A frequent question asked by many people who have been charged drunk driving in Rhode Island is whether they can have the charge expunged. While Rhode Island has some of the most liberal expungement laws in the Country, not every criminal case can be expunged. The quickest way to determine if you can have your Rhode Island DUI case can be expunged is to speak with an experienced RI DUI Expungment Lawyer. To get a prompt evaluation regarding your Rhode Island DUI Expungement question, fill out the contact form on the left hand column of our website (please include your full name, date of birth, and contact phone number):NO FEE RHODE ISLAND DUI EXPUNGEMENT EVALUATIONCall Us Today At 401-228-8271 Some basic principles that apply in all Rhode Island Expungements:If the DUI Charge was Dismissed, it can be expunged immediately (as long as you have no felony convictions - conviction requires a jail sentence, suspended jail sentence, or a fine)If you were convicted of the DUI Charge, it can be expunged five years from the date of the conviction (as long as you were not sentenced to probation AND you have no other convictions, misdemeanor or felony)If you were convicted of the DUI Charge AND you received probation, it can be expunged five years from the date your probation ended (as long as you have no other convictions, misdemeanor or felony) Read what a former expungement client had to say about The Law Offices of Matthew T. Marin, Esquire, Inc.:"One of the best Lawyers I have ever dealt with, he is honest and efficient with his work. Cleaned up 3 cases at district and 1 at superior . Cleared my records in a timely and professional manner.The location near the court house is convenient, he is quick to reply with his e-mails and keeps you informed of your status and progress. I would highly recommend him to anyone that needs a trustworthy lawyer in his field of work."To read more about what former clients are saying about The Law Offices of Matthew T. Marin, Esquire, Inc., visit our Google+ Page HERE.RHODE ISLAND CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY MATTHEW MARINPHONE: 401-228-8271 CONNECT WITH US ON:
Can I Expunge A Rhode Island DUI Charge?
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Couple Arrested After 4 Year Old Found Wandering in Casino Parking Lot
Yesterday two Santa Maria residents left their 4 year old daughter sleeping in their car as they went off to gamble at the Chumash Casino. After the girl woke up, she appears to have gotten out of the car and started walking around the casino parking lot, in search of her parents. Casino security was notified. Security personnel called the sheriff's department who located the girls parents, Petra Zaragoza and Bulmaro Reyes. The two parents were promptly arrested on charges of felony child endangerment and booked at the Santa Barbara County jail.
Charges such as child endangerment generally carry special punishments which we do not see in all other crimes. The term of probation is usually longer than most other charges and the probation terms require mandatory parenting classes upon conviction. This is in addition to normal punishments like jail, fines or work service. Also, Zaragoza and Reyes will likely have to deal with the Department of Children and Family Services and cooperate with their investigation into the allegations of child neglect.
There may be a legal defense to the charge you are facing. There may be a way to avoid jail, reduce the charges from a felony to a misdemeanor or reduce the punishment significantly.
If you or someone you know has been arrested for child endangerment, child cruelty, or any other domestic violence related crime, call me:
Attorney Jeffrey Vallens (888) 763-4340 or email me at: vallenslaw@yahoo.com
Visit my sites for more information:
www.westlakecriminaldefense.com or
www.4criminaldefense.com
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Does Adam Walsh, SORNA, Civil Commitment Really Protect Children?
In 2006, Congress enacted, and former President George W. Bush signed into law, the Adam Walsh Act, also know as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). The purpose… read more →
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Lawyer in Dundalk Maryland - Criminal Law, DUI, DWI, Traffic Tickets, Injury Law, Medical Malpractice
Lawyer in Dundalk Maryland (Md.)Dundalk Md LawyerG. Randolph Rice, Jr.Do you need a lawyer in/near Dundalk, Maryland? Call the Law Offices of G. Randolph Rice, Jr., LLC, at (410) 288-2900 or email the office directly by clicking here.Do you need a:Criminal Defense Lawyer in Dundalk, Maryland;DUI / DWI Lawyer in Dundalk, Maryland;Traffic Ticket Lawyer in Dundalk, Maryland;Personal Injury Lawyer in Dundalk, Maryland;Car Accident Lawyer in Dundalk, Maryland;Truck Accident in Dundalk, Maryland;Motorcycle Injury Lawyer in Dundalk, Maryland; or aMedical Malpractice Lawyer in Dundalk, Maryland.Call attorney Randolph Rice 24/7 at 410-288-2900 for immediate legal help.Mr. Rice is a trial attorney and has handled thousands of criminal, DUI, DWI, traffic ticket and personal injury cases in Dundalk, Maryland.View Larger MapThe Law Offices of G. Randolph Rice, Jr., LLC, is located in Dundalk, Maryland on Holabird Avenue.
