At the outset, we emphasize that, in order for prosecutorial jurisdiction to lie in New York County, it is that county, and not the City generally, that must suffer a particular effect as a result of defendants' alleged conduct. The statutory requirement that the conduct have a materially harmful impact may thus be satisfied only by a concrete and identifiable injury or the welfare of the county's community. Moreover, to be materially harmful, the criminal impact must be more than minor or incidental, and the conduct must harm the well being of the community as a whole, not merely a particular individual. In addition, because the jurisdiction of the county seeking to prosecute must be established before the grand jury, the type of personal injury or offense contemplated by the particular effect statute must be perceptible and of the character and type which can be demonstrated by proof before a Grand Jury. Because particular effect jurisdiction is to be applied only…
International Mortgage Servicing Company (IMSC)...cont
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Oklahoma bill: Chemical castration for sex offenders
Castration for a child pornography case. Does this make sense? Study what crimes are considered a "sexually violent offense," and how many others will lawmakers add? And is the bill retroactive? How will the bill affect past offenders now imprisoned; esp if they have more than one past offense? In addition, there is no mention if the treatment will be administered by a qualified psychiatrist,
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Both Sides Clash Over Minnesota Sex Offender Reform
After months of investigation and data collection, a trial to determine the legality of Minnesota’s current sex offender reform program has finally begun. Attorneys for both sides issued opening statements Monday in a trial that is expected to last several weeks. Dan Gustafson, the attorney representing more than 700 sex offenders in the civil commitment program, issued a strong challenge of the current system, asking Judge Donovan Frank to rule the program unconstitutional. Gusatson noted that only one individual has ever completed the program, which showcases that the current rehabilitation system is failing. Conversely, Deputy Minnesota Attorney General Nathan Brennaman argued that the program did not infringe the rights of the offenders. He believes the program is constitutional, and he noted that an unconstitutional ruling could jeopardize the safety of Minnesotans by placing many former offenders back on the streets. Whatever is decided, it’s…
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Fatal Metro North Accident–Why Did It Happen and Can Future Accidents Be Prevented?
On Tuesday, February, an otherwise uneventful day, 49 year old Ellen Brody, the married mother of three teenage children, was returning home from work at a jewelry store in Chappaqua, New York, when she made a fateful decision. Due to traffic from an accident, she took a shortcut as many other drivers did, through a cemetery in Valhalla to get to the Taconic Parkway faster. As she approached the Commerce Street entrance to the southbound Taconic Parkway, the gates came down and the red lights went on to notify drivers that a Metro-North train was approaching. At this time, Ms. Brody’s Mercedes SUV was struck by the gates and she exited her car to examine the damage to the rear of the vehicle, not realizing how little time she actually had to get out of the path of the rapidly approaching train. For reasons we will never know, Ms. Brody then drove her car a few feet further onto the tracks, rather than rearward, and her car was struck by the northbound 5:44 PM train from…
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Michael Phelps Announces Return Following DUI
Olympian Michael Phelps announced he’ll be back in the water next month following the end of his USA Swimming suspension for a DUI he received in September. The Maryland native says he plans to swim in the Arena Pro Swim Series, a competition that starts April 15, nine days after his USA Swimming suspension is set to end. Phelps was originally suspended in September from all competition after getting his second DUI in Arizona. His sentence included a year of suspended jail time and 18 months of probation in which he was not allowed to drink alcohol. Phelps also served six weeks in an inpatient program in Arizona. The post Michael Phelps Announces Return Following DUI appeared first on Maryland DUI Lawyer | DWI Attorney | Blog.
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Why the Jane Does’ CVRA Lawsuit Re Alleged Epstein Child Sex Ring Drags On
This news story has everything it needs to become one of the biggest scandals of the 21st Century: there’s sex and power, of course. Add to that the targeted criminal defendant, Jeffrey Epstein – so rich he owns his own island; political players like Bill Clinton; a famous lawyer and Harvard Law Professor, Alan Dershowitz (who was played by Ron Silver in that movie about Claus Von Bulow); and even British royalty: Prince Andrew has been connected with this story. It’s a tabloid’s dream, right? However, criminal defense lawyers may see things a bit differently — and as an attorney who has represented clients in sexual assault cases and other serious sex crime felony charges for several years now, I want to share my take on the Epstein case. Here goes. Jeffrey Epstein’s 2006 Florida Mug Shot. 1. Epstein Criminal Charges: Plea Deal Jeffrey Epstein was accused long ago of running a child sex ring; there…
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Fight Driving on Suspended 3rd by Fighting the Priors
If we can find issues with one or more of your prior convictions to make it where they can’t be used against you in court, it could mean the difference between you going to jail for 10 days versus walking out of the courthouse. © marketing for Andrew Flusche, 2015. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh The post Fight Driving on Suspended 3rd by Fighting the Priors appeared first on Andrew Flusche.
