This post examines a recent opinion from the Supreme Court of Arkansas: State v. Riley, 2014 WL 5494168 (2014). The court begins its opinion by explaining that the State of Arkansas, which prosecuted Quinton Riley for kidnapping, was appealing “the circuit court's grant of appellee Quinton Riley's motion for a new trial based on juror misconduct.” State v. Riley, supra. As the Supreme Court noted, the “State argues on appeal that the circuit court abused its discretion in granting a new trial and asserts that jurisdiction is proper pursuant to [Arkansas Rule of Appellate Procedure –Criminal] 3(b) and (c) (2014).” State v. Riley, supra. The Supreme Court then explained what, exactly, happened in the Circuit Court:After a two-day jury trial held on December 11–12, 2013, Riley was convicted of kidnapping and sentenced as a habitual offender to life imprisonment. On December 16, 2013, Riley filed…
Kidnapping, the Mistrial and Juror Misconduct
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When It Isn’t A Cop
Police officer Darren Wilson wasn’t indicted for shooting Michael Brown. You shouldn’t be surprised, as Rick Horowitz concludes. Scott Greenfield explains the big lie too many people still believe, the idea that the grand jury in the case isn’t just an indictment machine built into a Potemkin Village of due process for just one case so the masses can go on about their lives. Gideon explores the racial aspect, and Jeff Gamso addresses the silliness of one grand jury dog and pony show promoter. Me? I’m just envious. Here in Arizona, the accused has a due process right to a fair and impartial presentation of the evidence before a grand jury. When the state fails to do that, defense counsel can file a motion to remand arguing the state denied the accused that right. There are all kinds of wonderful cases saying how a grand jury’s ability to determine a case must be based on accurately depicted facts, how the prosecutor plays the role of…
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Will I receive credit for SCRAM?
No. You do not get any type of credit for the SCRAM device because it is not considered custody. Alot of Judges are now requiring SCRAM at DUI Arraignment as a condition of release on second or subsequent DUI offenses....
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News Roundup
Short week, short news roundup. National attention remains focused on Ferguson, Missouri, where attorneys for Michael Brown’s family have weighed in on the prosecutor’s handling of the grand jury proceedings concerning Brown’s shooting. The attorneys “criticized everything from the types of evidence . . . presented to the jury to the way it was presented […]
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Three Chicago Men Charged with Murder in Old Town Shooting
Three Chicago men were charged with murder for the shooting death of a Chicago resident recently. The men are accused of pulling up alongside the victim’s car and opening fire; the victim later died of a gunshot wound to his arm after trying to flee the scene. Co-Defendants and the Felony Murder Rule In August I discussed the case of a young Chicago boy who was charged with the murder of his friend, even though the friend was shot and killed by an off-duty Chicago police officer. The officer killed the victim during an attempted armed robbery. The defendant was charged with murder under what is known as the felony murder rule, which allows all persons involved in the commission of a felony to be charged with first-degree murder for any deaths that occur during the commission of the crime. That same rule may apply to the defendants in this case. At present, they are each being held on charges of murder, though authorities have not yet determined (or have not yet made…
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Shoplifting: Proposition 47's Strange Addition to California's Law of Theft
California's Proposition 47 (Prop 47) reduces a number of California felonies to misdemeanors. I have already blogged that one of Prop 47's most extensive provisions, Penal Code section 490.2, reduces many forms of felony grand theft to misdemeanor petty theft. In that post, I purposefully avoided discussing shoplifting out of considerations of space. In this post, I hope to address Prop 47 shoplifting in the depth it deserves.Proposition 47 adds the crime of "shoplifting" to the California Penal Code. This crime is now enumerated at Penal Code section 459.5, which states:(a) Notwithstanding Section 459, shoplifting is defined as entering a commercial establishment with intent to commit larceny while that establishment is open during regular business hours, where the value of the property that is taken or intended to be taken does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950). Any other entry into a commercial establishment with intent to commit larceny…
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**Update** - Crash near Downey Injures 3
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Idaho State Police District 5 5205 South 5th Ave. Pocatello, Idaho 83204-2299 (208) 236-6466 FAX: (208) 236-6068 For Immediate Release: 11/26/14 8:30 a.m. Please direct questions to the District Office ***Update*** On Tuesday, November 25, 2014, Donna Conder succumbed to injuries she sustained in the crash. DSP Initials SC/DO ***End of update*** On Saturday November 22, 2014, at approximately 1:33 p.m., the Idaho State Police investigated a single vehicle crash on northbound Interstate 15 at milepost 35, near Downey. A 1999 Ford Explorer, driven by Gary Conder, 54 of Pocatello, was headed northbound when his Explorer went off the left shoulder of the roadway and into the median and rolled. Gary Conder and his passenger Donna Conder, 51 of Pocatello were transported by ground ambulance. Kaitlyn Massey, 14…
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Emotion and Evidence in the Ferguson Case
Jesse Washington reports for AP:Anger and despair swept through many parts of America after a Missouri grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson, a white police officer, for killing Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old.What was behind the wave of emotion? Why do so many refuse to accept the grand jurors' choice not to charge the cop with a crime in the death of Brown, who was unarmed? Why is there such disregard for the new evidence released with the decision?* * * "I'm very disappointed and angry," said Shakealia Finley, an economics teacher in Atlanta. "It's a miscarriage of…
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Smoke a Joint and Get Busted for DUI…a Month Later?
