Child custody is always a complex decision, and there are even more factors to consider when one parent is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces. If you or your former spouse serves in the Army, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Navy, or the Coast Guard, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with Utah’s custody laws for military members. In this article, we’ll explain why you can’t lose child custody for being deployed, and go over some other key points for servicemembers. Laws Protecting Custody Rights for Military Members The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMCD) tracks military statistics, including the number of military members by state. According to DMCD reports from August of 2013, more than 4,000 Utah residents are on active duty, the majority of whom are members of the Air Force. For these thousands of servicemembers, divorce and custody present a unique set of legal considerations. These considerations are chiefly addressed by Utah Code §…
How Child Custody Works When One Parent is in the Military
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Rocky Mountain HIDTA releases third annual report on "impact" of marijuana legalization in Colorado
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Programs (HIDTAs) are, as explained here, a special kind of drug-enforcement task force that was "created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 [and] provides assistance to Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/Nhe-pdzBKq4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Another Therapy Linked with False Memories
Most people are familiar with the issue of false recovered memories that plagued the psychological profession back in the 1980s and 1990s. The idea that a psychologist could elicit memories of abuse that the patient was not even aware existed led to some really awful miscarriages of justice thanks to that junk science. Now comes a new study from Psychological Science: Mindfulness Meditation Linked to False Memory Recall The study suggests individuals who engage in mindfulness meditation may have less accurate memories than those who do not take part in the practice. "This is especially interesting given that previous research has primarily focused on the beneficial aspects of mindfulness training and mindfulness-based interventions," notes first author Brent M. Wilson, of the Department of Psychology at the University of California-San Diego (UCSD). Mindfulness meditation involves the act of eliminating distracting or negative thoughts, allowing…
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Due Process Rights in Parole Hearings
All people are guaranteed due process rights under the 5th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. At its core, due process is the requirement that the government respect all of our rights and administer justice fairly and according to proper legal procedures. Most people think of due process as only being important after an [...]The post Due Process Rights in Parole Hearings appeared first on Columbus Criminal Attorney.
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WE REMOVED THE POST
Because of privacy concerns, we removed the previous post after a request. This is after all just a dopey blog and it shouldn't cause anyone any personal safety issues. We note that the story was emailed top us by several individuals who saw it on the person's facebook page. Having not been on facebook in several years, we were not privy to the circumstances of the post. Social media. It's a new world. DOM has all the details on the lawyers nominated for the district court in the middle district, and South Florida Lawyers has the latest on Spencer's new You-Tube. Query- should we do a defense lawyer draft? You are arrested. Who would you hire? Email us and we will pick a dozen people and then do an email draft and you will draft in your position and explain your choice. We will pick 13th. First twelve are in. Talk amongst yourselves while we work on a new post.Site Feed
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News Scan
37 Frat Members Charged in Student's Death: Charges have been recommended by a grand jury for 37 fraternity members in the death of a New York City college freshman, who died in northeastern Pennsylvania during a brutal hazing ritual. The AP reports that in Dec. 2013, 19-year-old Chun "Michael" Deng was blind-folded, weighted down with a backpack filled with 30 pounds of sand and forced to run a gauntlet as part of a fraternity "pledge" ritual. Deng was knocked unconscious and fraternity members waited at least one hour before taking him to the hospital, where he died a day later from a severe brain injury. An autopsy showed that Deng had suffered repeated trauma to the head, torso and thighs. Third-degree murder charges were brought against the Pi Delta Psi fraternity and five Baruch College students, while the 32 other members face charges ranging from aggravated assault to hazing. Flood of Illegals Fueling Heroin…
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The Timeliness of a Restitution Order
State v. Poole – Restitution is Statutory When damages are caused during the commission of a crime the law can order the defendant to pay restitution to the victims. Utah law allows for victims of crimes to receive restitution, that is, compensation for their pecuniary loss. In State v. Poole, the Utah Court of Appeals addressed the issue of when a restitution request is timely. Poole drove his friend to a location where his friend caused several thousands of dollars worth of damage. Poole entered into a plea agreement with the state whereby he pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and as part of the plea he agreed to be joint and severally liable for the damages caused, that is, restitution. When Poole was sentenced the amount of restitution was unknown so the trial court held open the issue of restitution for the one year permitted by the Crime Victims Restitution Act, but also ordered the state to file its request for restitution within 90 days. The state never…
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Joy on Unequal Assistance of Counsel
Peter A. Joy (Washington University in Saint Louis - School of Law) has posted Unequal Assistance of Counsel (Kansas Journal of Law & Pubic Policy, Vol. 24, No. 3, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: There is now, and...
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Washington Court Holds That Defendant’s Previous Conviction Elevates DUI to Felony Charge
In a recently published opinion, the Washington Court of Appeals addressed the issue of whether a defendant’s prior Alford plea could elevate a subsequent driving under the influence (DUI) offense to a felony charge. In State v. Bird, 352 P.3d 215 (Wash. App. 2015), the state appealed the trial court’s decision dismissing the felony DUI charge against the defendant. The Court of Appeals agreed with the prosecution and reversed the trial court, holding that the defendant’s previous conviction for vehicular assault served as a predicate offense enabling the state to charge him with a felony DUI. In 2009, the defendant entered an Alford plea to vehicular assault under all alternatives, which was accepted by the court. The defendant’s statement on the guilty plea acknowledged that he drove a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and caused substantial bodily harm to another individual. The court subsequently entered a felony judgment and sentence,…
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Crossing the Line - What Happened to Innocent Until Proven Guilty?