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Combining Drug Quantities
I’ve recently been asked several variants of this question: If a suspect sells drugs to an undercover officer on multiple occasions over a few days or weeks, can the drug quantities involved in each sale be aggregated to reach the trafficking threshold? That led me to spend some time looking at the more general issue […]
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Years long battle between Lege and courts continues over access to post-conviction DNA testing
For a decade and a half we've seen a similar dynamic on DNA testing. The Court of Criminal Appeals issued a bad decision (e.g., the Roy Criner case launched the whole modern DNA testing trend in Texas). The Legislature acted to correct their overreach, creating Chapter 64 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to establish a procedure for access to DNA testing. In response, prosecutors scheme and fight to the bitter end to prevent DNA testing at all costs and the courts interpret their power to oppose it broadly. So the Legislature expanded access to testing to overturn their victories, most prominently upending former Williamson County DA John Bradley's years-long opposition to DNA testing in the Michael Morton case.Now, in response to another questionable Court of Criminal Appeals opinion limiting access to DNA testing, state Rep. Rodney Ellis has yet another bill to expand access to DNA testing, with Michael Morton at his side at the capitol to promote it. See also…
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Russia: Defending LGBT Rights is not “Propaganda”
Meet Elena Klimova, the latest victim of Russia’s anti-LGBT “propaganda” law (Photo Credit: Private). On January 23, journalist Elena Klimova, the founder of the online LGBT youth support group Children 404, was convicted of “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors.” The judgment against Klimova marks the latest assault on Russia’s LGBT community and the continued crackdown on civil society and freedom throughout the Russian Federation. For nearly a year and a half, the Russian government has sought to silence Klimova and shut down Children 404, an invaluable source of support for thousands of LGBT teenagers, including those at risk of self-harm and suicide. In October 2013, Vitaly Milonov (the main author of the anti-LGBT law in St. Petersburg that became the basis for the national legislation) filed an official complaint against Children 404. Milonov alleged that the website’s activities represented illegal…
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Cochran: Tell jurors financial cost of prison sentences
Texas Monthly's Michael Hall has an extended exit interview this month with recently retired Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Cathy Cochran up on the magazine's website. I especially enjoyed this glimpse behind the scenes from Judge Cochran into the court's internal functioning:It’s like having a very large dysfunctional family and you may fight amongst yourselves and have arguments, but to the outside world you project that you’re a family. You get to know each other quite well and you get to know what’s going to go over with someone and what won’t. So you try to fashion your opinions with the concerns and issues of other people in mind to make sure you could get the majority. And so how do you go about making sure you put things in there that would satisfy one judge and not upset another judge? And those judges are doing the same with you. There’s a lot of chess playing that goes on here. And I particularly liked…
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FLORDA'S SCANDALOUS JAILS: VISIT A FLORIDA PRISON WHERE JUSTICE GOES TO DIE
Recent articles in the press further establish that Florida's prison system is a failure. This is not unexpected, as I've noted here repeatedly that the Pinellas County Jail has many problems that have not been fixed. Why should we expect more from other prisons in the Florida Gulag? The Pinellas Jail fails to protect and provide for federal and state prisoners in the following ways:The Pinellas jail fails to provide prisoners with proper medical care. The sheriff allowed a contract with a private firm to continue giving medical services at the Pinellas Jail even though he was aware that the same medical service provider at the Hillsborough Jail was involved in a case where a prisoner died from lack of proper medical care. Only now, after further frustration with the provider is the sheriff finally reevaluating his decision. The Pinellas jail is unable to protect prisoners from violence. One young man in jail for a misdemeanor was strangled to death at…
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We Fight Hands Free Driving Traffic Tickets
By Justin Coquat | Traffic Ticket SA The new San Antonio Hands Free Driving Law is in effect. This means that you can get a $200 Hands Free Driving Traffic Ticket for using your phone while driving. We fight to resolve Hands Free Driving Traffic Tickets. Did you know you can get a Hands Free Driving Traffic Ticket for using your phone at any point while driving? So the next time you are at a red light, if a cop sees you texting or talking he can give you a Hands Free Driving Traffic Ticket. Don’t worry though we are here to keep you from getting any traffic ticket citations. You can still use your phone, but only if you have it mounted or “affixed” to your vehicle or if you are talking on a hands free Bluetooth headset. The grace period for the new Hands Free Driving Law in San Antonio means that police officers are starting to give out tickets instead of warnings. A lot of people are still using their phone while driving. And they could…
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Innocence and clemency: An early test for Greg Abbott
Ben Spencer's case provides an early-in-term test for new Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's clemency policy. Reported Jennifer Emily at the Dallas Morning News (Feb. 8):Spencer wants new Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to pardon him based on actual innocence. In other words, he wants Abbott to proclaim Spencer didn’t commit the crime.“I’m getting older,” Spencer said during a recent interview at the Coffield prison unit where he turned 50 in December. “I try to keep a positive outlook, hopeful that one day, by some means, I’ll be free.”Spencer was convicted in the 1987 fatal robbery of West Dallas clothing firm executive Jeffrey Young during the city’s crack cocaine epidemic. He was sentenced to 35 years for murder but won a new trial after a witness did not disclose she had received reward money. It was on that second chance that a jury sentenced Spencer to life in prison for aggravated robbery.Spencer then won a third…
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What Does It Mean To Possess Drugs With The Intent To Deliver In Chicago?
