The family of a man killed while cycling in the Tour de Fair Haven has settled a lawsuit against the race organizers for $7.1 million. The case settled during jury selection. Cole Porter, an avid cyclist, was racing in the …The post $7.1 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Over Cyclist Death appeared first on Colorado Springs Accident Attorney | Quality Legal.
$7.1 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Over Cyclist Death
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Duff & Marshall on "Remote Harms," "Abstract Endangerment," and the Two Harm Principles
R. A. Duff and S. E. Marshall (University of Minnesota Law School and Independent) have posted 'Remote Harms', 'Abstract Endangerment', and the Two Harm Principles (Liberal Criminal Theory: Essays for Andreas von Hirsch, A. P. Simester, et al (eds), Oxford:...
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Supreme Court Takes on Bath Salts and Analogue Drug Act
Before 2011, few in this country had heard about “bath salts”—a synthetic drug which mimics amphetamine-like stimulants. In 2009, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration estimated that more than 20 million Americans used an illicit drug at least once a month. Millions of these “recreational users” have discovered “designer drugs,” like bath salts and K2 as a way to skirt the “controlled substances” laws at the state and federal level. But the problem with these synthetic drugs is that you never know what chemicals their manufacturers have used to make them, especially those manufactured in China. These drugs have become notorious for their harmful, and sometimes bizarre, side effects. These drugs first captured the attention of law enforcement in the 1980s and the terms “Design Drug” and “Legal Highs” were popularized in the media, leading to greater use and experimentation. Many unsuspecting…
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2015 SCOTUS Numbers Are In
The 2014 term is done and the Supreme Court's comprehensive review has been handed down.And the news is good for............The Honorable Justice Anthony Kennedy.He is now the most important person in the American judiciary.He has positioned himself as the swing vote on the highest court in the land, just as Justice Sandra Day O'Connor did when she was on the bench. With Kennedy this may have been true for some time, but the new report shows that it's even more true now.As Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagen, and Ginsburg hold down the left, with Roberts, Scalia, Alito, and Thomas holding down the right, Kennedy is perfectly positioned to be the ultimate decider of many of the important decisions coming down the Court's way.The report shows many other things as well. One, Justice Thomas may not be doing much in terms of oral argument, but he is publishing his written opinion more than any other justice on the bench.Two, that state supreme courts are getting as…
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The Marine, the Child Pornography and the Unallocated Space
This post examines an opinion recently issued by the U.S.Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals: U.S. v. Kamara, 2015 WL 2438269 (2015) (per curiam). The opinion begins by explaining that apanel comprised of both officer and enlisted members sitting as a general court-martial convicted [Kamara], contrary to his pleas, of two specifications of possession of child pornography, in violation of Article 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S. Code § 934. The members sentenced [Kamara] to confinement for ten years and a dishonorable discharge. The convening authority (CA) approved the sentence as adjudged and ordered it executed.U.S. v. Kamara, supra.In his appeal, Kamara challenged his conviction, alleging “three assignments of error”. U.S. v. Kamara, supra. If you are interested, you can find the Manual for Courts-Martial – United States, here. On appeal, he raised “three assignments of error”, i.e., he…
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Sloppy Police Work, Good Lawyering Leads to Suppression of Evidence in Child Porn Case
Whether Yuri Bershchansky possessed child pornography in November 2010 in violation of Section 2252 (a) (4) (B) and (b) (2) of Title 28, United States Code, will never be truly known. Why? The Department of Homeland Security, in its procurement and execution of search warrant, bungled Bershchansky’s address. On June 5, 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals outlined the facts of the case. The Homeland Security’s Investigations unit (HSI) identified a computer located in Brooklyn, New York suspected of offering electronic files of child pornography on a peer-to-peer network. The HSI investigator identified the computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address and “direct connected” to it, after which he discovered “numerous video and image files being downloaded, many of which contained titles indicative of child pornography. Using classified software, the investigator downloaded these electronic files. At this juncture Special Agent Robert Raab,…
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Criminal Issues Associated with July 4th Celebrations
Our Palm Beach and Broward County criminal defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Leifert & Leifert hope you have an enjoyable and safe July 4th Weekend spent with friends and family. While the 4th of July - which marks the birth of the United States of America - is meant to be celebrated, we want to caution you that there are a number of activities often thought of as celebratory in nature that are actually criminal in nature, and you can get in trouble for taking part in them. In this blog, we will detail a couple of illegal things which South Floridians have done in the past as ways to mark the holiday. Read on to see what not to do if you want to spend the weekend having fun, not sitting in a jail cell.
