"Confronting Cognitive 'Anchoring Effect' and 'Blind Spot' Biases in Federal Sentencing: A Modest Solution for Reforming a Fundamental Flaw"
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Sunday Night Open Thread
On my agenda: Homeland and the Good Wife. Here's a new 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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Should We Ever Have LWOP for Juveniles?
Since the Supreme Court, acting as it so often does on its own tastes, outlawed mandatory LWOP for juvenile murderers, there has been a raging debate whether LWOP should ever be allowed for adolescent killers. You can guess which side academia, the press and the one-direction-only defense bar take.This grisly story will not make them reconsider, because nothing makes them reconsider. That's because, despite their demand for "evidence-based sentencing," they are not about to take an honest look at any actual evidence when it undermines their predetermined position.
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"Judge Rejects Defense That FBI Illegally Hacked Silk Road—On a Technicality"
From Wired, following up on an earlier post: But the Judge’s rejection of that argument comes down to what may be seen as a fateful technicality: she argues that even if the FBI did hack the Silk Road server, Ulbricht...
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Ebola, Race and Criminal Justice
Ebola screening of persons on incoming flights, and the concomitant implicit threat of detention and possible coercive quarantine, is deployed disproportionately against "people of color," to use the current politically correct phrase. Q: Why, then, haven't the Usual Whiners against racial disproportionality been at the top of their lungs in protest? A: Because even they understand that the government's response, though grossly racially disproportionate, has nothing to do with race. It has to do with behavior. Specifically, it has to do with the higher-than-average prospect that persons on those particular flights have come in contact with the virus.Q: So why do Whiners refuse to understand that racial disproportionality in important areas of the criminal justice system -- e.g., concentrating police patrols in high crime areas, and stiffer sentencing for those with long records or histories of violence --…
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California Non-Capital Exoneration
"Woman behind bars 17 years walks free after judge says she's innocent," is by Corina Knoll of the Los Angeles Times. There are document links in the article. A woman convicted of murder and imprisoned for 17 years walked out...
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"Will Oscar Pistorius serve any prison time for killing Reeva Steenkamp?"
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Judge Kamins Resigns, Hynes's Fate Unknown
Justice Barry Kamins (left) and Charles Hynescourtesy of http://www.vosizneias.comNew York State Supreme Court Justice Barry Kamins has announced his retirement. That was a smart move, since it allows him to exit stage left gracefully and seemingly on his account. That he was run out of office after being caught flagrantly disregarding basic legal rules of which he was certainly aware, and that his forced removal was all but guaranteed had he not quit now, is beside the point. Kamins, an important and well known figure in local legal circles, is a nobody in the eyes of the general public, and his departure caused nary a ripple in the local press. But, it does serve as a reminder: the fate of Charles Hynes is still unresolved.As now former Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes entered the twilight of his last term, he found himself engaged in an increasingly contentious re-election campaign. Ordinarily, DAs can remain in office forever, if they choose, regardless of…
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Residential Burglary In Middlesex County, New Jersey
I have been defending clients charged with residential burglaries and other crimes in New Jersey for over 15 years. In my professional capacity as a criminal lawyer, I have cross-examined countless victims in burglary cases over the years, and the reaction is always the same. Disbelief and outrage. I know how upset they are. Not only are they angry about the theft that has occurred, but they feel violated because a total stranger entered their house to do it. In 2013 there were a string of residential burglaries in Middlesex County, many of them occurring in my hometown of East Brunswick. East Brunswick Police advised residents that the break-ins were occurring during the day. They described that the suspects would walk around the neighborhood and simply knock on doors. If nobody was home, they would walk around to the back of the house and either break a window, or pry a door to gain entry. In November of 2013, three arrests were eventually made, which seemed…
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Case o' The Week: Bust a Deal, Face the Wheel -- Breach of 11(c)(1)(C) deals and Morales-Heredia
Bust a deal, face the (DJ) wheel. United States v. Morales-Heredia, 2014 WL 5018109 (9thCir. Oct. 8, 2014), decision available here.Players: Decision by Judge Wardlaw, joined by CJ Kozinski and Judge Fisher. Big win for CD Cal AFPD Jonathan Libby. Facts: Morales-Heredia (“Morales”) plead guilty to a standard fast-track for illegal reentry. Id. at *4. Morales made standard concessions: early plea, proceed by Information, no pretrial motions, no appeal. Id. The gov’t promised to recommend -4 OL for a fast-track dispo, and to recommend low-end. The agreement also included 3 years of supervised release (despite USSG guidance againstS/R terms for illegal reentry cases). Id.Both parties agreed not to seek a variance from this 11(c)(1)(C) deal. Id. At sentencing, the gov’t recommended the low end – but in the sentencing memo the AUSA detailed Morales’ criminal history, arguing it showed a “consistent disregard for both the criminal and…
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Warrantless Stops 101: Did a Seizure Occur?
Sorting out Fourth Amendment issues in the context of warrantless stops can be tricky. I like to break the case down into five basic questions.
