A federal appeals Court has held upheld – for now – a criminal statute which makes it illegal to possess a gravity knife in New York. As former prosecutors who specialize in criminal defense, our attorneys at Galluzzo & Arnone have a great deal of experience assisting people who find themselves in the unfortunate position of being charged with weapons possession, in particular what are commonly referred to as ‘gravity knives.’ Indeed, many of our clients lawfully purchase these knives from such on-line marketplaces as Amazon.com or in popular brick-and-mortar stores like K-Mart. Completely unaware that the possession of such knives is illegal in New York, these clients openly carry the knives on their belts, or clipped to their pockets, only to find themselves in handcuffs and going to criminal court charged with the Class “A” misdemeanor of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree (which is punishable by up to 1 year in…
Federal Appeals Court Rules ‘Gravity Knives’ Still Illegal To Possess In New York
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***Update 1*** ISP seeks witnesses - Injury Crash Blocks Westbound I84 Traffic Between Meridian and Nampa
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 ***Update 1*** For Immediate Release: 6/28/18 12:37 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office Idaho State Police seeks witnesses to this crash, which involved a motorcyclist on the shoulder of the road who was apparently performing work on his motorcycle; he was injured by another vehicle. If anybody saw him either working on his bike or actually witnessed the collision, you are asked to contact ISP at 208.846.7550 ***END UPDATE 1*** At this time, Idaho State Police is investigating an injury crash westbound on I84 at milepost 40, near the Ada/Canyon County line. The two right lanes of travel are blocked. More information will be relayed as it becomes available. 3413 -------------
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Florida Supreme Court to Rule on Retroactive Application of Stand Your Ground Law
The Florida Supreme Court will take up a question about whether a 2017 change to Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law should apply to older cases. The 2017 change shifted the burden of proof from the defense to the prosecution. Two appellate courts have split about whether the change in 2017 should apply retroactively to defendants who were arrested before the law took effect but whose cases were pending. The case is Tashara Love v. The State of Florida, 3D17-2112 (Fla. 3d DCA May 11, 2018) a case that was heard by the Third District Court of Appeal. Love’s writ of prohibition was denied, essentially denying her statutory immunity under the Florida Stand Your Ground Law, F.S. 776.032. On November 26, 2015, Love and a group of women were involved in an altercation outside a Miami-Dade nightclub. Love shot the victim, Thomas Lane, as he was about to hit her daughter. Love was charged with one count of attempted…
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Treasury Department’s Latest Round of Russia Sanctions; Trump-Putin Summit to be Held in July
Earlier this month, on June 11, the Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on Russian companies and individuals that provide support to the FSB’s cyberwarfare efforts. The decision was made not long after President Trump’s statement on bringing Russia back into the G-7, and before a meeting of EU leaders that may extend existing sanctions on Russia by six months. The five companies targeted by the Treasury’s round of sanctions are Digital Security, ERPScan, Embedi, Kvant Scientific Research Institute, and Divetechnoservices. The latter has provided underwater equipment for the FSB, which has actively been tracking underwater communications cables that transmit much of the world’s telecommunications data. Three of Divetechnoservices’ employees have also been singled out by Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Their assets have been frozen, and they can no longer conduct business with Americans. The basis for this…
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Rumbaut et al. on Immigration
Rubén G. Rumbaut, Katie Dingeman and Anthony Robles (University of California - Irvine - Department of Sociology, Department of Sociology and California State University, Los Angeles - Department of Sociology, Students) has posted Immigration and Crime and the Criminalization of...
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Health care fraud charges filed against doctors and other professionals
Today, the Department of Justice announced that it has filed health care fraud charges against 601 people, including 165 doctors and medical professionals. They are being charged them with an array of crimes in additional to health care fraud charges, including illegally prescribing drugs. The arrests were the result of a nationally coordinated health care… The post Health care fraud charges filed against doctors and other professionals appeared first on Pate & Johnson Law Firm.