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Winnipeg Family Law Lawyer Critically Injured in Bomb Explosion
Earlier today a bomb exploded at Winnipeg family law firm, Petersen King. The National Post reports that lawyer Maria Mitousis, age 35, is the only victim and has lost a hand in the blast. Other sources suggest she may also lose her other hand. She was rushed to hospital in critical condition. No other details are available, such as whether the bomb was mailed or couriered to the firm and police are on the scene. The firm has had its share of misfortune over the past several years. The “King” of Petersen King is lawyer Jack King, the wife of Madam Justice Lori Douglas who became known as Canada’s bondage judge. You may recall it was Mr. King who introduced his wife to a client who complained he was sexually harassed by Justice Douglas and her husband. A high-profile judicial inquiry of Lori Douglas’ behaviour finally ended with her resignation as a Superior Court judge, but not before the first panel of judges adjudicating Judge Douglas’ future…
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FREQUENT JURY ARGUMENT QUESTIONS IN DALLAS AREA
I often hear defendants and trial lawyers in Dallas complaining about things that prosecutors in have said during closing argument (in Dallas, Tarrant County/Fort Worth, Collin County, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall) in cases ranging from misdemeanors to serious felonies where the State probably did not have much of a need to push it. There seems to be widespread feeling among the public and the bar, after a heated trial, that cases should be reversed on appeal due to specific closing arguments that appear to have been unfair or even outrageous. As a general rule, there are four permissible areas of argument for the State: 1) summation of the evidence, 2) reasonable deductions from the evidence, 3) responses to defense argument, and 4) pleas for law enforcement. One area where there are reversals for improper argument is when the prosecutors comments on a non-testifying defendant’s exercise of his right to remain silent at trial. In fact, even if a defendant testifies in…
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The Discomfort of Responsibility
Former criminal defense lawyer turned federal judge turned Harvard lawprof Nancy Gertner has been held out as a paragon of rational feminist thought for having the temerity to take a stand against the neo-feminist ideological shift in the definition and adjudication of college sexual assault. As previously noted, her feminist cred makes her opposition more significant than others who can be dismissed as misogynists or rape apologists. You can’t ignore Nancy Gertner. But as with others who are held out as the voices of the loyal opposition against a trending evil, “friends” in a cause if you will, Judge Gertner’s opposition comes with compromises. This is reflected in Conor Friedensdorf’s post about an interview of Judge Gertner by Caitlin Flanagan, which covers many significant issues. One of them is reflected here: Caitlin Flanagan: What about the issue of second thoughts, regretted sex? Having gone to college a long…
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Celebrating "the blessing of liberty" as the big winner in the SCOTUS Term just completed
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Blinded By The Light: Old Justices and Executions
At Volokh Conspiracy, Orin Kerr takes a shot at answering a question raised by lawprof Michael Dorf. Ever notice how a Supreme Court justice who takes the bench with an antipathy toward the death penalty never seems to develop a taste for executions over time? And yet, sometimes justices who start with the view that the death penalty is part of the process end up deciding that they can’t take it any more, that the death penalty is wrong and unconstitutional? What’s up with that? Why would so many Justices change their minds, only after serving on the Court for decades, about this one issue? I have a theory on that. It’s pure speculation, to be clear. But while we’re speculating, here’s my guess: It’s the cumulative effect of the workload. In the interest of brevity, this is the crux of Orin’s speculation: A little too superficial? Fair enough. Here’s the longer version: Think about how the death…
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Historical lament over habeas limits, partisan election of DAs
Grits was pleased to learn from the newsletter of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society of the Texas Constitution History blog, a project of Justice Michael Massengale of the First Court of Appeals. Give it a look-see.Browsing around, I found transcribed a letter from a minority report from a committee in the 1869 constitutional convention, the Reconstruction Convention, which lamented several recommendations not adopted by the convention which their committee had championed, including two which perked up your correspondent's attention: Habeas corpus powers for district judges and appointment instead of election for District Attorneys:The undersigned would also recommend that special authority be conferred on district judges to grant writs of habeas corpus, as recommended in the majority report.The minority of the committee agree also with the majority in recommending that the district attorneys shall be appointed by the Supreme Court and commissioned by the…
