"Does Michigan's sex offender registry keep us safer?"
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The infant plaintiff (plaintiff) has a history of head trauma
The infant plaintiff (plaintiff) has a history of head trauma. In the year 2000, he was struck in and above the left eye by a baseball when he was tagged while sliding headlong into first base. He apparently was not treated for this personal injury. On June 16, 2001, a portion of a bathroom ceiling fell, striking plaintiff in the head and neck. An ambulance report states that he was found, semiconscious, on the floor by his mother and complained that his neck & back hurt. He was taken to LM Medical Center's emergency room, where bruising was noted around the neck and back. A head CT scan was negative. On May 15, 2002, plaintiff was struck in the head by a basketball. He was seen at the emergency room of G Hospital, where he was diagnosed with contusions of the face, scalp and neck. On September 8, 2004, plaintiff was a back-seat passenger, secured by a lap belt, in an automobile that rolled over at least three times, according to witnesses. He was transported by…
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Former AUSA to Head DEA
I've been so busy with the Tsarnaev death sentence and the Baltimore police prosecution that I am remiss in having failed to report a happy development for the DEA.The President last week appointed Chuck Rosenberg to be DEA Administrator. It's a superb choice. Chuck and I were AUSA's together in the Eastern District of Virginia for several years. He went on to become US Attorney there (and in Texas). His most recent post was as chief of staff to another former colleague of mine from EDVA, now-FBI Director Jim Comey.Like Comey, Chuck is non-ideological and non-political. I have no idea whether he's a Republican or a Democrat. He was a tough and fair prosecutor, a straight shooter and a gentleman. When he was appointed US Attorney, the confirmation vote was unanimous.I understand from the linked USA Today article that the drugs-are-wonderful lobby is "holding its breath" to see whether Chuck will be an…
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Academia, Still Stark Raving Mad
Law eventually will go where elite academia goes, which is why I do occasional entries on the latter. The following story about academia is a classic, so to speak. It's titled, "Columbia Students Claim Greek Mythology Needs a Trigger Warning":The Greek myth [the Rape of Persephone] has been recounted for thousands of years in hundreds of languages, scores of countries and countless works of art. It's considered a cultural touchstone for Western civilization: a parable about power, lust and grief.Now, however, it could be getting a treatment it's never had before: a trigger warning.In an op-ed in the student newspaper, four Columbia University undergrads have called on the school to implement trigger warnings -- alerts about potentially distressing material -- even for classics like Greek mythology or Roman poetry."Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' is a fixture of Lit Hum, but like so many texts in the Western canon, it…
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Questions Posed Answered
Chandler wanted to be in the process/trial/hearings. He wanted that because he liked the center stage. He used the courtroom as a means to advance his political agenda, or his want for more power and higher positions.Prior to any process/trial/hearings he would seek to make the playing field lean in his favor in order that he would not lose while on the center stage.Erik Scramlin does not want to allow a client the ability to get to the process/trial/hearing. He wants to threaten them in order that they do not exercise to that process.That's the difference.As to investigators, the Tenth Judicial District Attorney (Tucumcari, Ft. Sumner, and Roy), which has much less of a caseload than Hobbs and Carlsbad has two full time investigators and another two individuals who serve as investigators part-time.Clovis has three full time investigators, at times they have had four.The Hobbs News Sun should call a variety of DA's throughout the State and pose the…
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Suspect in Recent FBI Arrest Appears in Court, Attorney John Helms Gives Interview
The post Suspect in Recent FBI Arrest Appears in Court, Attorney John Helms Gives Interview appeared first on .
