As reported in this notable new FoxNews piece, headlined "Marijuana compound may slow, halt progression of Alzheimer's," some more interesting marijuana research has produced some more reason to hope that marijuana reform could be a real boon for public health. Here are the details: Neuroscientists found that extremely low doses...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/EeJQahBLbXY" height="1" width="1"/>
New research suggest marijuana might help combat Alzheimer's disease
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Aurora Sentinel Editorial in Colorado
"Hickenlooper should do the right thing in death penalty flap after making the right call on Dunlap execution," is the editorial published in today's Aurora Sentinel. You don’t have to be a political consultant to see where Gov. John Hickenlooper’s...
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How should governments approach a product that research suggests reduces overdose deaths, domestic violence and Alzheimer's?
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Minnesota’s predatory offender registry a tool, not protection
8-28-2014 Minnesota: While they’re helpful tools, Minnesota’s predatory offender registry and notification system can lead to a false sense of protection and safety. “It’s designed only to let law enforcement know where they’re living in the community,” said Donna Dunn, executive director of the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault. The predatory offender registration law, created in
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Judge Trashes New York Landmark “Carnegie Deli” in Divorce Ruling
I was in New York city last fall and near the top of our agenda was a trip to the Carnegie Deli, a landmark in mid-town since 1937 and run by the Levine family since 1976. Its claim to fame is kosher pastrami, corned beef, and their famous cheesecake, all of which they can ship almost anywhere in the world. It’s a very kitschy little place with uneven floors and plastic table cloths, but there is always a line-up. I didn’t expect the Carnegie Deli to be featured in a divorce post, but it seems that Marian Harper Levine and her husband Sandy, who now runs the deli with her, were lambasted by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper for their petty squabbles, while litigants with serious problems were put on the back burner. The audacious judge said: “What I care more about is the fact they’ve made millions of millions of dollars on the backs of dishwashers, cleaners and pastrami slicers who make as much in a year as they’ve made in a day or…
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Massachusetts to Evaluate How Eyewitness Identification Testimony is Presented and Evaluated in Court
The Massachusetts Judicial Supreme Court is scheduled to hear from defense attorneys next month about adopting changes in the way eyewitness identification testimony is presented to juries. The Boston Globe reported that four cases will be considered in the push to implement stronger instructions to advise jurors that eyewitness identifications are not always reliable. Among the cases is the conviction of Jeremy Gomes who was not picked out of a police photo array by the victim of a box cutter slashing, but who was later identified by that victim when he saw Gomes in a gas station a week following the incident. Gomes' lawyer John Fennel is challenging the conviction based on unreliable eyewitness identifications of the victim and his friend. According to the Boston Globe, Fennel believes that jurors need to be made aware, particularly by judges, about the fallibility of eyewitness identification, even by crime victims who strongly believe that they have identified the…
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Digital Assets: Worth Money, but Also Great Providers of Information
If you haven’t already, add digital assets to the list of things to look for in asset searches. In a world in which even modestly-trafficked internet domain names can change hands for tens of thousands of dollars, Delaware has become the first state to ensure families’ rights to access the digital assets of loved ones during incapacitation or after death. The writeup is here. We have long valued digital assets not only as stores of value, but as ways of finding out about people we investigate. These assets have value and people therefore have an interest in recording accurate information to make sure they retain ownership. Two of the most useful ways to track a person down via a digital record are: 1) Domain name registration 2) Email header information Domain names in many cases can be tracked on using a variety of registry databases, the most popular of which is Network Solutions’ Whois database,…
