If you are arrested in New York City, you may be aware that police officers may not question you if you are represented by an attorney if the attorney is not present. There are a few issues that may arise in this context. First of all, the police officers have to actually know that you [...]
If I Am Arrested, Do I Need To Tell Police I Have A Lawyer?
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Alarming Rate of Foster Children Given Psychiatric Medication
According to an article in The New York Times, in 2003 researchers analyzed the Medicaid records of 637,924 minors who were either in foster care, receiving disability benefits for a diagnosis of severe autism or bipolar disorder, and some were also in a social services program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The researchers found that 16,969, or about 3 percent of the total, had received at least one prescription for an antipsychotic drug.
The foster children were the ones who most often got more than one such prescription at the same time - 9.2%, versus 6.8% for children on disability and 2.5% for children in the TANF program.
A new study published in the journal Pediatrics reveals a concerning new trend for children in foster care and the regular prescription of antipsychotic drugs like Risperdal and Seroquel. These powerful drugs are commonly used in adults to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. According to a 2009 Times article, the side effects of a medication like Risperdal can be profound and include rapid weight gain, which can lead to other health problems like hypertension and diabetes, also very common in adults taking these same drugs.
There has been an approximate 4,000 percent increase in children being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the use of antipsychotics since 1998, and many were being prescribed drugs, that in some cases had only been tested on adults.
Susan dosReis, an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and the lead author of the report, said "The kids in foster care may come from bad homes, but they do not have the sort of complex medical issues that those in the disabled population do."
The implication, Dr. dosReis and other experts said: Doctors are treating foster children's behavioral problems with the same powerful drugs given to people with schizophrenia and severe bipolar disorder. "We simply don't have evidence to support this kind of use, especially in young children," Dr. dosReis said.
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Arkansas Roundup
"Ark. House panel advances lethal injection bill," is the AP report, via the Danbury News Times. An Arkansas House committee has approved a proposal to rewrite a 2009 lethal injection law that the state Supreme Court threw out last year....
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The Importance of Preserving and Maintaining Evidence
The Austin Chronicl reports, "Where's Your Evidence? Advances in forensic science have made physical evidence increasingly crucial in criminal justice – but the practice of preserving and maintaining that evidence is often underfunded, poorly managed, or just plain sloppy. It's...
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Bipartisan push to lower penalties for petty crime
The headline "Bills aimed at lowering criminal penalties" from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this week (Feb. 11) sounds almost like a "Man bites dog" story. The article opened:State lawmakers are being asked to reclassify criminal offenses, including marijuana possession and prostitution, in an attempt to reduce the state's prison population and cut costs of appointed attorneys for poor criminal defendants.The American Bar Association, the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union say prison time should be removed as a punishment for some crimes, while others believe that an overhaul of the entire Texas Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure is long overdue.Besides saving the cost of paying for someone to be held in prison, reclassification could save taxpayers money because county officials would not have to appoint attorneys for indigent residents charged with crimes because being held behind bars is not a punishment alternative.Most of the bills discussed would lower criminal penalties aimed at petty misdemeanor offenses - e.g., pot possession, prostitution, and low-level theft - from Class B to Class C misdemeanors. In part the goal is to reduce indigent defense and jail costs. "Removing jail time from the punishment spectrum relieves the state from providing legal aid to defendants who can't hire an attorney on their own."What chances such legislation has heaven only knows, but even the suggestion of lowering penalties instead of raising them signals the terms of debate on crime are shifting. Certainly times are changing when a former president of the National District Attorneys Association declares, "We need to be smarter about this and not ruin good people's lives by putting them in jail." From your mouth to God's ear, sir.
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Misdemeanor and felony charges result from pretending to be vet
News stories often report people's bizarre actions, especially when they do not work out as planned. Stories of con artists generally fall into this category and, once caught, many con artists end up facing criminal charges. In Ohio, a woman...
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Four Options for Handling Your Reckless Driving Ticket
When you’re accused of reckless driving, you have options. One of the first choices you need to make is how you’re going to handle case. Do you want to handle it yourself, ignore it, or hire an attorney? Let’s see how those choices work. 1. Ignore it. It’s A choice, but it’s not a good [...]
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WHEN IS OBSCENE, OBSCENE?
