Sufficiency of the evidence issues have been demonstrated in recent years in dogfighting or engaging in organized crime/dogfighting cases out of Texas Courts of Appeals, including the Fifth Court of Appeals at Dallas, the Eleventh Court of Appeals at Eastland, the Twelfth District at Tyler, and the Fourteenth Court of Appeals at Houston. Proof of fighting itself: In the first case from the Eastland Court of Appeals, which was decided in 2010, the defendant’s neighbor was awoken by a loud commotion of snarling dogs and excited men coming from the defendant’s yard. The men shouted things like “kill him, get him… don’t let him go.” The defendant instructed his dog to kill another dog, and he offered to bet the owner of the other dog $100 that the defendant’s dog would kill the other dog. The two dogs were being held, while they continued to fight, with chains that were handled by the defendant. In affirming the conviction, the Eastland…
Dog Fighting Cases
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Article – Bankruptcy Reform in the Context of For-Profit Colleges
Corinthian Colleges, a private for-profit, post-secondary educational institution, abruptly shut-down last month. Currently enrolled students were left in a quagmire : 1. find another institution to transfer to (and hope the credits transfer); or 2. apply for a federal loan refund and start-over.1 See Chris Kirkman, “Students left hanging after Corinthian closes remaining campuses,” Los … Continue reading Article – Bankruptcy Reform in the Context of For-Profit Colleges → The post Article – Bankruptcy Reform in the Context of For-Profit Colleges appeared first on Arizona Common Law.
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SUMMER 2015
It's the official start of Summer with the Memorial Day Weekend holiday about to begin. Reminder: No court Monday. And along with summer comes the summer dress code where the need for gentlemen attorneys to clothe themselves in an overcoat and tie on a sweltering hot day……never mind. When is this madness going to stop???We've had the hottest twelve month on record (source: NASA, that liberal, tax and spend Clinton/Democratic failed bureaucracy), we are going to be entering days in the 90s with 95% humidity and yet a male lawyer has to wear a long sleeve shirt, a tie, and a jacket. It is madness. The Death of The Death Penalty:Speaking of madness, conservative columnist George Will declared the death of the death penalty in this Washington Post column here. The conservative case against capital punishment, which 32 states have, is threefold. First, the power to inflict death cloaks government with a majesty and pretense…
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Theodore Johnson violently attacked his ex-girlfriend...cont
On the People's appeal, we are asked to determine whether the evidence was legally sufficient to support criminal defendant's conviction for endangering the welfare of a child when his actions were not specifically directed at the children. The People contend that the statute is written broadly enough to cover conduct directed at others that is likely to cause harm to children. Under the facts of this criminal case, we agree. Penal Law § 260.10 (1) provides that a person endangers the welfare of a child when "[h]e knowingly acts in a manner likely to be injurious to the physical, mental or moral welfare of a child less than seventeen years old." Actual harm to the child need not result for criminal liability; it is "sufficient that the defendant act in a manner which is likely to result in harm to the child, knowing of the likelihood of such harm coming to the child" (People v Simmons, 92 NY2d 829, 830 [emphasis added]). Nothing in the…
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New York City Housing Authority ...cont
NYCHA's action to terminate Gates' tenancy is progressing conforms with the "Procedures for the Termination of Tenancy" as set forth as Exhibit A to a stipulation of settlement in a Federal class action against NYCHA brought by its tenants, which stipulation was entered as a judgment in such case by the United Stales District Court for the Southern District of New York. See Escalera, supra. As a class action settlement, Escalera binds NYCHA all present and future tenants of NYCHA. The notice given by NYCHA to Gates to commence the proceeding against her tracks the forms expressly prescribed in Exhibit B to the ordered stipulation. The form, however, leaves a blank for the specified criminal charges, expecting that NYCHA will expressly set forth charges in an appropriate manner. In this ease, the specified charges were recited to be: NON-DESIRABILITY IN THAT: 1. On or about October 25, 2003, Roy King, an unauthorized occupant of your New York City Housing…
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Arizona Passes Law Allowing First Responders to Administer Lifesaving Overdose Drug
Overview of new law: Qualified first responders and training; Liability & Immunities; Good Samaritan Laws; Criminal Penalties & Defense Overview of AZ HB 2489: Combatting Heroin Overdoses A bill we have been following closely is AZ HB 2489 was passed on April 10, 2015. The expected effective date is July 3, 2015. Arizona now joins 26 other US states that have passed similar legislation. First responder’s administration of opiate reversal injections, have been credited with saving over 10,000 lives in the USA where overdoses were reversed. According to the National Centers for Disease Control (CDC), accidental overdose is now the number one cause of death in the USA, exceeding even automobile accidents for people among the age of 25 and 64. Earlier this year, the CDC reported that heroin overdose deaths nearly quadrupled between 2000 and 2013. An increasing number of Arizona residents have been overdosing on heroin…