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NY Times sees "A Rare Opportunity on Criminal Justice"
The title of this post is drawn from the headline of this new New York Times editorial about federal sentencing reform. Here are excerpts: The current Congress is the place where virtually all legislation, however urgent or reasonable, goes to...
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The defendant moves for an order of dismissal
The judgment of the Supreme Court convicting the defendant, after jury trial, of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree and seventh degree, and sentencing him, as a second felony offender, to concurrent terms of 2 1/2...
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Incomplete Counterfeit Bills Considered in Federal Sentencing Guideline Calculations
This question has been answered in the affirmative by every court of appeals that has addressed it—the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth. The Third Circuit on March 12, 2014 followed… read more →
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Kerik v. Tacopina: Serious Charges and Counterclaims
Kerik and TacopinaOne of my favorite Monday morning reads, Leonard Levitt's NYPD Confidential, takes a look today at the disgraced former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik's pending lawsuit against his former attorney, Joseph Tacopina.As Levitt explains, Kerik blames Tacopina (whom Levitt describes as Kerik's former business partner and good friend) for his federal felony conviction in 2009 on charges that range from filing false tax returns to lying to the government during his 2005 Homeland Security nomination process. The conviction netted Kerik four years in a federal prison.By way of a brief history, Kerik says that Tacopina convinced him to plead guilty in 2006 in a Bronx criminal case to accepting $165,000 worth of free renovations to his apartment. Kerik was the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections at the time of the renovations and the company that provided the services was looking for a city contract. Apparently, Kerik was told that the guilty plea would close out his legal liability. In fact, the opposite was true.Levitt reports that Tacopina wrote in a memo to Kerik on June 20, 2006, the day of Kerik's guilty plea to two misdemeanor counts, "We got everything we wanted." However, Kerik's troubles were far from over. Seizing on his guilty plea, federal agents began investigating Kerik, and ultimately indicted him on 16 counts of conspiracy and tax fraud. Next, the government disqualified Tacopina from continuing as Kerik's counsel based on the argument that he was a potential government witness.Kerik is now alleging in a lawsuit pending in federal court in New Jersey that Tacopina met secretly with federal prosecutors and handed them information about Kerik which was grist for the federal prosecution. The meeting, according to Kerik, came about during the course of a federal investigation into an alleged fee-splitting case involving Tacopina and attorney Ron Fischetti (which apparently went nowhere). It was then that Tacopina provided information that he presumably learned as Kerik's legal counsel.As Levitt says, the revelation is stunning. Should it turn out that Tacopina violated any of Kerik's confidences, his license could be in serious jeopardy, and his reputation would be severely damaged. It's bad enough to talk out of school, but it's unforgivable to sell out a client to prosecutors to save your own skin.Tacopina denies Kerik's allegations, and has counterclaimed for defamation, and brought claims against the Daily News, premised on the idea that the paper and Kerik conspired together against him. It is hard to imagine this case settling, since any agreement would suggest there's at least some truth to the allegations. On the other hand, an all out war could be potentially damaging for all concerned, particularly since Bernie has now waived his attorney-client privilege with respect to his communications with Tacopina.Levitt's piece contains further details and is well worth the read. Meanwhile, the lawsuit moves on. More information is hopefully forthcoming.(NYPD Confidential: A Shootout Not at the OK Corral)
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Florida Roundup
"As death penalty wanes in U.S., Florida executes even more killers." is the Orlando Sentinel report written by Aaron Deslatte. In addition to the lengthy report, there is an infographic at the link. Robert Lavern Henry is set to be...