Ira Isaacs was sentenced on January 17 to four years in a U.S. district court following a five-count “obscenity” guilty verdict handed down last April by a federal jury. Isaacs, known as a “shock porn artist,” has achieved national and international attention for producing films with titles like Mako’s First Time Scat, Gang Bang Horse (Pony Sex Game), and Hollywood Scat Amateurs. The titles speak for themselves. No elaboration needed. The jury was forced to watch hours of these kinds of videos (mostly females engaged in sex acts involving animals and human feces) in order to reach its decision that they were indeed obscene. The U.S. Department of Justice Obscenity Prosecution Task Force, which was formed during the George W. Bush Administration to investigate hard-core pornography at the urging of social conservative groups, initiated the prosecution.
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Florida Probation Rules, Violation of Probation and Probation Violation Defense Lawyer
Judge Denies West Boca Mom Probation Break Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Stephen Rapp denied Wilson's request to stop the regular check-ins during the remainder of her five-year probation term. The sentence began in December 2009 after Wilson, now 49, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter by culpable negligence.Wilson's attorney submitted the request Jan. 31, describing her as a "model probationer" who now needs to travel frequently for her job.The State Attorney's Office agreed with the proposed change, and Brondolo's parents, Jill and Chris, also didn't object, said prosecutor Andrew Slater.Along with the probation, Wilson's sentence also required a psychological evaluation, a meeting with the Brondolos, and service as a spokesperson to raise awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning, including talks with civic groups and schools using her experience as an example.Wilson fulfilled those conditions, Duncan and Slater said. There was only the question of having to report to about two years more of meetings at a Delray Beach probation office."Ms. Wilson punishes herself daily and will never forget what happened regardless of whether she reports once a month," Duncan said. "She doesn't need that extra reminder." Source, full story.Probation- means a form of community supervision requiring specified contacts with parole and probation officers and other terms and conditions as provided in s. 948.03.Administrative probation - means a form of noncontact supervision in which an offender who presents a low risk of harm to the community may, upon satisfactory completion of half the term of probation, be transferred by the Department of Corrections to non-reporting status until expiration of the term of supervision. Community control- means a form of intensive, supervised custody in the community, including surveillance on weekends and holidays, administered by officers with restricted caseloads. Community control is an individualized program in which the freedom of an offender is restricted within the community, home, or noninstitutional residential placement and specific sanctions are imposed and enforced. Two Types of Probation ViolationsSubstantive Violation of Probation – meaning you have been charged with a new criminal violation. You have been arrested for something new while you are on probation. Technical Violation of Probation - A technical violation is when a probationer either fails to do something that he/she has been ordered to do as part of their probation or he/she does something that was prohibited by probation.Examples of Technical Violations of Probation: a) Failed to notify probation officer of a new change of address b) Failed to successfully complete a drug or alcohol program in a specified time period c) Tested positive for alcohol or drugs d) Failed to file a monthly probation report e) Failed to report to your probation officer f) Failed to pay required court costs or fees associated with probation g) Probationer left the county or state jurisdiction without prior approval h) To be untruthful to your probation officerSource: AVVOAbout the Florida Department of CorrectionsThe Florida Department of Corrections (DC) is the third largest state prison system in the country with a budget of $2.4 billion, just over 100,000 inmates incarcerated and another 115,000 offenders on active community supervision. The DC has 146 facilities statewide, including 68 prisons, 40 work/forestry camps, one treatment center, 33 work release centers, five road prisons and one boot camp. About three quarters of its staff of more than 25,000 employees are either certified correctional officers or probation officers. The average DC employee is 41 years old and has been with the agency for almost nine years. There were no prison escapes from a major prison last fiscal year.In August 2012, the Florida Department of Corrections housed 100,272 inmates in its 60 state prisons (including seven private prisons), and supervised almost 115,000 active offenders on community supervision at 156 probation offices throughout the state.The Department employs approximately 23,700 employees, the majority of whom are Correctional Officers or Correctional Probation Officers.Florida’s recidivism rate has dropped to 30%, which means almost one of every three inmates released from a Florida prison returns to prison in Florida within three years. (This does not include the number of inmates who return to county jails, federal prisons or prisons in other states. (source)Florida Probation Violation Defense Lawyer The law Office of Andrew D Stine is committed to representing those Probationers who have violated their Probation or are about to be violated by their Probation Officers.First, the Probationer must understand they have due process rights. The Probationer must have notice of the condition for which the violation is alleged. Probationers must not be misled by rules that have ambiguous or subjective meanings, which their Probation Officers may attach to their probation order or requirements.Second, the Probationer must have notice of the violation, and be properly charged with the violation. This means the warrant or affidavit of violation must be specific and all the terms must be clear. Moreover, a trial court cannot find a violation of a Probationer for a term not contained within their probation order or alleged within the warrant or affidavit. In Florida the most common types of Probation Violations are substantive and technical. Substantive violations occur when the Probationer commits a new crime violation. Technical violations occur when the Probationer omits to complete a condition or willfully violates a condition of his probation. Florida law allows a Probationer to receive the maximum penalty, which the Probationer faced when the original criminal charge was filed.Free consultation 24/7: Call West Palm Beach criminal defense lawyer Andrew D. Stine, P.A. at (561) 832-1170. Se habla español.Distributed by Viestly
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What Are The Consequences Of Improper Drug Prescription In NYC?
