Original Article
04/06/2014
By Encarnacion Pyle
State lawmakers want to close a loophole that requires neighbors to be notified when a registered sex offender moves into a nursing home but not the people who live there or their families.
“As it stands now, if I live next to a nursing home, I’m going to be notified if a sex offender moves in. But if I’m in the room with a sex offender, I probably won’t know it,” said Beverley Laubert, the state’s long-term-care ombudsman with the Ohio...
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OH - Law would mandate sex-offender alerts at nursing homes
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Too Many Cases, Not Enough Time in King County Courts
One of the most important rights individuals accused of a crime possess is the right to due process. In King County, however, justice and speedy trials are being compromised by an overburdened court system. For many throughout the local and legal communities, King County courts have a serious problem – they're congested. One King County District Court Judge – who sees as many as 66 cases on a day's docket – commented that there are simply too many cases and not enough court time. This problem, if left unaddressed, can lead to problems– especially for those accused of crimes.
According to a recent article from
KUOW.org, prosecutors in King County filed nearly 10,000 cases in 2013. With such a large number of cases being ushered through the court system, fairness and justice become difficult to achieve, and re-scheduling and delays are common. These factors can also affect the outcome of cases.
Plea Deals
A large caseload has already led to legal difficulties. In April of last year, one swamped District Court Judge offered defendants charged with driving with a suspended license a plea deal of a $248 fine or 25 hours of community service. Dozens of people took the deal and pleaded guilty to a criminal offense. Because the judge was more concerned with lightening the caseload than fairness or justice, she was admonished by the Washington state Judicial Commission and was ordered to take ethics training.
For defendants, the plea deal was appealing for the very same reason it was appealing to the judge – it saves time and hassle. In fact, many defendants choose not to pursue a trial simply because of the time associated with the process. Many view trials as a maze of red tape and bureaucracy that can cost them time away from work. As a result, many choose to plead guilty or accept plea deals simply to avoid the hassle. This, many legal experts state, is not what the court system was intended to achieve.
Finding Solutions & Dealing with "The System"
King County's heavy caseload can be found in courts throughout Washington and the country. In King County, the problem is often made worse by an outdated, 34-year-old case management system still being used in 150 district courts, as well as judge's using state law to extend the length of cases. This affects case outcomes and one's right to a speedy trial.
Solutions to King County's problems are being explored and pilot programs have been implemented in some district courts. Because defendants still face barriers in the overcrowded court system, working with an experienced attorney becomes all the more important.
At Dichter Law Office, Lynnwood DUI attorney Jonathan Dichter works personally with clients to guide them through an imperfect system. His commitment to clients and to protecting their rights often makes the differences in cases, and is one of the driving forces behind our firm's record of success.
If you or someone you know has recently been charged with driving under the influence (DUI), call 425-296-9358 for a FREE case evaluation to learn more about your rights and the process ahead.
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"Is the Death Penalty Starting to Make a Global Comeback?"
Crime & Consequences excerpts and links to a post at Slate: With India, Japan, and Indonesia rejoining the U.S., the world's largest democracies are death penalty countries and the practice has heavy popular support in all of them.
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Let's talk about (sex offenders)
Original Article
Nazi Germany had registries as well!
04/05/2014
By Marc Allen
First, let’s put some things on the table. There is wide consensus that sexual assault is under reported. There is some disagreement about just how under reported sexual assault among adults is (and some controversy about how it is defined and measured), but there are good estimates that only about a tenth of sexual abuse against children is ever reported. Abuse against children is especially heinous because of...
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Man accused of Attempted murdering the woman of his children in Hawaiian Gardens
HAWAIIAN GARDENS - A seven-hour confrontation between police and an attempted murder suspect ended with the latter's arrest. The accused, Alfredo Lopez Jr., is alleged to have tried to kill a woman in Riverside County. This woman is the mother...
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Death Row Exoneree Explains Why Capital Punishment Will Never Work
Kirk Bloodsworth spent eight years in prison - including two on death row - for a murder and rape he did not commit before becoming the first person to be exonerated from death row through postconviction DNA testing. In Sunday's edition of the New York Times, Bloodsworth took to the paper's Opinion Pages' Room for Debate column to explain why capital punishment will never work. Having been wrongfully convicted based largely on eyewitness misidentification and spending time on death row, Bloodsworth knows firsthand that it's possible to execute an innocent man. He writes: "If you want to know if capital punishment is cruel and unusual, ask Carlos DeLuna, Ruben Cantu or Cameron Todd Willingham. Oh, that's right. You can't ask those guys. They were executed even though they were probably innocent." Bloodsworth, who is among 18 death row prisoners that have been proven innocent and exonerated by DNA testing in the United States, also points out the shift the country has been making regarding capital punishment, noting that six states have ended the practice in the past six years. According to Bloodsworth, the Death Penalty Information Center reports that the number of death sentences and executions has declined drastically since the 1990s. "Next time the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether the death penalty is constitutional, the justices will have to take notice of where the country is heading. If it can happen to me, it could happen to you," writes Bloodsworth. Read the full opinion piece. More on Bloodsworth's case.
