Police and security forces in Angola use the courts, dogs, batons, torture, and murder to attack citizens exercising rights guaranteed in their constitution and under international law. Journalist Rafael Marques is witness to nearly all these tactics as he documents corruption and rights violations in the country he calls home. In June of this year, 13 young men gathered in a house in Luanda to discuss non-violent means to promote regime change. They were arrested when police stormed the meeting. Over the next few days, two more joined their ranks and another a few weeks later-all accused of plotting a coup. They are the 15+1 activists held in solitary confinement without official charges laid against them in Angola. Prior to this, in May, Jose Marcos Mavungo was arrested leaving church. His crime-planning a peaceful protest in Cabinda, a northern oil rich province where a separatist movement provides the authorities an excuse to harshly suppress anyone who raises a voice…
Angola: Where Peaceful Protest is a Crime
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Can I file an auto accident claim if uninsured?
If you’ve been in an auto accident where you were driving without insurance, you still may be able to file an auto accident liability claim against another driver if you can prove that he or she was acting negligently.Both Pennsylvania and New Jersey require drivers within the states to carry auto insurance. Those who drive without insurance not only are putting themselves at risk of difficulty recovering damages in an accident but are also breaking the law.Pennsylvania’s No-fault LawsPennsylvania is a no-fault car insurance state, meaning victims cannot file liability lawsuits against other drivers unless one of these instances is true.They have full tort car insuranceWere a motorcyclist or pedestrian at the time of the crashSustained a serious injurySince you’re uninsured, the full tort insurance option is out. If you have been seriously injured, though, or if you were a motorcyclist or pedestrian at the time of crash, then you can still pursue a liability…
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When Women Unwittingly Supply or Hold Guns
If you supply or hold guns you face serious felony charges. An unfortunate scenario that often lands women in trouble with the law is when they unwittingly become involved in the illegal holding, supplying, or trafficking of weapons to those who are not permitted by law to have them. Many women find themselves pressured by family members, husbands, boyfriends, etc. to serve as a straw purchaser, someone who buys a gun or other weapon on behalf of someone else who is unable to purchase the gun or weapon themselves. If you supply or hold guns you face serious criminal legal problems. Straw purchasing of weapons by women has long been a way for convicted criminals to get their hands on guns, especially in Massachusetts. For instance, the problem was so significant just a few years ago that a number of public safety organizations, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety and the City of Boston, banded together to launch an…
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Freeway Exchanges Top Colorado Springs’ Most Dangerous Intersections List
Colorado Springs Drivers Beware! Freeway junctions are some of the most dangerous intersections in the city according to the Colorado Springs Police Department. In July, CPSD released a list of the most dangerous intersections in the city based on 2014 …The post Freeway Exchanges Top Colorado Springs’ Most Dangerous Intersections List appeared first on Colorado Springs Accident Attorney | Quality Legal.
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Which Prisons to Visit?
Pope Francis has arrived in the United States, having said that he will meet with, not just the powerful, but the "marginalized," including prison inmates.One might ask a couple of questions here. One would be how US inmates got where they are. And the answer would be by committing crime, usually violent crime. Another might be whether the Pope plans on meeting with the inmates' victims, and the answer is "no" (at least "no" so far as has been announced). Victims, I guess, can do without Papal grace.But the question I want to ask is aptly discussed in today's Washington Post editorial. It asks why the Pope bypassed prisoners in Cuba -- and instead had a cordial, smiling meeting with the tyrants who put them there in order to muzzle dissent, rather than because they committed any crime, as that word is understood in the United States and the rest of the Free World.Thus, the Post notes:How...to explain Pope…
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2015 UPDATES TO ILLINOIS CONCEALED CARRY LAW
Illinois has tweaked its Concealed Carry law for the first time since its passage in 2013. Under the revised law, if you are carrying a firearm in an auto, police or emergency personnel may secure the weapon if they deem it necessary for the safety of any person present. (See 430 ILCS 66/10(h)(1).) If the officer or emergency personnel determine you are not a threat and that you are mentally and physically capable of possessing the gun, they may return it before releasing you from the scene. If you are turned over for treatment to another facility, your weapon must be turned over to a peace officer who will then issue a receipt. The 2013 law allows a licensee to carry a concealed firearm in the immediate area surrounding his or her vehicle within a prohibited parking lot only for the limited purpose of storing or retrieving the weapon within the vehicle’s trunk. (See 430 ILCS 66/65(b).) Under the new law, you need not insure that the weapon is unloaded before it…
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$1,000 an Hour Lawyer Disbarred for Appealing an Arbitration Award
Robert Bennett was a high-flying attorney in Texas with a big reputation as a go-to litigator. He included among his clients uber-wealthy financier R. Allen Stanford, sentenced to 110 years in prison for a $7 billion dollar Ponzi scheme arising from the fictional Stanford International Bank in Antigua and wrongfully convicted death row inmate Anthony Graves, exonerated in the murders of six people and released from prison. But the case that has ended his career relates to client Gary Land who retained Mr. Bennett in 2011 to handle a breach of contract case and a potential civil rights violation action. The latter case had been turned down by other lawyers as it involved an improbable allegation that Mr. Land was being secretly surveilled by unnamed persons, possibly federal agents. Bennett asked for and received a $50,000 retainer. Bennett was instructed by his client to forward his bills for legal services to him by email as he would be engaged in extensive travel.…
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Puzone on Counsel Abandonment and Post-Conviction Relief
Katherine Puzone (Barry University - Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law) has posted When Counsel Abandonment Forecloses Post-Conviction Relief: An Argument for Applying the Doctrine of Cause and Prejudice to the AEDPA Statute of Limitations (Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law...
