During tonight’s State of the Union address, President Obama touched on issues of national security, criminal justice reform, immigration policy and women’s health, all of which involve human rights. It is important to promote awareness of these issues as part of the US national conversation. But as always, the proof is in the pudding. So how do President Obama’s words stack up against actions? Torture. The release of the Senate torture report’s summary makes it clear the U.S. government used torture. Unless those responsible are held accountable, the door to future abuses will remain open. President Obama needs to do much more than just denounce torture, as he did this evening in his address. He must use the power of his office to ensure accountability for torture, enforced disappearances, and other human rights violations detailed in the report. He should also support legislation to prevent these abuses from occurring ever again. Guantanamo. Tonight…
How Did the State of the Union Stack Up On Human Rights?
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Text of Tea Party Response to State of the Union Address
Text of Tea Party Response to the State of the Union Address Delivered by Congressman Curt Clawson (R-FL) Good evening. My name is Curt Clawson. I’m both humbled and grateful to the Tea Party Express for this opportunity tonight. I’m also thankful for my Dad – and especially my Mom – my hero. I’m thankful […]
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Holder’s New Limits on Asset Forfeiture: Big Deal.
Last Friday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder revealed new federal limits on asset forfeiture, possibly due to the growing public awareness and criminal defense outcry concerning the shocking ways in which local police departments and various state agencies have been profiting through the seizure of private property without bothering to arrest the property owner. Literally BILLIONS of dollars in revenue are being collected by various law enforcement agencies around the country using civil forfeiture laws. Police and Money Go Way Back: 1902 cartoon by William Allen Rogers entitled “The Big Chief’s Fairy Godmother’, published in Harper’s Weekly, showing caricature of New York City Police Chief William Stephen Devery seated on a fire hydrant while a fairy showers him with coins. For details on Forfeiture Abuse by Law Enforcement, see: 1. Will Media Coverage Finally Stop Government From Grabbing Your Property In Forfeiture? 2. The…
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Speculating about how new California Supreme Court will now handle capital cases
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Margulies on Military or Civilian Courts for Suspected Terrorists?
Peter Margulies (Roger Williams University School of Law) has posted Detained Suspected Terrorists: Trial in Military Courts or Civilian Courts? (Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Military commissions, like detention in wartime,...
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SOTU: What Obama’s Mandate Means for Cybersecurity, Data Protection, and Enforcement
This guest post was co-authored by Stephen Grossman and Michael Hayes. Stephen and Michael are partners in Montgomery McCracken’s Litigation Department and co-chairs of the firm’s Electronic Discovery practice. Stephen can be reached at 856.488.7767 or at sgrossman@mmwr.com. Michael can be can be reached at 215.772.7211 or at mhayes@mmwr.com. During his State of the Union address last evening, President Obama urged Congress to enact legislation to “better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information.” The President’s call to action comes on the heels of his remarks before the Federal Trade Commission in which he outlined his administration’s latest cybersecurity and data protection proposals. Prompt consideration of the President’s proposals appears to be a hopeful prospect, with the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade set to hold its first related hearing…
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Why Multi-Level Marketing “Million Dollar Earner” Status is Nonsense
Multi-level marketing companies are quick to tout the success of their “million dollar earners.” Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t want to make a million dollars? Except that phrase “million dollar earner” hides the truth: What they don’t clearly mention is that this is cumulative earnings over a number of years, typically between 5 and […]
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Barton Morris presents at National DUI Seminar
The DUI Defense Lawyers Association is an organization of best drunk driving lawyers all over the country with the goal of providing training, guidance, and instruction to its members on how to be the best DUI Defense Lawyers. They accomplish this mission in several ways including email list groups, forensic library access and national seminars featuring the best speakers in DUI related fields including breath and blood alcohol testing, field sobriety testing, Drug Recognition Experts, Forensic Metrology, trial skills and marketing. The Winter 2014 Seminar was held on January 16 -18 in Santa Monica California. Barton Morris was invited to and did present a presentation on winning DUI trial strategies. Barton is now on the DUIDLA faculty. There were approximately 100 members who are DUI lawyers from all over the country in attendance and Barton was well received. Barton’s proven trial skills are what he is known for and were the reason he was selected to be on the…
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Real Estate Broker Sent to Prison for Defrauding Lenders
Mortgage Fraud Blog. Christopher Wayne White, 44, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a real estate broker was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas to 41 months in prison, three years supervised release and ordered to pay $4,029,892, in restitution to victims in three separate fraud cases. The defendant pled guilty on November 21, 2014, to one count of wire fraud. According to documents filed with the court, White made numerous false statements to the mortgage lender in connection with the purchase of a luxury home on Sea Island Drive, Fort Lauderdale. According to court records, White inflated his bank account balances, income, deposit and assets to fraudulently induce the mortgage lender to issue a mortgage loan in excess of $4.9 million dollars. The property was subsequently foreclosed by the lender resulting in substantial losses. In a second case, White pled guilty on November 21, 2014 to six counts of wire fraud. According to court documents,…
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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Nixes Retrial in Dorchester Murder Case
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today denied the Suffolk District Attorney’s efforts to retry a defendant for murder and armed assault with intent to murder, and instead entered findings of not guilty. The name of the case is Commonwealth v. Simpkins. The defendant and the victim were involved in two incidents that resulted in the victim’s shooting death and the defendant’s indictment for murder, armed assault with intent to murder, accessory after the fact to murder, and unlawful possession of firearms. Following trial, a jury found the defendant guilty of the firearms offense and accessory after the fact to murder. However, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the indictments alleging murder and armed assault with intent to murder. The Commonwealth wanted to retry the defendant on those charges, but the defendant argued that based on the evidence at the trial, the judge should have found him not guilty as a…
