When it comes to making DUI stops, it is well-established in Oklahoma and other states that police officers cannot arbitrarily stop vehicles and then “work backwards” to try to find something illegal. The stop itself must have some basis in reasonable suspicion that the driver is driving while under the influence. But how do police make such a determination? Is there any uniform standard that they adhere to, and if so what is that standard? Police in many jurisdictions do in fact have guidelines to help them decide whether to pull over a vehicle the driver of which they suspect is intoxicated. One such set of guidelines is issued by the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and is entitled “DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing.” It is important to realize that this manual is more than just how to perform the roadside field sobriety tests but also trains an officer when…
How Oklahoma Police Officers Detect and Detain Suspected Drunk Drivers: Part One
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Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree
NY Criminal Defense and New York Penal Law 265.03 – Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, pursuant to New York Penal Law 265.03, is unquestionably one of the most serious criminal charges that an individual can face in NYC or anywhere in New York. That is right. Even if you have a permit in Colorado, Georgia or Alabama, if you possess than firearm in a hotel room in Manhattan or at JFK or LaGuardia Airports, the crime has still been committed if you do not have a permit in New York. The New York criminal defense attorneys have not only successfully represented clients charged with possessing loaded guns, but prosecuted individuals charged with this crime as Assistant District Attorneys under Robert Morgenthau. The following is a “primer” for those not familiar with this offense and the strict liability it seems to impose on the accused. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states:…
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Department of Financial Services...cont
Under the statute the Fund pays for the following: “future medical, hospital, surgical, nursing, dental, rehabilitation, custodial, durable medical equipment, home modifications, assistive technology, vehicle modifications, prescription and non-prescription medications, and other health care costs actually incurred for services rendered to and supplies utilized by qualified plaintiffs, which are necessary to meet their health care needs as determined by their treating physicians, physician assistants, or nurse practitioners....” For actions covered by the statute, payments of future medical expenses by the Fund are obligatory and courts are required to amend “settlement agreements” or judgments to comply with its terms. The Fund, which is capitalized by deposits from the State and assessments on obstetrical revenues of New York hospitals, became operational on October 1, 2011. Rules and regulations have been promulgated (and recently published) to…
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Cal. App. Rejects Attempt to Squelch Victims' Lethal Injection Suit
One week ago, I gave an update on the California lethal injection litigation. I ended by noting that I would bet that the Court of Appeal would reject the petition of CDCR and the AG to stop our suit and do so with a one-line denial.Unfortunately, no one took the bet. I would have won.Will Secretary Beard and Attorney General Harris now take this case to the California Supreme Court? I think that would be dumb, but then I thought it was dumb to take it to the Court of Appeal.For almost three decades, I have been fighting side-by-side with state attorneys general against obstruction of capital punishment by the defense bar. It is more than a little strange to be fighting against obstruction by a state attorney general.
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Preachers split over NC sheriff's church ban for sex offenders
3-12-15 North Carolina: Preachers in a rural North Carolina county are split on a sheriff’s edict banning sex offenders from attending Sunday church services. Graham County Sheriff Danny Millsaps last month sent letters to the 20 registered sex offenders in the sparsely populated county, telling them they were not welcome in the community’s sanctuaries, based on an existing law. “You are
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Simonson on Copwatching
Jocelyn Simonson (New York University School of Law) has posted Copwatching (California Law Review, Vol. 104, 2016, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Legal scholars today rightly criticize the lack of public participation in local policing as a barrier...
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Is there a real chance Loretta Lynch will not be confirmed as next US Attorney General?
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Deportation for an Infantile Arrival?
ICE issued an Notice to Appear (NTA - the charging document for initiation of removal (deportation) proceedings) for an alleged alien. The NTA failed to allege alienage, and instead alleged that the person "illegally entered the US by wading across the Rio Grande River near the Presidio, Texas port of entry on 1/15/15 with the intention of going to Dodge City, KS to reside and seek employment."This individual's date of birth? 1/4/15. That's right. 11 days old. Waded across, somehow, with the intent to seek employment in Dodge City. His mother, by the way, maintains that the child was born on the US side.I really wouldn't know what to say if this were my case. "Your Honor, we'd like a speedy bond determination. My client has deep ties to the United States, having lived here his whole life. I'm happy to brief the issue, but may we have a brief recess? It's my client's naptime."If any non-government attorney brought a case…
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Ferguson Sharpshooter: Rush to Judgment?
Why is no one asking whether the Ferguson shooter might be a lone wolf terrorist? In November, 2014, ISIS supporters called for using Ferguson as an excuse for lone wolf attacks: In particular, Al Nusra Al Maqdisiyya, a prominent group of... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Terroristic Threatening or Rap Music
Terroristic Threatening: can you be incarcerated for rap lyrics? Absolutely. On March 12, 2015 KC and Tantra from the Power 104.3 morning show here in Honolulu called me up to ask this question. Like Tantra said, “That’s his first amendment! Of course he can say that!” But the first amendment is limited. The classic limitation which we all know is that it is not protected to yell fire in a crowded theater (where there is no fire). Yelling fire is okay when there is a fire, you’re saving lives not threatening anybody. When there is no fire you are costing lives. Context is king. Timing is the difference between genius and criminal. The terroristic threatening law in the state of Hawaii is very clear, any threat needs to be “unequivocal, unconditional, immediate and specific as to the person threatened, as to convey a gravity of purpose and imminent prospect of execution”. This is a very high standard, and it is set very high specifically for…
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Lawyer Who Let Client Write Brief Faces Sanctions from SCOTUS
I just read at Bitter Lawyer and The Lawyerist about a show cause order issued by the United States Supreme Court for the submission of a certiorari petition that was hard to read and which departed significantly from the Supreme Court rules. What happened? The lawyer allowed the client to draft the certiorari petition. I don’t know the back story, but I can imagine what it is. I don’t assume the lawyer was being lazy. Rather, I imagine that the lawyer was “beaten down” and just gave up. Appellate clients can have strong opinions about what should be included in the brief, what arguments should be raised, and what facts should be emphasized. These views are often reinforced through limitless time with little else to do, the influence of fellow inmates with optimistic views of various statutes and precedent, and access to out of date legal materials. Imagine what it would be like for a conscious patient to have access to a medical library during a…
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Braverman on Doors, Technology, and the Fourth Amendment
Irus Braverman (State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo, SUNY Buffalo Law School) has posted Rights of Passage: On Doors, Technology, and the Fourth Amendment (Law, Culture and the Humanities, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The importance of...
