Insurance Law §5102(d) defines serious injury as: "A personal injury which results in death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system; permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; significant limitation of use of a body function or system; or a medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person's usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment." "A defendant can establish that the plaintiff's injuries are not serious within the meaning of Insurance Law§5102(d) by submitting the affidavits or affirmations of medical experts who examined the plaintiff and conclude that no…
The issue in this case is whether plaintiff sustained serious injury
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Tsimhoni Children Released from Juvenile Detention
Three Michigan children who were sent to a juvenile detention center last month for refusing to go on court-ordered visits with their father were released Friday. According to the Huffington Post, at an emergency hearing last week, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Lisa Gorcyca lifted her civil contempt order against the children, ages 9, 10 and 15, allowing them to be immediately transported to a summer camp where both parents will be able to visit them. In June, Judge Gorcyca ordered the three siblings to Children’s Village Detention center and prohibited their mother, Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni, from visiting. The court ruled that the children would remain there until age 18 or until the court reviewed the matter. At a June 24 hearing, Judge Gorcyca declared the children in contempt of court for refusing to go to lunch with their father as ordered by the court. The oldest, Liam Tsimhoni, apologized to the judge for breaking the court order, but said he did not…
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NBC2 Investigation: The sex offender 1,000-foot rule
7-14-15 Florida: 1,000 feet is 1,000 feet, right? Apparently not when measuring how far away sex offenders can live from parks and schools. An NBC2 investigation uncovers differences in the way the state and local law enforcement agencies measure that distance. This law is all about distance, the amount of space between offenders and places like playgrounds. But we uncovered the distance
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Update on federal crimjust reforms
President Obama delivered a major speech in Philadelphia today on federal criminal justice reform initiatives. Find below the jump a related press release/fact sheet issued by the White House:THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press SecretaryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 14, 2015FACT SHEET: Enhancing the Fairness and Effectiveness of the Criminal Justice SystemToday the President will lay out the case for meaningful juvenile and criminal justice reform that makes our system, fairer, smarter and more cost-effective while keeping the American people safe and secure. Across the political spectrum, there is a growing consensus to make reforms to the juvenile and criminal justice systems to ensure that criminal laws are enforced more fairly and efficiently. Unwarranted disparities and unduly harsh sentences undermine trust in the rule of law and offend the basic principles of fairness and justice. In an era of limited resources and diverse threats, there is a public…
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Serena Williams Is Today's Muhammad Ali
Guest Blog Post by Dave ZirinThere are numerous articles—terrific articles—defending Serena Williams against the racism and sexism that have long stalked her career. This will not be one of those articles. As long as gutter invective is hurled at Serena there will always be a need to defend her—and by extension stand up for everyone who feels the primary sting of these attacks. (J.K. Rowling is even standing up for Serena , adding a new dimension to her #blackgirlmagic.) But, just as I wrote last week about not merely “defending” women’s sports but actually going on “offense,” we need to be similarly aggressive in stating factually just who Serena is becoming before our very eyes. If our eyes remain narrowed in a defensive stance, we could be missing a transcendent chapter in sports and social history beginning to coalesce.Serena Williams just won her 21st Grand Slam. That’s the same number every other…
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Crime In The Court in Orange County, CA
I have had many clients come to me and say, either jokingly or for real, can't I pay someone to "take care of this?" I always laughingly say, "This isn't Chicago with Al Capone and gangsters running the courts". Apparently, I was wrong. At least 600 cases involving traffic citations, DUI arrests, and other assorted cases being "fixed" are being investigated in the Orange County court system. Many defendants in Orange County are being called into court to explain how their cases were either dismissed, fines suspended, charges reduced, or otherwise resolved all without anyone actually appearing on their matters. The answer appears to be that a clerk in a supervisorial position in the Orange County court entered into the record fraudulent transactions resolving the cases in return for lots of money. From many defendants' point of view the idea of paying someone to handle their case is in line with their cultural beliefs. Many…
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Eric Garner's Estate Settles Wrongful Death Case for $5.9 Million
Last December I wrote about the Eric Garner death at the hands of an NYPD officer Pantaleo in the "2014- The Year of the Failed Grand Jury System, Part 2." Officer Pantaleo argued that he used a departmental approved "carotid restraint" hold meant to reduce the blood flow to the brain, causing unconsciousness. If performed correctly, the hold does not kill the subject, but merely causes them to pass out. When the hold is released, blood flow resumes to the brain, and the subject comes to. The alternative neck hold is a choke hold- wherein the officer squeezes the subject's throat, can't breathe and he dies from lack of oxygen. The choke hold is deadly force, whereas the carotid restraint hold is a submission hold and less than deadly force. There was a question as to whether Officer Pantaleo did the proper carotid restraint hold, or disapproved choke hold. District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr. lead a grand jury…
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Clark on Cell Phone Searches
William Clark has posted Protecting the Privacies of Digital Life: Riley v. California, the Fourth Amendment's Particularity Requirement, and Search Protocols for Cell Phone Search Warrants (Boston College Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 2014, in...
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"Fatal Re-Entry: Legal and Programmatic Opportunities to Curb Opioid Overdose Among Individuals Newly Released from Incarceration"
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Writs for Incarcerated Defendants: Who Drives?
