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Be Careful in Florida Driving Someone Else's Vehicle if That Person Might Have a Legal Problem

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In Florida, a lot of criminal cases are initiated based on fairly routine traffic stops. What might start out as a speeding or red light violation can easily turn into a DUI, felony drug or driving with a suspended license arrest. Additionally, a lot of arrest warrants are served based on traffic stops. Police officers have a lot of leeway to make traffic stops. If a police officer says a driver violated a traffic law, he/she will be able to pull that driver over, and any attempt to contest it will be a difficult credibility contest between the suspect and the police officer. A police officer in Florida can also use the information he/she obtains from the computer when running a license tag to make a traffic stop. For instance, police officers will often run tags on their computer to determine if the registered owner of the vehicle has a suspended license or outstanding arrest warrant. A police officer can stop a driver if the officer runs the tag to the vehicle in the…

Be Careful - What You Say or Your Silence Can Be Used Against You

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When a suspect is in police custody and being questioned by an officer, Texas law requires police officers to meet multiple conditions and give the suspect various warnings before statements made by the suspect can be used against him at trial. By being aware of these requirements, Texas residents can gain insight into the protections Texas law provides to those accused of a crime. Take for example the case of Steven Woods. The defense was able to establish that the interrogating officers did not fulfill the requirements needed to admit Woods' oral statements, and therefore, the highest criminal court in Texas ruled that the trial court made a mistake by admitting Woods' statement against him. Texas law requires that among the warnings officers must provide when questioning an individual who is in custody, officers must inform the individual that he has the right to terminate the questioning at any time. In Wood's case, officers failed to meet this…

Mazzone & Woock on Federalism as Docket Control

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Jason Mazzone and Carl Emery Woock (University of Illinois College of Law and University of Illinois College of Law) have posted Federalism as Docket Control on SSRN. Here is the abstract: On the twentieth anniversary of United States v. Lopez...

A Lawyer, His Cowboy Boots & a Cop

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I had a funny experience a short while back that could have ended up disastrous, but instead ended up being a kismet event. My wife wrote about it on her writing blog, which I share below. She wrote it for #1000Speak, an organization whose motto is “1000 Voices Speak for Compassion.” On March 20, contributing bloggers are writing about looking at bullying from a positive viewpoint. She chose to write about my story as it started out with my running toward what I believed to be a bullying incident, but was actually something entirely different. Slipping, Sliding Toward a Bully by Colleen Collins, All Rights Reserved. My husband loves his cowboy boots. Wears them with his suits to court. One day he and a judge sang a Merle Haggard song together — Shaun in his suit, the judge in his black robes — both of them in their cowboy boots. Wish I’d been there to hear the song and to see the looks on people’s faces in the…

Arizona Medical Marijuana Act

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The Arizona Medical Marijuana Initiative (Proposition 203) was on the November 2, 2010 ballot as an initiated state statute. Arizona Medical Marijuana Question, Proposition 203 (2010), March 19, 2015, http://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Medical_Marijuana_Question,_Proposition_203_(2010). According to the election results, 50.1% of voters approved Proposition 203, making Arizona the 15th state to legalize the use of medical marijuana. Id. Although Proposition 203 was approved, it came with strict rules, as legislators were concerned with making a medical marijuana program and not a recreational marijuana program. Id.   Under A.R.S. § 36-2801, a qualifying patient is one with a “debilitating medical condition.” A few of the conditions listed are: cancer, glaucoma, HIV positive, AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, and agitation of Alzheimer’s disease. Other medical conditions or its treatment may be added by the…

How New Jersey's Crosswalk Law Affects Your Accident Claim

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Under New Jersey's Crosswalk law, motorists are required to stop for pedestrians when they're crossing on a marked crosswalk. All signs at crosswalks will clearly indicate motorists must stop for pedestrians inside the crosswalk.The driver must not only stop for a pedestrian, but must also must stay stopped for the pedestrian within an unmarked crosswalk or intersection, except those crosswalks regulated by police officers or traffic controls. Also, when a motorist is stopped at a crosswalk and is waiting for a pedestrian to cross, no other motorists can overtake the stopped vehicle.The law requires every pedestrian who is attempting to cross a road at a point other than a marked crosswalk to yield right-of-way to vehicles on the road.A court may impose a penalty of $200 on any person violating the law. It also may impose community service of a maximum of 15 days. Under the law, pedestrians also are required to obey all traffic control signals and only use marked…