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Respondent lived in Arkansas...cont
Here the boys still require stability. The Court commends the grandparents L.C. and L.C. for stepping in and assisting in caring for the boys. Notably all six boys were legally returned to M.H.S. who received a suspended judgment. Yet the fact remains, and both M.H.S. and the grandparents L.C. and L.C. acknowledge, that the current living situation is evolving. Two of the six boys, M.N. and T.W., are not biologically related to the grandparents L.C. and L.C. or M.H.S. and there was some evidence that Respondent's family in Arkansas may petition for custody. Additionally both M.N. and T.W. express that they want contact with Respondent. Respondent was the primary caretaker for the boys since their births. This is not a termination of parental rights proceeding, Respondent remains the boys' mother and the goal for this case is "return to parent." While Respondent will be incarcerated for thirteen years and six months (13 1/2 years) when the boys will have…
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Hertogh on Legitimacy and Compliance
Marc Hertogh (University of Groningen - Faculty of Law) has posted What Moves Joe Driver? How Perceptions of Legitimacy Shape Regulatory Compliance Among Dutch Traffic Offenders (International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, Vol. 43, No. 2, 2015 (Forthcoming)) on...
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Brooks on Involuntary Intoxication
Thom Brooks (Durham University) has posted Involuntary Intoxication: A New Six-Step Procedure (Journal of Criminal Law 79(2): 138-146) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Involuntary intoxication is often misunderstood. The predominant 'orthodox' view is that involuntary intoxication should lead to...
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Mistrial In Clovis; Stover Calls Wrong Pathologist to Stand
Brian Stover, ex-Hobbs prosecutor, with a somewhat checkered past, who found a landing sport in Clovis called the wrong pathologist to the stand in a murder trial in Clovis and the judge called:"Mistrial."Oh, the cost, the priceThe price of the prosecutors, and the panel of jurors that were called, and the Judge, and the bailiff, and the jury that was actually selected, and the court monitor, and the jail transportation team, and the cost of the Court, and the court clerks, and the sheriff's who delivered subpoenas, and the court interpreters who interpreted for members of the jury......"Mistrial"$20,000 down the drain.Gone.Stover? For reals? For really reals? No, for really, really, really reals?The wrong friggin' pathologist? At a murder trial?Read that here: http://www.cnjonline.com/2015/05/20/judge-declares-mistrial-for-murder-trial/And, while that was happening, Rodney Porter, a Hobbs Task Force Investigator, hung his head in…
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Massachusetts Appeals Court rejects challenge to breath test results based on the Office of Alcohol Testing not providing a manual for breath test machine
The Massachusetts Appeals Court in an unpublished decision ruled that the lack of an operator's manual for the new breath test machine did not bar admission of the test results into evidence. The decision was an unreported decision. This decision has been anticipated for almost a year by Massachusetts OUI Lawyers as it was argued on June 5, 2014. The Court held that the power point presentation was sufficient as training for the officer and that the defendant did not claim that the officer lacked formal training to administer the breath test. The Court held that the OAT was in compliance with the regulation and even assuming it was out of compliance the Court would not have suppressed the breath test result. The Appeals Court did not read the regulation pertaining to the breath test manual as requiring the Office of Alcohol Testing to create a manual. The decision from the Appeals Court can be appealed to the SJC if the Court grants further review. The…
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Rodney Porter, Hobbs Investigator, Great Taste In Music
So I finally got the belt tapes of a Rodney Porter investigation.Rodney and I disagree on the outcome of cases, but I like Rodney because he's old school, and for all his faults he isn't a bullshitter, and he looks you in the eye when he talks to you, and because he reminds me of some old deputy you'd see in a bad remake of "No Country for Old Men."So in the belt tape, Rodney shows his true colors.....The belt tape starts with him in his unit switching the radio back and forth and, for chrissakes, this dude has good taste in music.He goes from Van HalenToTed NugentToOld-School Stones.But its frustrating, because he keeps switching the songs midway through, at about 2 minutes into each song...UNTILhe comes to Elton John's "Tiny Dancer"..........of which he listens to the WHOLE WAY THROUGHand hums along.Rodney, I love you man. You made my day.If the rest of the Task Force wants a copy of this tape, I'm selling them at a dollar a…
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Cooper on Racial Profiling and Vulnerability Theory
Frank Rudy Cooper (Suffolk University Law School) has posted Always Already Suspect: Revising Vulnerability Theory (North Carolina Law Review, Vol. 93, p. 1339, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Martha Fineman proposes a post-identity “vulnerability” approach that focuses on...
