I’ve posted in recent years on the continual over-reaching of law enforcement in trying to chalk up more DUI arrests. One simple way is to simply stretch the definition of what a "vehicle" is. See, for example, Drunk Driving…on a Horse, DUI…in a Lounge Chair, Drunk Driving on a Lawn Mower, DUI on a Scooter and DUI – While Walking a Bicycle. Not to be outdone, law enforcement (and the courts) in Palm Bay, Florida, have pushed the envelope…. Man in Electric Wheelchair Arrested for DUI Palm Bay, FL. Oct. 13 – In his arrest report, police say Ronny Hicks appeared highly intoxicated, because his speech was slurred speech and he was acting confused. Since he was also operating a motorized wheelchair, the 54-year-old man was arrested for driving under the influence. Police say Hicks, from Palm Bay, was allegedly blocking the path on a pedestrian bridge inside a park near Margaret and Helen streets…
DUI in a Wheelchair?
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Family Members Opposing A Killer's Parole
There is much controversy today about sentencing murderers to life in prison without possibility of parole (LWOP). The Supreme Court's decision in Roper v. Simmons -- permanently taking the death penalty off the table for under-18 murderers -- was still warm out of the laser printer when the drive to ban LWOP for them shifted into high gear.Why not hold out a possibility of parole? A sentence of life with parole for a killer often means a life sentence to opposing parole for the murder victim's family. I have represented victims' families in a number of cases. (See, e.g., this brief.) In each case, they have been intensely interested in seeing the killer receive the full punishment he was sentenced to, whether that be death or truly spending the rest of his life in prison.Now the Daily Beast has an interview with a particularly famous survivor, Yoko Ono:How does Ono feel about the possibility of Chapman being released? He was denied…
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OJ Simpson Saved Lives! (Part One)
I know. Crazy title. Don’t worry, I’ll get to it. The O.J. Simpson case(s) have had a huge impact on American society, particularly the legal system, and on me personally, over the past two decades. Most recently, A&E aired an excellent piece about his cases, the trials, and the legal work that was done behind the scenes, called O.J. Speaks: The Hidden Tapes (apparently there was another show on LMN, which I did not see, but will make a point of looking for it.) I predict that a lot of people watched or will watch these shows. If you haven’t yet, you should. Try here. They speak volumes about the anatomy of an actual murder case and describe in detail some extremely good (and bad) lawyering. This is real life murder mystery at its best – and worst. I realize that I tend to personalize these things, but with this case it is impossible to ignore. I have so many personal connections to it. Last Saturday night, my wife and I were…
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For Some Crimes, Nothing Less Is Justice
James Ragland has this column in the Dallas Morning News. He begins, "Let the record show that I was against the death penalty before I was for it."He then recites some of the usual anti-DP arguments (which we have refuted, but I won't go into that now) as reasons one could argue for getting rid of the death penalty.I tend to lean that way, too.Until, that is, a case like Licho Escamilla's comes along, shattering my fragile and idealistic belief that there's a better way to derive justice. Escamilla, who was put to death Wednesday evening in Huntsville, brutally murdered a Dallas police officer, Kevin James, nearly 14 years ago.The facts are bloodcurdling: First Escamilla shot James and another officer who -- incredibly -- were trying to keep other men from attacking Escamilla. Then Escamilla, already wanted on a warrant for the murder of a West Dallas neighbor, shot James three more times in the head while the officer lay on the…
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Police: Human Remains Found in Woods Believed to be Fugitive Sex Offender
10-15-15 Vermont: Philip Jackman went missing over a decade ago Vermont State Police say human remains found in the woods by a hunter earlier this month are believed to belong to a fugitive sex offender who went missing over a decade ago. On Oct. 2, state police said they received a report that a hunter who was tracking his hunting dogs had located some human remains in a wooded area off of
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ISP investigating a crash on I-15 near Fort Hall
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: 10/15/15 8:51 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office Idaho State Police is on scene with a crash, northbound Interstate 15 near milepost 79.5, just south of the Fort Hall exit. The left lane is blocked. Further information will be released when it is available. LS / NH -------------
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Clinton-Castro Appearance in San Antonio
Photo by Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News Housing Secretary Julian Castro endorsed Hillary Clinton today. They spoke at joint rally in San Antonio to enthusiastic crowds. Hillary and Castro have been building ties for a while now.... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Is it a Crime to Lie to the Police in Utah?
Talking to the police is stressful. You’re on the spot and feeling nervous, unable to remember where your legal rights begin and end. You don’t know what you should or shouldn’t say, and aren’t sure how you should answer the questions you’re being asked. Eager to get out of the situation and be on your way, you stammer out a lie. Unfortunately, by lying to the officer, you’ve just made your legal situation much worse. In this article, Salt Lake City defense lawyer Darwin Overson will explain the do’s and don’ts of interacting with the Utah Highway Patrol – and the consequences of lying to law enforcement or filing a false police car accident report. When Police Can Stop You and How to Interact with Them A Utah police officer cannot legally stop you for questioning unless he or she has “reasonable suspicion” of criminal activity. This is provided by Utah Code § 77-7-15,…
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Should Possession of Date Rape Drugs Be a Felony?
