Will the real liberal please stand up? An interesting and heated verbal battle between actor Ben Affleck and talk show host Bill Maher over Islam as a religion on Maher's show. Also chiming in: Nicholas Kristof, Michael Steele, and author Sam... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Affleck vs. Maher on the Islam Religion
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Concurrence laments "trend" of federal prosecutors seeking "significantly enhanced terms of imprisonment under the guise of 'relevant conduct'"
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Could we reduce recidivism with tattoo removal prison programming?
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People v. McHugh
According to sources, the instant case involves three kinds of indictment against all accused ordered by the lower court after trial and hearing of evidences, as regards respective charges against them. They move for inspection of the Grand Jury minutes and for dismissal of the instant indictment, on the ground that it was not founded on legally sufficient evidence. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is granted in all respects. The first count of the indictment accuses the offenders of a violation of Section 170.10, subd. 3, of the Penal Law as follows: forgery in the second degree, committed as follows: 'The corporation, and an officer in the Corporation doing business as engaged in Motor Sales, on or about the 30th day of September, 1974, with intent to defraud, deceive and injure another, falsely made, completed and altered a written instrument, of which the following is a copy, the same being and purporting to be and calculated to become and to represent,…
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Summary suspension of a driver’s license after DUI arrest: an explanation of Illinois law
Getting arrested for a DUI can be a scary ordeal. In most cases, a driver is driving late at night and suddenly pulled over for a traffic violation. Once the police officer approaches the vehicle and detects even a slight odor of an alcoholic beverage, a DUI investigation begins. In all likelihood, once the DUI investigation begins, the officer has already made up his mind as to impaired driving due to bloodshot and glassy eyes, and an odor of alcohol. Once placed under arrest, a driver faces severe penalties of their driving privileges, most of which will depend on whether it is their first or subsequent DUI, and whether or not they refused to take a breath, blood, or urine test. Contrary to popular belief, there is no penalty for refusing the field sobriety tests at the scene, or the portable breath test. The suspension on the driver’s license occurs only with the chemical testing after the arrest, usually by way of a breathalyzer. The suspension is known as a Statutory…
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UNAMIMOUS SUPREME COURT REINFORCES DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO CHALLENGE BREATH TEST RESULTS IN OHIO DUI/OVI CASES
For three decades, lawyers and judges have been misinterpreting the case of State v. Vega. In Vega, the Ohio Supreme Court held defendants in DUI/OVI cases may not attack the general reliability of breath-testing machines. Some lawyers and judges interpret Vega as if it says defendants are not permitted to make any challenge to the breath test result. This misinterpretation of the Vega decision may exist in part because most people have not actually read the decision. It's like the telephone game where the statement made by the first person in the game is modified drastically by the time the statement is repeated by the last person in the game. A few days ago, the Ohio Supreme Court clarified the holding of Vega in a case which will hopefully end the abuse of defendants' rights resulting from the misinterpretation of Vega. The recent case is Cincinnati v. Ilg. In Ilg, the defendant took a breath test on an Intoxilyzer 8000, blew over .080, and was charged with…
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Matter of Devon R. and Matter of Michael OO..cont
The criminal court concluded that the respondent was a person in need of supervision, treatment or confinement and he was adjudicated to be a juvenile delinquent. Thereafter, upon the Court's own motion and with the consent of the Law Guardian, a finding that respondent is a PINS was substituted for a finding that he was a juvenile delinquent akin to Matter of Devon R. and Matter of Michael OO. and based upon the evidence adduced at the dispositional hearing respondent was placed in the custody of the Administration for Children's Services with a further direction that he be placed with LW for 12 months. The order placing the respondent with ACS was based upon the Court's determination that he required supervision and placement, that continuation of respondent in his own home would not be in his best interests, that reasonable efforts had been made to maintain respondent in the community by substituting a PINS petition for the juvenile delinquency petition and…
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Case o' The Week: Better Late than Never - Aguilera-Rios and Waiver of Fed. R. Crim. Pro. 12(b)(3) arguments
Should a defendant be convicted for illegal reentry, when he actually had a legal right to be in the States and not be removed? The government things so. The Ninth, happily, does not.United States v. Aguilera-Rios, 2014 WL 4800292 (9thCir. Sept. 23, 2014), Ord. & Amend. Opinion, decision available here.The Hon. Judge Marsha BerzonPlayers: Decision by Judge Berzon, joined by Judge Pregerson and visiting Judge Murphy. Big win for Ass’t Federal Defender Kara Hartzler, Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. Facts: Aguilera-Rios was a LPR convicted of Cal. Penal Code § 120121(c)(1). Id.at *1. He appeared before an IJ, who found him “subject to removal as charged.” Aguilera-Rios was then removed to Mexico. Id.He was later charged with attempted entry after deportation. Id. He moved to dismiss the indictment, challenging the earlier removal proceedings. Id.That motion was denied, he was convicted, sentenced, and removed. Id.…
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"Concurrence laments "trend" of federal prosecutors seeking "significantly enhanced terms of imprisonment under the guise of 'relevant conduct'""
Doug Berman at Sentencing Law & Policy excerpts the concurrence by Judge Torruella of the First Circuit.
