New findings by the FBI suggest that officer-involved excessive force incidents may be more common than we think because of underreported statistics. The report, commissioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, estimates that there were roughly 400 reports of “justifiable homicide” each year between 2005 and 2012. While victims like Michael Brown dominate the news cycle, it’s worth remembering that on average, police officers “justifiably” kill a black person nearly twice a week, every week, and 21 percent of the time, the victim is under the age of 21. That’s more than double the rate for white victims under the age of 21, which comes in at 8.7 percent. While those numbers are concerning, they may be vastly unreported. According to University of South Carolina criminologist Geoff Alpert, many of these statistics are self-reported, and some law enforcement agencies do not report their incidents to the national database. “About 750…
Excessive Force By Police May Be More Common Than We Think
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Wagner on Criminal Corporate Character
Robert E. Wagner (City University of New York (CUNY) Baruch College Zicklin School of Business Department of Law) has posted Criminal Corporate Character (65 Florida Law Review 1293 (2013)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In the last few years,...
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U.S. v. Watkins - Pre-Questioning Promises of a Police Officer
If ever there existed a glaring example of why defendants should never trust the promises of a police officer or federal agent prior to giving a statement, it's the recent case of U.S. v. Watkins, which was heard recently by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Our Tacoma child pornography defense attorneys know the irreversible damage that can be done when a person speaks to authorities without an attorney, no matter what assurances are given or the good of your own intentions. The Watkins case began with the gruesome homicide of a seven-year-old Florida girl, whose body was found in a Georgia landfill. In investigating that crime, federal agents went to the home of this defendant, who was later cleared of any wrongdoing related to the homicide. The girl reportedly spent time at the defendant's home, since she had been a friend of the defendant's grandchildren.
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A Texas Federal Grand Jury Has Indicted an Individual for Allegedly Aiming a Laser Pointer at an Aircraft
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on August 22, 2014 released the following: “Former Garland, Texas Man Indicted for Aiming a Laser Pointer at an Aircraft DALLAS—A federal grand jury has indicted Steven Alexander Chavez, Jr., 23, on one count of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Today, special agents with the FBI arrested Chavez in Lubbock, Texas, where he had recently relocated from Garland, Texas. According to the indictment, returned earlier this week in Dallas, on or about August 24, 2013, in the Dallas Division of the Northern District of Texas, Chavez knowingly aimed the beam of a laser pointer at a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) helicopter. A federal indictment is an accusation by a grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, the maximum statutory penalty is five years in federal…
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Welcome Back to the School: The D.C. Police are Waiting for You
As a Washington, DC criminal defense attorney who regularly represents college students charged with simple assault, I expect that the D.C. Metropolitan Department will be ramping up their arrests this time of year. Let's talk about simple assaults in D.C. In the District of Columbia, simple assault is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. You are probably thinking that since you have never been arrested before in your entire life, there is no reason that you would be arrested now. The problem is that the scenario that typically leads to an arrest for simple assault is not what you would expect. I typically hear from clients who went to bar or night club with a few friends. At some point in the night, someone in the club gets drunk and starts acting rude to you or someone you are with. You try to calmly and politely tell them to stop and leave you and your party alone, but the other person doesn't stop. They may even…
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OFAC: “Treasury Targets Honduran Drug Trafficking Organization and Its Network”
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on August 20, 2014 released the following: “Los Valles Organization Targeted for OFAC Sanctions WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced the designation of the Los Valles drug trafficking organization in Honduras and Honduran national Miguel Arnulfo Valle Valle as significant foreign narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Kingpin Act. Today’s action also targets Luis Alonso and Jose Reynerio Valle Valle, who materially assist and act for and on behalf of their brother Miguel Arnulfo Valle Valle and the Los Valles drug trafficking organization. Treasury also sanctioned four Honduran businesses tied to the Valle Valle brothers. Today’s action prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with these designees, and also freezes any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction. The…
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United States v. Salerno...cont