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Disgraced San Diego California Department of Motor Vehicles Hearing Officer Benavidez Sentenced
On February 3, 2015, Department of Motor Vehicles Hearing Officer Benavidez, out of the San Diego DMV Driver Safety Office, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to accept bribes. As previously discussed in a previous blog post here, Ms. Benavidez accepted bribes of more than $5,000 from local San Diego attorneys or their representatives. Ms. Benavidez had been working for the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as a Hearing Officer since 2000. Part of her job responsibilities involved ruling over DMV Administrative Per Se hearings to determine if drivers arrested for driving under the influence should have their driver's license suspended. Since 2000, Ms. Benavidez admitted accepting bribes. These bribes include meals (gift certificates to Cheesecake Factory), designer purses (Juicy Couture), sunglasses (Ray Bans) and money ($250-$750 in checks). In return for bribes, Ms. Benavidez either dismissed driver's license suspensions, hid and/or…
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Attorney Correspondence
Henry Alford wrote an excellent article in the New York Times last week called “The Tyranny of Constant Contact.” It’s a must read on the social etiquette involved in being on social media (i.e., checking Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat) while working at a job site or spending time with family or friends. [Full Disclosure—Mr. Alford quotes this author in his story.] HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH CLIENTS? This story got me thinking about some frequently asked questions I get from clients: “When is a good time to call to get an update on the status of my case?” “Will you e-mail me the order that resets my case?” “What paperwork have you filed on my case?” “Are you on Facebook or Twitter and can I send you a message about my case through this platform?” These questions–like Mr. Alford’s article—also raise some interesting concerns. So here’s how I am handling these issues.…
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Crash near Kimberly injures 7 people.
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 4 Patrol 218 West Yakima, Jerome, ID 83338-5904 (208) 324-6000 Fax (208) 324-7897 For Immediate Release: 5/21/15 - 8:30 pm Please direct questions to the District Office On Thursday, May 21, 2015 at approximately 4:30 pm, Idaho State Police investigated a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Addison Ave East and North 3500 East, near Kimberly. Dora Kurtz, age 19, of Murtaugh, was driving south on North 3500 East in a 2014 Dodge Avenger. At the intersection with Addison Avenue East, Kurtz failed to yield to traffic at a stop sign. A 2001 Ford F-150 pickup driven by Virgil Adams, age 52, of Kimberly, was traveling west on Addison Ave. East and collided with Kurtz' vehicle. Kurtz, Adams, and Adams' five juvenile passengers were transported via ground ambulance to…
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"Senate panel votes to end VA ban on medical marijuana"
The title of this post is the headline of this notable new piece reporting on a notable recent vote in the US Senate. Here are the basics from the start of the article: The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday advanced a $77.6 billion funding bill for military construction and veterans...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/XkvKaWb1xGI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Ohio's GOP Attorney General now talking up medical marijuana reform
As reported in this notable local article, headlined "Mike DeWine looks at drafting his own medical marijuana proposal," the various on-going efforts to bring marijuana reform to the ballot in the Buckeye State has finally convinced the chief law enforcement representative in Ohio to start seriously considering marijuana reform. Here...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/dceB_aUEm7o" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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"Who Are Woman Sex Offenders and Why Are They Treated Like Men?"
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News Scan
Police Officer Killed Hours Before Maternity Leave: An Omaha police officer was shot and killed by a fugitive on Wednesday, just hours before she was to go on maternity leave. Fox News reports that 29-year-old Kerrie Orozco was part of the city's fugitive taskforce and had closed in on 26-year-old Marcus Wheeler, a fugitive with a felony arrest warrant who then opened fire at Orozco and other officers. Orozco had given birth to a premature baby girl in February, postponing her maternity leave until the baby's release from the hospital, which was the day after she was killed. The shooting suspect was also fatally shot. Transgender Inmate's Surgery Delayed: Hours after a California panel recommended parole for convicted killer Michelle-Lael Norsworthy, a federal appeals court delayed her sex reassignment surgery, making it unlikely that she will receive prison-funded surgery before her release. Don Thompson of the AP reports…
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More Pages to Explore .....