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WILLFUL IGNORANCE NO DEFENSE FOR FEDERAL MONEY LAUNDERING
Money laundering prosecutions have escalated over the past decade with some devastating effects. Individuals and businesses who have handled “dirty money” can be charged and convicted […]
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Couple Admits Lying to Obtain Mortgages, HELOCs
Mortgage Fraud Blog. Timothy McCabe, 50, and Theresa Morales, 50, formerly of Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara, to bank fraud. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both. According to their plea agreements, the defendants executed a scheme to obtain mortgages, re-financing, and home equity credit lines, totaling $2,580,000, from various financial institutions. In furtherance of the scheme, McCabe and Morales put together loan applications, which contained materially false information as to defendant Morales’ employment and income, and as to the couple’s intent to reside at the properties as owner/occupants. The loan applications were then submitted to the financial institutions, either directly by the defendants, or through Nickel City Funding, a Western New York mortgage broker. Relying on the representations in the loan applications, as well as false verifications…
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Oakland County Narcotics Enforcement Team – NET has questionable practices and motives
Oakland County N.E.T. Practices In Obtaining Drugs and Money Can Border On ‘Improper.’ What Is The Issue? The Oakland County Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET) is responsible for investigating big drug cases anywhere around the county. It works with other law enforcement agencies throughout southeastern Michigan in assisting in the prosecution of narcotics use, sales, distribution, and trafficking. This group, which does important work in helping to protect the public from drug crimes has at times used methods to obtain property and evidence that would be considered overreaching and improper. It begs the question: at what point are procedures not followed – bordering on illegal – in order to seize narcotics and money as well as other items used in drug manufacturing, distribution, and trafficking. Potential Problems In Oakland County, there have been instances of conducting raids without warrants, suspects not being Mirandized…
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Northampton Reckless Driving (90/55) Reduced to Speeding
I was pleased with my recent case results in Northampton, Virginia. One case involved a reckless driving by speed case at 90 mph in a 55 mph zone, in Northampton County, which was reduced to a speeding infraction. The other case involved an accident case where the other driver passed away as a result of the accident. In that case, my client got minimal jail time, even though there was a fatality. DISCLAIMER – EACH CASE IS UNIQUE AND CASE RESULTS DEPEND ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL SITUATION. CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY THE LAWYER. January 12th, 2015 – Northampton Circuit Court, Charge: Reckless driving at 90 mph in a 55 mph zone. Outcome: Reduced to a simple speeding ticket, non-reckless and non-criminal. Fine was only $250.00. January 6th, 2015 – Northampton GDC, Charge: Reckless Driving where the driver that was hit passed away as a result of the…
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Iron County Prosecutors Drop Ag-gag Charges, Law Examined
Four animal activists who were allegedly on private property at a hog farm in Iron County in September have been released from charges of Utah’s agricultural interference law, also known as an ag-gag law. The activists will still face criminal trespass charges, and many are wondering when it comes to ag-gag laws, why trespassing charges […] The post Iron County Prosecutors Drop Ag-gag Charges, Law Examined appeared first on Salt Lake Criminal Defense.
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Work License in Maine
Your driver’s license is a necessity. It helps you get to and from work. Without your driver’s license, you would not be able to get by for very long. Your driver’s license allows you to support yourself and your family. If you cannot get to work reliably, then your employer might decide to let you […] The post Work License in Maine appeared first on The Nielsen Group.
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Westbound traffic blocked on Interstate east of Jerome
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 4 Patrol 218 West Yakima, Jerome, ID 83338-5904 (208) 324-6000 Fax (208) 324-7897 For Immediate Release: 01/21/15 6:50 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office The Idaho State Police is at scene of a crash westbound Interstate 84 at milepost 170, three miles west of the US-93/I-84 Junction. Both westbound lanes are blocked at this time, and traffic is being diverted off the Interstate at the 173 exit. More information will follow when it is available. LL / NEH -------------
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BETTER CALL SAUL
When a federal judge previously quotes Gandhi and warns you that "an eye for eye will only make the whole world blind"…..BETTER CALL SAUL!When the Federal Judge writes that the internal feud between clients "blinded its counsel Bernardo Roman from adhering to the ethical tenets of our profession.. " in a motion for sanctions….BETTER CALL SAUL!When the federal judges summarizes a hearing by writing that there "was no evidence or patently frivolous evidence" to support the Plaintiff's contentions….BETTER CALL SAUL!When the federal judge dismisses your alleged good faith efforts with the zinger "you cannot make A silk purse out of a sow's ear"…BETTER CALL SAUL!!When the federal judge begins the "Conclusion" section of the order with the oft repeated phrase "a man who represents himself has a fool for a client"…BETTER CALL SAUL!And finally, when the court awards over a…
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Update: Westbound traffic blocked on Interstate east of Jerome
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 4 Patrol 218 West Yakima, Jerome, ID 83338-5904 (208) 324-6000 Fax (208) 324-7897 For Immediate Release: 01/21/15 7:50 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office ***Update*** The right lane of travel is open, westbound at milepost 170. Traffic is no longer being diverted off the Interstate at exit 173. LL / SA ********** The Idaho State Police is at scene of a crash westbound Interstate 84 at milepost 170, three miles west of the US-93/I-84 Junction. Both westbound lanes are blocked at this time, and traffic is being diverted off the Interstate at the 173 exit. More information will follow when it is available. LL / NEH -------------
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Argument about extending traffic stop to permit canine sniff
The transcript of the argument in Rodriguez v. U.S. is here.
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