Sometimes a person who is already incarcerated for one crime needs to be prosecuted for another crime. A surprisingly common question, usually from a sheriff’s office, is who is responsible for getting the defendant-inmate to trial? The county that wants the inmate (the requesting county)? Or the county that has the inmate (the custodial county)? There […]
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Still Certain about Uncertainty − Waiting on the Details in the New Iran Nuclear Deal
On July 14, the White House and the U.S. State Department announced that they had reached an agreement with their diplomatic partners and Iran to curtail Iran’s further development of its nuclear program. In exchange for assurances that should limit Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon, the U.S. and its negotiating partners − the so-called P5+1 − will roll back some sanctions against Iran. But, while Western diplomats and journalists have focused most of their attention since the announcement on describing the deal’s anticipated effects on curbing Iranian weapons development, it will take time to fully understand how and to what extent the sanctions against Iran will be rolled back, and what that will mean to U.S. and non-U.S. businesses interested in the Iranian market. At this point, our understanding of how Iranian sanctions relief will work is still developing. The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC)…
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BCS Helps Prepare for a Mural on the 177th Street Bridge
Preparing for a mural to go up on the 177th Street BridgeOn June 18, 2015, BCS Community Service was invited to participate in the first stages of a graffiti removal/mural project by priming the East 177th Street Bridge, between the Bronx River Parkway off-ramp and Park Avenue in the Bronx. We were prepping for Saturday June 20th, at which time an organization called Publicolor would come and do what they do best, creating cultural designs. This one of many projects put together nicely by Emily Colasacco, the Director of Urban Art/Summer Streets at the NYC Department ofTransportation. Some of the pictures reflect the enthusiastic of BCS staff and clients. All supplies were provided by The Department of Transportation.BCS is looking forward to keep doing this type of work with Emily Colasacco and her team. Enjoy the Pictures!- Moises Reyes, Coordinator of Community Service and InitiativesCovering graffiti and prepping with the base colorPreparing for the work, paint at the…
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The Stress of a Criminal Prosecution
The collateral damage that occurs when a person is the subject of a criminal prosecution is an under-estimated consequence of involvement in the criminal justice system. This subject came to mind recently when a client of the firm recently committed suicide when under investigation for a serious felony offense. While suicides are thankfully rare when people are subjected to criminal prosecution, it is not at all uncommon for clients to report anxiety, sleeplessness, excessive alcohol or drug use or other indicators of stress when being prosecuted for either a federal offense or a state law violation. Hiring the best lawyer you can find is sometimes helpful. Clients often times comment that they feel so much better just having someone to talk to about the legal matter or that knowing that someone is on their side helps to relieve some of the anxiety associated with this stressful time in their lives. The lawyers at Reddin and Singer also frequently recommend that clients consult…
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Wednesday Open Thread
I'll be at the jail the rest of the day. I'll have another El Chapo post up tonight. For those of you who are more interested in other topics, here's an open thread, all topics welcome. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Crash in Power County
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Idaho State Police District 5 5205 South 5th Ave. Pocatello, Idaho 83204-2299 (208) 236-6466 FAX: (208) 236-6068 For Immediate Release: 07/15/15 2:42 P.M. Please direct questions to the District Office Idaho State Police is currently investigating a crash at E County Road and Arbon Valley Highway, in Power County. Arbon Valley is currently blocked and it is unknown when it will reopen. Motorists are encouraged to avoid the area. jw / ln -------------
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GOP House members request AG Lynch to provide accounting of Prez Obama's commutations
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The Fake Charities, False Tax Returns and Fraud
This post examines an opinion recently issued by the U.S.Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit: U.S. v. Webster, 2015 WL 3916403 (2015). The issue the court addresses in the opinion is as follows:After Jonathan Webster pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of individuals' identities with false offers of lending a helping hand, the [U.S. District Court Judge] imposed an eleven-year sentence. On appeal, Webster claims that the district court misapplied two enhancements to his advisory sentencing range: one for lying about representing a charity, the other for targeting vulnerable victims.U.S. v. Webster, supra. You can, if you are interested, read more in this press releaseabout the “fictitious charities” Webster used to carry out a “false income tax returns” scam that apparently netted Webster “$1,457,936” to which he was not entitled. You can also read about the facts in the case in the news stories you can find here and…
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Federal Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of Access to New DNA Testing Regardless of Three-Year Time Limit
A federal appeals court has ruled that people who were convicted of crimes using inconclusive or outdated DNA testing procedures should have access to new tests, regardless of the three-year time limit currently in place, reports the Associated Press. The decision handed down by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is significant because it opens up the ability to classify previously unusable or inconclusive samples as “newly discovered evidence,” which is not subject to a statute of limitations. The Associated Press writes that protecting the innocent was at the forefront of the ruling, which was made in the case of Bill Watson, a Montana man who was convicted of attempted sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl in 2006 and sentenced to over 14 years in prison. The Montana Innocence Project took up Watson’s case in 2013 and requested DNA testing of evidence which had been previously tested but was inconclusive due to the size of the samples and the capability of…
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Some TDCJ treatment programs increase recidivism
A friend forwarded me a copy of this recidivism analysis from Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison rehabilitation programs, lamenting that "some of the TDCJ rehabilitation programs demonstrably make people worse."Which ones? Four of nine programs showed participants' recidivism increased after two years in the free world, though after three years only two programs - specifically the Sex Offender Treatment Program and the Pre-Release Substance Abuse Program, the latter of which has consistently increased recidivism since the agency began studying it - displayed higher recidivism rates.The two programs with worse outcomes after two years that came out slightly better after three were the Sex Offender Education Program and the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative. The SAFP program is the TDCJ rehab program with the best results and was the only one to make a double-digit difference.
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Politico article suggests real federal sentencing reform poised to become a reality
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