If you watch the news or use social media, you no doubt heard about a pair of Washington state siblings who thwarted a potential kidnapping of their 22-month-old brother. The attempted kidnapping – which was caught on camera and shows the kidnapper running away with the boy in his arms, the siblings running close behind – is every parent’s worst nightmare and reinforces the idea of “stranger danger.” But kidnapping encompasses much more than that. Illinois Kidnapping Laws In Illinois, a person commits the crime of kidnapping if he knowingly: And secretly confines another against his will; Carries a person from one place to another, by force or threat of force, with the intent to secretly confine her against her will, or; Tricks or entices a person to accompany him to another location with the intent to secretly confine the person against his will. I will discuss each crime separately, to provide a better understanding of the types of actions that…
Attempted Kidnapping Caught on Camera in Washington
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What Are Common Defenses In a Criminal Case?
Many people facing criminal charges believe that they have no other realistic option other than to plead guilty and face the consequences. However, there are many arguments that a defendant can make in order to defend against their charges and have the charges dismissed. First, a defendant may deny that they were involved in the crime at all. You can present this type of defense in several ways, including: Offering an alibi – You may offer evidence that you were somewhere else at the time of the offense occurred and, therefore, you could not have committed the crime. Alibi evidence includes witness testimony, receipts, video footage, and more. Attacking the evidence offered by the prosecution – If a prosecutor does not have enough evidence that you were involved in a crime, you should not be convicted. By attacking the quality and accuracy of the prosecutor’s evidence, you can break down the case against you. Though it may seem counter-intuitive, some…
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Should age matter at sentencing of elderly child molester?
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Two Queens Women Charged With Planning to Bomb Something Someday
Two women from Queens have been charged with planning to bomb some unspecified target. The news articles don't really tell the whole story. Here is the 19 page Affidavit in support of the Complaint. They began studying how to make a bomb... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Supreme Court: Fourth Amendment Protects Against Electronic Monitoring… Sometimes.
In Grady v. North Carolina, the United States Supreme Court unanimously decided that the government conducts a “search” implicating the protection of the Fourth Amendment when it monitors someone’s movements electronically without their consent. This ruling may have some implications for the government’s use of electronic surveillance techniques, but ultimately the reasoning for the decision is fairly narrow. It seems unlikely to significantly affect, for instance, the various widely reported NSA programs that monitor information about the American public. Grady is an unsigned summary decision, issued without full briefing or oral argument, indicating that the Court viewed it as a minor clarification of existing law that caused no controversy among the Justices. Torrey Dale Grady is a twice-convicted sex offender who has served the sentences for his crimes. Under applicable North Carolina law, after Grady was released, the State obtained a civil court…
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Mississippi Man Convicted of 2009 Murder Loses Appeal
Recently, Darrell Brooks, a Gulfport, MS resident, lost his appeal of his murder conviction for the fatal shooting of 29-year-old David Shivers Jr. in December of 2009. Brooks was convicted in 2011 for the shooting of Shivers, who died in his home. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Brooks appealed his conviction and requested a new trial based on the argument that in his initial trial, there were no eyewitnesses that could link him to the fatal shooting, and no physical evidence supporting the allegations against him. At the time of Shivers’ murder, his mother, brother, and brother’s girlfriend were in the home, but none of the three actually saw the shooting although they did hear a gunshot. The presence of glass from a kitchen window led investigators to believe that Shivers was shot through the window. The state Court of Appeals said on Tuesday, March 31, that there was evidence that Brooks, whose estranged wife was dating Shivers at the time,…
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Lasers can detect a driver operating a moving vehicle under the influence of alcohol
The science of using a laser to detect a driver operating a moving vehicle under the influence of alcohol has become a reality. Based on earlier research, Scientists at the Institute of Optoelectronics at the Military University of Technology conceived and developed an experimental laser device capable of detecting alcohol vapor within a moving car. The device works by determining subtle changes in the laser as the beam passes through the alcohol vapor. According to test results, the device successfully detected a simulation of the amount of alcohol exhaled by a person with a concentration of alcohol in their blood of at least 0.1 percent inside of a moving vehicle. Furthermore, the scientists have considered within their design possible countermeasures which may be used to defeat the accurate measurement of alcohol in the air of the moving vehicle. Some countermeasures, such as using solar screens on the side windows and driving with windows open, did not affect the laser…
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Complaint Alleges SFPD Officer Broke City Law While Investigating With FBI
Recently, two civil rights groups (the San Francisco branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Asian Law Caucus) filed a federal lawsuit against the San Francisco Police Department alleging that a police inspector not only violated department rules and city law whilst working with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, but the SFPD also failed to report it. The two groups, which represent Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian communities, specifically claim that Sgt. Inspector Gavin McEachern violated software engineer Sarmad Gilani’s civil rights back in July 2014. In that instance, the FBI’s Counterterrorism unit approached the plaintiff’s workplace at Google and asked him a handful of questions regarding his travel plans, personal blog, and political expressions on social media. None of those questions actually had anything to do with a criminal investigation, because Sarmad Gilani had not committed a crime. The…
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Bali Prosecutor Seeks 12 Years for Aussie Who Smoked a Joint
In January, I wrote about Nicholas Langan, a 24 year old painter and Australian citizen who went to Bali for a surfing holiday and got arrested for smoking a joint on the beach after dinner. Total amount of pot recovered: Less than 1 gram (about as... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Notable nomenclature for naming the "liberty disabled"
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Impact of the 2015 federal budget's medical marijuana spending restriction remains unclear
The 2015 federal budget contained a noteworthy medical marijuana spending provision. The amendment blocks the Department of Justice from using funds “to prevent . . . States from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.” The brief House floor debate of...<img src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/VavLgM9O6OE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Insurance Law §5102...cont