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Steuererhöhung im Kanton Schwyz geplant
Der Kanton Schwyz ist bekanntlich einer der steuerlich attraktivsten Schweizer Kantone (vgl. Steuerbelastung Schweiz 2013 ESTV). Doch dem Tiefsteuerkanton droht ein massiver Aufwandüberschuss. Aus diesem Grund haben Regierungsrat und Parlament nebst Sparmassnahmen auch eine Revision des Steuergesetzes geplant. Der Hauseigentümerverband (HEV) des Kantons Schwyz hat gegen die geplanten Änderungen im Steuergesetz jedoch erfolgreich das Referendum ergriffen. Deshalb werden die Stimmberechtigten am 28. September 2014 über die geplante Revision des Steuergesetzes abstimmen, welche dem Kanton rund CHF 66 Mio. Mehreinnahmen bringen soll (vgl. SRF vom 5. August 2014). Die Änderungen im kantonalen Steuergesetz sehen eine Steuererhöhung für Gutverdienende und Vermögende vor. Der Kanton Schwyz soll jedoch das Label „steuerattraktiv“ nicht verlieren (vgl. Bilanz vom 25. August 2014). Konkret sind insbesondere die folgenden Anpassungen…
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Utah Man and Idaho Falls Woman Plead Guilty to Possession of a Stolen Firearm in U.S. District Court
POCATELLO – Gustavo Alfaro-Garcia, 36, of Salt lake City, Utah, and Mirella Ileana Garcia, 27, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday to possession of a stolen firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Co-defendant, Maria Garcia, 26, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty to the same charge on August 13, 2014.According to the plea agreements, on June 18, 2013, the individuals were stopped by the Idaho State Police while traveling southbound on Interstate 15, in Oneida County, Idaho. Inside the vehicle officers found numerous stolen firearms including a Smith and Wesson .357 caliber revolver, which had been stolen from a residence in Arimo, Idaho. Earlier that day, a witness had seen the individuals enter the residence where the gun was stolen.The crime is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.Sentencing is set for November 19, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the…
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ISIS: Frogmarch, Killings and Beheadings of Soldiers
Yesterday, ISIS posted photos of captured Syrian soldiers being forced to march across the desert in their underwear, presumably to their deaths. A video (non-violent) is here. Today Reuters reports ISIS released another video showing they were all... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Reducing Denver Drug Crimes through Treatment
There is a new guide on Denver Treatment Providers in Denver Colorado. This guide talks about some of the benefits of getting treatment and places that you can go to receive treatment if you are facing a Drug Case in Denver. The guide has sections for people suffering from Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, Mental health, and for Youth. The take-away from the guide is that people who receive treatment are in a far better position to move forward with their lives than someone who does not. For instance, a person leaving prison is going to end up back in prison over 70% of the time. On the other hand, a person who receives treatment ends up back in the criminal justice system approximately 34% of the time. The differences are incredible and the Colorado Legislature has taken notice. The focus from the legislature’s perspective has become evidence based and has now shifted from punishing addicts to treating addicts. The end result is that…
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Thursday Open Thread
Here's an open thread, all topics welcome. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Villalobos, Davis & Leo on Honest False Testimony Regarding Sexual Offenses
J. Guillermo Villalobos , Deborah Davis and Richard A. Leo (University of Nevada, Reno , University of Nevada, Reno and University of San Francisco - School of Law) have posted Honest False Testimony in Allegations of Sexual Offences (in Ros...
