Sonja B. Starr (University of Michigan Law School) has posted Explaining Race Gaps in Policing: Normative and Empirical Challenges on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This piece explores the many kinds of quantitative claims that researchers and commentators regularly make...
Starr on Explaining Race Gaps in Policing
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The Parameters for Pardons
The New York Times invited my participation in its "Room for Debate," on the subject of executive clemency. The immediate cause of the Times's interest in clemency might be the talented movie star and former teenage thug Mark Wahlberg, but there is a much larger move afoot here, signaled by the Administration's massive effort to enlist the defense bar and allied organizations in proposing literally thousands of clemency candidates -- a thoroughly unprecedented approach to pardoning.My take on it in the Times is much what you'd expect from a person holding generally conservative principles: The system is certain to make errors and we should try to correct them. We need to be clear, however, about the further errors we'll make in the attempt, and understand the different, but no less real, set of costs and risks we'll create. Finally, the Constitution should be honored both in its provision of plenary…
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Bribery and Corruption: Difficult Frauds to Find
When fraud happens within an organization’s accounting system, there is often a paper (or digital) trail left behind. It’s unavoidable, as there is a record of something related to the fraud, whether it is a legitimate invoice that was later adjusted, an account balance that was changed, or a fake employee who was added to […]
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Springfield OVI Attorney Charles M. Rowland II
We are proud to be your Springfield OVI Defense Firm! Babb & Rowland is proudly located in Fairborn, Ohio at 2190 Dayton-Yellow Springs Dr. You can find us at Exit 20 (the Fairborn High School Exit) just off I-675. Our offices are conveniently located near our Clark County clients and just a 10-15 minute drive from downtown Springfield. You can find us on the web at www.SpringfieldDUI.com or www.SpringfieldOVI.com. Charles M. Rowland II has regularly appeared in the Clark [Read the full post. . .]
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Retards Killing the Intellectually Disabled
A bit of history.The year was 1989. Johnny Paul Penry was, as even polite folks said in those days, mentally retarded. He was also on death row in Texas. That combination of things, his lawyers said, should be impossible. The berobed ones in Washington agreed to answer whether they were. Sandra Day O'Connor put the question simply in her opinion for the Court.We must also decide whether the Eighth Amendment categorically prohibits Penry's execution because he is mentally retarded. The answer (by a 5-4 vote) was a clear no. Oh, it's something juries ought to be allowed to consider (Texas more-or-less prohibited even that at the time) when deciding what to do, but hey, killing the retards is cool.In sum, mental retardation is a factor that may well lessen a defendant's culpability for a capital offense. But we cannot conclude today that the Eighth Amendment precludes the execution of any mentally retarded person of…
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Chait’s Big PC Risk
In the team sport of politics, few things are more poorly tolerated than a traitor. It’s one thing for, say, George Will to question politically correct speech, but when a former liberal champion like Jonathan Chait does so, all hell breaks loose. In a long-form article for New York Magazine, Chait took to task the ugliness of the new political incorrectness that had a few minutes in the sun in the late 1980’s, when feminist lawprof Catherine MacKinnon proclaimed herself Speech Queen for a Day. MacKinnon’s beliefs nestled closely with an academic movement that was then being described, by its advocates as well as its critics, as “political correctness.” Michigan had already responded to the demands of pro-p.c. activists by imposing a campuswide speech code purporting to restrict all manner of discriminatory speech, only for it to be struck down as a First Amendment violation in federal court. In Ann Arbor, MacKinnon had attracted a loyal…
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San Bernardino County to pare down sex-offender ordinance
1-28-2015 California: Registered sex offenders in San Bernardino County will be able to move more freely within their communities after the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved repealing restrictions on offender presence and movement in the county’s unincorporated areas. The gutting of the county’s 8-year-old sex offender ordinance would fulfill the terms of a legal settlement
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What's the maximum jail sentence on a Washington State DUI?
364 days. Unless, it is a felony (5th in 10 years). With a 1/3 off for good time - about 8 months. That is the maximum jail time a Judge can impose on you for violations of the Court's DUI...
