For Immediate Release Contact: Hon. Alan F. Pendleton, 763-498-1508, alan.pendleton@courts.state.mn.us; 763-498-1508; Judge Pendleton’s “Judicial Training & Education Blog” Has Been Nominated for The Expert Institute’s Best Legal Blog Contest. Anoka, Minnesota, September 3, 2015 – Minnesota readers have spoken, the 2015 Judicial Education & Training Blog has been selected to compete in The Expert Institute’s Best Legal Blog Competition. From a field of more than 2,000 potential nominees, the 2015 Judicial Training & Education Blog has received enough nominations to join the top 250 legal blogs participating in one of the largest competitions for legal blog writing online today. The Judicial Training & Education Blog is one of only 20 entered into the Education category. Those 20 blogs will now compete for the top spot in the legal education category. Now that the blogs have been nominated and placed into their…
PRESS RELEASE – BEST LEGAL BLOG CONTEST FINALISTS
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Westen on Retributive Desert as Fair Play
Peter K. Westen (University of Michigan Law School) has posted Retributive Desert as Fair Play (Kimberly Ferzan & Stephen Morse, Legal, Moral, and Metaphysical Truths: The Philosophy of Michael S. Moore (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015)) on SSRN. Here is...
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Drug charges dropped after woman's false arrest airs on TV
With the popularity of so-called real life law enforcement shows, some police officers have been accused of taking things too far. According to some, when a camera is present, many cops will go to great lengths to ensure an arrest. After being arrested on what she says were false drug charges, a woman in Georgia is only one of many voices speaking out against this practice. Back in 2013, an episode of the popular TV show COPS depicted the woman being arrested for what appeared to be possession of cocaine. Video footage depicted the arresting officer making comments about the woman's various tattoos, including a statement that he made about them being possible indicators of drug use. He then proceeded to issue a narcotics test and claimed that it was positive for cocaine. According to the episode, that was that, and she was taken into police custody. The woman has a very different account of what happened, though. According to her, the first test was negative and showed…
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Three-vehicle Crash Westbound I-184 near Franklin Exit in Boise
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE District 3 Patrol 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 846-7550 Fax (208) 846-7520 For Immediate Release: 9/03/15 7:50 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office On Thursday, September 3, 2015, at approximately 4:26 p.m., the Idaho State Police investigated a three-vehicle crash westbound I-184 near the Franklin exit in Boise. Roxanna M. Dempsay, 54, of Meridian, was driving a 2004 Chevy Silverado pickup. Jerrold W. Neu, 61, of Meridian, was driving a 1998 Ford pickup. Kaelyn E. Dodge, 17, of Star, was driving a 1989 Jeep Cherokee. Dodge was driving westbound on I-184 when her vehicle rearended Neu's vehicle. Neu's vehicle, then rearended Dempsay's vehicle. Neu and Dempsay were stopped for traffic when the crash occurred. All drivers were wearing…
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"Over 80,000 US prisoners in solitary confinement"
The story is at Jurist: The Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA) [official website], in partnership with the Arthur Liman Public Interest Program at Yale Law School[website] released [press release] a report [PDF] Wednesday estimating that between 80,000 to 100,000...
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"Justice Dept. to Require Warrants for Some Cellphone Tracking"
From The New York Times: The Justice Department will regularly require federal agents to seek warrants before using secretive equipment that can locate and track cellphones, the agency announced Thursday, the first regulations on an increasingly controversial technology. . ....
