What happens when a low-level felon serves a split and then gets quick-dipped, dunked, and eventually revoked? Today’s video post walks through a case like that from start to finish, including many of the jail credit wrinkles that have emerged since 2011. Long story short: things have gotten complicated. I hope you’ll take a look.
Sentencing Whiteboard: A Typical Felony Probation Case after Justice Reinvestment
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THE LAW OF PUBLIC INDECENCY IN ILLINOIS
You were walking in the forest preserve, when that coffee you drank ran right through you. As it turns out, the preserve is a cruising area, which you may or may not have known. You start to unzip, thinking you are unobserved, when an undercover officer spots you. Now you are charged with public indecency. What can you do? In Illinois, the crime of public indecency (720 ILCS 5/11-30) applies to persons over the age of 17 who perform in a public place a sexual act or a lewd exposure of a body part with intent to arouse. A public place is defined as anywhere that someone would reasonably expect to be observed. Public indecency is a Class A Misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail or a $2,500 fine. Repeated exposures or exposure within 500 feet of a school when children are present can upgrade the charge of a Class 4 felony, punishable by 1 to 3 years in prison. Public urination is not considered public indecency under state law. However, some municipalities…
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More Arrests for Stoned Driving? Cannibuster Could Make It Happen
Testing drivers for an alcohol-related DUI in Los Angeles is a relatively straightforward process that may involve a breathalyzer and blood tests. But when pot is a driver’s choice for getting high, it’s been a lot harder for police to identify just how much cannabis is in a driver’s bloodstream and what constitutes impairment. Two biomedical engineering graduate students from the University of Akron in Ohio claim to have solved that problem. According to CBS News, Mariam Crow and Kathleen Stitzlein said they’ve invented a “Cannibuster” that can quickly gauge the amount of THC-the psychoactive ingredient in pot–in someone’s system. The Cannibuster measures THC levels through a saliva sample taken from a suspected impaired driver and passed through a series of chambers before yielding a reading. Colorado and Washington, two states that have legalized the use of marijuana, have established five nanograms of THC per milliliter of…
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OUI Penalties in Maine, Summarized
If you've been convicted for driving a vehicle under the influence (OUI) in Maine, you're familiar with the legal process: The license suspension. The fines. The criminal record. The stress. You might have been to jail. You may even be familiar with newer developments in the law, such as Ignition Interlocking devices. You might have thought that getting charged for OUI was the worst thing that could possibly happen. You're wrong. If you get charged with OUI again, you will go through all of those things, all over again. Only this time, the fines, the jail time, and the other penalties will be even higher. Like for many crimes, repeat offenders face higher penalties, depending on how many times they've been convicted in the past. Here's a quick breakdown of the penalties that someone convicted of OUI can face, according to how many times they've already violated Maine's drunk driving laws, based on the Maine OUI statute: In the past 10 years,…
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Idaho State Police to Honor a Boise Woman Riding in the Police Unity Tour in Memory of Fallen Trooper
Trooper Linda C. HuffIDAHO 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: 5/4/15 at 2:15 p.m. MERIDIAN - Idaho State Police will honor and send off a Boise woman who will ride in the Police Unity Tour in memory of one of ISP's five fallen troopers. Toshi Kempkes, will ride in memory of Trooper Linda Huff who was shot and killed in the line of duty on June 17, 1998, in Coeur d'Alene. Toshi will begin the almost 300 mile ride in East Hanover, New Jersey on May 9th and will finish on May 12th at the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial in Washington, DC. Idaho State Police Colonel Ralph Powell and other ISP personnel will meet Toshi and send her off on Tuesday, May 5th at 10:00 a.m. at the Idaho Peace Officer Memorial in Meridian. Toshi will ride in memory of Trooper Huff, as well as, her brother, Sergeant Dan Sakai, and three…
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MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS
User Actions FollowingDavid OvalleVerified account@DavidOvalle305I've heard chatter on Judge Veronica Diaz, who was noticeably not herself when she took the bench Monday. Another judge soon relieved her.User Actions FollowingDavid OvalleVerified account@DavidOvalle305Can't say what exactly was up with her and it wouldn't be fair for me, as the courts reporter, to speculate. I did ask courts spokeswomanUser Actions FollowingDavid OvalleVerified account@DavidOvalle305On Judge Diaz leaving bench, spokeswoman' response: "As in the past, when a judge is not feeling well, another judge covers the calendar."QUERY: If A judge has a cold or a small headache and leaves the bench, that is one thing. But what if a judge was "escorted" off the bench by her colleagues because it was determined she wasn't able to fulfill her duties? What obligation does the chief judge have to make sure all litigants who appeared…
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Defendant Appeals Manslaughter Conviction
A New York Criminal Lawyer said an appeal by defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Nassau County, rendered May 24, 1977, convicting him of manslaughter in the first degree and robbery in the first degree, upon his plea of guilty, and imposing sentence. The appeal brings up for review the denial, after a hearing, of defendant's motion to suppress statements. Judgment reversed, on the law, motion granted, plea vacated, and case remitted to the County Court for further proceedings consistent herewith. A New York Murder Lawyer said that on February 18, 1976 the defendant and his accomplice, EF, entered the Tru-Value Gas Station in Farmingdale, Long Island, and ordered the 16-year-old attendant to hand over all of the money. The attendant gave them the money in the cash register. At this point, EF ordered the boy to kneel down facing away from the robbers. EF then shot him and the boy died shortly thereafter. A little more than a month after the killing, defendant…
