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Don't Have $35? How About an Arrest for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender?

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Forgive me for stating the obvious, but a criminal record will hurt your employment opportunities. A petit theft charge, for example, will limit job opportunities in retail stores because most retail stores suffer the majority of their losses at the hands of their employees--so these stores prefer to hire someone with a record of driving on a suspended license or marijuana possession, rather than theft. And, while theft charges can put a dent in things, being a sex offender absolutely crushes any hope of ever being employed again. Period. Not a dishwasher (not that there's anything wrong with that). Not flipping burgers, rolling burritos--nothing. Not only can sex offenders not find employment (double negative? Maybe not), good luck finding a place to live that isn't within a 1000 feet of a school or playground. I've seen city's set up playgrounds just to drive out sex offenders--so much for liberty and freedom to travel. It should come as no…

How Long Does an Officer Have to Pace You?

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If you’re pulled over by pace in Virginia, you definitely need to contact me so we can see if there’s any defense that you may have, such as the speedometer calibration or whether or not the officer did get a good and steady pace of your vehicle. © marketing for Andrew Flusche, 2015. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh The post How Long Does an Officer Have to Pace You? appeared first on Andrew Flusche.

Article – Food Trucks, Incremental Innovation, and Regulatory Ruts

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Food Truck Fridays are fun and delicious! If you have somehow missed out on this culinary treat which takes place in downtown Phoenix, Arizona on Friday afternoons, you should make time to visit.  Some of my friends look forward all week to Food Truck Fridays. A new scholarly legal article looks at the history of … Continue reading Article – Food Trucks, Incremental Innovation, and Regulatory Ruts → The post Article – Food Trucks, Incremental Innovation, and Regulatory Ruts appeared first on AzCommonLaw. No related posts.

What Happens If I Have Multiple OUIs?

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Every state in the country has laws on the books for driving a vehicle under the influence (DUI) or operating under the influence (OUI), and these statutes are what are known as progressive penalties, designed to apply greater and greater punishments where the convicted party not only commits an OUI offense, but continues to repeat those offenses.  Progressive Penalties In many cases, the first offense involves a temporary loss of driving rights, required re-education and training on the risks of driving impaired. Financial hits, such as fines and court fees, are generally added on to the penalty. Jail time may apply based on the defendant's criminal record, driver history and particular circumstances of the offense. Once a defendant is facing a second, third, or even greater number of the same kind of OUI, the penalties grow far more severe as the charges have now morphed into felony charges. In many states, a second penalty may include some jail time up to 90 days,…

FBI Testimony on Microscopic Hair Analysis Contained Errors in at least 90% of Cases in Ongoing Review

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26 of 28 FBI Analysts Provided Testimony or Reports with Errors Contacts:         Paul Cates, Innocence Project, pcates@innocenceproject.org                         Ivan Dominguez, NACDL, idominguez@nacdl.org                         Emily Pierce, Department of Justice, 202-514-2007                         Michael P. Kortan, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 202-324-5352 (Washington, DC – April 20, 2015) The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers…

The Florida Misdemeanor You May Be Unknowingly Committing

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Every state has a few criminal laws on the books that are antiquated, nonsensical, and often humorous. For example, one Los Angeles, California law prohibits hotel residents from peeling an orange in their room. These laws are generally unenforced and nothing more than fodder for humorous coffee table books like “You Can Get Arrested For That.” Florida, of course, has its share of antiquated criminal laws including Florida Statutes, 798.02, a statute that makes it a crime for an unmarried man or women to “lewdly and lasciviously associate and cohabit together.” In other words,  shacking up before marriage is illegal. To be precise it’s a second-degree Florida misdemeanor, which is the least serious crime category, but still caries the potential punishment of up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Only two other states, Michigan and Mississippi still have criminal laws that prohibit cohabitation. The Florida misdemeanor is not generally…

Otero on Nonconsensual Pornography

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Dalisi Otero has posted Confronting Nonconsensual Pornography with Federal Criminalization and a Notice- and-Takedown Provision (University of Miami Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: While the issue of nonconsensual pornography has recently been brought into the limelight...

