Legal News From Around Arizona Scheduling for the contempt hearings regarding Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is moving forward with U.S. District Judge Murray Snow telling both parties to clear dates from late September to early November. [CBS5AZ] Glendale City Council and the Arizona Coyotes came to an agreement to revise the lease. [ABC15] Arizona’s … Continue reading Arizona Legal News → The post Arizona Legal News appeared first on Arizona Common Law.
Arizona Legal News
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Slate Article: The Ridiculous Laws That Put People on the Sex Offender List
Slate published a similar series worth reading, see "Listed for Life" which has links to all of the articles.8-12-2014 National: Three maps show states that register people as sex offenders for consensual teenage sex, peeing in public, and prostitution. On his 18th birthday, Virgil McCranie and his 14-year-old girlfriend of one year, Misty, decided to have sex. Because of their ages, that
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Don’t Write Letters to the Judge
Sometimes a person who is facing a serious criminal charge may feel afraid and compelled to do “something.” All too often, that urge to do “something” can lead a person to take action that is quite harmful to their case. An example of that that I see from time to time is when a person writes a letter to the judge as their case is pending, apologizing and asking the judge to let them out of jail. Such letters are not helpful, and can prove quite harmful. For that reason, it is wise to avoid writing such a letter to the judge. The most common situation where a criminal defendant writes a letter to the judge involves a person who is in jail awaiting trial on a charge that could result in a lengthy prison term, and they are unable to come up with the bond money to get out of jail. Despite having been told to not discuss their case with anyone besides their attorney (as virtually every attorney will repeatedly tell their client),…
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Texas AG indicted, but look who is behind it
Miguel Bustillo reports for the WSJ that Texas AG Ken Paxton has been indicted by a county grand jury. However, the fact that this case was instigated by the same group that brought the preposterous charge that former Governor Rick Perry committed a crime by vetoing a bill makes the whole matter suspect. See prior post on that case.The allegation is violation of disclosure and registration requirements for people selling securities, prior to Mr. Paxton becoming Attorney General. The group calls itself Texans for Public Justice. First the case went to District Attorney of Travis County, who said she had no jurisdiction and referred the case to Collin County. The DA there, a friend of Mr. Paxton's, recused himself. Two defense lawyers were appointed as special prosecutors.The Texas Legislature may want to look at the state's special prosecutor system. People who have not been elected and who are not responsible to any elected…
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Campus Police: Mall Cops With Guns?
Shortly after the murder of Sam DuBose by University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing, my pal Lee Pacchia went ballistic. Why do colleges have their own police forces? Why do they need cops with guns? Fair questions, and because it’s Sunday and I’m an accommodating sort of guy, I will do my best to explain. The New York Times has an article about this particular campus police department, which provides a piece of the answer, particularly the part about what a campus cop is doing ticketing a non-student driving off campus. Six years ago, with crime creeping upward in the tree-lined, if slightly downtrodden, neighborhoods encircling the University of Cincinnati campus, the city and the university quietly signed an agreement giving the 72-member campus police force authority to patrol nearby residential streets. The goal was “increased visibility,” university officials say, and the roughly 10,000 students who live in…
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Joe Biden's Plans Have Long Roots
The latest news about Joe Biden considering a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination is hardly a surprise. Joe Biden has always considered running for President in 2016. A year and a half ago, in February, 2014, he told ABC he couldn't... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Case o' The Week: Our Privacy Protections are Koh-Dependent -- In re: Application for Telephone Information - Fourth Amendment and Historical Cell Site Location Information
“Considering the ubiquity of cell phones, and the important role they play in today’s world, it is untenable to force individuals to disconnect from society just so they can avoid having their movements subsequently tracked by the government.” In re: Application for Telephone Information Needed for a Criminal Investigation, 15-XR-90304-HRL-1, at 35 (LHK) (N.D. Cal. July 29, 2015), decision available here.Players:Decision by District Judge Lucy H. Koh, N.D. Cal. Historic win for ND Cal AFPD Ellen Leonida, R&W Attorney Robin Packel, and Investigator Madeline Larsen, with welcome amicus help from E.F.F. counsel Hanni Fakhoury and ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Linda Lye.Facts: The USAO sought what is dubbed a “d” order for historical and prospective cell site location information (“CLSI”) relating to specific (under seal) phone target number(s). Id.at 9 (referring to 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d)). These (d) orders are not supported…
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A doctor's unique perspective on what doctors can learn from medical marijuana
I just got around to reading this fascinating New York Times op-ed piece authored by David Casarett, headlined "What I Learned at the Weed Dispensary." I recommend the full piece, and here are passages that especially caught my attention: I met Robin and many others like her at a California...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/65Jhc5BUXV0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Dallas criminal defense lawyer John Helms Obtains Not Guilty Verdict
Hunt County, Texas Woman Found Not Guilty of Felony Deadly Conduct Dallas criminal defense lawyer John Helms has obtained a not guilty verdict for a woman accused of felony deadly conduct in Hunt County. Texas – A Hunt County jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty on all charges filed against a woman accused of felony deadly conduct. Prosecutors ... Read More The post Dallas criminal defense lawyer John Helms Obtains Not Guilty Verdict appeared first on .
