Although it’s legal for licensed firearm owners to openly carry handguns, and for just about any adult to openly carry a long-arm rifle in the Lone Star State, individuals who are caught with certain keychain designs could face up to a year in jail. These popular keychains are made to look like cats, foxes, bats, or other pointy-eared animals and are intended to provide a quick, handy means of self-defense in an emergency. But attorneys advise Texas citizens that just because these keychains are sold in the state doesn’t mean they’re legal to use or even to carry. What Types of Devices Constitute as “Deadly Weapons” in Texas? Texas has some very specific laws on possession of weapons. A law that prohibits brass knuckles has also been held to apply to these quirky keychains. Guns and clubs can be carried just about everywhere but schools and other public buildings, knives with smaller-than-six-inch blades are now…
Texas’s Brass Knuckles Ban Prohibits Popular “Cat” Keychains
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Woman Uses Machete to Force Ex-Boyfriend to Have Sex
The authorities have reported that a Montana woman has been accused of breaking into her ex-boyfriend’s place of residence with a machete. The suspect then made the man have sexual intercourse with her while she kept the weapon in her hand. On June 22, around 11:00 pm, a man who had been away from his home arrived at the residence to find that his ex-girlfriend had allegedly broken in. The reported victim stated that he entered his bedroom and the woman, identified as 19-year-old Samantha Mears, was hidden behind the door with a machete in her hand. Continue reading →
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The Conflicting Tugs of Community and Inclusion
Kenneth A. Stahl, The Challenge of Inclusion, 89 Temple L. Rev. 487 (2017). Steve Eagle “Inclusion” is one of those words that typically elicits warm and positive feelings. However, when an entire society is described as “inclusive,” the question arises—included in what? Putting the question another way, is it even possible for a community be all-inclusive? Often, contemporary American political and legal discourse draw Manichaean distinctions between advocacy of inclusivity and of xenophobia. With regard to land use and housing issues, complete racial and socioeconomic integration of neighborhoods thus are juxtaposed against sinister demands by NIMBYs, who demand that integration take place “not in my back yard.” Professor Kenneth Stahl is both an advocate for inclusion and an opponent of easy over-simplification. His analyses of economics, sociology, and political theory in The Challenge of Inclusion led him to observe that, at…
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Short Take: The Pervs Of Lanier Middle School
It was outrageous enough when a school administrator decided that it was a good idea to shake out 13-year-old Savanna Redding’s bra to search for demon Ibuprofen, but zero tolerance for drugs means the stupidest thing to do makes sense to grocery clerks. And the Supreme Court’s wimpish, near-apologetic message, that maybe, just maybe, vice principals should not strip search kids absent really good reason, may not have been sufficiently clear. During a sixth-grade choir class, an assistant principal allegedly ordered a mass, suspicionless strip search of the underwear of twenty-two preteen girls. What possible exigency could have demanded such extreme action? A murder? A heroin overdose? A threat of a school shooting? Those allegations describe how $50 went missing during a sixth-grade choir class at Houston’s public Lanier Middle School. Assistant Principal Verlinda Higgins was brought in to investigate. When no money turned up, the school…
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Do I have to get a Ignition Interlock after DWI charges?
The “Blow and Go” – Do I have to get a Ignition Interlock after DWI charges in North Carolina? By: Bill Powers, Monroe NC Impaired DWI Lawyer and CoAuthor of the NC DWI Quick Reference Guide Continue reading The post Do I have to get a Ignition Interlock after DWI charges? appeared first on North Carolina Law Blog.
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IN: A reasonable person in def’s position would not have felt detained and could have asked for his partially blocked car to be let out
The officer was inquiring of suspicious persons but did not yet have reasonable suspicion. Defendant’s car was partially blocked in, and the inquiries weren’t directed at him. A reasonable person in his position would have felt he could have asked … Continue reading →
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GA: Def’s cell phone was seized and downloaded w/o a warrant, but the download wasn’t searched until a SW was obtained; search valid under independent source
Defendant’s cell phone was seized and downloaded, but the download wasn’t searched without a search warrant. The court doesn’t even have to decide whether exigent circumstances permitted the download because the police had seized it lawfully and they have plenty … Continue reading →
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Felony Drug Charges in Illinois
Drug crimes are one of the most prevalent crimes committed in Chicagoland and across the world. You should be informed of the laws that dictate the ones in your own hometown. More often than not, the line between a misdemeanor charge and a felony is very thin. When it comes to drugs, even if you have access to Illinois drug statutes, it can all be confusing. There are cases in which the lines are quite blurred and you may not be sure of what consequences you will be facing in your near future. Possession Within the plentiful variety of possession charges one can face, it is obviously highly dependent on what substance it is that has been found. Whether or not if you are a first or repeat offender is also a major factor in the eyes of the court. Continue reading
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What if Your Spouse Doesn’t Want to Get Divorced?