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Creating Context Through Representation: When the Lawyer Looks Like the Client
By Karen Thompson Karen Thompson is a Staff Attorney at the Innocence Project. She read this piece during the Saturday afternoon session, "Race and Wrongful Convictions," at the 2015 Innocence Network Conference in Orlando, Florida. The first thing you do is forget that I’m Black. Second, you must never forget that I’m Black. Pat Parker, For the White Person Who Wants to Know How to Be My Friend I came late to criminal defense. I came through the criminal defense door with seven years of civil practice under my belt. I came to criminal defense with a very specific political history: I was the amalgam of my Jamaican grandmother’s illiteracy and poverty, my immigrant mother’s striving to enter the professional classes, and my own lesbian feminist sensibility. I was well-aware of the system we work in, whose major by-product is the criminalization and incarceration of black bodies. But the truth is, when I walked into the…
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Federal Complaint and Detainer Do NOT Trigger Speedy Trial Clock
U.S. v. Richarson, No. 14-1901 In this case, due to a federal detainer the defendant was indicted on a felony charge of being in possession of both firearms and illegal possession of a submachine gun following receiving time served on state charges. United States v. Richardson, 780 F.3d 812, 814 (2015). The defendant motioned to dismiss on speedy trial grounds and was denied by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, then the defendant pled guilty and appealed. United States v. Richardson, 780 F.3d 812, 815 (2015). The United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit recently ruled on the issue of whether the Speedy Trial clocks begins to run when a federal complaint and detainer are served on an individual who is being prosecuted by the state and also, in custody of the state. United States v. Richardson, 780 F.3d 812, 813 (2015). The Court ruled that the clock would not start to run when a federal complaint is filed, only when a…
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No Charges for Utah Man who Killed Hijacker
No charges will be issued for the man who killed a hijacker in Utah this weekend. On Saturday May 2nd, a 31 year old man heard the cries of a hijacking victim being pulled from her car outside a department store in Orem, Utah. When he came to the victim’s aid, the 27 year old […] The post No Charges for Utah Man who Killed Hijacker appeared first on Salt Lake Criminal Defense.
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Privacy Policy
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Federal Venue: Keeping it Close to Home
By William T. EastonAs criminal defense attorneys, we are inclined to think of venue as something we want to change. Thus, we occasionally make a motion for a change of venue based on prejudicial pre-trial publicity. To preserve our client’s right to due process, we want to get out of Dodge– preferably as far away as possible–to avoid the pervasive publicity generally concentrated in the locale where the crime occurred. As a result, as defense attorneys we may undervalue the inverse motion, bringing the case back closer to the defendant or where the crime was committed. These instances are usually conspiracy offenses, where our client is far away from the other conspirators, or a fraud case–where the purported financial victim is headquartered in a distant city. Despite legislative and prosecutorial hostility to any interference with prosecutorial convenience, this type of motion has stronger constitutional rooting than a pure due process…
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Flakka: The Increasingly Popular Synthetic Drug Behind Odd Crimes
In the last few months, an increasingly popular synthetic designer drug called flakka has been the culprit of many strange and bizarre crimes. One man ran nude through a Florida neighborhood, tried to have sex with a tree and told police he was the mythical god Thor. Another ran naked down a busy city street in broad daylight because he believed a pack of German shepherds was pursuing him. Two others tried separately to break into the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. They said they thought people were chasing them. One even ended up impaled on a fence. Also known as gravel, flakka is readily available for $5 or less a vial, and is a growing problem for police after bursting on the scene in 2013. It is the latest in a series of synthetic drugs that include Ecstasy and bath salts, but police say flakka is even easier to obtain in small quantities through the mail. Flakka’s active ingredient is a chemical compound called alpha-PVP, which is on the U.S. Drug Enforcement…
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Officer’s Reasonable Mistake of Law Does Not Render Traffic Stop Unconstitutional, Says New York Court
In People v. Guthrie, a New York appellate court decided whether there exists constitutionally viable probable cause to effectuate a traffic stop when the stop is justified by an officer’s mistaken belief. The court concluded that when the officer’s mistake is objectively reasonable, the stop does not violate the Fourth Amendment. Just after midnight on September 27, 2009, a Wayne County police officer stopped Rebecca Guthrie’s vehicle after observing her fail to stop at a stop sign in Newark Village. While effectuating the stop, the officer noticed the odor of alcohol. The officer performed several field sobriety tests and a breath test, which suggested the defendant was intoxicated. The officer arrested the defendant, charging her with failing to stop at a stop sign in violation of New York law. Prior to trial, the defendant moved to suppress evidence gathered from the stop, arguing the officer lacked probable cause. The…
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Kamin & Wald on Public Lawyers and Marijuana Regulation
Sam Kamin and Eli Wald (University of Denver Sturm College of Law and University of Denver Sturm College of Law) have posted Public Lawyers and Marijuana Regulation (23(1) The Public Lawyer 14 (2015)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Although...