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***Update 2*** ISP seeks witnesses - Injury Crash Blocks Westbound I84 Traffic Between Meridian and Nampa
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 ***Update 2*** For Immediate Release: 6/28/18 1:50 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office The lanes of travel are now open. More information will be relayed as it becomes available. 3413 End of Update 2 ***Update 1*** For Immediate Release: 6/28/18 12:37 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office Idaho State Police seeks witnesses to this crash, which involved a motorcyclist on the shoulder of the road who was apparently performing work on his motorcycle; he was injured by another vehicle. If anybody saw him either working on his bike or actually witnessed the collision, you are asked to contact ISP at 208.846.7550 ***END UPDATE 1*** At this time, Idaho State Police is investigating an injury crash westbound on I84 at milepost 40, near the Ada/Canyon County line. The two right lanes of travel are blocked. More information will be…
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Non Injury Crash SB US95@315, Lewiston
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 2 Patrol 2700 North and South Highway Lewiston, ID 83501-1732 (208) 799-5151 Fax (208) 799-5146 For Immediate Release: 06/28/2018 12:55 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office On June 28th, 2018 at approximately 08:11 a.m. a non-injury crash occurred on US Highway 95 at milepost 315, Lewiston, Idaho. A 2013 Mack semi-truck pulling a single trailer driven by Michael L. Mindus, 42, of Moses Lake, Washington was traveling southbound when he failed to slow down in time and rear ended a 2013 Kenworth semi-truck pulling two trailers driven by Timothy B. Johnson, 67, of Spokane Valley, Washington who was traveling at approximately 25 mph. Mindus and Johnson were both wearing their seatbelts. The road was blocked for approximately four hours. 3905 -------------
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News Scan
Ice Pick Murderer Executed: A Texas habitual criminal convicted of murdering a young mother in 1979 was put to death by lethal injection Wednesday. Kristine Phillips of the Washington Post wrote that Danny Bible, who was "accused in a series of murders and rapes," died without incident fifteen minutes after receiving a lethal injection. Actually, Bible was found guilty by a jury of raping 20-year-old Inez Deaton, stabbing her 11 times with an ice pick, then dragging her body into a bayou. In 1998, while in custody for a rape in Louisiana, Bible admitted to murdering Deaton. Over the two decades it took for detectives to solve the murder, Bible killed his sister-in-law her baby and a roommate, and raped his five nieces. Prior to his execution, Bible's attorneys petitioned for a stay arguing that his age (66) and health problems made the lethal injection process "cruel and unusual" and that the execution should be…
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Alarming Study Found that Judges in Harris County Sided with Prosecutors in 96 Percent of Post-Conviction Death Penalty Cases
Yesterday, journalist Radley Balko published an op-ed in the Washington Post about the Houston Law Review’s recent study of death penalty cases in Harris County, Texas, the county that has executed more people since 1976 than any other county in the United States. The study, which examined how trial courts in Texas handled post-conviction review of death penalty cases, produced many notable findings discussed below. To preface the study’s results, Balko outlines the typical path of a post-conviction death penalty case: Once in post-conviction, a defendant’s attorneys first file a petition with the trial judge laying out the new evidence. The trial judge then makes a determination of whether that new evidence merits a new trial. The trial judge’s findings are immensely important. They’re granted enormous deference by state appellate courts, and federal law requires federal appeals courts to grant enormous deference to the states. Since the…
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No New Supreme Court Justice While There Remains A Cancer On The Presidency
There are plenty of compelling reasons why the Senate should refuse to act on whoever Trump nominates to replace Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Of course, there is the fact that the Republicans stole outright the last Supreme Court seat by refusing to even hold hearings for President Obama's nominee. There is the need to confront their hypocrisy in using as a pretense for such obstruction that the confirmation process should not be held in an election year. And there is the grave concern that anyone Trump nominates will, based on the list he has already provided, cement a far right wing majority for a generation or more and send us hurtling back to the dark ages.These issues have predominated the discourse since Kennedy announced his decision to pack it in. What has mostly been missing from the various talking points, particularly those of the Democratic leadership, is how inappropriate it would be for a president to nominate a…
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Three Criminal and Related Cases for Next SCOTUS Term
In today's orders list from the "clean-up conference," the U.S. Supreme Court took up three criminal and related cases for briefing, argument, and decision next term. The cases and their Questions Presented (as drafted by the party asking the Court to take the case) are:No. 17-646, Gamble v. United States: "Whether the Court should overrule the 'separate sovereigns' exception to the Double Jeopardy Clause."No. 17-1174, Nieves v. Bartlett: "In Hartman v. Moore, 54 7 U.S. 250 (2006), this Court held that probable cause defeats a First Amendment retaliatory-prosecution claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 as a matter of law. Does probable cause likewise defeat a First Amendment retaliatory-arrest claim under § 1983?"No. 17-532, Herrera v. Wyoming, "Whether Wyoming's admission to the Union or the establishment of the Bighorn National Forest abrogated the Crow Tribe of Indians' 1868 federal treaty right…
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US v. Hohag, No. 17-30049 (6-28-18)(Graber w/M. Smith & Hellerstein). The 9th affirms imposition of SR conditions related to a SORNA conviction. The conditions imposed at issue are (1) participation in a sex offense specific assessment; and (2) polygraph testing at the discretion of the probation officer in conjunction with the assessment. The defendant argued that the conditions were unnecessary and an imposition because his sex offense was 27 years ago. He had undergone treatment, and in 2002, he submitted a polygraph showing he had no sexual contacts with minors.The test for imposition of conditions, especially in sex cases, is whether the conditions are (1) burdensome; and (2) whether the condition is reasonably related to SR. The leading cases for sex offender conditions are Johnson, 697 F.3d 1249 (9th Cir 2012) and US v. T.M., 330 F. 3d 1235 (9th Cir 2003). The 9th affirmed here because the conditions were related to the present conviction (SORNA) and were not a…
