The rules for urine testing in Ohio are set forth at Ohio Administrative Code 3701-53-05 & 3701-53-06. At O.A.C. 3701-53-05, it is clearly stated that a urine test must be witnessed. It states at subsection (D), (D) The collection of a urine specimen must be witnessed to assure that the sample can be authenticated. Urine shall be deposited into a clean glass or plastic screw top container which shall be capped, or collected according to the laboratory protocol as written [Read the full post. . .]
Urine Testing: No Privacy For You!
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The Wiretap Act, Divorce and Auto-forwarding
On December 3, 2010, Annabelle Zaratzian filed a civil suit against Adel Ramsey Abadir and Larry M. Carlin, asserting claims “under 18 U.S. Code § 2510 et seq. (the ‘Wiretap Act’), 18 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq. (the `Stored Communications Act’ or `SCA’),” and for conspiracy to violate those Acts under 42 U.S. Code § 1985(3), as well as several claims under New York state law. Zaratzian v. Abadir, 2014 WL 4467919 (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York2014). After the litigation had gone through various early steps, the two defendants filed motions for summary judgment on their behalf and Zaratzian then filed a motion for summary judgmenton her behalf. Zaratzian v. Abadir, supra. This post examines the judge’s analysis and ruling on those motions, at least as they involve the Wiretap Act.The judge who has the case begins his opinion by explaining how the litigation…
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"The Good Wife" Returns in Overdrive
The Good Wife returned for a new season Sunday night. I really didn't care for last season but tuned in anyway, expecting to be bored. I'm glad I did. Someone must have slipped some steroids into the writers' morning Wheaties. [More...] ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Serious talk about a serious alternative (nitrogen) to lethal injection in Oklahoma
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Ninth Circuit Considers Overturning Barry Bonds’ Obstruction of Justice Conviction
Barry Bonds' long-running battle to overturn his 2011 conviction for obstruction of justice recently returned to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit where an eleven-judge panel heard his challenge to a 2013 decision of three Ninth Circuit judges to uphold his conviction. Reports of the hearing in The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times indicate the judges were "skeptical" and "dubious" about the grounds for the conviction, which may be overturned. Bonds' conviction stems from his 2003 testimony before a grand jury investigating the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs by the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO). During that testimony, Bonds initially responded to a question about whether his trainer ever provided drugs that had to be injected through a syringe with a long-winded discussion of his childhood as a celebrity. Although Bonds later answered the question directly, a jury relied on his initial response to convict him…
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Children in Hot Cars in Florida
Over these past few summer months, as temperatures not only in South Florida but also around the country have been soaring, the offense of leaving one's child in a hot car has been getting a lot of attention. From a Georgia man being charged with murder in his son's "hot car" death, to a woman being arrested for leaving her children in a car when she went into a building for a job interview, people all around the country have been opining about what should be done to stop this crime and what should be done to those by whom it is committed. Our Palm Beach and Broward County criminal defense lawyers know that this issue receives a bit of a twist in South Florida, where temperatures can be scorching year-round, meaning anytime a child is left in a car (even for a few seconds) the parent or caretaker could theoretically be charged with child neglect.
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Monday
I will be traveling Monday. Posting will be delayed.