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Mexico : U.S. Can Have El Chapo in About 300 Years
Mexico now says the U.S. is unlikely to play host to Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman anytime soon. Mexico's Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam yesterday told the Associated Press he expected a new extradition request by the U.S. to be filed... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Dirty, Dirty Brandenburg
Since my last post about cops in Albuquerque, which included an update about the indictment of two cops for the killing of James Boyd, people have been sending me stories about how the cops have targeted District Attorney Kari Brandenburg in retaliation. I’ve resisted discussion of this, both because it’s friggin’ Albuquerque (which isn’t as fascinating as, say, New York) and because Brandenburg is the DA. What I mean by that is that anyone who wants to be the District Attorney takes on turf fraught with choices, many of which carry some public or private animosity. When Daniel Donovan, the District Attorney of Richmond County (that’s Staten Island to you New Mexicans) sabotaged his grand jury presentment in the Eric Garner killing, I challenged his ethics. Same with St. Louis DA Bob McCulloch in the Michael Brown killing. The argument in both cases was that the public was calling for blood, and the District…
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The "Electronic Data Files," the British Authorities and the 4th Amendment
After “Paul Robert Gunter [was] convicted and sentenced on multiple counts related to two international investment fraud schemes”, he appealed. U.S. v. Odoni, 2015 WL 150740 (U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit 2015). The case is captioned “U.S. v. Odoni” because Odoni and Gunter were both convicted on the same charges after a joint trial. U.S. Odoni, supra. Since they raised different issues on appeal, the court divided its opinion into two sections, addressing each in a separate section.You can, if you are interested, read about the facts that led to the prosecutions at issue in this opinion in the news stories you can find here and here. The Court of Appeals began its analysis of Gunter’s appeal by explaining that heprovided escrow services and managed bank accounts in connection with the two investment-fraud schemes. He raises two issues on appeal. The only issue that warrants discussionis whether the…
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Wednesday Open Thread
I'll be working all day (and probably tomorrow as well.) Here's 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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Did feds just win the drug war?: kingpin twin drug dealers get kingly sentencing break thanks to cooperation
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Updated Paper on Traffic Stops
I’ve recently updated my paper on traffic stops. As before, it covers stops from start to finish, including the legal standard for making a stop, the length of a stop, and investigative techniques that may be used during a stop. I may need to update it again after the Supreme Court decides United States v. […]
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"Lynch to Cast Herself as Departure From Holder in Bid to Be Attorney General"
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Irvine Man Arrested for Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated
Irvine resident, Colin Selsted, 27, was arrested after a passenger in his vehicle died as a result of a crash on Shady Canyon Drive. Devon Williams, 23, of Westminster, was transported to Western Medical Center where she died from her injuries. Selsted was charged with one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of felony driving under the influence. Selsted suffered only cuts and bruises. Irvine Police officials say Selsted was driving a Volkswagen, when for unknown reasons crashed his car and it overturned. The jaws of life were required to get Devon Williams out of the vehicle.
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The Superbowl…Of Sex?
If I took the news here seriously, I’d probably be hiding under my bed right now. I would be filled with terror knowing that hordes of sex-crazed Superbowl attendees are currently descending on our fair state with an unquenchable desire to have sex with prostitutes and even children. Think I’m joking? Fox News reports that strip clubs and homeland security have teamed up “to crack down on sex traffickers as the Super Bowl rolls into town.” Other suspect sources report sex traffickers are coming in “droves.” Even the State Bar has jumped on the bandwagon with a Superbowl sex-trafficking CLE, and there’s an art exhibit about sex trafficking too, just in time for the game. Apparently nobody reads snopes anymore. Even articles that note things like “firm evidence of a correlation between the Super Bowl and an uptick in prostitution is lacking” have sensational titles like “Increase in sex trafficking expected during…
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Milwaukee Residents Give Solid Marks to Police
Last week, the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission (of which I am a member) released the results of its first-ever survey of citizen attitudes toward the police. Although the survey identified a few areas of concern, the overall tenor of citizen attitudes seems positive. Conducted for the FPC by UWM’s Center for Urban Initiatives & Research last summer, the survey involved telephone interviews of 1,452 Milwaukee residents. As detailed in the CUIR’s report, the survey respondents were reflective of the city’s diversity in racial composition and in other respects. The report’s lead finding is that about three-quarters of Milwaukee residents report that they are at least somewhat satisfied with the Milwaukee Police Department, while only about nine percent said they were “not at all satisfied.” These findings are notable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that fully one-quarter of the respondents reported…
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When it Comes to FOIA, Think Outside The Box
Here is a case worth reading: Competitive Enterprise Institute, et al. v. National Security Agency, Civil Action No. 14-975, In the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The Competitive Enterprise Institute and two other plaintiffs filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the USEPA seeking information about USEPA phone calls, e-mails, and text messages. CEI believed that certain USEPA officials hid their work by using unofficial means of communications. In response to the FOIA request, the USEPA produced volumes of records, but did not provide text messages of the certain officials. When apparently denied this information, CEI attempted “a novel and inventive gambit” by demanding them from the National Security Agency under the theory that the NSA has everyone’s phone, email, and text-message records. Unfortunately for CEI, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg dismissed the lawsuit and said that the NSA…
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Man Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Bogus Real Estate Deals
Mortgage Fraud Blog. George Christo George, 55, Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced for six to 20 years in prison for defrauding several Northern Nevadans of more than $238,000 through elaborate schemes including a false business partner posing as a wealthy sheikh to lure victims into bogus real estate deals and to investments in a luxury downtown Reno high rise condominium. George was ordered by Washoe District Judge Connie Steinheimer to pay $238,000 in restitution to his victims and sentenced to six to 20 years in prison. Twenty years is the maximum penalty. George, an undocumented immigrant, also faces deportation following the completion of his prison term. His criminal history includes prior felonies for fraud and theft-related crimes. George pleaded guilty to a felony mortgage fraud charge related to scamming seven Northern Nevadans between July 2011 and May 2012. George was arrested in August 2013 at a Las Vegas casino on an attorney general’s warrant, and later…
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