A New York City doctor who operates what is known as a “pill mill” may be guilty not only of narcotics offenses for illegally dispensing medications, but is also likely to be charged with Medicaid or Medicare fraud. Typically, physicians who may be accused of running a pill mill are physicians with specialties that may [...]
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Sheehy, Stubbs & Tolmie on Defences to Homicide for Battered Women
Elizabeth A. Sheehy , Julie Stubbs and Julia Tolmie (University of Ottawa - Faculty of Law (Common Law) , University of New South Wales (UNSW, Australia) - Faculty of Law and University of Auckland) have posted Defences to Homicide for...
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Political World Roiled, as Medicare Fraud Raid Targets Senator Menendez’s Close Friend
A raid on the clinic of Dr. Salomon Melgen -- the culmination of a long Medicare fraud investigation -- has roiled the political world. ![Melgen-los-angeles-health-care-fraud.jpg]()
Dr. Melgen is a close friend of New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, who flew on the eye doctor’s private jet to the Dominican Republic on three separate occasions. Those acts earned Menendez a slap on the wrist from the Senate Ethics Committee. (Menendez responded by reimbursing the doctor $50,000 for the trips.)
A right wing website, The Daily Caller, has accused Menendez of having relationships with under-aged prostitutes during those trips to the Dominican Republic, allegations the senator strongly denies. According to a spokesperson for his office “all those allegations… of engaging in prostitution are absolutely false… Senator [Menendez] has known Melgen for years, and his travel on Melgen’s plane on three occasions has been reported and reimbursed required by the rules.”
Dr. Melgen contributed over $400,000 over two decades to [mostly] Democratic candidates.
An anonymous tipster, who contacted the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in 2012 under the name “Peter Williams,” made the allegations that the Senator had been with the prostitutes.
It’s obviously too early in the investigation to know exactly what happened and who did what wrong, with respect to the fraud charges.
But you can learn a key lesson, if you’ve been arrested for Medicare fraud or investigated for a Southern California white-collar crime. And that lesson is this: what you don't know (about your case, the law, anything) CAN hurt you.
If you don’t understand the charges you face -- or don't know what the government knows about what you did (or believes you did) -- you may be less than strategic with your legal response. There is a solution, though: leverage the services of a competent, respected Los Angeles fraud attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group, to get a handle on your legal situation and build a stalwart defense.
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Dr. Melgen is a close friend of New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, who flew on the eye doctor’s private jet to the Dominican Republic on three separate occasions. Those acts earned Menendez a slap on the wrist from the Senate Ethics Committee. (Menendez responded by reimbursing the doctor $50,000 for the trips.)
A right wing website, The Daily Caller, has accused Menendez of having relationships with under-aged prostitutes during those trips to the Dominican Republic, allegations the senator strongly denies. According to a spokesperson for his office “all those allegations… of engaging in prostitution are absolutely false… Senator [Menendez] has known Melgen for years, and his travel on Melgen’s plane on three occasions has been reported and reimbursed required by the rules.”
Dr. Melgen contributed over $400,000 over two decades to [mostly] Democratic candidates.
An anonymous tipster, who contacted the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in 2012 under the name “Peter Williams,” made the allegations that the Senator had been with the prostitutes.
It’s obviously too early in the investigation to know exactly what happened and who did what wrong, with respect to the fraud charges.