How many times did you cross the line on your drive to work today? I hope it was fewer than three, because that’s all it took to initiate the traffic stop that has turned my client’s life upside-down. Like many of our clients, “Terry” was pulled over for imperfect driving. During the officer's investigation of the triple line crossing, he noticed a smell of alcohol. Terry admitted that he had consumed alcohol earlier in the day. (It’s not illegal—yet—to drive after drinking. You can have a glass of wine at dinner, or a couple beers during an afternoon football game, and then drive home, as long as you are not impaired, and your blood alcohol concentration is lower than 0.08. Bar and restaurant owners’ livelihoods depend on it.) Officer: “Will you take a PBT test?” Terry: “No, I’d rather not.” Officer: “I am placing you under arrest for misdemeanor driving while impaired….” On…
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Cross: The deadly “Why”
“Cross-examination is the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth. You can do anything with a bayonet except sit on it. A lawyer can do anything with cross-examination if he is skillful enough not the impale his own cause upon it.” – JOHN HENRY WIGMORE It is hard to explain the principles of trial advocacy without concrete examples. Abstract pronouncements are worthless. They don’t stick in the mind like reality. That is one of the reasons why I teach using mock trials. The students create the concrete situations which I use to explain the principles of trial advocacy. Trials reported in the media can also become grist for our mill. The St. Paul’s School rape case has provided a classic. The 15 year old girl accuser was impeached with a series of contradictions by defense lawyer Jay Carney. Her excuse was a faulty memory – “I was cloudy.” Rather than leave it there Carney asked, “Why were you…
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A Massachusetts Drug Offense Conviction Leaves You Unable to Drive
Massachusetts Drug Offense Conviction One of the lesser known but significantly impactful consequences of a Massachusetts drug offense conviction is that you will lose your driver’s license. Under 540 CMR 20.03, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles will suspend your driving abilities when you violate the Controlled Substance Law of the Commonwealth (M.G.L. c. 94C) or the controlled substance laws of any other state or country. Driver’s licenses can be suspended for one to five years depending on the drug conviction. One-Year Suspensions Possession of any of Class A-E controlled substances Distribution of controlled substances Possession of drug paraphernalia (specifically devices used for administration of an injection) Selling drug paraphernalia Selling counterfeit or fake controlled substances Being present where heroin is kept Conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act Two-Year Suspensions Possession of a Class D or E substance with the intention…
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Causes Behind a Los Angeles Hit and Run
What causes people to feel the scene of an accident resulting in a Hit and Run charge? The overall umbrella is fear. People are scared that they may suffer consequences on varying fields if they do not flee the scene. Some of these issues are minor in nature, and some are much bigger. Either way, being charged with a Hit and Run, especially with injury, is a much worse scenario than those feared by drivers who opt to flee the scene. Do not want a DUI Many people flee the scene and do not stay to help administer help or leave contact information because they are driving while intoxicated and are afraid they will get charged with a Los Angeles DUI. If they are caught, and usually the driver is, they will not only be charged with a DUI, if it is within the adequate time period, they will also be charged with a Hit and Run. Probation Violations Many people are on probation from a previous offense. The previous offense does not necessarily have to be a DUI, or a Hit and Run, it can…
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Tuesday Open Thread
One of these days, I'll dive in to the politics thing again, as opposed to just eGhazi. But today is not that day. Open thread. Also too, I ranted about Iowa/NH going first on Daily Kos Radio. I start at about the 47 minute mark. Daily... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Violent Crime Rates Rising in Los Angeles
After seeing crime decrease for many years in California, violent crime rates are on the rise in 2015. In fact, the city of Los Angeles reported an overall 12.7% increase in crime with violent crime seeing a 20% increase so far in 2015.1 Possible Causes of Crime Rate Spike Possible contributing factors leading to increasing crime are a higher prevalence of gang participation in crime, the trickle down effects of Proposition 47, as well as rising drug use and homelessness. Proposition 47 was a recent legislative initiative where non-violent dug offenders were released from prison early in exchange for rehabilitation and probation. City officials suggest we could be experiencing the side effects of having an influx of ex-convicts now free who are turning back to crime. Criminologist Peter Moskos explains that though it is possible that these individuals maybe partially responsible for a rise in property crime, it is unlikely that Prop 47 releasees are attributable to violent…
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Split en banc Third Circuit struggles through how to review and assess Alleyne error
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Attorney for Dylann Roof, Charleston church mass murderer, suggests plea to avoid death sentence
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Update - Crash on I15 near 68
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: Wednesday September 16, 2015 11:23 a.m. Please direct questions to the District Office Update: --------------------- The lanes are now open. More information will be relayed as it becomes available. EH/HG Original Release: --------------------- The Idaho State Police is currently on scene of a single vehicle crash southbound I15 near milepost 68. There is partial lane blockage at this time. More information will be released as it becomes available. HG/EH -------------
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Houston veteran left homeless after faulty background check labeled him child molester
9-16-15 Texas: A year ago, Jeffrey Allan Taylor, a 50-year-old disabled Army veteran, found himself homeless after a faulty background check wrongly labeled him a child molester and he was denied housing just days after leaving a Houston hospital. Now, Taylor is suing the company that issued the background check, calling their background research malicious in its carelessness. Taylor, had
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Oklahoma's top criminal court stays execution of Richard Glossip for two weeks
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