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Jacksonville man arrested in May hit-and-run death
Police arrested a Jacksonville man four months after he was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run accident that killed a pedestrian. The 22-year-old driver initially said he thought he hit a mailbox on New Berlin Road about 9:45 p.m. one May evening, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The driver did not stop at the time of the crash, but did call his insurance company the next morning to file a claim about hitting the mailbox, the newspaper reported. The driver then hired a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney the following day after hearing about the death in media reports. The driver was charged with failure to leave information at the scene of an accident. That Jacksonville Traffic Charge is a second-degree misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of six months in the county jail. Given the circumstances and that the crash caused a death, there is a significant possibility that more charges will be filed in this Jacksonville Traffic Case, and that this arrest is…
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White Collar Crime in Orange County, California
White collar crime involves illegal activity that is done for the sole purpose of financial gain to the individual being accused and typically takes place in a businesses or corporation. It doesn’t matter whether the business is a small, “mom and pop” business or a large corporation. Any theft of funds, fraud, etc., is a crime and falls under the category of “White Collar Crime”. Here are some examples and explanations of white-collar crimes: Embezzlement: Embezzlement is one of the most common, and most often charged, white-collar crimes. Basically it is a theft involving an employee stealing from their employer. The accused is typically a person who has been placed in a position of trust, has access to money coming into and going out of the business and, has a certain amount of control. It is a premeditated act, which requires a degree of sophistication, planning and covering up. It usually involves the theft of money,…
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SHOULD TAMPA BAY CIRCUIT JUDGE WHO ABUSED SENTENCING DISCRETION IN CHILD PORN CASES RESIGN?
A Circuit Judge was recently slapped on the wrist by the Second District Court of Appeal for abusing his discretion in child porn cases. From the appeals opinion it's been a long time coming. This is a judge who was reversed because he implied that he would never consider giving a lighter sentence in these cases no matter what the particular facts of the case even though a psychologist found that the defendant was a low risk for recidivism. Part of the problem is that judges are often taught by the cases they here. Judges who are in special divisions such as habitual offender divisions or sex offender divisions habitually hand out longer sentences even after they leave those specialty divisions. Rather than funneling all of these cases to special divisions perhaps it would be more humane for the judges as well as for the defendants to have these cases parsed out among all of the judges. It's not unusual for judges who routinely give out…
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Two Arrests Made In Minnesota State Fair Brew Theft
Two men have been charged with stealing more than $100,000 in cash from the beer and wine exhibit at this year’s Minnesota State Fair. Jordan Strickland, 23, and Antonio Washington, 20, face charges of interfering with commerce and using a gun in a crime of violence in connection with the State Fair robbery. According to police documents, Washington and Strickland entered the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild exhibit after closing time on Friday, August 29. Washington allegedly pointed a gun at an employee who was organizing the money from the registers while Strickland acted as a lookout. The pair forced the employee and another employee to sit in chairs, where they were then tied, taped and incapacitated. The thieves then made off with the day’s take – a hefty $104,000. Washington was arrested a week later in Faribault after a search of his vehicle uncovered a revolver that matched the description of the gun used during the robbery. Strickland was arrested last…
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The evidence presented to the Grand Jury here was purely circumstantial
According to a Nassau County Grand Larceny Attorney, a defendant filed an appeal from a judgment of the County Court, Nassau County, rendered June 3, 1977, convicting him of attempted grand larceny in the third degree, after a nonjury trial, and imposing sentence. After hearing on the appeal, the Court ruled that judgment appealed from is reversed on the law. Defendant was indicted for the crimes of grand larceny in the third degree and criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree. It was alleged that he had stolen certain property from a certain Company in Nassau County. Admittedly, the criminal defendant drove with a man named S to the store and waited in the car while S went inside. Fifteen minutes later S emerged from the store with an armful of clothing worth $500 and jumped into the car. They drove through the parking lot and turned onto Northern Boulevard, pursued by a radio patrol car. The officer in pursuit saw articles of clothing being thrown out of…