But you can learn a key lesson, if you’ve been arrested for Medicare fraud or investigated for a Southern California white-collar crime. And that lesson is this: what you don't know (about your case, the law, anything) CAN hurt you.
If you don’t understand the charges you face -- or don't know what the government knows about what you did (or believes you did) -- you may be less than strategic with your legal response. There is a solution, though: leverage the services of a competent, respected Los Angeles fraud attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group, to get a handle on your legal situation and build a stalwart defense.
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Takahashi on Molecular Neuroeconomics of Crime and Punishment
Taiki Takahashi (Hokkaido University) has posted Molecular Neuroeconomics of Crime and Punishment: Implications for Neurolaw (NeuroEndocrinology Letters, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Criminal behaviors have been associated with risk, time and social preferences in economics (Becker, 1968; Davis,...
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Judge Orders 500 Jurors Summoned for George Zimmerman Trial
At a hearing today, Judge Debra Nelson ordered the clerk to summon 500 prospective jurors for George Zimmerman's trial for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, scheduled for June 10.
The...
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Disabled Carnival Cruise Ship Arrives in Mobile
A cheerful song for the beleaguered, hungry, cruise passengers about to depart the filthy Carnival cruise ship, which just arrived in Mobile, AL. after five days of conditions from hell and being...
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Republicans Filibuster Chuck Hagel's Nomination
Republicans today filibustered the nomination of Chuck Hagel as defense secretary. Will it matter?
Both sides still think the former GOP senator from Nebraska will be confirmed, but the filibuster...
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"Rights groups urge India to reject new sexual violence law"
From Jurist: Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy websites] called Tuesday for significant alterations [press release] to India's new criminal law on violence against women. The new law [text] was signed [JURIST report] by President Pranab Mukherjee...
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"Class Action Granted in Second of Three Stop-and-Frisk Cases"
FourthAmendment.com summarizes this post from Law.com. In part: The second of three major cases alleging the New York City Police Department engages in an unconstitutional pattern of stopping and frisking people without a reasonable suspicion that they are engaged in...
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CAREER OFFENDER DENIED RIGHT TO WITHDRAW PLEA
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the appeal of Isaiah Earl Thomas, challenging the trial court’s denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea to distributing less than fifty kilograms of marijuana, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, and possessing a firearm following a conviction for domestic violence.
At the time of his plea the court told him that he faced a maximum sentence of life in prison. Both his attorney and the Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA)stated as the plea hearing that the advisory sentencing guidelines were between 84 and 90 months. The AUSA stated that with Thomas’ record he may well get over 90 months.
The Pre-sentence report recommended that he be treated as a career offender with advisory sentencing guidelines of 262 months to 327 months. Prior to sentencing, Thomas moved to withdraw his plea arguing inter alia that he had not been informed of the likely guidelines. The court denied his motion and sentenced him to 327 months.
In upholding the 327 month sentence the appellate court pointed to precedents allowing above guidelines sentences and allowing sentences where the defendant had not been informed of the possibility of a a career offender sentence where the defendant was informed of the maximum sentence. The court pointed out that the AUSA informed Thomas he was likely to get an above guidelines sentence and that the plea hearing had been quite extensive.
Yet it hardly seems fair to sentence someone to a sentence in excess of three times what he is told the guidelines indicate. While Thomas may have expected a sentence above the advisory guidelines (90+ months) sentence he apparently had no idea He was going to get a 327 month sentence. It’s a big difference!
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Obdachlose Frau in Berlin vergewaltigt
In einem leerstehenden Haus in Berlin soll eine 33-jährige Frau so schwer vergewaltigt worden sein, dass sie zeitweise in Lebensgefahr schwebte. Die obdachlose Frau soll das Haus in Berlin Moabit betreten haben, um sich vor der kalten Nacht zu schützen. Ein Nachbar hörte am späten Abend Schmerzensschreie aus dem Haus und rief die Polizei. . . . → Read More: Obdachlose Frau in Berlin vergewaltigtÄhnliche Beiträge:Vergewaltigung frei erfunden – FalschaussageVergewaltigung, Nymphomanin oder Beides?Anklage wegen mutmaßlichem Mord in KioskProstituierte erfindet Entführung und VergewaltigungFreispruch vom Vorwurf der Vergewaltigung nach dreimonatiger
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