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LAWRENCE MAN RECEIVES THREE LIFE SENTENCES IN SALEM MURDER CASE
Do you think you have been having a bad week? Well, you are invited to compare yours to that of 43-year-old Jose Luis Tejada (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) of Lawrence. As the third anniversary of his shooting his girlfriend and two kids (Labor Day, 2011) approaches, his Salem murder trial has ended. After deliberating five hours, the jury found him guilty. On Tuesday, he was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences. Judge Howard Whitehead presided over the trial in Salem Superior Court and, at the sentencing hearing, called the killings “barbaric and evil”. Three family members of the deceased mother and teens also gave emotional impact statements to the court. The Defendant apparently tried his hand at explaining his anticipated defense to the police around the time of his arrest…as so many soon-to-be-convicted suspects do. It would seem that it was sort of a sympathetic self-defense theory of some kind. Police say the Defendant…
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$5,000 Fine in Florida Solicitation of Prostitution Case Found to be Unconstitutional
In a recent case near Jacksonville, Florida, the defendant entered a no contest plea to solicitation of prostitution. The crime of solicitation of prostitution occurs when a person offers to engage another person in sexual activity for hire. It is considered a minor second degree misdemeanor crime in Florida. In this case, the judge sentenced the defendant to probation and community service but also added a $5,000 fine. In most misdemeanor cases, including more serious misdemeanors, there is either no fine or a much smaller fine (court costs are another matter). For second degree misdemeanors, $500 is normally considered the highest end for fines, and many cases result in no fines. However, the prostitution statute specifically mandates a $5,000 fine for defendants who are convicted of, or enter guilty or no contest pleas to, the charge of solicitation of prostitution. So, while it is definitely unusual for a judge to impose such a large fine for a crime that is…
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ISIS Explains Killing of Foley and al-Sheitaat Tribe Members
ISIS has released the third edition of its Dabiq Magazine. This issue addresses the killing of journalist James Foley and the al-Sheitaat tribe members. You can read it here. On the tribe members: These clans were left armed after they... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Pentagon Says Cost of Current Iraqi Operations is $7.5 Mil a Day
Via Reuters, we have been spending $7.5 million a day in Iraq since mid-June. That's a total to date of about $532 million. U.S. military operations against Islamic State in Iraq have cost an average of $7.5 million per day since they began... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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News Scan
Convicted Killer to be Re-Sentenced: A New Hampshire man convicted and sentenced to life without parole (LWOP) for murdering two college professors when he was 17-years-old, is scheduled to be re-sentenced after the state's Supreme Court ruled in favor of applying a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision retroactively. Peter Schworm of The Boston Globe reports that the New Hampshire high court unanimously agreed to apply the Supreme Court's 2012 Miller decision retroactively to four inmates who are currently serving life sentences for crimes they committed as juveniles. Each of the men will have a re-sentencing hearing, however, judges have the right to re-sentence them LWOP if they believe it is warranted.Cop Killer Sentenced to Death: An Arizona jury has sentenced convicted cop killer Bryan Hulsey to death. The Associated Press reports that Hulsey killed one officer and wounded another during a routine traffic stop in 2007. Under Arizona law,…
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Mauro on Supreme Court Clerk Reorganization
Tony Mauro has this article at National Law Journal (registration required) on the reorganization of the Supreme Court Clerk's office, previously noted here.Jordan "Danny" Bickell will serve in the new position of deputy clerk for practice and procedure, which will carry out some of the functions of the chief deputy. Those includes "the preparation of weekly conference lists, taking action on extensions of time to respond to petitions for writs of certiorari, and service as the primary point of contact for members of the Court's bar with respect to questions of practice and procedure," according to the announcement. Bickell's new title also means a temporary vacancy in the position of staff attorney for emergency applications--known informally as the "death clerk," the court's liaison with state officials and defense lawyers in the final hours before scheduled executions. Bickell held that position and will continue to…
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CPL 60.42...cont
In this case, defendant is statutorily determined to be a sex offender in New York, so no comparison of the statutes is required. That is because the provision that applies to his conviction is section 168-a (2) (d) (ii), not section 168-a (1) (d) (i). The applicable provision defines the crime for which the criminal defendant was convicted as a sex offense because he was convicted of a felony in Vermont for which he is required to register as a sex offender in Vermont. As the statute clearly dictates that this defendant is a sex offender, it also specifically dictates that it is the Board who has the power to determine whether he must register. Because the court does not have jurisdiction to review the Board's determination under these circumstances, the criminal defendant's motion to dismiss on this ground is denied. Defendant's motion to dismiss on constitutional grounds is likewise denied. Defendant contends that the applicable SORA provision which requires…
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