R. Michael Cassidy (Boston College Law School) has posted Silencing Grand Jury Witnesses (Indiana Law Journal, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The investigations of local police officers for causing the deaths of unarmed civilians in Ferguson, Missouri and...
Cassidy on Silencing Grand Jury Witnesses
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Sitting in Jail on a VOP Because Nobody Knows the Law
Everyone hates a know-it-all. Through some force of nature beyond explanation, know-it-alls are attracted to the probation and parole profession. I have no hard evidence of this, just hear me now and believe me later. What you’re about to read involves a probation officer making three separate violation accusations, all of which turn out to be bogus. It happens all the time, and your taxpayer dollars are being wasted. You could interpret such poor probation performance in two ways. First, some would say that these probation officers actually know the law, but out of spite, choose to violate citizens just to send them to jail. But I think it may also be true that probation officers simply don’t know the law. So, whether probation officers violate out of pure spite, or out of ignorance, is a discussion for another day. For now, let’s delve into the recent case of Messineo v. State. 2105 Fla.App. LEXIS…
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Report on DEA Misconduct
USA Today reviews the results of recent investigations into how DEA has handled the misconduct of its agents and finds the treatment too lenient for serious instances of misconduct. Here are the 52 pages of logs from 2010 to 2015 showing the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Pope Francis Vists Inmates
Pope Francis has concluded his visit to the U.S. It was a big success. Today, among other stops, he visited a jail in Philadelphia and met with inmates. Pope Francis also rebuked society for not doing enough to rehabilitate prisoners. “It is... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Could crime be significantly reduce if marijuana tax revenues were all devoted to public safety?
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Trump to Unveil New Tax Plan, Falls in Poll
Donald Trump will unveil a new tax plan tomorrow. Tonight he is on 60 Minutes. (no link due to autoplay video.) And in a new NBC-WSJ poll, he's fallen to only one point above Ben Carson. Are his days numbered? Bill Clinton doesn't think... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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"Weed and Water Law: Regulating Legal Marijuana"
The title of this post is the title of this interesting paper authored by Ryan Boudin Stoa available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: Marijuana is nearing the end of its prohibition in the United States. Arguably the country’s largest cash crop, marijuana is already legal for recreational use in...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/xm7f7eCJsPI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Sunday Night Open Thread
The sequel to Shantaram is finally coming. Gregory David Robert's Mountain Shadow, will be available Oct. 13. You can read the first five chapters here. Shantaram introduced millions of readers to a cast of unforgettable characters in the... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Michigan Driver's License and Clearance Appeal "Horror Stories"
I have a guarantee that if I take your Michigan driver's license restoration or clearance case, I will win it. I've had this guarantee for years, and as far as I know, I was the first to offer it in license appeal cases (and the only one doing it) as well as the first lawyer to call himself a "Michigan driver's license restoration lawyer." The other day, a man came in to see me, along with his father (who drove him), and as we wrapped up our meeting and shook hands, the dad wanted a bit of clarification about my guarantee. He began by saying to me that "I've heard horror stories about people paying big money to a lawyer and then losing." His question was straightforward and simple, and, as you'll see is both the inspiration for and basis of this article: "So if he doesn't win this time, you'll go back with him next time, and he doesn't have to pay you anything?" Yes, that's it, except that my…
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Food for Thought re Last Week’s Peanut Sentencing in Georgia
Just over a year ago, Stewart Parnell, the former CEO of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), was convicted by a jury in the Middle District of Georgia of charges related to a deadly nationwide salmonella outbreak. The matter came to...
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Is a Polygraph Test Admissible as Evidence?
In nearly all cases, the answer is no. Despite the widespread use of polygraph tests in criminal investigations, these tests cannot be used to make a definitive determination that an individual is lying. What a polygraph does is measure minute…Read more ›
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Getting Around Ban the Box Laws the Old Fashioned Way: Interviewing
Ban the Box isn’t going away, and companies need a strategy to protect themselves. The movement in the U.S. to restrict the kind of information employers can look for in making a hiring decision gathers momentum, this time in New York City. It’s known as Ban the Box because the list of boxes applicants need to check about past events gets steadily smaller. The news in New York City is that as of this month, companies with four employees or more are not allowed to run a credit check on most applicants. The new rules are analyzed at Norton Rose Fulbright’s Regulation Tomorrow blog here. We’ve written extensively on this issue on this blog (Screening Job Applicants’ Old Test Results are Relevant but Fraud is Off-Limits) and in ALM’s Employment Law Strategist, here. Stronger ban the box rules can give employers fits. What you are supposed to do if you notice that a prospective applicant has five previous addresses in the past 16 months? This is…
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NEW ILLINOIS LAW EXPANDS DRIVING PERMITS FOR AGGRAVATED DUI OFFENDERS
A change to Illinois law allows a driver who has one Aggravated DUI conviction involving great bodily injury to apply for a restricted driving permit. The restricted permit would let you drive when using a breath alcohol ignition interlock device (BAIID). The permit may be issued for up to one year, and you may not drive without the BAIID. The permit could allow you to drive to work or for alcohol treatment. You might also be allowed to drive yourself or a family member to school, for medical treatment or to daycare. To qualify for the permit, you must demonstrate that no other reasonable means of transportation exists and that you would not endanger public safety. The permit is restricted to cases of undue hardship as defined by the Secretary of State. If you are convicted of DUI after obtaining your restricted permit, you can be permanently barred from driving again. If you violate your permit by driving a car without the BAIID, you may be convicted of a Class 4…
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Ahmed Mohamed and the Hoax Bomb Confusion (Part 3)