In 1979, the United States Supreme Court in Addington v Texas held that constitutional due process required the government to prove two statutory preconditions by clear and convincing evidence before a court could commit an individual to a mental institution: (1) that the person sought to be committed is mentally ill; and (2) that such person requires hospitalization for his own welfare and protection of others. In Addington, the issue was not pre-trial detention, but rather the requisite standard of proof to civilly confine a person clear and convincing, not preponderance of the evidence. A year later, the Supreme Court held in Vitek v Jones that absent a determination in a civil commitment proceeding of current mental illness and dangerousness, even an incarcerated prisoner serving a criminal sentence could not be transferred to a mental institution. The Supreme Court noted that even a convicted felon serving his criminal sentence has a liberty interest, which is not…
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OFAC: “Treasury Department Sanctions a Taliban Funding Conduit and Two Key Taliban Figures”
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on August 21, 2014 released the following: “Action Targets a Pakistan-based Hawala, Hawaladar and one Taliban Commander WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today targeted the financial and leadership networks of the Taliban by designating one entity and two individuals as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. The Pakistan-based hawala, Haji Basir and Zarjmil Company (Basir Zarjmil Hawala), and, its owner, Haji Abdul Basir, are being designated for providing financial services or other support to the Taliban. In addition, Taliban commander Qari Rahmat is being designated for acting for or on behalf of the Taliban. “The Taliban continues to conduct terrorist attacks against U.S. forces and innocent civilians, posing a direct threat to U.S. national security interests,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and…
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OFAC: “Treasury Designates Additional Supporters of the Al-Nusrah Front and Al-Qaida”
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on August 22, 2014 released the following: “Action Implements U.N. Security Council Resolution 2170 WASHINGTON — On August 15, 2014, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2170, which targeted the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, formerly known as al-Qaida in Iraq) and the Syria-based, al-Qaida-linked terrorist organization Al Nusrah Front (ANF), and sanctioned additional terrorists supporting those groups. In support of the U.N.’s action, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today imposed sanctions on two key financiers of ANF and al-Qaida, both of whom also have been included in the Annex to UNSCR 2170. Abdul Mohsen Abdullah Ibrahim al-Sharikh and Hamid Hamad Hamid Al-‘Ali have been designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. Al-Sharikh has been designated for acting for or on behalf of ANF…
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News Scan
Chicago Experiencing Crime Drop: Police in Chicago, Illinois have announced that the city has experienced a sharp decrease in crime as more residents have begun arming themselves after the state started granting concealed carry permits earlier this year. Kelly Riddell of The Washington Times reports that the city has seen a decrease in burglaries and robberies, and Chicago's homicide rate was at a 56-year low. Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, believes that the decreases are directly linked to the state allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons. Murderer Avoids Death Penalty: A Florida man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being charged in multiple killings. Larry Hannan of the Florida Times-Union reports that 29-year-old DeShawn Green was able to avoid a death sentence for the third time last week after prosecutors elected to drop first-degree murder charges out of fear that a possible…
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Appeals Court Affirms Suppression of Firearm Seized During Warrantless Search of Vehicle
The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently upheld a superior court ruling allowing a motion to suppress a firearm seized after a warrantless search of a backpack following an investigatory stop of a motor vehicle. In Commonwealth v. Rutledge, two defendants were charged, among other things, with numerous firearms offenses. The arrest was made on July 13, 2011 after a 911 operator in Brockton received a call from a woman who overheard an argument between her current boyfriend and former boyfriend, when the former boyfriend allegedly pulled a gun on the current boyfriend, threatening to kill him.
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"Mass Incarceration on Trial: A Remarkable Court Decision and the Future of Prisons in America"
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Police in Florida Can Request Identification But if They Hold Onto it, it Becomes a Detention
In Florida, the police do have the right to approach people and suspects on the street and ask questions. The police do not need reasonable suspicion or probable cause that a person is engaged in criminal activity to approach someone and ask questions. This includes asking for identification like a driver's license. However, what happens next can turn a police encounter into a detention or seizure. If a police encounter becomes a detention or seizure under the search and seizure laws, the police need to show specific evidence indicating criminal activity in order to detain a person, search the person and even ask the person if he/she would consent to a search. The primary issue is whether the subject reasonably believes he/she is free to leave. If a judge finds that a reasonable person would have felt free to leave the encounter, that is not a detention, and the police are free to ask questions. For instance, when a police officer approaches a person on the street,…
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Is Chicago now providing more support for the claim that more guns means less crime?