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Loss of Ramadi
The New York Times, among many others, say the loss of Ramadi is ISIS' biggest victory of the year. Once again, the Iraqi army fled. The fall of Ramadi to the Islamic State, despite intensified American airstrikes in recent weeks in a bid to... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Freddie Gray: the Beat Goes On
I drafted the following post a few weeks ago. Work commitments and other matters commandeered my schedule, and I never got around to pressing the publish button. In this short interlude, "Baltimore" has faded as a national story, which sort of makes my point.A few weeks ago a friend asked if I was going to write about the shooting of Walter Scott. My work load since March has been really heavy, but I made a note that I should. Some time passed and then Freddie Gray was killed. By the time I revisited my notes a few weeks later, Freddie Gray had been killed and I could barely remember who Walter Scott was. Which is my primary thought in this particular post. In the period that has passed since this post was drafted, the focus has shifted from the death of Freddie Gray to the prosecution of the officers, and the rather idiotic suggestion that the local prosecutor recuse herself because her decision to seek a conviction means she's biased. There will be more to…
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Luce To The Rescue!!!!! But The Record Won't Budge
Oh here comes Dianna Luce to try to save her office. Leading the charge, with no investigator to back her up.She will attempt to argue to the magistrate court that witnesses not showing up, and discovery not being turned over timely, are not real problems that should lead to her office being sanctioned or cases being dismissed.She will argue her office is overworked.No Dianna, the seven attorney's in Hobbs who are overworked are the following:Judge Henry (Non-attorney Judge)Judge LabreeJudge ClingmanJudge ShoobridgeJudge SanchezJudge KirkseyAndBarry Crutchfield.And all of those seven do not complain. They just DO THEIR JOBS.Dianna Luce, on the other hand, does not just do her job. She spends a lot of time not doing her job.What does she do during the time she isn't doing her job?She spends her time, and has her underlings spend their time, telling judges how overworked her office is, and how they cannot possibly do what the law charges them to do.In…
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"New Challenge for Police: Finding Pot in Lollipops and Marshmallows"
The title of this post is the headline of this new New York Times article, which includes these excerpts: After nearly 20 years on the job, Jim Jeffries, the police chief in LaFollette, Tenn., has seen his share of marijuana seizures — dry green buds stashed in trunks or beneath...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/RZaFpPe863w" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Case Dismissed! Scramlin Strikes, Part III.
Thursday.Scramlin did not have witnesses at a hearing and had not turned over statements.Had his new rookie assistant, Jessica Marquez, stand in for him as she argued that witnesses that were needed to be at the hearing were not there.The defendant was incarcerated.Ms. Marquez, unlike Ross Bettis who refused to do Scramlin's dirty work a day earlier, tried to argue for Scramlin's negligence. Scramlin had had Dominick Perrino, another DA at the office do the same thing Marquez did a week earlier and Perrino did as his master commanded. But today the judge would have nothing of it.Dismissed!Perrino and Marquez, unlike Bettis, refuse to stand up and say to Scramlin "If you're not prepared, don't include me as an errand runner to deliver that message to the court and defense counsel."I don't know where Ross Bettis got his values, but God Bless the man.And Perrino and Marquez are actually good people, who just refuse to speak truth to…
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More on the "ag-tech revolution" being spurred by legalized cannabis crops
In this post from a few weeks ago, I was promped by an article about the Tesla battery and marijuana cultivation to ask this question is a post title: "Could/will the marijuana industry become a boon for green energy innovation?". Continuing with the theme of innovations for ganja growing is...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/E8cQ0og8Sbs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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If You Serve A Subpoena....
and then cancel the subpoena, or tell the witnesses not to show up, is the subpoena actually served for purposes of the hearing or for purposes of the defendant?What if you inform Defense Counsel you do not believe the subpoenas were served, and the court file has no record of a return in them at the relevant hearing?What if you have agreed that the only "relevant witnesses" to a crime are X, Y, and Z, and then you subpoena A and B, but not X, Y, and Z?The Scramlin file.Or.........What if there is video or audio evidence of the crime, but you can't even get such evidence to open up on your STATE issued computer, and your lead investigator cannot either?And, in the middle of trial, the defense counsel offers you a misdemeanor plea to get you out of the jam because deep down inside he thinks your actually one of the good ones? One of the best.And then the next day you brag that you would have offered a misdemeanor plea anyway to everybody to save face, but there…
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Public Records
Little known fact:If you have a personal cell phone or email address, and you conduct government business over said device, it is a public record and an open records requests applies to said devices?E-mails, texts.Or speak to other State employees no matter what Department they work for, maybe one adverse to your department.Did you learn nothing from the Hillary Clinton/ Susanna Martinez situations?Nick, Nick, Nick. C'mon, you knew the answer to that one. You know that Open Records Requests apply to those and that they can be retrieved even if deleted.