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Fourth of July Open Thread
As America celebrates Freedom and Independence today, here are some thoughts on what they mean. Happy Fourth of July, everyone. I hope you all have a great day planned. When you return, please tell us about it. This is an open thread, all... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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"Obama Plans Broader Use of Clemency to Free Nonviolent Drug Offenders"
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The Targeted Killings of the Al Harzi Brothers in Iraq and Syria
On June 23, the Pentagon announced Tunisian Ali al Harzi, who was a suspect in the 2012 Benghazi embassy attack, was killed in an airstrike in Mosul, Iraq on June 15. Yesterday, the Pentagon announced his brother, Tariq al Harzi, (pictured above)... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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New Connecticut Law Requires Ignition Interlock Devices For All Connecticut DUI / DWI / OUI First Time Offenders
Starting July 1, there’s a new Connecticut DUI / DWI / OUI law that is going to cause headaches for thousands of people arrested as first time offenders in Connecticut for DUI / DWI under 14-227a and 14-227g. As the best Stamford and Greenwich Connecticut DUI / DWI / OUI criminal lawyers know, this new law will likely impact approximately 6000 first time DUI / DWI offenders this year in Connecticut. Under the new law, any Connecticut first time offender arrested in Connecticut for DUI / DWI who is able to get a DUI first time offenders diversionary program will be required to install an “Ignition Interlock Device” (called an “IID”) in their motor vehicle. So if you are arrested for DUI / DWI in Stamford, Greenwich, New Canaan, Ridgefield, Darien or anywhere else in Connecticut, check out these Connecticut DUI / DWI Frequently Asked Questions below to learn if you are going to be required to install an IID in your car while you are fighting your…
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Europäischer Datenschutzbeauftragter (EDSB) veröffentlicht Jahresbericht 2014
Der Europäische Datenschutzbeauftragte (EDSB) veröffentlichte am 2. Juli 2015 seinen Jahresbericht für das vergangene Jahr. Dieser behandelt u.a. folgende Themengebiete (Auswahl):Wichtigste Veröffentlichungen 2014: (i) Leitlinie „Rechte natürlicher Personen“ (Rechte betroffener Personen), (ii) Positionspapier „Datenübermittlungen“, (iii) Leitlinie „Interessenkonflikte“, (iv) Strategiepapier „Der EDSB als Berater von EU-Organen in Fragen der Strategie und Gesetzgebung“, (v) vorläufige Stellungnahme "Privatsphäre und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit im Zeitalter von Big Data". Gründung IPEN: "2014 wurde in Zusammenarbeit mit nationalen Datenschutzbehörden, Entwicklern und Forschern aus Industrie und Wissenschaft und der Zivilgesellschaft das Internet Privacy Engineering Network (IPEN) (Engineering-Netzwerk zum Schutz der Privatsphäre im Internet) ins Leben…
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WHO IS PROTECTING OUR CONSTITUTION NOW?
It’s Independence Day. We’re celebrating our freedom, and we’re celebrating everything which makes the U.S.A. a great nation. One thing which makes this nation great is it’s ultimately governed by laws, not people. The framework for our laws is the Constitution, and the part of the Constitution which guarantees much of the freedom we’re celebrating today is the Bill Of Rights. The founders of this nation put their lives on the line for that freedom. Soldiers in our military protect the country and preserve our freedom from foreign oppression. But who is protecting our freedom from domestic oppression and preserving the liberties promised by the Bill Of Rights? We enjoy our individual rights. We don’t want law enforcement breaking into our homes and seizing our possessions without a warrant: we want the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. We don’t want officers beating suspects until they confess: we want the freedom from…
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Injustice Spawned by the 851 Federal Repeat Drug Offender Enhancement
Despite recent changes in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and new policies regarding drug sentencing issued by the Department of Justice, sentences in federal drug case remain draconian. Section 841 of Title 18, United States Code, sets forth the minimum and maximum penalties for federal drug offenses. Its sister section, 851, spells out the procedures federal prosecutors must follow to secure enhanced sentencing based on prior convictions. Basically, 851 enhancements lead to increased ranges of punishment of either 20 years to life or life in prison for repeat drug offenders. Section 851 is an ugly byproduct of the “war on crime” declared by the federal government in the late 1960s following Richard Nixon’s ascension to the presidency. It came at a time when the government proclaimed drug use, and associated drug violence, was the primary evil responsible for ravaging the nation’s largest inner cities. Enacted in 1970, Section 851 was designed…
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