After Devon Alexander Kane pled guilty to possessing child pornography and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ten years of probation, due to “medical issues”, he appealed. You can read more about the case in the stories you can find here and here. Kane pled guilty after the trial judge denied his “motions to suppress photographs obtained on an unmarked, unlocked flash drive left in a classroom and discovered by employees of Schreiner University.” Kane v. State, 2015 WL 575334 (Court of Appeals of Texas 2015). The court begins its analysis of Kane’s appeal by explaining how the prosecution arose:On September 29, 2010, Kathleen Walker, the Director of Instructional Technology at Schreiner University, found an unmarked, black-colored flash drive in one of the campus classrooms. In an attempt to identify the owner of the flash drive, Walker inserted the flash drive into a computer on the university's computer network. Walker…
The Flash Drive, the 4th Amendment and Child Pornography
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Floridians Exercise Rights at DUI Checkpoints with “Fair DUI Flier”
In the past few months, you may have seen Youtube videos have been popping up left and right showing drivers in Florida passing through DUI checkpoints without having to submit to the standard inconveniencies normally associated with DUI checkpoints. One video in particular (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqEXTVe7MCQ) has been view more that 2.2 million times and has inspired others make their own videos driving through DUI checkpoints, most of which are similar in content. So what’s happening in these videos? Drivers pull up to DUI checkpoints and instead of rolling down their windows to speak to the police and possibly give a breath sample, they motion to a Ziplock baggie dangling by a string from the top of the closed window. The checkpoint officers look at the baggie which contains several items; a driver’s license, proof of insurance, registration, and the “fair DUI flier.” The flier, created by Boca Raton defense attorney, Warren Redlich,…
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Sheehy et al. on Battered Women Charged with Homicide
Elizabeth A. Sheehy , Julie Stubbs and Julia Tolmie (University of Ottawa - Common Law Section , University of New South Wales (UNSW, Australia) - Faculty of Law and University of Auckland) have posted Securing Fair Outcomes for Battered Women...
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Legendary CBS News Correspondent Bob Simon In Fatal NYC Car Crash
On February 11, 2015, famed CBS News and “Sixty Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon, 73, (who won 27 Emmy Awards and reported on the Vietnam War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and the Gulf War) was killed in a car crash on the West Side Highway near 30th Street. Simon was riding in a Lincoln Town Car for hire at approximately 7:00 PM, when the 44 year old driver lost control of the vehicle, striking a Mercedes stopped at a red light, and then the median separating southbound traffic from northbound traffic. Mr. Simon was seated in the rear seat, and was not wearing a seatbelt. The vehicle was so mangled that emergency personnel were forced to use the “Jaws of Life” to extract Simon from the vehicle. Mr. Simon never regained consciousness. He was taken to St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead of blunt force trauma injuries to his head, torso and extremities. Under the New York Vehicle & Traffic…
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Can the Police Search Your Cell Phone for Texting?
We all have sensitive and confidential information and personal stuff in our phones, so can the police search them or do they need a warrant? If you have been charged with texting and driving, contact me today for a free case strategy session. © marketing for Andrew Flusche, 2015. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh The post Can the Police Search Your Cell Phone for Texting? appeared first on Andrew Flusche.