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In Turkey, Journalists Targeted Once Again
OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images In Turkey, the crackdown on independent journalism continues. Mehmet Baransu is remains in jail, apparently a victim of the government’s crackdown on the Gulen Movement. He is one of many journalists in Turkey who have been charged under Turkey’s dangerously vague anti-terror statutes. Meanwhile, a pattern of media outlets sacking voices deemed critical of the government continues, with the newspaper, Milliyet, firing seven journalists this past month. The Arrest of Vice Journalists Most recently, a team from VICE news was arrested in Diyarbakir, in Southeast Turkey, where they were reporting on recent violence. Amnesty International condemned their arrest and called for the journalists immediate release. Today, there was some good news in the case, as two of those held, Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury, were released and presumably will be deported. My friend Mohammed Rasool is still in jail. He’s the…
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Divorce Lawyer Clandestinely Hypnotizes Female Clients
In a bizarre case out of Ohio, attorney Michael W. Fine, age 58, has been charged with numerous sexual offences arising from private appointments with a number of female clients, either in his office or in counsel rooms at the local courthouse. The charges include rape, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, attempted rape, 15 counts of kidnapping, three counts of attempted kidnapping and two counts each of attempted sexual battery, attempted gross sexual imposition, gross sexual imposition and illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material. Mr. Fine’s abusive activities were fostered by his ability to hypnotize his clients and take advantage of them while they were under hypnosis. The first client who blew the whistle on Mr. Fine recounted an uncomfortable feeling every time she left her lawyer’s office, with her disheveled clothing and a feeling she had lost track of time. She reported the situation to the local police who told her not to return to his…
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Endangering the Welfare of a Child: How Long is Too Long to Leave Your Child in an NY PL 260.10 Prosecution
To leave your child unattended or not. That is the question. Whether the child is three months, three years or thirteen years old, does it matter? If the child is left alone for five minutes, fifteen minutes or two hours, is it relevant? Does it make a difference if the child is left in a car, a home or public location? What if drugs, alcohol or dangerous instruments are nearby? While not specified in the Endangering The Welfare of a Child statute statute, New York Penal Law 260.10 is the crime that encapsulates these types of actions and behaviors involving and toward children. A serious crime, Endangering the Welfare of a Child is an “A” misdemeanor with a punishment that can be as great as one year in jail. Compounding matters, the Administration for Children Service (ACS) or Children Protective Services (CPS) may conduct their own investigation, the child could be removed from the home and a criminal court will likely issue an order of protection either limiting…
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News Roundup
All eyes were on Houston this week, where Shannon Miles has been charged with murdering Deputy Darren Goforth. Miles allegedly approached Goforth from behind at a gas station and fired 15 rounds into the officer. This CNN story has the details. It includes a statement by the national president of the Fraternal Order of Police […]
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The Laptop, the Private Search and the 4th Amendment
After Aron Lichtenberger was charged with possessing, receiving and distributing child pornography, he filed a motion to suppressevidence. U.S. v. Lichtenberger, 786 F.3d 478 (U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit 2015). The Court of Appeals began its opinion by explain how the prosecution arose:On November 26, 2011, in the afternoon, Lichtenberger was with Karley Holmes, his girlfriend, at their shared home in Cridersville, Ohio. They lived there with Holmes's mother, who owned the residence. That day, two friends of Holmes's mother came over to the residence and told both Holmes and her mother that Lichtenberger had been previously convicted of child pornography offenses.One of the mother's friends then called the police. Several officers, including Douglas Huston, from the Cridersville Police Department[,] came to the residence. Holmes requested that the police escort Lichtenberger off the property because she did not want him living there…
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And The Winner Is . . . Screwed
Dear Mr. Rodriguez: Congratulations! You were right, a traffic stop ends when the officer hands you the ticket, even if it’s just a warning. Done. Over. He doesn’t get to then ask you for permission to search your car. He doesn’t get to make you wait for one of those adorable police dogs to show up, walk around your car, sniff and, well, we all know what happens from there, don’t we. Nope, you nailed it. Dennys (may we call you Dennys?), this is big. From now on, whenever a court learns that a cop held a motorist beyond the completion of the core mission of a traffic stop, the judge is going to say your name. Yours! Maybe it’s not as big a deal as Ernesto Miranda or Clarence Earl Gideon, but it’s no small shakes either. You, Dennys, made this happen because you took the fight all the way to the Supreme Court. You da man, Dennys. Now for a little bad news. While you’re going down in history, it’s not really going to do much…
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Panel favours abolishing death sentence in India