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"Slouching in the wrong neighborhood leads to a stop — and a decade in jail"
Orin Kerr has this post at The Volokh Conspiracy, excerpting a recent Sixth Circuit case and concluding, "Judgments about reasonable suspicion are always about line-drawing and inference. With that said, I think this decision is wrong."
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DALLAS APPEALS ON PROBATION CONDITIONS
Defendants in Dallas often have problems accepting their conditions of probation (community service). This can be difficult to address if the Dallas County District Court is not receptive to changing the conditions or if the problems are not set up for appeal at the time of the original conviction or at the time of a revocation of probation. A defendant cannot simply appeal probation conditions to the Dallas Court of Appeals during his probation when not done as part of an appeal from an order granting probation or a judgment of conviction. This applies even when the trial court has modified the conditions at some point subsequent to a judgment that was not appealed. No Texas appeals court does not have jurisdiction to consider an appeal simply from an order altering or modifying the conditions of community supervision. Challenges on appeal about probation conditions often involve arguments that the conditions are too vague. A legal obligation that requires the doing of an act…
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What’s NOT a Public Vehicular Area?
After the legislature broadened the definition of “public vehicular area” in 2006 to include areas “used by the public for vehicular traffic at any time,” many wondered whether there was any place where one could drive a vehicle (other than a private driveway) that wasn’t considered a public vehicular area. There was even some doubt about those private driveways, since members of the public can drive into them and sometimes do so even without an invitation from the resident. Moreover, North Carolina’s appellate courts had broadly interpreted the term for years—even when it was more narrowly defined. But the court of appeals put the brakes on an overly expansive reading of public vehicular area last year, rejecting, in State v. Ricks, ___ N.C. App. ___, 764 S.E.2d 692 (2014), the State’s argument that all property used by the public for vehicular traffic is, in fact, a public vehicular area. The facts in State v. Ricks.…
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WARRANT CANCELLED/LICENSE REINSTATED
CB, a 40 year old plumber who needs a license to work, got in trouble in Lynn District Court back in 2009. He left Massachusetts and moved to FL and got a FL license. In 2015 he went to renew his FL license and was told he could not because his license/right to operate had been suspended in MA due to an outstanding warrant in Lynn District Court. In fact CB had a 2009 criminal case in Lynn that was in warrant status due to unpaid money. When CB called Lynn District Court he was told he would have to come up to MA to clear the warrant. On Monday, September 21, 2015 CB retained Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover. On Wednesday, September 23, 2015 Attorney Lewin went to Lynn District Court without CB and paid the moneys that were owing to the Court. The Court removed the default that had been entered against CB, cancelled the warrant, and ordered the case dismissed. The Registry of Motor Vehicles was notified, the suspension on CB's license/right to operate was lifted,…
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What Lawyers Can Learn from Yogi Berra
Yogi Berra, 1956 (image is in the public domain) We lost one of the greats last night, the irrepressible and beloved Hall of Fame Yankees catcher Yogi Berra. Below are a few words of Yogi’s wisdom — “Yogi-isms” — that can be applied to the world of lawyering, too. “Ninety percent of this game is half mental” Taking a case to trial can, at times, be an emotional roller coaster. Be mentally prepared to deal with clients’ worries and headstrong DAs, insurance adjustors and others. Sometimes people have legitimate nits, other times they just want to test you. Don’t take it personally and stay on course. “You can observe a lot just by watching” Yogi’s answer for his strategy as a manager has wisdom for lawyers, too. Let’s be honest, we’re great talkers, but it’s smart to watch and observe, too, from initial meetings with potential clients to witnesses…
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Is Ohio already the most interesting laboratory of democracy for marijuana reform?