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Hearsay Exceptions: Former Testimony and Dying Declarations
Rule 804 contains five hearsay exceptions that apply when the declarant is unavailable. I addressed one of them—the residual exception—in a prior post. Another one of the five—statements of family history—rarely arises in the criminal law so I won’t spend any time on it. In this post I’ll tackle two of the Rule 804 exceptions: […]
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Electric Chair Still an Option for Tennessee
"Tennessee Can Lawfully Electrocute Inmates if No Drugs," is the AP report filed by Sheila Burke. It's via the Memphis Daily News. Tennessee can lawfully use the electric chair in executions if lethal injection is stopped by the courts or...
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People v. Cunningham
People v. Cunningham
Court Discusses Probable Cause of a Warrantless Search
The defendants were arrested and charged after the officers went to an apartment belonging to the defendants where one of the defendants tried to dispose of narcotics on the fire escape. The narcotics on the fire escape were heroin which was stored in 1,424 balloons. Within the apartment room the officers found small quantities of marijuana and cocaine inside of the apartment along with persons around a card table. The defendants along with the other persons in the apartment were arrested. The defendants were convicted of criminal possession of a dangerous drug in second degree, and they appealed. The defendant appealed on the ground that the officer did not have probable cause to search the apartment without a warrant and in the alternative that their sentence was excessive.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court analysed the circumstances of the arrest to determine whether there was probable cause. Probable cause exists if the facts and circumstance known would cause a reasonable person to believe that a crime has been committed. The officer does not need to be certain that a crime has been committed but he needs to have a reasonable suspicion to believe that a crime was committed. The police officers proceeded to the apartment when the radio dispatch that shots were fired from the apartment room and it was stated as a known narcotics location. The police had probable cause to enter the apartment and conduct a warrantless search based on the fact that one of the officer observed in a basket filled with narcotics was on the fire escape. There was a need for immediate action of the police as there was evidence that the defendants attempted to conceal the evidence on the fire escape, hence a delayed reaction would not be the best decision.
The defendants in the alternative challenged the sentence imposed as it was excessive. The defendants were indicted for a Class A felony. If the defendant was convicted of a dangerous drug in the first degree which she was indicted for they would have been sentenced to a maximum of life imprisonment. They were employed an erroneous heroin distribution and admitted that it was not the first time working there. Therefore, the sentence was not considered excessive taking into consideration the quantity of heroin and their experience.
The minority opinion was of the view that the conviction should have been reversed as there was no probable cause to enter the apartment of the defendants. The detective suspected that the ballons contained heroin but he did not know with certainty that the balloons were not being used as party accessories or heroin receptacles. The police officers could have secured the destruction of the heroin without entering the apartment of the defendants. Additionally, the defendants sentence was excessive as upon a plea of guilty guilty of criminal possession of a dangerous drug in the second degree and sentencing her to an indeterminate term of incarceration not to exceed four years.
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Parks, Jones & Hughey on the Antecedents of Hazing
Gregory Scott Parks , Shayne E. Jones and Matthew W. Hughey (Wake Forest University School of Law , University of South Florida and University of Connecticut, Department of Sociology) have posted Hazing as Crime: An Empirical Analysis of Criminological Antecedents...
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Commentary From New Hampshire
"The Road to Repeal: Death Penalty Calculations in N.H.," is the editorial published by the Valley News. New Hampshire stands closer today to abolishing the death penalty than at any time since 2000, when then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen vetoed a repeal...
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Massachusetts lets Peeping Tom Peep
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled that a law used to charge an Andover man, Michael Robertson, with taking up-skirt photos of women in 2010 did not apply in the case because the women did not have any expectation of privacy in a public place and they were not in a state of undress.The SJC decided that the state law that Robertson was charged with violating in 2010 does not actually make what he did a crime.
In the case, Robertson did not contest that he took up-skirt photos of two women on the Green Line in December 2010, however, he did contest that, because the women were not nude, not partially nude, and were in public, he did not violate state law as written.The court ruled that the law as written only applies to people in private settings when they are nude or partially nude. Because in this case these women were fully clothed, wearing under garments, and in public, the incidents do not fall within the law. The court did say that riders should have protections from peeping toms on the MBTA, but the law as written needs to be changed.