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Minnesota Construction Company Fined After Employee Dies On The Job
A Minnesota contracting company has been fined $52,000 by the state after one of their employees died during a construction accident while working on the new St. Paul Saints baseball stadium. Johnny Valek, 61, was killed during his shift when a concrete slab fell onto the cab of the backhoe he was operating. He was […]
The post Minnesota Construction Company Fined After Employee Dies On The Job appeared first on Paul Edlund.
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Die verfassungsmässige Auslegung der Zustellfiktion von Art. 85 Abs. 4 lit. a StPO im Zusammenhang mit der Einsprache gegen einen Strafbefehl
Die schweizerische Strafprozessordnung sieht in Art. 85 Abs. 4 lit. a vor, dass eine eingeschriebene Postsendung, die nicht abgeholt wurde, am siebten Tag nach der erfolglosen Zustellung als zugestellt gilt. Das Bundesgericht hatte im Urteil vom 20. März 2014 (6B_908/2013) einen Fall zu beurteilen, wo eine Einsprecherin gegen einen Strafbefehl Einsprache erhoben hat, nachher aber auf die anschliessend versandte Vorladung nicht zur Einvernahme erschienen ist. Die Einsprecherin war zur Zeit der Zustellung in den Ferien, die Vorladung wurde nach sieben Tagen an die Strafbehörde retourniert. Diese schriebe das Verfahren aufgrund von Art. 355 Abs. 2 StPO ab. Diese Norm besagt, dass eine Einsprache als zurückgezogen gilt, wer trotz Vorladung einer Einvernahme unentschuldigt fern bleibt.Das Bundesgericht schützte die Beschwerde der Einsprecherin, die Strafbehörde hat die Einsprache doch noch zu behandeln. Als Begründung stützte sich das Bundesgericht auf das allgemeine Fairnessgebot, das in Art. 3 StPO verankert ist. Es kommt zum Schluss, dass die ratio legis eine formalistische Betrachtungsweise einzelner Bestimmungen verbiete. Art. 355 Abs. 2 StPO zähle zwei Bedingungen auf, die für den Eintritt der Rechtsfolge massgebend seien: die Vorladung und das unentschuldigte Fernbleiben. Der Betroffene könne die Rechtsfolgen einer Säumnis bei einer Vorladung in der Rechtsbelehrung auf der Einsprache nicht zur Kenntnis nehmen. Deshalb sei die vom Gesetzgeber vorgesehene Zustellfiktion in verfassungskonformer Auslegung nur so zu interpretieren, dass aus dem unentschuldigten Fernbleiben nach dem Grundsatz von Treu und Glauben (Art. 3 Abs. 2 lit. a StPO) auf ein Desinteresse am weiteren Gang des Strafverfahrens geschlossen werden müsse. Dies sei hier nicht der Fall.Mit dieser Auslegung der Zustellfiktion im Zusammenhang mit der Einsprache gegen einen Strafbefehl hat das Bundesgericht die Verfahrensrechte der beschuldigten Person klar gestärkt.Andreas Dudli
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Berman on Modest Retributivism
Mitchell N. Berman (University of Texas School of Law) has posted Modest Retributivism on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Michael Moore’s influence in criminal law theory is such that, when scholars speak of retributivism without modification or qualification, it is...
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Electronic House Arrest
Today’s post covers some of the nuts and bolts of electronic house arrest (EHA). EHA is fairly self-explanatory: in lieu of traditional incarceration, a person is confined to his or her residence by way of an electronic monitor that signals authorities if he or she departs. The focus here is on EHA as a component […]
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Ramped up enforcement along Texas border failed to lower drug prices
To understand the failure of the drug war in Texas, one need look no further than the opening few minutes of DPS Col. Steve McCraw's testimony yesterday to the Texas Senate Committee on Agriculture, Rural Affairs and Homeland Security.According to McCraw, in the last three months local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have seized more than 350,000 pounds of marijuana in Texas' border region, as well as more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 125 pounds of heroin and more than 1,800 pounds of cocaine.The logic behind drug interdiction is to remove illegal drugs from the market, making them more scarce. If successful, the tactic should increase the price of drugs. But the opposite is occurring. According to McCraw, in 2009 - which was the year DPS's souped up border security efforts began - the cost of marijuana was $551 per pound; today, it's $452 per pound. Cocaine was $29,000 per pound, he said; today it's $11,000 per pound. Meth was $37,988 per pound in 2009, said McCraw; now it's $14,866. Heroin was $40,000 per pound in 2009; now it's $21,534.Think about what that means: According to basic principles of supply and demand, reducing supply should increase prices. But that's not what's happening. Despite Texas and federal agencies spending hundreds of millions of dollars to expand border security along the Texas-Mexico border, drug prices are getting cheaper, implying that supplies are expanding, not contracting.Supply-side interdiction is not working, even for marijuana, which accounts for the overwhelming majority of drugs being captured by law enforcement.Lauding the merits of a 21-day "surge," which was highly controversial in the Rio Grande Valley, McCraw, said the best solution is to "saturate high-visibility patrols where there are clusters of crime" between the checkpoints. He claimed the strategy resulted in radical reductions of smuggling during that period, insisting there's "no question it can be done."To me, though, his testimony raises serious questions whether it can be done. For starters, most smuggling happens through the checkpoints, not in between them, as Sen. Juan Hinojosa pointed out. And just like when you squeeze a balloon, cracking down in one spot only causes smugglers to shift to other areas. Even if drug smuggling reduced so significantly during that 21-day period in the area DPS "surged" - and for my part I find that claim suspect - there's no evidence the tactic reduced overall drug supplies. Indeed, it's clear that, over time, increasing spending on law enforcement at the border has failed to reduce drug supplies, judging from the reduced drug prices McCraw cited.