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OP-ED: Legislation will help keep Pa. safe from pedophiles
8-2-15 Pennsylvania, West Virginia: Twelve-year-old Jeremy Bell did not have to die. Especially under such gruesome circumstances — brutally raped and murdered by his elementary school principal in West Virginia. In fact, that pedophile should not have even been at the West Virginia school. The story begins in the 1970s, at Prospect Park Elementary School in Delaware County, Pa. Child after
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BGer 5A_748/2014: Die Verweigerung der Anerkennung des Kindesverhältnisses bei Leihmutterschaft im Einzelfall
Das Bundesgericht befasste sich unlängst mit einer delikaten Angelegenheit bezüglich Anerkennung der Vaterschaft zu beiden Partnern eines homosexuellen Paares (BGer 5A_748/2014). Einer der Väter ist der genetische Vater. Als Mutter kommen einerseits die anonyme Eizellenspenderin bzw. die Leihmutter andererseits in Frage. Für das amerikanische Gericht, dass das Kindesverhältnis feststellte, stellte sich diese Frage jedoch nicht, da nach jenem Recht die Leihmutterschaft legal ist und mit gerichtlichem Entscheid die Vaterschaft zum genetischen Vater und auch zum homosexuellen Partner festgestellt werden darf. Die hiesigen Instanzen befassten sich mit der Frage, ob die Feststellung des Kindesverhältnisses zu beiden Vätern gem. Art. 70 IPRG anerkannt werden kann oder nicht und insbesondere, ob der Anerkennung ein Verweigerungsgrund im Sinne von Art. 27 IPRG entgegensteht (Art. 25 lit. c IPRG).Im einem sehr detailliert publizierten Entscheid kommt…
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THE TRAINING BLOG NEEDS YOUR HELP
Dear Friends and Loyal Readers of the Judicial Training & Education Blog, We need your help! After being screened through thousands of other online legal blogs, the Judicial Training & Education Blog has been invited to participate in a “best legal blog competition” sponsored by The Expert Institute of New York. If you appreciate our bi-weekly Judicial Training Updates, Judicial Resource Library and other posted training material , we would very much appreciate your nominating us in the Education category. The nomination process will take less than a minute. If our blog is selected for one of three top prizes, any prize money will be donated to a worthy Minnesota charity. To nominate our blog, please CLICK on the below link, SCROLL down to the bottom of the page, and FILL IN the information on the RIGHT-HAND SIDE of the page. https://www.theexpertinstitute.com/blog-contest/ Enter YOUR name and email Blog address…
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Bill Lewinski and the Always Justifiable Police Shooting
Photo courtesy of PoliceMag.comThe New York Times has recently run a profile of William J. Lewinski, the psychology professor law enforcement turns to when it needs a justifier for the unjustifiable. It is an interesting look at how police defendants pitch shoot-first advocacy as neutral science. Fleeing man shot in the back? It's a good shoot. Unarmed man shot in car? That's also a good shoot. Unarmed man with his hand in his pocket shot as he complies with order to remove hand from pocket? You know that's a good shoot. Officers who change their testimony about how and why they shot? Again, no problem for Lewinski, whose pseudo-scientific approach appears sufficiently malleable to suit any fact pattern.As Matt Apuzzo succinctly notes in his Times' piece:His conclusions are consistent: The officer acted appropriately, even when shooting an unarmed person. Even when shooting someone in the back. Even when witness testimony, forensic evidence or video…
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"2016: The Marijuana Election"
The title of this post is the headline of this notable new article appearing in a special edition of Newsweek titled "Weed 2.0." Here is how it gets started: In the past few years, the U.S. has been steadily growing support for marijuana reform. From the presidential candidates to the...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/BCMEOZebr3c" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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FIFA Indictments, Corporate Compliance, Alfred Kinsey and Robert Lee