"We conclude that the law, as written, as the defendant suggests, is concerned with proscribing Peeping Tom voyeurism of people who are completely or partially undressed and, in particular, such voyeurism enhanced by electronic devices. The law does not apply to photographing, videotaping, or electronically surveying persons who are fully clothed and, in particular, does not reach the type of up-skirting that the defendant is charged with attempting to accomplish on the MBTA," read the SJC's decision. Because the MBTA is a public transit system operating in a public place and uses cameras, the two victims here were not in a place and circumstance where they reasonably would or could have had an expectation of privacy.
Many may believe this decision is outrageous and nonsensical. Generally, it is clearly accepted that a woman riding on public transportation has a reasonable expectation of privacy in not having a stranger secretly take photographs up her skirt. The SJC agreed but decided that the "proposition is eminently reasonable, but the law in its current form does not address it."
It is clear here that the Commonwealth tried to use an old statute to reach this new kind of conduct, which has increased with the proliferation of cellphones. However, you can't take an old statute and twist it and make it try to fit new conduct." Behavior cannot be punished as a crime if there are no laws that make that behavior a crime.This is a very clear indication that an updated, all encompassing law is needed as soon as possible.
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Missouri Execution Dates & Legislation
"Missouri may see record number of executions in 2014," is by Jim Salter of Associated Press. It's via the Springfield News-Leader. Missouri is on pace for a record number of executions in 2014, with two more inmates on the verge...
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Pinkberry co-founder sentenced to seven years in assault case
Los Angeles, CA -- While many crimes do have sentencing guidelines, rules regarding what sentences are thought to be most appropriate, judges are allowed the leeway to follow their own judgment when issuing sentences. In some cases that means that...
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Continued Examination of the Montour Case in Colorado
Today's Denver Post publishes the OpEd, "Montour juror: Death penalty is wrong," by Nate Becker. Here's the beginning: I was one of the 18 jurors who were empaneled in the trial of Edward Montour in Douglas County District Court recently....
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Cops Use Audio & Video Recording Devices And Use Of Force Declines
One California city tested the use of cameras by their officers last year and the results were just as one would expect. The use of force by officers dropped by over two thirds overall, and those not made to wear cameras were twice as likely to use force than those equipped with the recording devices! The conclusion of the study: "The majority of the time police use force is unnecessary. In other words, the majority of the time these officers used force they were simply committing acts of violence which they don't feel comfortable committing if it's captured on film."
The Rialto police chief introduced the wearable cameras to his officers and he was met with opposition. Many officers were not happy with being watched. Despite their negative response, the chief randomly selected officers to wear the cameras, having one-half of the staff using a camera each shift. The study ran from February 2012 until July 2013. The cameras had to be manually turned on by the officers and they were required to do so as they got out of their patrol car to approach a citizen. The camera automatically saved about 30 seconds of prior to the officer's activation, with the hopes of capturing the initial reason for the contact.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers have cameras inside their patrol vehicles. They are called MVARS, the Mobile Video Audio Recording System. They are mounted on the rear view mirror, facing out the front of the windshield. The officers also have microphones attached to their shirts to record the audio of their interactions.
In my experience, the officers often do not want their interactions recorded. When the recordings are subpoenaed, the part of the incident needed is not in the evidence. Law enforcement provides excuses such as the batteries were not charged or for some reason the equipment was not working at the time of the incident. In addition, when an officer has a driver get out of their car, they often bring the suspect to an area where the camera does not pick up what is going on.
It should be mandatory police policy that all law enforcement officers, including CHP, San Diego Sheriffs, and San Diego Police, be required to properly maintain audio and video recording devices, that they must be activated for each and every contact they have with citizens, and, the audio and video evidence must be maintained and provided to the defense when subpoenaed. If they are forced to do this, not only would the rate of complaints about officers using unnecessary force go down, but law abiding citizens would not find themselves arrested for crimes they did not commit. Officers have roughed up citizens, but then arrested them and charged them with resisting arrest. Having cameras would protect the citizens from this tactic. And, if properly used, the recording can also corroborate the police report. Unfortunately, prosecutors and judges always believe the cop even though they have motivation to lie to keep their job.
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Wichita Eagle Editorial
"Don’t limit death-penalty appeals process," is the editorial published by the Wichita Eagle. Even those impatient to see executions resume in Kansas should be wary of setting arbitrary time limits on the appeals process, as legislation in a House-Senate conference...
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