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A Lower Credit Score…Because of a DUI?

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As I’ve mentioned ad nauseum in the past, legislators continue to fall over each other dreaming up newer and harsher penalties for drunk driving.   Result: the costs of getting a DUI have become astronomical — even for a first offense with a relatively low blood alcohol reading.   Just for starters:  car impound fees, bail, attorneys’ fees, criminal fines and court costs, charges for alcohol education classes, installation and maintenance of interlock devices, costs for community service enrollment, and so on.  And then there are the hidden costs of a DUI conviction:  increased auto insurance premiums, lost days of work, possible loss of job, suspended or cancelled professional licensing, loss of security clearance, loss of child custody, inability to rent a car, etc., etc.  See, for example, What Does a DUI Cost?, where the Texas Department of Transportation estimates the total costs of a DWI arrest and conviction…

US District Judge Kopf reports on retroactive implementation of new reduced federal drug guidelines in Nebraska

Terrific SCOTUSblog previews of this week's SCOTUS arguments in Johnson and Yates

Fighting for Justice Even After Exoneration

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It has been more than six years since Walter Swift was exonerated of rape based on DNA evidence, but he still doesn't feel justice has been served. WJBK- FOX Detroit reported that Swift, who spent nearly 26 years behind bars before being freed in 2008, and is now bankrupt, has yet to be compensated for his wrongful conviction from the city of Detroit. According to human rights attorney Julie Hurwitz, who is fighting for Swift's justice, his current bankruptcy could stand in the way of receiving compensation. Swift was convicted of a 1982 rape based in part on a highly questionable eyewitness identification and incomplete forensic testimony and sentenced to 20-40 years behind bars. The Innocence Project accepted Swift's case in 1998 and began requesting searches for the biological evidence in the case. Although all evidence in the case had been lost or destroyed, the investigation began to uncover solid evidence of Swift's innocence. He was freed a decade…

Prior Record Level for Habitual and Repeat Offender Sentencing

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In North Carolina we have a fair number of habitual and repeat offender punishment provisions—laws that increase a defendant’s punishment because of crimes he or she has committed in the past. Today’s post considers how the prior convictions needed to establish those enhancements factor into the defendant’s prior conviction level. The general rule is that the […]

3 reasons you should always request a DOL hearing following a DUI arrest

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Often times I meet with potential clients and one of the first questions they ask is whether they should challenge the proposed license revocation that follows a DUI arrest.  Usually they say they spoke with another attorney or a friend and there is a small chance of prevailing.  Due to this they would rather save the money it costs to challenge the proposed revocation and just deal with it.  In

News Scan

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Several States to Vote on Marijuana Legislation: Voters in several states across the U.S. are will vote today on a variety of bills legalizing the use of marijuana, decriminalizing the possession of the drug, and shortening the amount of time convicted users spend behind bars.  Matt Ferner of the Huffington Post reports that voters in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington D.C. will vote on whether or not adults over the age of 21 should be able to possess and grow marijuana at their homes.  Voters in Florida will decide if marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes.  Californians will vote on proposition 47, which if passed, would reduce the majority of so-called  'nonserious and nonviolent' drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Suspect in SoCal Hit-and-Run Had Several Probation Violations: The Southern California man arrested for a hit-and-run Halloween night that left three young girls dead was driving on a suspended license and had…

An examination of the record indicates that defendant was convicted in 1946

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Defendant moves for re-sentence of a 1964 conviction in this Court. The sentence in question was ten to fifteen years in Prison for Grand Larceny, first degree, as a third felony offender. He contends that his two prior cnvictions (both in Washington, D.C.) do not constitute felonies under Sec. 1941 of the Penal Law, which in effect provides that a court may sentence a defendant as a multiple offender if the previous crimes committed by the defendant in a foreign jurisdiction would constitute criminal felonies if committed in New York. His moving papers and memorandum of law show extensive research and his contentions are fortified with numerous citations of authority. It appears that in April, 1946, defendant was convicted of Robbery in the Second Degree, after trial in the District Court, District of Columbia, and sentenced to a term of from two to six years in prison. Again, in 1956, in the same court, upon his plea of guilty to Attempted Robbery, he was sentenced to prison…

The trial was adjourned until October 24, 2011 ...cont

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Although the filing of the information was not contemporaneous with the filing of the indictment, evidence has been presented by the Office of the District Attorney from which it reasonably may be deduced that the District Attorney, at the time of the filing, had reviewed the substance of the evidence presented to the grand jury and made a determination that the charge of Enterprise Corruption was consistent with the legislative findings as set forth in Article 460 of the Penal Law. In addition thereto, Assistant District Attorney describes in her affirmation several conversations had with Ms. Reiss regarding the progress of the investigation and presentation. The then Executive Assistant District Attorney and Chief of Staff to the District Attorney, affirms that beginning in August, 2010 through December, 2010, she held meetings with Assistant District Attorney and certain bureau chiefs at which meetings progress of the investigation and presentation were discussed in detail…

When the Whistle Blows, What Follows?