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Eight Arrested in Offshore Gambling Ring with Connection to Organized Crime
After an investigation that went on for over half a year, eight South Florida men were taken into custody as the result of a sting that covered territory along the East Coast in an offshore online sports gambling ring that was operated out of the suspect’s homes as well as local businesses. The online bookmaking ring took bets on professional and college sports including football, baseball, and basketball. Related suspects were also arrested in New York City, Upstate New York’s Rockland County as well as Bergen County, New Jersey, with a grand total of over $4 million seized by federal agents between all locations. More than sixty search warrants were executed by multi-state agencies made up of the Organized crime unit in Florida as well as the FBI’s criminal division in the New York Metropolitan area and the Rockland County District Attorney’s Organized Crime Unit with assistance from the New York State Police Special Investigative Unit, Queens District…
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Preliminary Hearing Scheduled in Slender Man Stabbing
Two Wisconsin teens accused of stabbing a classmate to appease a fictional horror character will find out this week if they’ll be tried on attempted homicide charges. The “Slender Man” case has garnered national attention for its absurdity and for the ages of those involved. Prosecutors allege that the two Waukesha girls planned to kill another girl in hopes of gaining favor with a fictional character known as Slender Man. For those of you not up to date on your internet-born fantastical horror entities, Slender Man “came to life” as part of an online contest where users used their photoshop skills to create images that appeared to capture supernatural events on film. Eric Knudson edited a few photos to show a a tall, faceless stranger in the background, and he accompanied the images with text that made it look like the creature was associated with the disappearance of children. The fictional character eventually went viral, and people from…
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Restitution Is Tough To Prove
Some people are clueless when it comes to what things are worth. We all have that friend who claims his home is worth twice what we all know it is worth. And, these are typically the same people that decide to sell their home "By Owner"; after refusing to believe several real estate agents who have told them that their home is worth half what they think it. This (possibly genetic) inability to value things doesn't really bother me, we criminal defense attorneys see this sort of thing all the time. People think they have won the lottery whenever they are wronged in some way. Every petit theft case, every grand theft case, every criminal mischief case, every robbery case reaches a point in which the prosecutor tries to explain their victim's "restitution amount" with a straight face. If your client steals the jacket off someone's back, that's rude and unacceptable (especially on a cold night), but it's entertaining to hear about…
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Where Mental Health and Criminal Justice Collide: Part Three
In part one of our series about the intersection of criminal justice and mental health, we looked at violent, often deadly altercations between police and the mentally ill. Part two considered the connection between mental illness and substance abuse and how statistically unlikely it is for a person with a dual-disorder to get help for either the mental health issue or the substance abuse issue, and how much less likely it is to receive treatment for both. We examined how the dual nature of mental illness and substance abuse may lead to the high incarceration rates for non-violent drug crimes in Oklahoma. In this segment, we will look at some of the costs associated with relying on police to fill in the gaps for those with mental health issues who cannot or do not receive the treatment they need. Image Credit: Quinn Hue via https://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnhu/3412898779 Often, law enforcement is called to assist a situation involving a mentally ill person after a family has…
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FEDERAL MORTGAGE FRAUD PROSECUTIONS MERCILESS
The use of cooperating co-defendants, in search of lenient sentences, has plagued criminal prosecutions since there have been criminal prosecutions. The use of cooperation agreements infects […]
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Attorney for Teenager Crimes in Las Vegas
Juvenile Crimes Juveniles accused of crimes in Nevada are not subject to the same legal system that adults are. Because it deals with young people, the juvenile system is designed to rehabilitate rather than punish. With the right legal counsel, it’s possible to improve a juvenile’s future. The juvenile justice system is overwhelmed with too many cases. This makes it easy for your case to fall through the cracks, and this means that your child may not get the help and attention they truly need. However, that changes when you hire experienced juvenile defense counsel. Not all attorneys are familiar with juvenile courts, so it’s important to choose a defense team with the right kind of experience.