Shaving too close. Law360′s Zachary Zagger has a nice piece on the FIFA prosecution and quotes, among others, Jack Sharman: “Given this many defendants and the fact that there is going to be at least some who are going to cooperate, it would not surprise me if there wasn’t a second wave of charges or people coming out of the woodwork, people you have not heard of yet,” said Jackson R. Sharman III, a white collar criminal defense attorney with Lightfoot Franklin & White LLC. “If it is going to survive, it is going to have to have a more rigorous compliance structure than some of the items that have come across thus far,” Sharman said suggesting that it may need to create something like a corporate board of directors or an inspector general-type official to address compliance issues directly. Here is a link to the full article: 3 Things To Watch Out For In The FIFA Corruption Case Compliance drill. We have spoken with the Wall…
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MA SJC Leaves Open Judge’s Granting Immunity. One Day…
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently considered a defendant’s challenge that his second degree murder conviction should be overturned because his constitutional rights were violated when the trial judge refused to grant immunity to potential defense witnesses. In the case of Commonwealth v. Brewer, although the SJC affirmed the defendant’s conviction, the court left open the issue of defendant’s, as opposed to only the government, having a means to offer immunity to potential witnesses. In this case, the victim had been shot after leaving a party, though the evidence suggested that he was not the intended target of the shooting. The government called three witnesses who claimed the defendant was the shooter, one of whom was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony. The defense, however, attacked these witnesses’ credibility and asserted that one of these three witnesses was actually the shooter. After the prosecutor rested, the…
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Plaintiff MM was 34 years old on the date of the accident
On December 3, 2008, at the conclusion of the liability phase of a bifurcated trial in this action, arising out of auto accident collision on June 5, 2005, the jury determined that defendants R.W. Express LLC and AW were solely at fault in causing the collision. On December 9, 2008, at the conclusion of the liability phase of the trial, the jury determined that Plaintiff MM had sustained a serious injury within the meaning of Insurance Law § 5102 (d), and awarded him damages in the total amount of $517,500; representing $30,000 for past pain and suffering; $100,000 for future pain and suffering, intended to compensate for a period of 30 years; $87,500 for past loss of earnings; and $300,000 for future loss of earnings, again intended to provide compensation for a period of 30 years. Defendants R.W. Express LLC and AW now move for an order setting aside portions of the verdict, presumably pursuant to CPLR 4404 (a), although no statutory provision is cited in the Notice of…
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Prez candidate O'Malley joins chorus of leaders advocating criminal justice reform
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How to Avoid an Ingnition Interlock Violation in Michigan (or, how you Should Have)
In my role as a Michigan driver's license restoration lawyer, I handle a lot of ignition interlock violation cases. While I am glad to be able to help a person who winds up in a violation situation, I cannot get past the fact that most interlock violations could have been avoided in the first place. I get no delight in taking someone's money because he or she stumbled into a predicament by accident or oversight. In this article, I want to remind the reader that the Michigan Secretary of State's Administrative Hearing Section (or AHS, and until recently known as the DAAD) provides a "Notice of Proper Interlock Use" form along with the order granting back your restricted license, and that you absolutely should read that form, then read it again and do as it instructs. Ignition interlock violations are a huge pain. I have examined them in various other blog articles as well as in the specific interlock violation section of my website. The sad irony…
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Rep. Sensenbrenner explains why "Now is the time for criminal justice reform"
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