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First Amendment 101
Danielle Citron compensates for her ignorance of First Amendment law with her certainty: Disclosures of private communications involving nude images do not enjoy rigorous First Amendment protection. They involve the narrow set of circumstances when the publication of truthful information can be punished. Slate, All States Should Outlaw Revenge Porn. Laypeople don’t know that Citron is wrong and have no reason to doubt this bald assertions, and fellow academics are afraid of being called names for challenging zealots, so it falls to practicing lawyers to point out that this is the state of First Amendment law: Speech is presumptively protected. Content-based restrictions on speech are presumptively void. For a content-based restriction on speech to pass muster, the restricted speech must fall (at least mostly) within one of several narrowly defined categories of unprotected speech: Advocacy intended, and likely, to incite imminent lawless action; Obscenity; Defamation;…
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Michael Phelps Checks Into Treatment
Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps checked into a alcohol treatment facility after his second DUI arrest. I mention his problem because some folks in Tennessee think about doing the same thing if they are arrested for a DUI. Tennessee recently enacted some new laws about certain benefits of getting into a alcohol treatment . Tennessee enacted the Recidivism Reduction Act of 2014 which allows for jail credit for inpatient and outpatient treatment on second and third offense DUI cases in Tennessee. The point is do not just jump into a treatment program without first contacting a DUI defense lawyer. The act was designed to give post judgment credit for alcohol treatment. The act does allow for post judgment credit , but it needs some attention to make sure you get the credit. You can now get jail credit for treatment on a DUI third offense as well as a second offense DUI and get jail credit for intensive out patient treatment. The teaching point from…
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Can a DWI or DUI be Expunged in Virginia?
Find out if your DWI/DUI charge can be expunged in VA. For a free case strategy session, contact me at 540.318.5824. © marketing for Andrew Flusche, 2014. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh The post Can a DWI or DUI be Expunged in Virginia? appeared first on Andrew Flusche.
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Ever Wonder Where the Judge Was When You Were Waiting for Your Case to be Called?
As you sit anxiously in the, crowded, gloomy courthouse waiting for your case to be called, you glance at your watch. 30 minutes pass, then another 15, and then another, but still, no sign of the judge. Maybe he’s stuck in traffic, or maybe his car broke down. Whatever the reason for his tardiness, it must be for a valid reason, you naively think to yourself as the day continues to pass you by. While all of these possible explanations for a judge’s tardiness appear to be reasonable, select individuals at the Orange County and Kern County Superior court may have found themselves waiting excessively for an entirely different reason - not because of an issue with their judge’s car, but rather, an issue with his morality.Two California Judges Involved in Sex Scandal with Women Inside Their Chambers Orange County Superior Court Judge Scott Steiner and Kern County Superior Court Judge Cory Woodward were punished by The Commission on Judicial Performance after they…
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People v. McHugh...cont
Whereas in the present case, a criminal statute employs the word 'false', it requires proof of something more than the untrue. Its use imports an intention to deceive. It implies an evil intent, a corrupt motive, or an intent to perpetrate some treachery or fraud. The law does not intend prosecutions for words written in vanity, boast, feign, silliness or the like, nor should citizens be compelled to defend their written answers to non-essential questions propounded by beaurocratic busybodies. The use of the words 'knowingly' and 'falsely' imply otherwise. It seems clear, therefore, that the false statement or information must be material to the written instrument in which it is contained. There must be a sufficient nexus between that which the complete instrument is intended to accomplish and those portions of it which are not accurate. The inaccurate facts or statements must be such as will determine the effectiveness of the whole writing or go…
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Hernandez on Naturalizing Immigration Imprisonment
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández (Capital University Law School) has posted Naturalizing Immigration Imprisonment (California Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Only recently has imprisonment become a central feature of both civil and criminal immigration law enforcement. Apart...
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