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Pleads to Grand Larceny in Manhattan Court: Must Pay $110,000 in Restitution....cont
In this case, Defendant has failed to allege facts that would amount to denial of effective assistance of counsel. Contrary to Defendant's claim, it is well established that the failure to advise a criminal defendant of potential future sentence enhancements does not render a guilty plea invalid (see People v. Pierre, 80 AD3d 441 [1st Dept 2011]; People v. Watkins, 244 AD2d 269, 270 [1st Dept 1997]. Moreover, a defendant need not be advised of the collateral consequences of his guilty plea such as, "loss of the right to vote or travel abroad, loss of civil service employment, loss of a driver's license, [and] loss of the right to possess firearms" (see People v. Ford, 86 NY2d 397, 403 (1995), overruled on other grounds by People v. Peque, 22 NY3d 168 [*3](2013). [FN2] Thus, even if true, Defendant's allegations would not demonstrate ineffective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, based on the foregoing, Defendant's motion to vacate his conviction…
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Hill Briefing on the Impact of Parental Incarceration: Pamela Clifton
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No criminal charges for driver enjoying cheeseburger
There is likely little denying that today's world runs at a faster pace than it did in previous years. Many people in Georgia have to find new and innovative ways to multitask in order to make the most use of their time. However, an out-of-state man was recently slapped with criminal charges for engaging in a behavior that may not be so uncommon while on the road. While traveling on a Georgia highway, the man was pulled over by a police officer. At the time, he had been eating a cheeseburger as he drove. The driver claims that the attending officer insisted that he could not eat a cheeseburger while also operating his vehicle. According to the officer, eating while behind the wheel was in direct violation of state laws regarding distracted driving. Although he was initially ticketed for the act of eating a burger while driving, the case was recently dismissed. According to the county's Solicitor General, there simply wasn't sufficient evidence to prosecute…
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FAA Releases Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Drone Regulations
So reports the Washington Post:Thousands of businesses could receive clearance to fly drones two years from now under proposed rules that the Federal Aviation Administrationunveiled Sunday, a landmark step that will make automated flight more commonplace in the nation’s skies. Meanwhile, the White House on Sunday issued presidential directive that will require federal agencies for the first time to publicly disclose where they fly drones in the United States and what they do with the torrents of data collected from aerial surveillance. Together, the FAA regulations and the White House order provide some basic rules of the sky that will govern who can fly drones in the United States and under what conditions, while attempting to prevent aviation disasters and unrestrained government surveillance.The notice of proposed rulemaking is here. A list summarizing the proposals can be found here. These rules would include requirements that drones not be operated…
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Howlin on The Role of Irish Jurors
Niamh Howlin (Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin) has posted Irish Jurors: Passive Observers or Active Participants? ((2014) 35(2) Journal of Legal History 143-171) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: What was the role played by jurors in civil...
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Vance on Prosecutors and Social Media
Emily Vance has posted Should Prosecutors Blog, Post, or Tweet?: The Need for New Restraints in Light of Social Media (Fordham Law Review, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Prosecutors’ out-of-court statements to the press and the public at...
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5% of City in Oklahoma’s Population Arrested in Dismantle of Drug Distribution Ring
Friday the 13th did prove to be a very unlucky day for 43 people who were arrested for allegedly distributing methamphetamine and other drugs in Clayton, Oklahoma. According to a news article at Fox 25, the 43 arrests account for about 5% of the entire population of Clayton. At the time of news reports, 23 of the suspects were in custody, and three more suspects had been arrested for outstanding warrants. Most of those arrested reside in rural areas in LeFlore, Latimer, and Pushmataha Counties. Pushmataha County is where the investigation into the drug distribution ring began back in December of 2013. Involved in the investigation were local authorities, and the OBN (Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics). According to Mark Woodward, spokesman for the OBN, the suspects would sell substantial amounts of prescription drugs and ‘ICE’ or crystal methamphetamine in Clayton and nearby vicinities. Authorities began dismantling the drug ring early Friday morning as they began…
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Austrailian Man Injured in Chainsaw Accident Loses DUI Appeal
An Australian man lost his appeal in court yesterday for a DUI charge that happened as the man was driving himself to a hospital for a chainsaw related injury. According to reports the man, Timothy Withrow, severly cut his hand on the chainsaw but sewed the wound closed himself while drinking gin to numb the pain. On Withrow’s way to the hospital he was pulled over for running a stop sign where it was determined that his BAC was three times the legal limit. The post Austrailian Man Injured in Chainsaw Accident Loses DUI Appeal appeared first on Maryland DUI Lawyer | DWI Attorney | Blog.
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$7 Million Verdict in Boy Scout Sex Abuse Case
A Connecticut jury has awarded $7 million to a man who was sexually molested by a Boy Scout Troop leader in the 1970s. The Plaintiff, who was 11 and 12 at the time of the molestation, was assaulted on three …The post $7 Million Verdict in Boy Scout Sex Abuse Case appeared first on Personal Injury Attorney CO | Colorado Springs Lawyers.
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