Alaska Introduces Pet Custody Laws

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Is it just me or does it seem there has been a pet explosion in North America? The American Pet Products Association reports that pet owners spend almost $60 billion dollars a year on pet industry products for their four-legged friends. There certainly can be no doubt that our pets are a part of the family and like children, they are often overindulged. Little outfits, santa claus hats and hallowe’en costumes for our cats and dogs are old hat, now you can pay for pet massage, pet travel agents who arrange transportation for pets, snake-training for pets, and pet funerals. Of course, pet owners are now also litigating who gets to keep their beloved animals upon their separation and you’d be amazed how often pets become a major issue in divorce matters. So much so that there are now lawyers who only do “pet law”. So it is not surprising that several jurisdictions are considering amending their legislation to include laws governing pet custody after…

Florida Supreme Court decides unanimously that Miller applies retroactively to all mandatory juve LWOP sentences


Goel et al. on Racial Disparities in New York City's Stop-and-Frisks

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Sharad Goel , Justin M. Rao and Ravi Shroff (Stanford University , Microsoft Research and New York University (NYU)) have posted Precinct or Prejudice? Understanding Racial Disparities in New York City's Stop-and-Frisk Policy on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Recent...

"Beyond the Right to Counsel: Increasing Notice of Collateral Consequences"

Sentencing judgment days this week in federal court for two pols behaving very badly

Price on Law Enforcement as a Political Question

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Zachary S. Price (University of California Hastings College of the Law) has posted Law Enforcement as Political Question on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The scope of judicial authority to review executive enforcement choices has long befuddled courts, producing a...

Jersey City Council Member Allegedly Involved in Multi-vehicle Drunk Driving Crash

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According to a recent news article from NJ.com, Jersey City council member Khermhah "Chico" Ramchal was arrested and charged with alcohol-related offenses after he was allegedly involved in an early morning three-vehicle car crash. Authorities say the 39-year-old politician was driving on the southbound side of West Side Avenue in a late model Ford Explorer when he crashed into a taxicab traveling westbound on an intersecting street. After he allegedly hit the taxicab, the victim's vehicle lost control and hit a second victim's car, according to witness reports. After conducting several witness interviews and a preliminary investigation, police believe the council member ran a red light and blew through the intersection when he "t-boned" the taxicab, causing it to spin out of control and into the second victim's vehicle. Police also say the council member had been at a catered event as part of a St. Patrick's Day celebration the night…

Another twist in the Jackson/Willingham case

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Bill noted earlier the case of the State Bar of Texas pressing charges against the former prosecutor in the Willingham matter, and the Washington Post's astonishing publication of an article written by a partisan in the case without identifying him as such.Now we have this article in the Corsicana Daily Sun.  This is the local paper for the scene of the crime (Navarro County, on I-45, the second county south of Dallas) and the most reliable source of objective reporting in the matter.  This article says it is "from staff and wire reports."Evidently in Texas bar discipline cases are referred to county courts.  The case has been assigned to Judge David A. Farr, a family court judge in Houston, but is expected to be heard in Navarro County. Jackson's attorney said he has requested a jury trial."We're very confident that when a jury sees this evidence, they will find that John Jackson has not done anything wrong," Byrne…

A Tale of Two DoJ Reports from One City on One Day

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Heather MacDonald has this article in the Weekly Standard on the two USDoJ reports on Ferguson, Missouri.  She notes, as has previously been noted elsewhere, that the report on Officer Wilson's shooting of Michael Brown is much more than a "not enough evidence to prosecute" finding.  It is a clear exoneration of Wilson and a repudiation of the fabricated story that led to the protests and the riots.The mainstream media, however, have now turned their attention exclusively to the second Justice Department report, the one on Ferguson's police department. The Brown report and its implications for the anticop crusade are out of sight and out of mind. The two reports were produced by different sections of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and it shows. The Brown report, written by the Criminal Section, in conjunction with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, displays a striking…