One of The Biggest Criminal Justice Scandals

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Imagine that a brutal rape and murder is committed. Shortly thereafter, an arrested is made. At the accused’s trial, the most significant piece of evidence comes from the prosecutor’s expert, who testifies, “The hair found at the murder crime scene matches perfectly to the hair sample taken from the defendant’s head.” Based primarily on that trial testimony, the accused is convicted and sent to death row. What if the testimony was later found to be junk science? What if that same expert provided similar testimony in numerous other trials involving defendants accused of similar violent offenses? Worse, what if numerous other “experts” provided similar flawed testimony in hundreds of other cases? Unfortunately, the hypothetical described above is a reality. It was just revealed by both the FBI and Justice Department that for more than a two decade period before 2000, almost every “expert” in their forensic unit provided…

Of Drug Legalization and Flying Saucers

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I have occasionally said here that support for the legalization of hard drugs is so low that it's never even been polled.I was wrong.I just found out that it was polled by the Huffington Post last year.Also polled, by a different organization, was the belief that Earth has been visited by flying saucers.Although a small majority now believes that pot should be legalized, flying saucers beat hard drugs by a fat margin. The results for drugs are:  Cocaine  --  11% for legalization, 83% against.Ecstasy   --   9% for, 79% against.Crack      --   9% for, 85% against.Heroin     --  9% for, 86% against.Meth        --  8% for, 79% against.LSD         --  8% for, 83% against.These results are more vividly displayed in the Huffington Post article here. Take a look.Meanwhile, the public is relatively quite convinced that flying saucers have visited the earth.  As…

News Scan

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Sex Predator Gets Second Chance, Reoffends:  Michael Shepard, released after serving a 15-year-sentence for committing sex offenses against children, faces 14 new charges of raping or assaulting at least 7 children after being out of prison 18 months.  Claire McNeill of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Shepard initially lied to his neighbors about his crimes, claiming his sex offender status stemmed from a Romeo and Juliet affair with a preacher's daughter.  He was released from prison after two psychologists determined that he "did not qualify for commitment" to a treatment facility after his sentence.  Shepard claims that the children fabricated their stories. Milwaukee's Spiraling Violence:  Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has suffered dozens of violent incidents this year, claiming the lives of at least 43 people.  Gina Barton and Ashley Luthern of the Journal Sentinel report that the mayor and police chief have cited the city's…

Marijuana Smell Emanating From a Vehicle Constitutes Probable Cause to Search in Wisconsin

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In Wisconsin, the smell of burned marijuana coming from a passenger vehicle is typically enough to establish probable cause for police to conduct a search of the automobile and its occupants. In State v. Anderson, a police officer apparently approached a minivan that he believed was parked illegally. As the officer approached the van, he saw two individuals inside the vehicle. The law enforcement official testified that the driver refused to respond when the officer knocked on the man’s window. Instead, the driver allegedly moved in such a way the officer believed he was hiding or retrieving some sort of weapon. Due to this movement, the police officer stated that he opened the driver’s door. After opening the door, the law enforcement official purportedly smelled marijuana. The officer testified that he then ordered the driver to exit the minivan and began searching for the source of the smell. During the course of this search, the police officer allegedly found…

In a Child Pornography Case Wisconsin Police Officers May Rely in Good Faith on a Search Warrant Even if it Lacks Probable Cause

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In United States v. Reichling, Darlington, Wisconsin police searched a house and a mobile home that was owned by the parents of a registered sex offender who was suspected of producing child pornography. According to an affidavit used to support a search warrant, the man solicited more than 300 nude photos from a 14-year-old girl via social media. He also allegedly threatened to share the photos with other individuals if she refused to continue sending them. The internet protocol address associated with the social media account that was used was apparently established using a fictitious name. Despite this, the service was provided to the Darlington address that was searched. After learning the suspected man lived in his parents’ home or the adjacent trailer, local police filed their request for a search warrant with a Wisconsin circuit court. The affidavit provided in support of the warrant alleged the man met the description provided by the girl after she purportedly met…

Wisconsin Appeals Court Upholds Order Suppressing Drug Evidence

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The United States Constitution permits a law enforcement officer to temporarily detain a citizen for investigative purposes. Sometimes, however, police in Wisconsin and elsewhere go too far and violate an individual’s rights. In an unpublished case, a sheriff’s deputy made an early morning traffic stop in an unmarked vehicle. According to the deputy, he noticed a white pick-up truck come to a complete stop at a traffic intersection for about 10 seconds around 3:30 am. After noticing there was no other traffic at the intersection, the officer pulled over into a gas station and allowed the truck to pass. Because he could not see a license plate on the back of the pick-up, the officer apparently decided to follow the man. Before long, the truck pulled over without being signaled to and attempted to park in a snow-covered highway shoulder. According to the deputy, he parked behind the truck and turned on his emergency lights. The officer testified that he noticed…