Importantly, the Penal Code does not define what an "explosive or incendiary device" is, which is a big problem in prosecuting a hoax bomb case. The legislature needs to revisit this issue and make the definitions more clear. Under 46.01(2), "'Explosive weapon' means any explosive or incendiary bomb, grenade, rocket, or mine, that is designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting serious bodily injury, death, or substantial property damage, or for the principal purpose of causing such a loud report as to cause undue public alarm or terror, and includes a device designed, made, or adapted for delivery or shooting an explosive weapon." This is more specific but it is not incorporated into the hoax bomb definition or statute. It probably needs to be, so the legislature needs to diligently review this Penal Code section if it wants to make an enforceable offense. Jurors are allowed to use plain meaning to define terms that are not…
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Speeding Traffic Ticket
By Justin Coquat | Traffic Ticket SA Almost everyone will get a Speeding Traffic Ticket at some point. If you or someone you know has a Speeding Traffic Ticket then make sure you call The Coquat Law Firm to see how we can save you time and money. Call our offices today at (210)745-2825! What to do if you have a Speeding Traffic Ticket. Resolving thousands of traffic ticket citations every year is just the start for us. We go to court so you do not have to. Do not miss work or waste your free time going to court. Have an experienced traffic ticket attorney go for you. We always work hard to save our clients money by getting fines reduced or sometimes dismissed completely. Still don’t know if hiring a Speeding Traffic Ticket lawyer is right for you? Be sure to call our offices and talk to our trained staff. We can answer any questions you may have and walk you through how we save you time and money. Call our offices today at (210)745-2825! Call…
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Judge’s Discovery Order in EEOC Transgender Litigation: Right Result, But Reason for Caution
I have written previously about the EEOC’s litigation on behalf of Aimee Stephens, whose employer—a Michigan funeral home—fired her when she announced that she was transitioning and would present as a woman at work in the future. At ZDB we have continued to follow this potentially groundbreaking federal litigation in the Eastern District of Michigan. In the most recent development, Magistrate Judge David R. Grand granted the EEOC’s motion for a protective order, seeking to prevent the defendant funeral home from violating Ms. Stephens’ privacy during the process of discovery in the case. While, given the nature of the discovery sought, this was patently the right outcome, the judge’s order could (and, in my view, should) have provided more assurance to future transgender litigants that they will be protected from attempts to use discovery as a tool to invade their privacy and humiliate them. The discovery requests at issue…
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[LEGAL] Brittany Musumeci and Alexis Musumeci Killed in Wrong-Way Crash
Brittany Musumeci, 23, and Alexis Musumeci, 24, both of Pompano Beach, Florida, were killed in Martin County car accident this past Saturday when they were hit by a wrong-way driver on I-95. The women were driving a 2007 Toyota Matrix when their vehicle was hit by another driver traveling the wrong way. The driver of the of the other vehicle was hospitalized. Again – and I am not sure how many times I need to say this – we have yet ANOTHER example of how unacceptably dangerous Florida’s roadways are. To make matters worse, the women killed in this horrible accident were young and just starting their lives. It really makes you wonder – what causes a person to drive the wrong way on I-95? In all my years behind the wheel, I have never entered a highway going the wrong direction. Highways are big structures, they are well lit, and they have a LOT of traffic passing over them to indicate what direction is what – even at the wee…
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Portrait of Women as Criminal Offenders
The public has a common perception of “the criminal”, which is portrayed, primarily by the media and the entertainment industry, as a bulky, rugged man who is hiding out there in the dark ready to grab an unsuspecting victim. However, if one will take a deeper look, these influential institutions may be overlooking a vital change happening on the ground – that women are joining the ranks of criminal offenders, and that they too deserve to occupy a significant space in the portrait. Men as Crime Perpetrators Rule of thumb is: if it is a crime, the criminal is a male. Statistics show that men commit 75.6% of recorded crime, with the violent ones being committed because the criminal has aggressive tendencies. Research also noted violent crimes are committed by men who hailed from communities where women notably outnumber men. The explanation is men from those communities are likely to compete for female attention and families in those places are run by a single…
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The Extent of the Drug Abuse Disaster
It's often said by those who would legalize drugs and/or substantially reduce the punishment for trafficking in them that the real drug-related damage befalling our country arises, not from drug use, but from the "war" against drug use.I am content to let the following story speak for itself. From CNN, July 7, 2015: "Heroin-related overdose deaths quadruple since 2002." The article starts out:Heroin use is increasing rapidly across the United States among all age, race, income and ethnic groups, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday. And the increase comes with a devastating price: Deaths from heroin-related overdoses nearly quadrupled between 2002 and 2013.Heroin use doubled among women and young adults ages 18 to 25, and more than doubled among non-Hispanic whites. Some of the highest increases were in groups with historically low rates of abuse: women, people with higher incomes and people who are privately…
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How Do Damage Caps Work in Personal Injury Lawsuits?
In the commonly accepted theory of personal injury lawsuits, those who have suffered physical or mental harm due to the negligence or sheer incompetence of another person have an inherent right to receive some type of compensation. According to this basic belief, if you’ve been injured in an accident through no fault of your own, a successful personal injury lawsuit can help you recover your financial costs and recompense you for other, less-specific woes. Unfortunately, it is not always that simple. Personal injury proceedings often present a complexity that may be hard to understand. The confusion stems from the fact that every state has its own rules for handling these injury cases. This appears most plainly in the realm of damage caps. What Constitutes a Personal Injury Damage Cap? A damage cap is simply a ceiling placed by the state on the amount of money a personal injury victim can receive in settlement for the various harms he’s suffered at someone…
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