How far have we gone in the continuing politically-correct War on Drunk Driving? How about throwing citizens in jail for driving a car — days, weeks or even months after taking drugs or smoking marijuana? Sound ridiculous? Reformers: Trace Law Unfairly Punishes Drug Users Who Are Not DUI Proponents are championing legislation to eliminate harsh penalties for drivers who had traces of illegal drugs in their system but were not driving while impaired. March, 2011. Chicago, IL. About a year ago, a 20-year-old Pekin man ran a stop sign, and the ensuing accident killed his passenger. The driver, Brock Meerseman, had marijuana in his system from having ingested the substance a week or more earlier, according to a blood test done at the hospital after the accident. There was no indication that he was impaired at the time of the accident. Still, under a provision of the Illinois DUI law, Meerseman was cited with driving under the influence and found…
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The Other Ferguson Tragedy
Jason Riley has this column in the WSJ:Racial profiling and tensions between the police and poor black communities are real problems, but these are effects rather than causes, and they can't be addressed without also addressing the extraordinarily high rates of black criminal behavior--yet such discussion remains taboo. Blacks who bring it up are sell-outs. Whites who mention it are racists. (Mr. Dyson accused Mr. Giuliani of "white supremacy.") But so long as young black men are responsible for an outsize portion of violent crime, they will be viewed suspiciously by law enforcement and fellow citizens of all races. Pretending that police behavior is the root of the problem is not only a dodge but also foolish. The riots will succeed in driving business out of town, which means that Ferguson's residents will be forced to pay more at local stores or travel farther for competitive prices on basic goods and services. Many Ferguson residents…
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ON RACE AND RIOTS
On July 12, 1967, Newark, New Jersey erupted into flames and rioting when two white police officers stopped and beat a black cabbie for "passing by them" in his cab. By July 17, 26 people were dead and more than 725 were injured. On December 17, 1979, four City Of Miami police officers beat Arthur McDuffie to death, after he was seen speeding on a motorcycle. In May, 1980, after an all white, all male jury acquitted the officers in Tampa (Judge Lenore Nesbitt acquitted one of the four on a rule 29 motion), residents of Overtown and Liberty City rioted, after a protest at our courthouse- then known as the Metro Justice Building, turned ugly. By the end of that week, as Miami burned, lawyers and litigants were walking into a Justice Building guarded by armed national guard soldiers. The LA Watts riots. The Rodney King riots. Two more riots in the 1980's in Miami over race and the police. The meta-data strongly suggests…
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Young, Black, Alive: Breaking the silence on Brazil’s soaring youth homicide rate
The new “Young Black Alive” campaign is aimed at tackling the underlying human rights issues behind Brazil’s soaring youth homicide rate. © Anistia Internacional Brasil By Atila Roque, Executive Director of Amnesty International Brazil Earlier this week, many people around the world waited with bated breath for a grand jury’s decision in a case where a police officer shot dead an unarmed young black man on the street. While the 9 August shooting of Michael Brown took place in the US suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, the case has a deep resonance here in Brazil. The tragic course of events leading up to the teenager’s death could just as easily have played out on the streets of our cities orfavelas. Of the 56,000 homicides in Brazil every year, 30,000 are young people aged 15 to 29. That means that, at this very moment, a young person is most likely being killed in Brazil. By the time you go to bed, 82 will have died today. It’s like a…
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Stay Safe on Blackout Wednesday, Thanksgiving Weekend
Statistics show that the following stretch of days, from blackout Wednesday through the Sunday night, are the most dangerous days on Minnesota roads. According to statistics from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety, drivers are more likely to end up in a ditch or in a fender bender in this five-day stretch than any other period of the year. As we mentioned in a previous post, distracted driving and drunk driving are two big reasons for the spike in crashes. Distracted driving caused 564 crashes between 1,436 cars during the five-day stretch last year. Thankfully, since people are generally traveling at slower speeds during the winter, there are less fatalities per accident than in the summer. “There may be more ‘fender benders’ in colder, winter weather, but there are also less traffic fatalities,” said David Boxum, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety. If you’re traveling tonight, take it nice and slow.…