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Executed away from home: Africans on drugs crimes find little mercy from Asia, its new trade partner
Source: Mail Guardian Africa (30 April 2015)http://mgafrica.com/article/2015-04-29-dying-away-from-home-africans-on-drugs-charges-finding-little-mercy/FOUR African men were among eight drug offenders executed by firing squad in Indonesia on Wednesday in a case that attracted huge international attention.Nigerians Raheem Agbaje Salami (also known as Jamiu Owolabi Abashin), Silvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Martin Anderson and Okwuduli Oyatanze were killed at 12:30am, local time, on the Indonesian prison island of Nusa Kambangan."The executions have been successfully implemented, perfectly," Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo said of the controversial deaths. "All worked, no misses."Nigeria only responded late Wednesday, expressing "deep disappointment" at the execution by firing squad of four of its citizens.Abuja said President Goodluck Jonathan and Foreign Minister Aminu Wali had made "spirited appeals for clemency", most…
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Does new Mizzou "right to farm" amendment create a state constitutional right to grow marijuana?
The question in the title of this post is prompted by this intriguing new St. Louis Dispatch article headlined "Does Missouri's 'right to farm' amendment mean you can grow marijuana in the basement?". Here are the details of an interested new state constitutional provision and argument in litigation over marijuana...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/SdP5XuvJHXU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Be Safe on Cinco de Mayo and Avoid a DUI Arrest in Florida
Every Cinco de Mayo, thousands of people across the United States are arrested for drunk driving. In Florida, law enforcement officers will be out in full force with extra patrols and DUI checkpoints to crack down on drunk driving during Cinco de Mayo. Cops will be out on the roads searching for intoxicated drivers. If you want to avoid a DUI this Cinco de Mayo, refrain from getting behind the wheel after drinking a few too many margaritas. The following tips can be helpful if you are stopped on Cinco de Mayo: Roadblocks can be set up around your favorite bars and restaurants. Typically, roadblocks will be setup in spots where cops know DUI or other traffic violations are likely to occur, so be careful when driving. If you do come up to a checkpoint, be observant. Take note of whether all cars are being stopped. Also look at if the roadblock is clearly identifiable as a roadblock. These things could help with your defense should you be arrested for a DUI. Field Sobriety Tests…
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Stuff Your DUI Lawyer Should Know
I enjoy helping other lawyers in their DUI cases. DUI defense is a complex area . The law changes constantly. I remember when I started and the help that I received. A DUI lawyer should know some basic stuff. One thing a DUI lawyer should know is what the per se limit of the blood alcohol concentration to convict one of driving under the influence in Tennessee . A lawyer with a paying client did not know the answer to that basic question. The blood alcohol limit needed to sustain a DUI conviction is .08 %. To follow up on this topic , I will post the basic concepts everyone should know about DUI defense.
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Newport Beach Physician Arrested For Embezzlement And Tax Evasion
Dr. Bruce Hagadorn, 56, was charged in Orange County Superior Court with one felony count of embezzlement and eight felony counts of tax evasion. If convicted, Hagadorn faces up to 10 years in prison and the potential loss of his California Medical license. Hagadorn, the chief of staff at Irvine Regional Hospital and member of the Medical Executive Committee is out on $200,000 bail. Authorities allege that when Irvine Regional Hospital closed, the board voted to donate the remaining charity funds to Hoag Hospital. However, according to police, instead of donating the money to Hoag, Hagadorn diverted the funds to his personal use. The criminal complaint also charges Hagadorn with multiple counts of tax evasion for not declaring the proceeds he received from the alleged embezzlement.
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