Wisconsin Court of Appeals Upholds Child Pornography Conviction Following Plea Deal

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In State v. Babcock, a man allegedly sent an undercover police officer who was posing as the mother of two children pornographic images of children over the internet. In addition, the man purportedly provided the law enforcement officer with his telephone number in order to discuss having a sexual encounter with the fake children. Soon after the online encounter, local police obtained a search warrant based on the affidavit of the undercover police officer. In his affidavit, the officer described the online transaction and made a number of general statements regarding the supposed proclivities of individuals who seek out child pornography. While executing the search warrant, local police seized the man’s personal computer and hard drives. Law enforcement officers estimated that approximately 45 percent of the 16,000 pornographic images and videos recovered depicted minors who were nude or engaged in sexual acts. Additionally, about 1,000 of the images involved…

Wisconsin Appeals Court Holds Search Warrant Was Based on Probable Cause in Marijuana Grow House Case

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In Wisconsin, a search warrant may be issued if a neutral magistrate reasonably determines that probable cause exists. In an unpublished opinion, a man’s vehicle was searched by police officers who smelled marijuana in the car. During the search, law enforcement officers apparently discovered two baggies of THC, drug paraphernalia, and other contraband items. Because the vehicle was not registered or titled to the man, officers obtained a search warrant for the man’s residence. According to police, the purpose of the warrant was to obtain information regarding the ownership of the car. The man’s wife was present at the residence when law enforcement officers executed the search warrant. During the search, police allegedly discovered a marijuana grow operation in the basement. After that, officers obtained another search warrant and purportedly found two bags of marijuana inside of the home while executing it. Next, a police officer conducted a videotaped…

Who Will Bear the Costs of Sentencing Reform?

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"Sentencing reform" is the deliberately gauzy name given the movement for shorter sentences and earlier release.  Its advocates say it will be focused on "low level, non-violent" offenders, but quietly, and less prominently, acknowledge that it's intended to apply to "all offenders."  This is one reason I want to add explicit language to one of the main "reform" measures, the Justice Safety Valve Act, before it gets a vote.  I want the public to know exactly what "all offenders" means.It's also the reason I want to highlight an item from today's News Scan.  The Scan is sometimes easy to pass by quickly, because it contains a number of stories. But this one deserves our immediate attention:Sex Predator Gets Second Chance, Reoffends:  Michael Shepard, released after serving a 15 year sentence for committing sex offenses against children, faces 14 new charges of raping or assaulting at least…

SpearIt on Mass Incarceration and Latino Communities

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SpearIt (Texas Southern University - Thurgood Marshall School of Law) has posted How Mass Incarceration Underdevelops Latino Communities (U.S. Latinos and Criminal Injustice (Michigan State University Press 2015)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In criminal justice scholarship, there is...

New Sentencing Commission data reveal within-guideline sentences now rarer than non-guideline sentences

New Brookings series starts by identifying "12 key people to watch in marijuana policy"

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Regular readers already know that The Brookings Institution has been committed to doing thoughtful and cutting-edge research, reports and blogging on the legal, political and social realities surrounding modern marijuana reform. Today, the front-page of the Brookings website has this announcement and link: In the past few years, marijuana policy...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/3z1H4tSqyfc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>

Crash on Eastbound I-84 Involved Six Vehicles During Morning Commute in Boise

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IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE Teresa Baker Public Information Officer Headquarters 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 884-7122 Fax (208) 884-7087 For Immediate Release: 4/20/15 at 3:25 p.m. MERIDIAN - On April 20, 2015 at approximately 8:38 a.m., traffic on eastbound I-84 was heavy with rush hour traffic when a 2007 Nissan Murano was following the vehicle in front of it too closely and rear-ended a 1999 Saturn SL on eastbound I-84 near milepost 48. A chain reaction started from the collision with four additional vehicles involved each hitting the vehicle in front of them. In all, six vehicles were involved in the crash. Three drivers were cited for following too close. One driver was transported by ambulance to St. Luke's in Meridian. The left lane of eastbound I-84 near the Five Mile Road overpass, milepost 48, was blocked for approximately an hour and a half while emergency crews worked to clear the crash. Idaho State Police reminds drivers that following…
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