Arson, Duplicity, and the Mail

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In United States v. Singer, Mr. Singer was convicted of involvement in a fraudulent scheme to buy properties cheaply, obtain insurance coverage, and burn down those properties for insurance proceeds. The government charged Mr. Singer with mail fraud relating to the scheme, as well as individual use of fire to commit mail fraud counts for each property. In response to Mr. Singer's challenge, the Sixth Circuit held that a mail fraud count encompassing multiple acts of a conspiracy is not duplicitous. Further, even if it were duplicitous, a defendant is not prejudiced by avoiding the imposition of additional counts.The Singer Court also addressed the statute of limitations for using fire to commit mail fraud. Mr. Singer argued that the statute of limitations began to run from the time of the fire. But the Sixth Circuit interpreted 18 U.S.C. 844(h) to be committed only once "a fire or explosive is used to commit another felony - in this case, mail fraud." As a…

Filing an Accident Claim in Multiple Vehicle Accident in Bristol, PA

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It is challenging to claim compensation for a multiple vehicle accident, or chain reaction car accidents, in Bristol, PA because it is difficult to determine fault. When an accident involves three or more motor vehicles, it's very rare to have any motorist admit liability or fault.Apart from the legal issues regarding liability, there are also issues regarding insurance. With multiple motorists, there is more than one insurance company that will have a stake in reducing liability, or payouts.Besides, insurance companies are rarely in a hurry to settle multiple car accident claims because there is a huge burden on the plaintiffs to prove liability. You need legal guidance from a Bristol car accident lawyer when you're involved in a multiple car accident because the stakes are so much higher.What to Do If You Have Been Injured in a Multi-Car AccidentOne of the options you have after a multi-car accident in Bristol is to file a compensation claim with your insurer. Under…

The Theocracy Brief

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I've written a lot of amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court.  Indeed, at this point I suspect there are few, if any, people who have written more.  My arguments have shown up in the opinions on a good many occasions, sometimes attributed but generally not.The number of amicus briefs has risen in recent years, and their usefulness to the Court, on average, has declined.  Many are submitted just so the submitters can say they were in the case.  CJLF never does that.  If we have nothing of value to add, we don't file.  That rarely happens, but it has happened.Some briefs are just downright weird.  In Glossip v. Gross, the midazolam lethal injection case, the National Catholic Reporter has submitted an amicus brief purporting to explain the teachings of the Catholic Church on the subject.  I have no opinion on whether what they say is correct.  I know nothing about it.  I do have an opinion on whether what they say has…

Victory in Paraguay is a Big Step Forward for Domestic Violence Survivors

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By Debbie Sharnak, Argentina-Paraguay country specialist On August 27, 2014, Paraguay took a huge step forward in promoting the rights of domestic violence survivors when they released Lucia Sandoval from prison. Sandoval had been in jail for over three years on the charge of homicide after she defended herself against an abusive husband. Amnesty International Paraguay worked with other local human rights groups to advocate for her release. Finally, at the end of August, Lucia was absolved of all guilt in the case. Rosalie Vega, Executive Director of Amnesty International Paraguay said that the ruling gave a positive signal to women that look for protection against their abuses. Lucia’s trial centered on an incident in February 2011 when she informed her husband that she had filed a complaint in court and received a medida de protección, similar to a restraining order, which required him to leave their home. In Sandoal’s testimony, she noted that…

Could Dedicated Officers Be Hired to Look for Motorists DUI in Los Angeles?

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Brookhaven, Mississippi, may not be a trendsetter in many areas, but when it comes to enforcing laws against DUI drivers, the town is taking an unusual step—hiring a police officer whose main responsibility will be traffic and DUI enforcement. If other jurisdictions throughout the country copy that action, more Californians could end up requiring the services of a Los Angeles DUI attorney. An article on DailyLeader.com, which serves southwest Mississippi, reports that the Brookhaven Police Department is hoping for state aid—specifically a grant from the Mississippi Office of Public Safety—to fund the new position. The BPD Commander, David Johnson, said the department was concerned because of the increasing number of DUI fatalities in the area. The BPD made 28 arrests for DUI in all of 2014, and so far in 2015 it has flagged five motorists for DUI. There have also been 172 traffic accidents this year. Other police departments are using special training to boost…
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