Your spouse doesn’t have to right or ability to stop your divorce in North Carolina. You don’t need their permission to get divorced; You just need to meet the other legal requirements. In North Carolina, you must meet the following requirements before you can get divorced: Live separate and apart for a period of one year You or your spouse intends to remain apart indefinitely The issue of fault is not relevant to a divorce, although it can be relevant to certain issues, such as alimony. What to Do If Your Spouse Won’t Cooperate Divorce proceeds more smoothly and efficiently when both parties cooperate. When you can collaborate together, you can resolve the important issues related to your divorce. In particular, you should attempt to come to an agreement on the following issues: Whether alimony will be paid and if so, how much and for how long Division of all marital property between the spouses Child custody (if you have kids) Child support (if you have…
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Dissent from cert denial in capital case
Justice Breyer dissented in Jordan v. Mississippi.
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Opinion rejecting as premature qualified immunity for arresting officer who insisted that arrestee stop praying
The Court issued a per curiam opinion in Sause v. Bauer.
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Opinion rejecting habeas based on ineffective counsel claim
The Court issued a per curiam opinion in Sexton v. Beaudreaux.
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Yesterday's criminal law/procedure cert grants
Issue summaries are from ScotusBlog, which also links to papers: Gamble v. United States: Whether to overrule the “separate sovereign” exception to the double jeopardy clause Nieves v. Bartlett: Whether probable cause can defeat a First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim
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GA: No REP in data in car’s airbag control module
Defendant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the data from his vehicle’s airbag control module, because, while an outside observer cannot ascertain the information regarding the use and function of a vehicle with the same precision, a … Continue reading →
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Take These Three Steps If You’re Injured On The Job
Because most employers in Louisiana are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance or self-insure against workplace injuries, Louisiana workers are protected against the prospect of losing their livelihoods to a work-related injury. However, it is […] The post Take These Three Steps If You’re Injured On The Job appeared first on Bloom Legal.
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US Sentencing Commission releases notable list of proposed priorities for 2018-19 amendment cycle
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CA6: Removing records from a storage unit as police search your house was an obstruction of justice
Federal agents showed up at defendant’s house with a search warrant for records. They asked if he had other records elsewhere. He lied and said no. He left the house, went to a hardware store to buy boltcutters, and he … Continue reading →
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Grizzly Bears – Self-Defense?
On June 26, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion that reversed the trial court conviction of a Montana man who had been convicted under the criminal provisions of the Endangered Species Act for shooting and killing a grizzly bear. United States v. Charette, ___ F.3d ___, No. 17-30059 (9th Cir. June 26, 2018). Brian Charette shot the grizzly bear as it was harassing horses in a pasture behind his rural home. The government indicted Charette on one count of “taking” a threatened species in violation of the ESA. Charette was convicted in a bench trial before a magistrate judge and the report and recommendation was affirmed by the district court. Charette then appealed. There were a number of issues raised by Charette that were rejected by the Ninth Circuit; however, ruled that there was an error in how the trial court handled the affirmative defense of self-defense. The ESA provides, at 16 U.S.C. § 1540(b)(3), that a defense to the…
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Work-related Healthcare Field Injuries: More Common Than You Might Think
Working in the field of healthcare has it’s own set of advantages, and disadvantages. We typically associate those workers wit being helpful, healthy, and able to cure our ailments. But what happens when those tasked with helping us, contract something as a result? You might not think so, but work-related healthcare field injuries are quite common, due to the nature of the job. Work-related Healthcare Field Injuries: More Common Than You Might Think Assisting patients with limited mobility Many patients suffer from limited mobility. In short, this means they struggle to move around on their own. While this applies to those in wheel chairs or on gurneys, it can also include the elderly. In the case of these patients, some help his required to help them get around. For healthcare workers, this can require putting yourself in a compromising position to assist those in need. Therefore, it’s common that these people will receive neck and back injuries as a result.…
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McJunkin & Prescott on Technological Monitoring of Convicted Sex Offenders
Ben A. McJunkin and J.J. Prescott (University of Michigan Law School and University of Michigan Law School) have posted Fourth Amendment Constraints on the Technological Monitoring of Convicted Sex Offenders (New Criminal Law Review, Vol. 21, Summer 2018 (Forthcoming)) on...
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