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With some on-air choice words, local Alaska TV reporter quits to work on marijuana legalization
This local article from Alaska, headlined "KTVA reporter quits on-air, reveals herself as owner of Alaska Cannabis Club," reports on how one TV personality decided to use her time on air to provide a marijuana-business-driven decision to tell her bosses to "take this job and shove it." Here are the...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/1PITvoEhjjA" height="1" width="1"/>
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Felony vs. Misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana or Cannabis in Okaloosa County
In Florida, and specifically Okaloosa County & Walton County, we see various types of charges relating to marijuana possession. Clearly, the most common charges are Possession of Marijuana under 20 grams and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. These are both first degree misdemeanors and are commonly charged together. The potential penalties are: one year in jail, per count, and potentially the loss of your driver’s license for one year. However, on the felony side, there are quite a variety of charges. Of course there is Possession of Marijuana over 20 grams, which equates to about 0.7 ounces. And while other states may use one ounce (1 oz.) or 28 grams (which approximately weighs 1 oz.) as a weight measurement to qualify for a felony offense, Florida is much more strict and considers anything over 20 grams as a felony amount. Additionally, even if you possess an amount of marijuana under 20 grams, depending on the circumstances of your arrest and especially the…
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Illegal Search by Military Investigator in Georgia Causes Reversal of Federal Criminal Case in Washington State
We handle lots of federal cases involving supposedly illegal activity over the Internet, which means some of our clients are far from our offices here in Atlanta. Because of that, we try to pay attention even when a federal criminal case is far away, such as the recent ruling by the Court of Appeals in California that invalidated a federal criminal conviction because of an illegal search. What really piqued my interest is that the case is yet another example of the trend where judges are becoming ever more suspicious of Internet-based surveillance techniques that lead to evidence of a crime. The Court was especially vexed because a military investigator in Georgia used the Navy's vast resources basically to investigate a local crime in Washington State, which led to Michael Dreyer's indictment and conviction in federal court. The opinion is here. The federal Naval Investigator was working undercover from his office in lovely Brunswick, Ga. He signed on to a…
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Sixth Circuit reverses Ponzi scheme sentence because loss calculation failed to credit monies paid out
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Former Mayor Convicted of Mortgage Fraud
Andrew Lucas, 37, the former mayor of Manalapan, New Jersey, was convicted at trial on charges related to his acquisition of farmland in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The jury found that Lucas provided falsified tax returns, including a falsified tax return for a relative whose name was also on the loan application, as well as falsely reported that he had a total of $210,000 in cash. The defendant was found guilty on all 11 counts of an indictment charging him with wire fraud, an illegal monetary transaction, loan application fraud, false statements to the IRS, aggravated identity theft, obstruction of a grand jury investigation and falsification of records in a federal investigation. The jury deliberated three hours before returning its verdict following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court. According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial: On Dec.15, 2009, Lucas submitted a loan application to a New…
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Electrocuting Defendants In Court May Be a Growing and Troubling Practice
We're all familiar with the police's ability to shock--or "tase"--as a method of subduing the unruly or those resisting arrest. It's generally seen as a more humane alternative for police to gain an upper hand, rather than use lethal force. But in one Maryland criminal courtroom, it was not the police doing the electrocuting during an arrest. It was the judge ordering it, inside his courtroom, and during the defendant's own trial. And you'll be shocked (pun intended) to learn that this isn't the first time defendants have been shocked in open court. The Use of Electronic Control Devices It's actually not uncommon for defendants to be fitted with devices that allow officers to shock them in court if needed. Such devices are often used as a security device for self-represented defendants, who need to be able to walk about the court during their trial and present their case. But obviously, actually electrocuting defendants is…
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Jacksonville teen arrested, charged with a series of break-ins to homes and vehicles