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Drug Trafficker is Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison
Andrew Hunter of New Hampshire, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for trafficking in cocaine and heroin throughout New Hampshire and Maine. Hunter was the distributor for a large drug ring and the main supplier for said ring. When he is released, he will be on supervised release for a period of 3 additional years. Supervised release is the federal equivalent of state probation. When facing federal charges, the stakes are significantly higher than they are in state court. For example, an aggravated drug trafficking crime in state court may land you a mandatory minimum sentence of 4 years in state prison. Perhaps a maximum of 8 years, depending on the facts of the case and the defendant's criminal history. In federal court, you're likely looking at a 10 year mandatory minimum prison sentence and if you're classified as a armed career criminal offender, you maybe looking at 30 years to life. That's a BIG…
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How to get the best Results in an OWI 3rd Offense (Felony DUI) case
If you're facing a 3rd offense drunk driving charge anywhere in Michigan, then you already know it's a felony. In this article, I want to avoid all the scare tactics and make clear that, in most cases, and with proper handling, a 3rd offense drinking and driving charge work out much better than you think. The week this article was written, I handled 2 "monster" felony DUI cases: The first was my client's 6th DUI offense, and the other was my client's 7th offense. In the 6th offender's case I was able to negotiate a deal in the Metro-Detroit area's toughest court system that will have him serving less than 48 days in jail. In the 7th offender's case, I was able to have him sentenced to 14 consecutive weekends (28 days total) so he could keep his job and care for his aging mother (my client didn't get bailed out of jail until 2 days after his arrest, so I was able to get credit for the 2 days he already served). In Michigan,…
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ORDERED that the amended judgment is modified
625 N.Y.S.2d 936 214 A.D.2d 641 Shubhad DALVI, Respondent, v. Vasant DALVI, Appellant. Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, Second Department. April 17, 1995. Scupp & Milone, Forest Hills (Charles H. Scupp, of counsel), for appellant. Robert A. Ross, Kew Gardens, for respondent. In an action for a divorce and ancillary relief, the criminal defendant husband appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of an amended judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Miller, J.), dated August 13, 1993, as, after a nonjury trial, granted the plaintiff wife a divorce on the ground of cruel and inhuman treatment, equitably distributed the marital assets, directed him to pay one-half of any college expenses incurred by the parties' children, and directed him to procure a life insurance policy naming the infant children as beneficiaries. ORDERED that the amended judgment is modified, on the law, by deleting therefrom the sixth through eighth and the tenth through…
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Why the GOP needs to embrace marijuana reform ASAP: "The GOP Is Dying Off. Literally."
The title of this post come from my reaction to the headline of this Politico article, which carries the headline appearing in quotes above. Here is an excerpt that helps highlight why I think the GOP risks becoming a marginal party if it does not get on the marijuana reform...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/L5wYTqZ3zWc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Amtrak Train 188 Derailment Victim Resources
In the aftermath of mass transit disasters, such as the Amtrak Train 188 derailment that took place on May 12, 2015, authorities and disaster relief groups set up special services for victims. If you or a loved one was affected by the recent Amtrak derailment, you may be able to find help through the resources below.Amtrak ResourcesAmtrak encourages anybody affected by the tragedy to contact its Incident Hotline at 800-523-9101. The latest updates on Amtrak service restoration can be found on its website, including details on honoring tickets for travel while the northeast corridor was closed. Contact the hotline with any questions regarding recovery of personal effects lost during the accident.The company also stated in a blog post from its CEO that it would work with victims and their family to assist them with transportation, lodging, and any medical bills and funeral expenses. (If you receive a settlement offer, though, first bring it to your attorney before accepting…
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DC Circuit on child porn and sentencing manipulation and nonfrivolous arguments (aka departures and variances and Booker, oh my!)
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More Pages to Explore .....