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There is a Difference Between Reckless Driving and Careless Driving in Florida
In Florida, there is a critical difference between careless driving and reckless driving, and that difference can be significant when it comes to what the state can do to punish a driver based on his/her driving. Careless driving in Florida is not defined well, but the statute discusses the obligation to drive in a careful and prudent manner with regard to all of the circumstances so as not to endanger the life, limb or property of another person. Reckless driving in Florida is defined as driving in a manner that knowingly disregards the safety of other people and property. For driving to be reckless, the manner of driving must be likely to cause death or serious bodily injury to another. Based on those definitions, it is hard to get a clear picture of the difference between careless driving and reckless driving. However, the effects can be severe. If we are just talking about the driving, careless driving is a simple traffic ticket and a fine. Reckless driving is a…
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Oklahoma AG requests additional delay before state gets back to executions
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Hazing in sports and legal ramifications
As a former resident of NJ, I was horrified to learn of the hazing incidents that took place at Sayerville War Memorial High School in Sayerville, NJ. It's unknown whether this particular form of hazing is something new this year or if it's been going on for years. As the case is still under investigation, details are still sparse. The few details that have been leaked are quite horrific. Apparently, upperclassmen on the varsity football team would periodically grab a freshman football player, turn off the lights, hold that young man down and precede to assault the boy. Oftentimes, the assaults were sexual in nature and included the forceful insertion of an upperclassmen's finger into the rectum of the young boy. Sometimes the boy would be forced to suck on the finger that had been forcefully shoved into his rectum. For most people, this type of behavior is unthinkable. However, hazing is commonplace in sports,…
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New facility for tackling cyber-crime opens | #INTERPOL
New facility for tackling cyber-crime opens | UK Police News – Police Oracle.Filed under: Interpol Red Notice, Interpol Red Notice Removal Attorneys - McNabb Associates, Red Notice
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Massachusetts State Police Arrest Drunk Driver Who Crashed after Driving Wrong Direction
There are some people who regularly drink alcohol to the point of intoxication and then get behind the wheel of a car. While it may seem like a normal thing for some, driving a 2,000-pound vehicle while drunk is actually one of the most dangerous things imaginable. Not only is the drunk driver taking a risk of hurting himself or herself, it is risk taken on behalf of others without their knowledge or consent. Each year, across the nation and in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, lives are ruined and lost due to drunk driving car crashes. According to recent news story from the Boston Globe, police were called to the scene of accident caused by a drunk driver. Authorities are reporting that the suspected drunk driver was driving his motor vehicle in the wrong direction of the highway when he crashed into another car.
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Nassau County Police Form 38 ...cont
The plan operated to the apparent satisfaction of all concerned until February 11, 1974 when the Nassau County Police, armed with a warrant, arrested an agent of defendant, searched his home and seized records relating to the operation of the plan. Visibly upset, defendant told the associate to destroy any records relating to the scheme in his possession and to instruct the other agents to do the same. The following morning, the criminal defendant fled to home in New Jersey after first burning his own records. There then ensued what can best be described as a mad scramble to secure the funds necessary to pay the investors. During that period, defendant assured his agents that all investors would be paid and to continue to take in new funds. On February 28, 1974, defendant and associate Merlo met at New Jersey to arrange for the payment of investors. After his arrest by Interpol on June 29, 1974, defendant was returned to the United States that October in the custody of…
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Studies and Coding
In almost every debate about policy, someone asserts confidently that "studies show" whatever supports their position. However, what "studies show" is not necessarily so. Occasionally on this blog we highlight why the neat little bottom line result that makes the newspaper may not be true. Sometimes, the reason involves inherent difficulties in studying a particular area, fully disclosed by the researcher, but deemed too complicated for a newspaper article. Sometimes it is simple sloppiness on the part of the researcher. In the worst case, it represents intentional manipulation by an agenda-driven researcher intent on producing "evidence" for a predetermined position.Eugene Volokh has this comment at VC on a study that purports to show that Supreme Court Justices are more likely to vote for protection of a speaker in First Amendment cases if they are ideologically aligned with that speaker.Before studiers can crunch…
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HOW THE DEFENSE MAY SHOW YOUR BLOOD ALCOHOL IS LOWER THAN YOUR BREATHALYZER
You had several drinks at the bar before you drove home. Police stopped you for a moving violation and arrested you for DUI. At the police station, you blew the breathalyzer. The reading was over the legal limit. Your friend, who was a passenger in the car, swears that you did not show any signs of impairment when you were driving. With the help of an expert, it may be possible to prove that your blood alcohol was actually lower at the time you were driving. How? Your body absorbs alcohol on a curve. After drinking, your blood alcohol rises and then starts to fall. These are called the absorption and elimination phases. With the help of an expert, your attorney can use a technique called retrograde extrapolation. The expert will look at a variety of factors such as when and what you drank, your size and whether you ate in order to calculate an approximate blood alcohol result for the time you were driving. If you were in the absorption phase when you took the…
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Monday Night Open Thread
This is a very funny video (and unfortunately, very accurate) about civil asset forfeiture from John Oliver's HBO show. This is 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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