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Real estate investment trust American Realty Capital Properties (“ARCP”) recently announced the preliminary findings of an Audit Committee investigation into accounting irregularities and the resulting resignation of its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer. The events surrounding ARCP are a case study of how, within a matter of weeks, an internal report of concerns to the Audit Committee can lead to both internal and external scrutiny: an internal investigation and review of financial reporting controls and procedures, on the one hand; media coverage, securities fraud litigation, and an inquiry by the Securities Exchange Commission, on the other. ARCP stated that the Audit Committee was first informed of “concerns” from an employee on September 7, 2014, which led to the engagement of independent counsel and forensic accountants to assist in an internal investigation. Within two months, the company announced that its financial statements…

Roth on Entrapment

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Jessica A Roth (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law) has posted The Anomaly of Entrapment (Washington University Law Review, Vol. 91, No. 4, 2014) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Now in our second decade after 9/11, we are firmly...

I Do Declare: Submission of Defendant's Affidavits/Declarations in Support of Suppression Motions

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by Bill EastonA defendant who files a suppression motion often faces a common dilemma in both state and federal court. Judges commonly insist on the submission of a defendant's affidavit or declaration before granting an evidentiary hearing in many instances, especially in the context of claims rooted in the Fourth Amendment. In many of these cases, the judge is wrong, and defense counsel should litigate the necessity and content of the affidavit before submitting a declaration from the client. If counsel finally decides to submit such an affidavit, the document should be cautiously drafted by the lawyer with an eye towards its possible use against the defendant should he or she not prevail on the suppression issue.As a threshold matter, in both federal and New York State court, an affidavit/declaration submitted in support of a suppression issue can not be used affirmatively against a defendant by the prosecution in its case in chief at trial. (United States v.…

Businessman Gets 16 Year Prison Sentence for Bogus Real Estate Investments

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Mortgage Fraud Blog. Mohammed Rafikian, aka Mo Kian, 54, Queens, New York, has been re-sentenced to a term of 16 to 50 years in prison after being tried again and re-convicted of holding himself out as an attorney and a registered investment advisor and then stealing $5 million from seven individuals through fraudulent real estate and capital investment transactions. Rafikian was the chairman and chief executive officer of First Investors Capital Corporation, Astoria, Queens.  He also occasionally worked as a paralegal for the law firm of Marcus & Associates, which maintained an office as a subtenant at Rafikian’s Astoria office.  It was the named partner of this law firm whose identity that Rafikian assumed. Rafikian was convicted in August 2014, of one count of first-degree grand larceny, seven counts of second-degree grand larceny, six counts of second-degree criminal impersonation, three counts of first-degree scheme to defraud and three counts of…

2014 Election Results

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Results are coming in from today's elections. Here's a thread to discuss them, and your take on their significance. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Problems enforcing law stopping sex offenders from changing name

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11-4-2014 Oklahoma: A new law is now in effect to keep sex offenders from being able to change their names in Oklahoma. FOX23 discovered a problem right now enforcing it. The new law reads, in part, "No person who is required to register as a sex offender may petition for a change of name." It took effect Saturday. FOX23 called court clerks across Green Country. Of those we reached in Tulsa

Sepinwall on Corporate Criminal Liability

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Amy J. Sepinwall (University of Pennsylvania - Legal Studies Department) has posted two pieces on SSRN about corporate criminal liability. The first is Responsible Shares and Shared Responsibility: In Defense of Responsible Corporate Officer Liability. Here is the abstract: When...

Where to follow marijuana ballot measure results?

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Election night is upon us. I'm a little late in getting this posted as east coast results are already steadily coming in, but better late than never. Here are some resources for following the returns for marijuana related ballot measures. This is not an exhaustive list and there may be...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/mnQoGw2O2dY" height="1" width="1"/>

New Jersey Bail Reform: Public Question on 2014 Mid-Term Ballot

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Election day, 2014. On the ballot for New Jersey voters, is a public question regarding bail reform. The question will ask if New Jersey’s Constitution should be amended to allow judges to deny bail to certain dangerous offenders. This is an absurd proposition, unnecessary, Unconstitutional, and will lead to not only additional litigation to an already overburdened criminal justice system, but will also waste the time of legislators who, ultimately, will have to spend time re-tooling their efforts. The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, is located conveniently in that list of unalienable rights we affectionately refer to as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights guarantees certain God given rights (or human rights, if you prefer), that may not be denied to citizens. Authored largely by James Madison, and ratified in 1791, these amendments were added to assuage the fears of the Antifederalists who hesitated to once again…

Early marijuana initiative votes have DC favoring legalization and Florida supporting but not passing medical marijuana

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Alex does a wonderful job in this post linking to websites for marijuana initiative voting outcomes, and the early results from DC and Florida have already set up an interesting set of political and legal stories to follow in the months and years ahead. In DC, it appears that Initiative...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/bzTifsTF2kA" height="1" width="1"/>

The Senate

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8:30 PST:  Republicans are now projected to hold at least 52 Senate seats in the next Congress.   Party control is not everything, but overall the next Congress should be better for the cause of justice. 
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