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NYU Conference - Deterring Corporate Crime: Effective Principles for Corporate Enforcement
I had the privilege of being at an NYU Conference titled, Deterring Corporate Crime: Effective Principles for Corporate Enforcement. Hats off to Professor Jennifer Arlen for bringing together folks with some different perspectives on corporate crime. Individuals presented data, and...
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Honey, You Did What? SEC Charges Yet Another Spouse with Insider Trading
On March 31, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought insider trading charges against Ching Hwa Chen, the husband of a corporate insider, alleging that he misappropriated financial information from his wife and then shorted her employer’s stock, netting $138,000 Read More
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More Mush from the Wimp, Plus a Little Fib
Cutting and pasting from his last 3000 speeches, Attorney General Holder testified today before the House Judiciary Committee. He repeated his standard lines in favor of cutting by half the minimum required sentences for drug dealers -- which, of course,...
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Serial Killer Tommy Lynn Sells is Executed in Texas Despite Death Drug Concerns
Convicted serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells has been executed in Texas despite his claims the drug that would be used to kill him could deliver an unconstitutionally painful death. Sells was sent to prison in 1999. ABC news reported he claimed responsibility for dozens of murders across the country. He was executed in Texas on April 3. The 49-year-old was convicted of killing 13-year-old Katy Harris as she slept at her Del Rio, Texas, home. Although her killing landed Sells on death row, he has been linked to at least 17 other killings and claimed he has killed as […]
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Blithely We Go
In 2008, Edward Robb Ellis’s, A Diary of the Century: Tales from America’s Greatest Diarist, was published. In it, the retired journalist chronicled his life from 1927 to 1995, keeping track of what was happening in his life, and the world. On May 29, 1940, just as the day was ending, he wrote: Why am […]
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Internet Crime Defense in Las Vegas
The idea of Internet crimes was almost laughable just a few years ago. As more people turned to the Internet on a daily basis, the number of Internet crimes increased. When you face a similar charge and live in the Las Vegas area, Cal Potter is here to help. Internet crimes refer to any crime […]
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United States v. French, No. 12-10185 (4-7-14)(Nguyen with Fisher; Noonan dissenting). In an appeal from a fraud conviction where the defendant not only represented herself under Faretta, but had her then husband and fellow pro se co-defendant conduct her direct examination, the 9th found no error. The Faretta colloquy was adequate. The defendant knew the risks and her rights. Her adoption of the court's suggestion that she allow her husband conduct her examination was not reversible error. The defense was coordinated and not at odds. She appeared to understand. There was sufficient evidence for a conviction. Dissenting, Noonan argues that having an interested codefendant non-lawyer examine a pro se defendant was structural error. The majority responds that the defendant's self-representation delights were not violated as opposed to the right to counsel.
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King & Applebaum on Factfinding that Limits Eligibility for Probation or Parole Release
Nancy J. King and Brynn E. Applebaum (Vanderbilt University - Law School and Vanderbilt University) have posted Alleyne on the Ground: Factfinding that Limits Eligibility for Probation or Parole Release (Forthcoming Federal Sentencing Reporter) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...
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U.S. v. Dominguez-Maroyoqui, No. 13-50066 (4-7-14) (Watford with Farris and N. Smith). This is an appeal from a 1326 sentence. At sentencing, the defendant was found to have a crime of violence for a prior assault on a federal officer under 18 USC 111. The subsection 111(a) is assault on a federal officer with a three year max. Its elements though require only force, not physical force. This differs from 111(b) which requires physical force. In this case, the 9th reverses and remands for resentencing because it finds that 111(a) is not a crime of violence. The 9th acknowledges that under United States v. Juvenile Female, 556 F.3d 943 (9th Cir. 2009), 111(b) is a crime of violence due to physical force, which is defined as violent force. Under 111(a), the violence is not an element. The prior does not meet the definitions of a crime of violence under 2L1.2. If the offense is not a categorical crime of violence, then a modified categorical approach is not applicable. Even if the statute was divisible, the elements do not qualify for a violent force.
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