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GOV. SCOTT PICKS TWO NEW JUDGES .....
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:AND YOUR TWO NEW COUNTY COURT JUDGES ARE ......Late this afternoon, Governor Scott chose two new Miami-Dade County Court Judges.LAURA ANNE STUZIN, replaces Judge Rudy Ruiz. She has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1994. She joined the State Attorney's Office that year and spent four years as an ASA here in Miami. She then spent two years working for Coffey, Diaz, & O'Naghten before joining heavyweight Rumberger, Kirk in 1999. She has been with that firm for the past 15 years. She currently practices in the areas of casualty defense, criminal defense, construction defect, professional liability and product liability. According to Rumberger Kirk's web site, it states: "With more than nineteen years of experience, Laura’s practice includes representing clients in premises liability matters involving claims of slip and fall, general negligence, inadequate security and malicious prosecution…
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Carjack Victim Testifies in Tsarnaev Trial
Dun Meng, the Chinese national whose Mercedes was carjacked by Tamerlan Tsarnaev, testified today about his ordeal. He said Tamerlan was alone when he carjacked him, threatened him with a gun and then had him drive around for 20 to 30 minutes before... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Lamparello on Riley v. California
Adam Lamparello (Indiana Tech - Law School) has posted Riley v. California: A Pyrrhic Victory for Privacy Rights? on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In Riley v. California, the United States Supreme Court ushered privacy protections into the digital era...
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Does Walking Away Count as Eluding?
The idea behind that statute is for people who may pull their vehicle over and then run on foot. They need a way to try to catch those people and charge them with something. But there are other ways that you could be eluding the police too. © marketing for Andrew Flusche, 2015. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh The post Does Walking Away Count as Eluding? appeared first on Andrew Flusche.
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Wife Seeks Support 30 Years After Separation
Imagine that you married when you were 20-years-old, had a child with your spouse and separated three years later. During the marriage you lived a peripatetic “new age hippy” lifestyle surviving on welfare benefits, with not a penny to your name. Would you be surprised when your ex-wife, thirty years later brought a claim against you for financial compensation? In a rags to riches tale, British entrepreneur and founder of wind farm company Ecotricity, Dale Vince, has battled his former spouse for several years to defeat her claim against him. She is asking for almost 2 million pounds. Mr. Vince created a wind turbine from recycled materials, a venture that brought him millions of pounds and an Order of the British Empire. Living in the lap of luxury with his second wife and their child, life was good. But not so good for his ex Kathleen Wyatt. When the marriage ended she took responsibility for their son, her daughter from a previous marriage, and went on to…
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St. Patrick's Day Safety Tips on the Road in NE Philly
St. Patrick’s Day is a beloved holiday in Northeast Philly, but unfortunately, because the festivities often involve heavy use of alcohol, it’s also one of the more dangerous ones.According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), high numbers of alcohol-related car accident fatalities occur every year on St. Patrick’s Day. Statistics indicate between 2009 and 2013, 276 people died in car accidents on St. Patrick's Day.Here are some St. Patrick's Day safety tips to keep in mind as you celebrate.Designate a Sober DriverThis year, the NHTSA is planning a St. Patrick’s Day safe driving campaign titled, “Buzz Driving Is Drunk Driving.” It will encourage partiers to designate a sober driver to take them home if they’ve been drinking.Figure out who is going to avoid alcohol for the night. A good incentive might be to pay for the designated driver's meal and other expenses for the night. Or if you spend the…
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Teacher Charged with Indecent Solicitation and Attempted Predatory Assault of Teen
A substitute teacher with the Chicago Public Schools was recently arrested and charged with indecent solicitation of a child and intent to commit predatory aggravated sexual assault. The arrest was made after police and the school discovered suggestive texts allegedly sent from the defendant to the former student, a 14-year-old. Chicago Indecent Solicitation of a Child Indecent solicitation of a child is committed when an individual age 17 or older knowingly solicits a child to engage in sexual penetration or sexual conduct, with the intent to commit the act, or knowingly discusses sexual conduct or penetration with the intent that the act be committed. The police in this case have texts allegedly sent by the defendant to the victim requesting a date and asking her to have sex with him. Assuming that police statements regarding the nature of the texts is correct, a defense against this charge would require proving that either the defendant did not send the texts, or that he…
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Buel on De Facto Witness Tampering
Sarah M. Buel (Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law) has posted De Facto Witness Tampering (Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2014) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: De facto...
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More Pages to Explore .....