The term "significant," as it appears in Insurance Law §5102, has been defined as "something more than a minor limitation of use," and the term "substantially all" has been construed to mean "that the person has been curtailed from performing his usual activities to a great extent rather than some slight curtailment". The proponent of a summary judgment motion must make a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, tendering sufficient evidence to eliminate any material issues of fact from the case. To grant summary judgment it must clearly appear that no material and triable issue of fact is presented. On a motion for summary judgment to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a prima facie case of serious injury as defined by Insurance Law § 5102(d), the initial burden is on the defendant to "present evidence in competent form, showing that plaintiff has no cause of action". Once the…
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Internal probe finds ACI sex offenders did not access computers
4-3-15 Rhode Island: CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — A Rhode Island Department of Corrections internal investigation has determined sex offenders did not gain access to computers through an ACI treatment program, but the long time administrator of the program has terminated his contract. Peter Loss and his company ACSW, Inc. had run the sex offender treatment program for 18 years, with the most recent
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Sentencing in Child Pornography Cases is Tough
Federal Judge Struggles with Reasonable Sentence in Child Pornography Case Representing individuals accused of possessing child pornography is difficult. Any misstep could mean years in prison, […]
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A New Arrest Does Not Prove a Violation of Probation
Violations of probation can be difficult to prove, and this is especially true of VOP's based upon a new arrest. An arrest is certainly enough to have a judge sign a No Bond VOP warrant, but the State will have to present more evidence than just a new arrest to sustain a VOP conviction. In summary: yes, you will be arrested for violating your probation based upon a new arrest--but no, the arrest alone is not enough to convict. To see how this plays out in real life, let's take a look at Prater v. State, 2014 WL 2968842 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014). BACKGROUND INFO: Prater was placed on probation after entering a plea to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault. He received 15 years of probation. Yes, I said fifteen. We all know that the Pope himself cannot successfully complete 15 years of probation. Some judges are well aware of this statistical fact, and impose long terms of probation for just that reason. One Orange County judge…
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Tips on Dealing with the Consequences of DUI
Being convicted of a DUI can have a wide variety of results, depending on whether it is a first-offense. Let’s assume that it is a first offense. You face losing your license for 9 months and criminal penalties which may include mandatory minimum jail, loss of license, mandatory community service, weeks of alcohol classes and collateral consequences like increased insurance rates. Now what? How are you supposed to get to work? How do you explain to people why you can’t drive? Take classes Although getting charged and convicted of a DUI doesn’t mean that you are an alcoholic, you may find it beneficial to learn more about alcohol and the effects it can have on you, both mentally and physically. If nothing else, a charge like this is a good incentive to learn about why the laws for drinking and driving are so strict –often carrying mandatory minimum sentencing requirements, loss of license, mandatory jail, mandatory community service. Investigating…
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Seven time failure
This is the best story to show that, the registry FAILS to prevent sex offenses. And failing to update the registry DOES NOT result in NEW sex offenses. Apparently he registered after Michigan enacted the registry in 1994, and committed sex crimes in 1997 and 1998. And NO Failure to Register (or update registry) until 2012 and 2013 and NO new sex offenses. The public safety value of the
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How do I get my license back after an ARS 28-1385 Admin Per Se Suspension?
How do I get my license back after the ARS 28-1385 Admin Per Se Suspension? The ARS 28-1385 Admin Per Se suspension is 90 days. The first 30 days there is absolutely no driving. If you finish an alcohol screening (1 hour meeting with a counselor who will recommend you attend 18, 32, or 54 hours of alcohol classes) you will be able to get a restricted license on day 31 of the suspension. If MVD does not mail you the restriction, you must go into MVD and obtain it. Nothing automatically happens with MVD. You must always go in and do something. The restricted permit allows you to drive to and from work, court, school , alcohol classes, lawyer’s office and probation office. On day 90 you must go back to MVD and reinstate your Driver’s License. This is when you will finally get back your physical license if the police confiscated it. You do not have to finish the above mentioned alcohol classes to get your restricted license. However,…
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Deadly Force in Philly
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a voluminous report on uses of deadly force by the Philadelphia Police Department. In recent years, there has been a drop in both violent crime and assaults on police officers in the City of Brotherly Love, but officer-involved shootings (OISs) have remained stubbornly high. Amidst media coverage of rising OIS numbers in 2013, the Police Department requested assistance from the DOJ in order to assess the problem. The new report, authored by George Fachner and Steven Carter, finds there were 394 OISs in Philadelphia between 2007 and 2014, for an average of 49 per year. The suspects were unarmed in 15% of the cases. Fachner and Carter provide a wealth of data regarding the 394 OISs and dozens of recommendations for the Department. One recommendation is, “The PPD should publish a detailed report on use of force, including deadly force, on an annual basis. The report should be released to the…
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Massage Parlor Mayhem: Fighting Westport, Norwalk & Stamford Prostitution Arrests
It was just a matter of time before sex crimes detectives in Westport, Norwalk, Stamford and the Department of Homeland Security launched another Prostitution Sex Sting. This time it was in Westport and Norwalk Connecticut where police waged a two-pronged attack this week: first, they raided a Westport massage parlor; then, just days later, they set up an online sting operation out of a Norwalk hotel, using the websites Craigslist and Backpage.com. Some of the best Norwalk and Westport criminal lawyers and attorneys say these tactics smell and sound like entrapment. We agree. Here’s why… Recent Norwalk Sex Stings Net Multiple 53a-82 Prostitution and 53a-83 Patronizing Prostitution Arrests So let’s look a little more closely at what happened in Westport Connecticut this week. According to local media reports, Homeland Security agents, with the assistance of Westport and Norwalk sex crimes detectives raided a Westport massage parlor after…
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