive to your construction business than a contract dispute. Nevertheless, in construction as with any business, contract issues are common and sometimes lead to costly litigation. Whether there is a disagreement about the terms of the contract or an accusation of breach of contract, all work on a project may come to a screeching halt and payment may be indefinitely delayed until you reach a resolution. These kinds of issues can damage your relationship with the client, your construction company's reputation and your bottom line. Understanding the reasons why many contract disputes arise during construction may help you reduce the risk of these disputes. Avoiding disputes is the best option When a client expresses concerns related to the terms of a contract, it does not necessarily mean your business will face a lawsuit. In fact, you may be able to resolve the misunderstanding quickly with a simple explanation. Even if this does not satisfy the…
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The Importance of the Timing of a Miranda Warning in Your Maryland Criminal Case
Generally, all attorneys and most laypeople are familiar with the Miranda warnings. “You have the right to remain silent… You have the right to an attorney…” and so on. On TV shows, a defendant might avoid prosecution because the police neglected to give him a proper Miranda warning. In real life, though, the issues are often less black-and-white. What if the police question you, then give you a Miranda warning, and then re-question you about the incriminating statements you made before the warning? These types of non-clear-cut situations point to the importance of making sure you have a knowledgeable Maryland criminal defense attorney on your side to make sure that your constitutional rights are fully protected in your case. A recent case from Anne Arundel County demonstrated how the timing of a Miranda warning can make a big difference. The events leading up to the trial started with the police executing a search warrant at a residence where Aundrey…
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Counsel Cannot Concede Guilt Over Client’s Objection
Death penalty trials, beyond a doubt, are the most difficult for a criminal defense attorney to try. These trials are conducted in two phases: the guilt phase and the punishment phase. Once guilt has been found by the jury during the first phase, defense counsel must try in the second phase to mitigate the defendant’s guilt with evidence that will convince the jury that a life sentence—almost always without the benefit of parole—is a more appropriate punishment than the death penalty. Mitigation is a difficult bronc to ride. With its guilt finding, jurors have made it clear that they believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the gruesome crime(s) for which he was indicted. And the fact that each juror before they could be accepted to hear the case had to express to the State that they had no objections to the death penalty effectively means that jurors enter the punishment phase with a presumption that the death penalty is the…
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Kesari et al. on Deterring Cybercrime
Aniket Kesari, Chris Jay Hoofnagle and Damon McCoy (University of California, Berkeley - Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program, University of California, Berkeley - School of Information and New York University (NYU) - NYU Tandon School of Engineering) have posted Deterring...
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Canvassing the parameters of possible federal marijuana reforms
Rolling Stone has this new extended article headlined "Pot for All: How Congress Is Trying to Make Weed Legal," which has a subheadline that somewhat better describes its coverage: "From decriminalization to opening up the banking industry, both sides of Congress are preparing cannabis bills – but with much different...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/7TWhGBD1M8c" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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News Scan
Illegal Kills Teen in DUI Crash: A 17-year-old girl was killed Sunday in a car accident caused by a twice-deported illegal alien high on drugs. Marla Carter of ABC 13 reports that Britney Baez was in the back seat of the family car with her sister waiting for a stoplight to change when 27-year-old Edy Lopez-Hernandez slammed into them at an estimated 70 mph. Investigators reported that Lopez-Hernandez was under the influence of drugs and never hit his brakes. Britney was killed in the crash, which critically injured her father and fractured her sister's arm. Lopez-Hernandez was driving with his 2-year-old toddler in the car when he caused the accident. After the crash, he grabbed the child and ran, but a witness prevented him from getting away.
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The Sanctity of The Home Reinforced by Second Circuit
The Sanctity of The Home Reinforced by Second Circuit The U.S. Supreme Court has for nearly six decades has recognized the fundamental Fourth Amendment right of a person “to retreat into [their] home and there be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion.” In 2013, the nation’s high court extended this right to the home’s curtilage—that “area adjacent to the home and to which the activity of home life extends.” However, the “open field” –as it has been termed by caselaw—that extends beyond the curtilage does not enjoy the same Fourth Amendment protection as the home. In fact, this private property can be searched without a warrant or even without suspicion that there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing on the property, so said the Supreme Court in its 2013 decision. This constitutional background brings us to the case at hand. Curtilage or Open Field Robert Alexander…
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Watch Poetry in America Episode Featuring Innocence Project Exonerees
“Waking up, realizing where you are when you see prison bars and knowing that the only way to get out of that cell is that somebody else has to let you out.” – Marty Tankleff, Poetry in America “When I went to prison, I was 19 years old. How does a 19 year old adapt to a place where most of the people there aren’t going home until the age of retirement?” – Jarrett Adams, Poetry in America In April, PBS premiered the series Poetry in America, which, according to their website, is “a new public television series and multi-platform digital initiative that brings poetry into classrooms and living rooms around the world.” Today was the premiere of an episode which focuses on Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem To Prisoners and features exonerees Martin Tankleff, Jarrett Adams, Jeffrey Deskovic and Alan Newton. Related: A Poem by Innocence Project Exoneree Mark Denny In the episode, the host Elisa New interviews Senator John…
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