A Jacksonville teen who led police on a high-speed chase was arrested in Nassau County following a string of burglaries over two weekends. A neighbor spotted two teens backing into a driveway with their lights out, yelled at the suspects and called police, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The two drove off, but ended up in a ditch by nearby railroad tracks, the newspaper reported. The suspects ran on foot - one was caught and the other was still at large, the newspaper reported. The teen who was arrested faces more than a dozen serious charges in this Nassau County Theft Case. One of the major issues in this Nassau County Juvenile Crimes Case is whether or not the state chooses to charge the 17-year-old boy as an adult. Among the charges are six counts of burglary to a dwelling - each of which is a second-degree felony with a possible 15-year prison sentence. Other charges include five counts of grand theft (a third-degree felony punishable by up to five…
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Do It To the Children
Did too.Did not.Did too.Off with his head!Usually it's a little more legalistic than that. The prosecutor asks what happened. The accuser says that the defendant did whatever. Maybe the defendant gets on the witness stand and denies it. The jury believes the accuser because . . . . Damned if I know. Because juries just can't believe anyone would lie about having had whatever done to them.Frequently you don't even need an accuser. In Ohio, for instance (and the Buckeye State isn't alone in this), circumstantial evidence is, for legal purposes, every bit as good as direct evidence. (And then there's the case I once had on appeal where the prosecutor argued, and the court of appeals sort of bought, the claim that although the alleged victim said he never touched her, and although nobody actually said he did, the jury could believe he did because the jury could have thought the alleged victim was lying when she said…
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UFC Fighter Nick Diaz Arrested Again for Drunk Driving
Our Boston attorneys who represent victims of alcohol-related car accidents understand that the findings of the criminal court may aid plaintiffs in a later civil lawsuit. According to a recent news report from Fox Sports, UFC fighter, Nick Diaz has been arrested for drunk driving. This is the second time Diaz has been arrested for DUI in the past year. Police reported that Diaz was pulled over on routine traffic stop, and officers suspected that he was driving under the influence of alcohol. After being arrested and taken to the police station, officers asked if he would consent to giving a breath sample. He said that he would take the test but asked if he could go to the bathroom before blowing into the breath-testing machine. He is alleged to have attempted to induce vomiting in what is being seen as an attempt to rid his body of alcohol before taking the test. Officers told him to stop, but he kept trying to make himself vomit. Even if he succeeded in vomiting,…
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Statutory Rape and Romeo and Juliet Laws in California
Being accused of rape – any type of rape – has a profound and lasting impact on your life. Just the word “rape” typically calls to mind a horrible act of violence for most people. Rape, however, is a crime that is extremely fact specific. For example, “rape” can mean ... The post Statutory Rape and Romeo and Juliet Laws in California appeared first on Law Office of Domenic J. Lombardo.
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A Grand Unified Theory of Employment Law
Samuel R. Bagenstos, Employment Law and Social Equality, 112 Mich. L. Rev. 225 (2013). Matt Bodie If the law of the workplace could be anthropomorphized into a family of four siblings, here’s how it might go: labor law would be the oldest, a raconteur spinning yarns about the old days; employment discrimination would be the middle child, an activist vigorously standing up for justice and equality; employee benefits would be an accountant, quietly off to the side at family dinners; and employment law would be the oddball youngest child, jumping from activity to activity without rhyme or reason.1 I teach employment law, and it is often compared to a “catch-all” or “grab-bag” category: anything that doesn’t fit in the other courses is covered there. The Fair Labor Standards Act is paired with covenants not to compete; unemployment compensation is alongside the at-will doctrine. This hodge-podge looks like an unfortunate intellectual shambles…
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Take the Bait
When Drug Warrior Kelly Racca, who split her time as a teacher at Clovis North High School, decided that it was up to her to rid her school of demon weed, she saw no issue with using students as bait. When her undercover plans hit the skids, she learned that the cops disagreed. But at least the students who did as their teacher told them survived with their physical integrity intact. A 14-year-old special needs girl wasn’t so lucky. Court records indicate the 14-year-old girl was raped after teacher’s aide June Simpson told her to go into a boys’ restroom with the 16-year-old boy, who had reportedly been harassing several girls and asking them to have sex with him. Both he and the victim were special needs students. Simpson told the girl that the school administration could punish him if they could “catch him in the act.” When neither Simpson nor any other school official followed the teens into the bathroom immediately, the girl…
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Joe Biden's 40 Car Entourage Angers Aspen Law Enforcement
Joe Biden went to Aspen this weekend to speak at a private corporate event. Local law enforcement, including the sheriffs of Pitkin County (Aspen) and Garfield County (Glenwood Springs) are justly critical. It cost them thousands of dollars in... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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