Source: New Straits Times (1 September 2015)http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/panel-favours-abolishing-death-sentence-in-indiaA law panel tasked by India's Supreme Court to look into the death penalty has recommended that it be abolished for all crimes except those related to terrorism as it no longer has a deterrent effect.While its recommendation could lead the government to consider taking a look at a partial ban, the final decision rests with the government."The death penalty does not serve the… goal of deterrence any more than life imprisonment," the commission said in its report."Retribution has an important role to play in punishment. However, it cannot be reduced to vengeance,'' added the executive body that deals with legal reform.The commission suggested that instead of relying on the death penalty - which is carried out by hanging - the government and courts should look at compensation schemes and rehabilitation for…
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Court acquits man after controversial death penalty case
Source: Asia One (2 September 2015)http://news.asiaone.com/news/crime/court-acquits-man-after-controversial-death-penalty-caseTAIPEI, Taiwan - A defendant in a controversial death penalty case was declared innocent after his ninth appeal yesterday, exactly 20 years after his alleged crime.Hsu Tzu-chiang is one of three men sentenced to death in 2000 for the murder of a real estate businessman on Sept. 1, 1995.Activists and Hsu's lawyers criticised the ruling on grounds that the sentence had been based on the confessions of his co-defendants.The Taiwan High Court yesterday overturned Hsu's seven death sentences and two life sentences, declaring him not guilty.The case had already gone through eight appeals on repeated retrials.Hsu, in disbelief, turned to a nearby friend after the announcement and asked, "Is it not guilty?" Upon confirming the verdict, the defendant embraced his tearful mother."I have waited for 20 years," he said to a crowd of…
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Abdul Basit: Death row delay for Pakistan paraplegic
Source: BBC News (2 September 2015)http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34128116Pakistani prison officials have missed Tuesday's court deadline to explain how they would hang a paraplegic man.Abdul Basit is paralysed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair after an illness he contracted while in prison.He was convicted six years ago of murder but maintains his innocence. He was to be hanged in Lahore last month but this was postponed. A petition for his pardon was dismissed.Hanging him would constitute cruel and degrading treatment, his lawyers say.They add that this is prohibited under Pakistani and international law.Pakistan has executed more than 200 people since reintroducing the death penalty in December 2014.At the time the government said it was a measure to combat terrorism after the Taliban massacred more than 150 people, most of them children, in a Peshawar school.Pakistan's jail manual gives no instructions on how to execute disabled prisoners.A high court…
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Shifting Burdens: Prawfs Take Note of Affirmative Consent Issues
While lawprofs at Harvard (where Ted Cruz learned all about constitutional law) and Penn stood up when their respective schools sought to wiggle their way out of responsibility for establishing the star chamber, there has been remarkably little discussion about the problematic mechanics within the Academy. That changed with Miami lawprof Tamara Rice Lave’s post at PrawfsBlawg, agreeing with Chancellor Carol McCoy’s decision in Mock v. University of Tennessee that affirmative consent shifted the burden of proof to the accused, the male student, to prove consent. When I was a public defender, I used to always remind jurors that because the BOP was on the prosecutor, I could literally say nothing, and still, if the D.A. didn’t prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, they would have to acquit. But with affirmative consent, the accused must put on evidence. If the university proves by a preponderance of the evidence that a sex act happened, the…
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"American Criminal Record Exceptionalism"
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Town's sex offender bylaw unconstitutional
9-4-15 Massachusetts: AYER -- Town Administrator Robert Pontbriand delivered bad news to selectmen Tuesday night, stating that due to a recent ruling by the state's Supreme Judicial Court, Ayer's sex offender bylaw has been made unconstitutional. At issue is a town bylaw that restricts where sex offenders may live in Ayer. Like some 40 other Massachusetts communities, Ayer had adopted a bylaw
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Remarkable federal sentencing story pits prosecutors against each other
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The Kim Davis Presidential Litmus Test
I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.-- U.S. Constitution, Article Two, Section One, Clause EightThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled unequivocally that the 14th Amendment forbids states from banning same sex marriage. A government official may not, based on her own personal religious preferences, disobey this ruling and refuse to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. This is no more permissible than refusing to issue licenses based on a religious belief that does not accept the marriage of mixed race couples or of people like Kim Davis -- the Kentucky clerk at the center of this controversy -- who are three-times divorced. The federal judge who found Davis in contempt and put her in jail stated: “The court cannot condone the willful disobedience of its…
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