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People v. David W.
This is a proceeding wherein the defendant moves pursuant to CPL 440.10 to vacate his judgment of conviction on the grounds that, unbeknownst to criminal defendant, the complainant had recanted her accusation both to the court and the district attorney's office prior to the entry of defendant's plea of guilty, and the prosecutor's failure to disclose this information constituted a Brady violation, that such recantation constitutes newly discovered evidence warranting vacatur of the conviction, that criminal defendant's plea of guilty was involuntary because he was not aware that he would be required to register as a sex offender and that his counsel was ineffective in that he prevented the judge at arraignment from dismissing the charges. The People assert that, in preparing their response to the motion, they learned that the files of the District Attorney's office pertaining to this case have been destroyed, and the court file has been lost and is…
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Justice Reinvestment on the Ground
Among the two dozen or so states that have participated in Justice Reinvestment, North Carolina has become something of a darling. The goal of the initiative (summarized in this infographic) is to reduce spending on corrections, and North Carolina has done that. Since the day the law came into effect, we have 2,000 fewer prison […]
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What Is RICO Statute in New York And What Are The Penalties For Violating It?
RICO (“Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act”) is a federal statute designed to target larger criminal operations that may function in multiple states, often with a “clean” business to cover up the illicit activities. Originally envisioned as an effort to take down the Mafia, one of RICO’s more important functions is to allow an organization’s leadership to be tried for the crimes that it has ordered. RICO cases are predicated on a pattern of illegal activity related to an enterprise, and conviction on each count can carry a sentence as long as 20 years, with a $25,000 fine. People convicted under RICO are also subject to civil suits from private parties who were harmed by the racketeering, who are entitled to collect up to triple damages. The Department of Justice doesn’t only file RICO charges against mobsters. Today, RICO is used widely to prosecute criminal dealings conducted in a for-profit manner. Penalties are…
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What Are The Penalties For Criminal Possession Of A Weapon In New York?
New York has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, and prosecutors are only too happy to prosecute innocent people who were ignorant of the law. There are four grades of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in New York, and three are classified as violent felonies. In the Fourth Degree, you are alleged to have improperly possessed a weapon, regardless of your intentions as to its use. This is a Class A Misdemeanor, carrying a potential sentence of one year in jail. If you have a previous criminal record, and are in possession of a weapon whose serial number has been defaced, or have three or more firearms without proper licenses and registration, you can be charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a violent felony that can put you away for up to seven years. Possessing a loaded firearm, or possessing any firearm with the intent of committing a crime against another, is charged as Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, with a sentence…
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North Carolina Man Expected to be Released
On Monday, a Superior Court judge in North Carolina dismissed all charges and vacated the convictions of Michael Parker who was convicted of multiple sex crimes against his three children. Parker spent more than 20 years behind bars and is expected to be released from Craggy Correctional Center today. In January 1994, Parker was convicted of eight counts of first-degree sex offense and four counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor. He was sentenced to eight consecutive terms of life imprisonment for the first-degree sex offenses and an additional 40 years on the indecent liberties convictions. Asheville attorney Sean Devereux brought the case to the Duke Law School Wrongful Conviction Clinic in 2011, about a decade after he was approached by Parker. Devereux told the Citizen-Times that Parker was convicted during the satanic ritual abuse frenzy of the late 1980s and early 1990s. According to the Citizen-Times, Devereux said that not a single one of those satanic…
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News Scan
CA Man Attacks Aunt Hours After Jail Release: A Fresno, CA man has been arrested and is facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon after authorities say he attacked his aunt with a hammer just hours after being released from county jail. ABC 30 Action News reports that Anthony Palomino had been arrested last week after breaking into cars at his relative's funeral, but was released early from the Fresno County Jail due to overcrowding. Authorities say after he was released, Palomino attacked his aunt with a hammer leaving her with a black eye, broken cheek bone, and 19 staples in her head. He is being held in county jail on $25,000 bail.Killers Plead Guilty to Avoid Death Penalty: A Pennsylvania couple has agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in the alleged thrill-killing of a man last year in order to avoid a possible death sentence. Nikki Krize of WNEP News reports that Miranda and Elytte Barbour, also known as the 'Craigslist…
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