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Regulations Approved But Medical Marijuana Still Months Away
After months of debate, and a fair amount of frustration the medical marijuana commission finally approved its draft regulations. A few deadlines were pushed back, and licensing fees may be higher than some investors had hoped, but in the end Maryland is on track to have a functioning medical marijuana program within the next year. Wait scratch that. Within the next two years. Maybe. See the program's draft regulations may be out of the committee's tight grasp, but now they still must be approved by the state health secretary, and a panel of lawmakers including state senators and delegates. Both the secretary and the lawmakers could propose modifications to the regulations, which of course would cause further delays. Only when these two parties finally approve the regulations can potential growers and dispensary owners begin to file their applications, and the real logjam may occur at this point.
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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Lowell Murder Conviction
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today affirmed the murder conviction of a defendant who shot and killed a man in Lowell in 2010. The defendant was looking for his sister’s ex-boyfriend, who had allegedly kidnapped his sister the previous day. While searching for his sister’s ex-boyfriend, the defendant came upon the victim and shot him twice. The name of the case is Commonwealth v. Ortiz. The defendant’s sister had dated a man named Gilberto Cartagena and they had a two-year-old son together. On May 29, 2010, Cartagena allegedly kidnapped the sister and their son and drove them to the Lowell home of his friend. Shortly thereafter, Cartagena drove the sister and their son to Lawrence, where they were able to escape. At some point during the ordeal, the defendant’s sister inadvertently called the defendant’s phone number and the defendant’s voicemail recorded the sister screaming and crying for a few…
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Senator Rand Paul links Ferguson tragedy to harms of the modern drug war
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"Cleveland video shows police shot boy within seconds"
From Reuters: Cleveland officials on Wednesday released a video of the fatal police shooting of a 12-year-old boy that shows him pointing a pellet gun around a park before police arrive and shoot him within two seconds. Tamir E. Rice...
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Thanksgiving Eve Open Thread
Tomorrow is for turkey, but I made lasagne for tonight. In the news, the UK is considering legislation to force internet service providers to keep more user detail records: Prime Minister David Cameron ’s government unveiled a new... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Heroism and Pride in Ferguson
This Reuters story is by far the most heartening I have seen coming out of Ferguson. Here's an excerpt:On Tuesday night, as police and soldiers took up positions in the parking lots of virtually every strip mall and big box store around it, the forecourt of the brightly lit [Ferguson Conoco] gas station was busy with customers.One, a six feet, eight-inch tall man named Derrick Jordan - "Stretch," as friends call him - whisked an AR-15 assault rifle out from a pickup truck parked near the entrance.Jordan, 37, was one of four black Ferguson residents who spent Tuesday night planted in front of the store, pistols tucked into their waistbands, waiting to ward off looters or catch shoplifters.Jordan and the others guarding the gas station are all black. The station's owner is white.Open carry laws and some heroic African American men make for a wonderful kickoff to Thanksgiving.
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Bray: "On Legal Doctrines That Do Many Things"
Through Lawrence Solum's Legal Theory Blog, I learned of this excellent essay that Samuel Bray recently posted on SSRN. Its title is On Doctrines That Do Many Things. Here is the abstract:Every kitchen has two kinds of tools. Some of these tools do many things well, like a chef’s knife. Other tools do only one thing, but they are meant to do that one thing exceedingly well, like a garlic press. This distinction also appears in legal doctrines. Some do one thing and are meant to do it very well. Other doctrines do many different things. They serve multiple functions, though perhaps all imperfectly. Indeed, this is often a basis for criticism. Scholars have criticized many legal doctrines -- from the constructive trust to the Erie doctrine, from the irreparable injury rule to the standing requirement, from the collateral source doctrine to strict scrutiny -- on the grounds that they serve multiple purposes and are therefore incoherent. By contrast, judges seem to…
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