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Juvenile Crime Spikes in the Summer
When summer is just around the corner, most kids look forward to getting out of school and hitting the beach, the park, or just hanging out at home. Everyone likes a break now and then, and modern teens definitely have a lot of on their plates. However, summer can be a precarious time for young people. Without the structure and discipline of school, peer pressure and boredom can prompt teens to do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do — like get involved with illegal activities. Because teenagers are so young, many parents think they are somewhat immune from criminal charges. However, this is not the case. In some cases, teens in Texas can even be transferred to the adult criminal justice system. If you’re the parent of a teenager, it’s important to teach your kids about the very real consequences of crime. When Can Teens Be Tried as an Adult in Texas? Under Texas law, children as young as 14 can be transferred from the juvenile justice system to the adult…
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Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services announce health care fraud “takedown”
On June 28, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services announced nationwide operations involving charges against 601 persons for federal health care program fraud. The takedown, the first announced by the Trump Administration and the largest to date, included 76 physicians and others in Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, Detroit, Tampa, and New Orleans. According to DOJ’s press release: Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex M. Azar III, announced today the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action involving 601 charged defendants across 58 federal districts, including 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving more than $2 billion in false billings. Of those charged, 162 defendants, including 76 doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous…
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It's the Federal Courts' Fault, Justice Breyer
As expected, the reason the Supreme Court "relisted" Jordan v. Mississippi and Evans v. Mississippi so many times before turning them down was that Justice Breyer was writing a dissent from denial of certiorari. As expected, he engages in the usual wholesale acceptance of contentions that are hotly disputed at best and discredited at worst. He cites the DPIC's so-called "innocence list" as if it actually were a list of actual innocents. If the major premise of a syllogism is "given that the moon is made of green cheese" do you really need to hear the conclusion?Perhaps the most galling aspect of the opinion is Justice Breyer's lamenting of the long delay in this case without any acknowledgement of just how much the federal courts and especially the Supreme Court itself have caused the delay. More than a century ago, the Court described a prisoner's 4-week wait prior to execution as "one of the most…
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What Are the Penalties for DWI in Texas?
The penalties for a driving while intoxicated (DWI) conviction are very serious, and they become increasingly severe for second and subsequent convictions. The severity of the penalties for a DWI conviction also depends upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident. For example, if you cause a motor vehicle accident or bodily harm to another person in the course of a DWI, the penalties are more serious than if a police officer simply pulled you over for DUI. Likewise, a higher blood alcohol content/concentration (BAC) during a DWI can result in a more severe punishment. For a first DWI offense with a BAC of less than .15, which is a Class B Misdemeanor, you can receive the following penalties: · A fine of up to $2,000 · A jail sentence ranging from three to 180 days · Driver’s license suspension…
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PA Superior Court Finds Police Command to Remove Hands from Pockets Requires Reasonable Suspicion
Criminal Defense Attorney Demetra Mehta, Esq. The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently decided the case of Commonwealth v. Hemingway, and it has significant repercussions for criminal defendants who want to litigate a motion to suppress. The Facts of Commonwealth v. HemingwayThe facts of this case were as follows: Altoona Police Department patrolmen Joseph Detwiler and Derek Tardive responded to a noise complaint “in a high crime area.” No information or description was given regarding any person involved in the noise complaint. Once at the location, officers observed Mr. Hemmingway and another man speaking with two women in a car. Mr. Hemmingway had his hand in his pocket, and neither he nor the man he was with were inside the building where the noise complaint originated. Despite the fact that the noise complaint came from inside the building and the men were distinctly outside of the…
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Keep Safety in Mind When Selecting Summer Camps
Summer time encourages parents to get creative in keeping children busy and occupied. In a previous post, we highlighted tips on selecting day care arrangements for little ones. For parents with older children and teens, summer camp is one option you may explore. While camps can provide fun, education, and adventure for your child, it is important to keep safety in mind when making your selection. Personal injuries are common among kids and occur frequently over school vacations. The following are tips to help you choose the right camp for your child. Choosing a Summer Camp Throughout Northern California and the surrounding areas, there are numerous options to explore in terms of school age summer camps. Some emphasize outdoor fun and fitness, while others are geared more towards nurturing creativity and academic knowledge. The type of camp you choose will depend on your child’s interests and abilities; however, there are some…
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JUDGE MORENO MAKES SHORT LIST FOR SUPREME COURT
Judge Federico Moreno, a US District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, has made President Trump's short list for the Supreme Court. His name, with several others, has made most of the media stories about the short list. DOM and his federal blog notes that if selected, Judge Moreno would be the first Supreme Court Justice from Florida who also is "A Venezuelan, a former practicing criminal defense attorney, a former assistant Federal Public Defender, and a UM Law Grad."What DOM left out is that Judge Moreno would also be the first former Miami-Dade County Court Judge to serve on the Supreme Court. He also would most likely be the first Supreme Court Justice to have previously presided over a DUI trial. Not to be overlooked is that Judge Moreno would also be the first Supreme Justice who presided over a trial that Rumpole won. For those of you who have never lived in a world without a Starbucks on every corner, Judge Moreno was nominated…
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