Almost everyone should know that is it unlawful to possess a controlled substance in the state of Illinois. Controlled substances include a number of drugs under the Illinois Controlled Substances Act,1 ranging from heroin and cocaine to prescription drugs (without a proper prescription). What you may not realize is that possession charges can get substantially more serious under certain circumstances. For example, Illinois law increases penalties for the charge of “possession [of drugs] with the intent to deliver.” Intent to deliver means that law enforcement and prosecutors believed you planned to sell or otherwise distribute the drugs. How can authorities tell if you intended to deliver? No police officer or prosecutor can ever get inside your mind to determine exactly whether you were thinking about selling the drugs you allegedly possessed. Therefore, many possession with the intent to deliver cases depend on circumstantial evidence. For example, if you…
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DPS backs down on collecting all ten fingerprints from drivers as Lege session gets underway
The Texas Department of Public Safety Government Relations Division this morning sent out an email to legislators declaring that,based on concerns and questions raised by a number of legislators regarding the statutory authority of DPS to collect all 10 fingerprints in order to obtain a driver license (DL) or identification (ID) card, the department will immediately cease collecting all 10 fingerprints in order to obtain a driver license or identification card. The department will continue to comply with Texas Transportation Code, Section 521.059, passed by the legislature in 2005, which requires the department to collect “an applicant’s thumbprints or fingerprints.” The department will comply with any further direction or legislative action taken by the Texas Legislature regarding this matter.So, if this program is ending, one wonders what will happen with the vestigial data collected over the last year? Will it be expunged? Has it already…
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"Inside The Koch Campaign To Reform Criminal Justice"
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Wrongful Convictions for Lesser Crimes Often Fall through the Cracks
While the Innocence Project focuses on cases involving DNA evidence-usually violent felonies-those wrongfully convicted of lesser crimes are often left with no recourse. An article published Monday by the Crime Report explored cases that don't characteristically fit the criteria for representation by the Innocence Project, but in which defendants' lives are nonetheless turned upside down. According to the article, about 75 percent of known exonerations involved a homicide or sexual assault. Exonerations for other lesser crimes trended upward in 2014, in part because of increased activity by conviction review units, but they remain in the minority. Only six percent of total known exonerations were for robbery convictions, even though there are four times as many robberies reported annually than murders and rapes. The article cites the fact that many people convicted of minor offenses may not bother to appeal the case, preferring instead to serve the time and move on.…
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News Scan
Bill Would Reinstate Felony Penalties For Firearm Theft: California assemblywoman Melissa Melendez has introduced legislation to allow voters to amend recently enacted Prop. 47, to reinstate the theft of a firearm from a misdemeanor to a felony. Sam Spencer reports that if AB 150 passes both houses by a two-thirds vote, voters would be allowed to vote to amend the law at the next general election. "A criminal doesn't steal a gun for recreational use," said Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, "they steal a gun to commit crimes."Execution Date Set For Cop Killer: The Missouri Supreme Court has ordered the execution of the state's oldest death row inmate after nearly two decades behind bars. Gene Hartley of KY3 News reports that 74-year-old Cecil Clayton was sentenced to death in 1997 after shooting a police officer in the head at point-blank range as he sat in his patrol car. Clayton is set to be executed March 17,…
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Logan on Disagreement Among State and Federal Courts on the Constitution
Wayne A. Logan (Florida State University - College of Law) has posted A House Divided: When State and Lower Federal Courts Disagree on Federal Constitutional Rights (Notre Dame Law Review, Vol. 90, No. 235, 2014) on SSRN. Here is the...
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