A number of smart folks have talked about state-level marijuana reform as, in the words of GOP Prez candidate Ted Cruz, "a great embodiment of what Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called ‘the laboratories of democracy.’” These two new stories about marijuana reform efforts in Ohio has me thinking that...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/RZnILvMabGY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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LendingTree, Unauthorized Access and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
After Brian Matthew Rich “entered into a conditional plea agreement” with the U.S. Department of Justice, he appealed. Brief of Appellant, United States v. Rich, 2015 WL 860788 (U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit 2015). The brief he filed on appeal begins by explaining how, and why, the prosecution arose:The essential facts of this case are undisputed. LendingTree LLC operates a mortgage brokering business that connects consumers interested in securing a mortgage loan with lenders willing to provide such loans. The model works as follows: A consumer seeking a mortgage loan initiates the process by submitting personal and financial data through online forms at LendingTree's website. This information, known as a `mortgage lead,’ is then provided to a set of lenders who ostensibly compete with each other to provide a loan to the consumer on favorable terms. . . .To receive mortgage leads from LendingTree, a lender must become a member…
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//blawgsearch75.rssing.com/chan-6519914/article14316-live.html
United States V. Flores, No. 14-50027 (12-23-15)(Wardlaw with Berzon; dissent by Pregerson). The 9th finds the prosecutor misstated the evidence, mischaracterized testimony, and engaged in misconduct; nonetheless, the 9th affirmed the importation conviction and sentence. The misconduct was not egregious enough under a plain error standard, and in light of the overwhelming weight of the evidence. The defendant was charged with importation of marijuana. She was found with 36 pounds in her car. She argued that she was unaware of the marijuana--she had given her car to a car mechanic ("Juan") in Tijuana and it must have been hidden in the vehicle then. Unfortunately, for her, there were jail calls where she apologized to her family and asked that Facebook postings be deleted. The calls led the government to look closely at the postings, where there were references to "carrying" or "bringing" marijuana in. …
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EUGH C-362/14 - Maximillian Schrems vs irische Datenschutzbehörde: Schlussanträge des Generalanwalts
Am 23. September 2015 legte Generalanwalt Bolt seine Schlussanträge im wegweisenden datenschutzrechtlichen Verfahren von Maximillian Schrems gegen die irische Datenschutzbehörde (C-362/14) beim EUGH dar.Danach sei die Entscheidung der EU-Kommission vom 26. Juli 2000, wonach das US-EU Safe Harbour Framework ein angemessenes Schutzniveau für die Übermittlung personenbezogener Daten darstelle, ungültig. Begründet wird dies u.a. wie folgt: "(…) das Recht und die Praxis der Vereinigten Staaten gestatten [es], die übermittelten personenbezogenen Daten von Unionsbürgern in grossem Umfang zu sammeln, ohne dass sie über einen wirksamen gerichtlichen Rechtsschutz verfügen". Dies belege, dass der vorgenannten Entscheidung Garantien zum Schutz der personenbezogenen Daten fehlen, was die Richtlinie 95/46/EG und die Charta der Grundrechte der Europäischen Union (namentlich die Achtung des Privat- und Familienlebens…
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One in four Ohio prisoners are sex offenders
9-23-15 Ohio: About one in four Ohio prisoners are serving time for a sexual offense, most for rape, a new report shows. The Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, a legislative watchdog agency, reported 7,707 inmates are doing time for sex offenses, with another 2,415 incarcerated for parole and other violations accompanying prior sex offenses. The vast majority are male. Just 137
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One vehicle rollover crash near exit 54
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: 09/23/15 4:30 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office Mary Rotman, 53, of Nampa, was eastbound on I-84 at milepost 54 in a 2007 Ford Escape in lane two. Walter Fisher, 52, of Boise, was also eastbound in a 1999 Kenworth truck in lane one. Rotman realized she was going to strike the vehicle ahead of her and steered into lane one. The Escape struck the back corner of the Kenworth, struck the median barrier, and then rolled, coming to rest on the median shoulder. The Kenworth stopped farther down the interstate on the right shoulder. Both Rotman and Fisher were wearing their seatbelts. Rotman was transported to the St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in…
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Department Of Justice Cracking Down on White-Collar Crime
A new policy set forth by the U.S. Department of Justice states that cracking down on white-collar crime is vital. According to the document signed by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, “fighting corporate fraud and other misconduct is a top priority of the Department of Justice.” The Department of Justice’s 6 steps to end white-collar […] The post Department Of Justice Cracking Down on White-Collar Crime appeared first on Salt Lake Criminal Defense.
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