SB 333 is a proposed law being sent to Governor Brown that seeks to increase the current penalties against those possessing common date rape drugs. The bill’s supporters say that an unintended consequence of Proposition 47 was that it reduced the penalty for those who carried date rape drugs with the intent to commit sexual assault. If passed, the bill would make it a felony to posses date rape drugs if you have the intent to commit rape or sexual assault.1 Proposition 47: A Reason to Pass SB 333 Prop 47 was a recent legislative effort that decreased penalties for non-violent drug offenses, including those possessing date rape drugs. What followed was the reclassification of many drug possession charges from felony offenses to misdemeanors. Proponents of SB 333 think that Prop 47 left the government’s stance too weak against potential sexual predators who intend to use date rape drugs on victims. The legislature now seeks to close this loophole by allowing…
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Salinas Councilman Charged With Kidnapping, False Imprisonment, and Felony Domestic Violence
Earlier this month, the news reported Salinas Councilman Jose Castaneda’s new slew of legal problems, and this time they go beyond whether or not he is legally holding two elected offices. Salinas police announced that Castaneda was arrested and charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, and felony domestic violence. According to reports, Castaneda was waiting for his ex-girlfriend when she arrived at her home on Friday night. He allegedly forced the woman into a van, drove away to another location, and held her hostage for several hours. During that time, police believe he assaulted her, leaving her with the bruises that led to the felony charge of domestic violence. Castaneda allegedly eventually released the woman and allowed her to walk home. Castaneda and his attorney, Anthony Prince, eventually contacted police and said he would turn himself in to police. They asked police if it could wait until after a press conference Castaneda had scheduled for Thursday…
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Terrific (wonkish?) blogging at Canna Law Blog about new rules and regulations, especially in California
In part because I have been paying close attention to the marijuana legalization debate playing out in my home state of Ohio, I have not yet had a chance to closely consider or assess the big new medical marijuana laws enacted earlier this month in California. Fortunately, Hilary Bricken is...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/USuetFhULag" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Why are Youth Susceptible to False Confessions?
Did you know that of the 330 DNA-based exonerations in this country, more than 25% of the cases involved false confessions and, in many cases, the confessions were made by youth? In 2013, the National Registry of Exonerations reported that in the past 25 years, 38% of the exonerations of crimes allegedly committed by youth involved false confessions. On Wednesday, Illinois Public Radio’s “State of the State” podcast examined the issue of false confessions by youth and spoke with experts Laura Nirider and Locke Bowman from Northwestern University’s Law School about why even common interrogation techniques lead youth to confess to crimes they didn’t commit. According to both Nirider and Bowman, the reason that standard interrogations often result in juvenile false confessions is simple: standard interrogation tactics—coercion, false promises of leniency, deception about evidence—are intended for adults, not kids. “These techniques…
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Client’s Double K-9 Search Case Dismissed at Cook & Cook
In April of 2015, the Cook & Cook Law Firm was hired to represent a client for a felony Possession of Marijuana charge brought against him by the State of Texas which alleged that he was unlawfully carrying up to 5 pounds of marijuana on a train. After much investigation into how the police searched the luggage of the young man, our Firm concluded that absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, the young man was searched unlawfully in violation of the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution. Fortunately, we were extraordinarily pleased to see the case through to the end in what we feel is an absolute victory not only for the client, but for every citizen of Texas and of the United States. When the justice system allows a young man to win a case against the big State of Texas, because his rights were violated, that can only mean that the rights themselves are alive and well. Below is a redacted picture of the Dismissal obtained for the felony possession…
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The Marshall Project: New York City's Big Idea on Bail
The Marshall Project Last month in Brooklyn, a homeless teenager was arrested for jumping a turnstile. He had been arrested a few times before, so the judge set bail at $250. The teenager could not pay it. He was sent to Rikers Island jail to wait for trial. He was there for about two weeks. We hear stories like this with unacceptable regularity. They may not generate the same attention
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NY Times Opinionater: Instead of jail, court fines cut to fit the wallet
Tina Rosenberg : New York Times: David Stojcevski died in jail in Macomb County, Mich., a far suburb of Detroit, last year. He was taking doctor-prescribed methadone and two anti-anxiety medicines to alleviate symptoms of drug withdrawal when he began a 30-day sentence in June 2014. His family alleges that officials at the jail did not respond to his pleas for his medicines. He began
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News Scan
OH Man on Electronic Monitor Raped Teen: An Ohio teen was held captive for months and raped by a sex offender on electronic monitoring for a 2014 abduction case. Lisa Cornwell of the AP reports that 20-year-old Cody Lee Jackson came into contact with the 14-year-old girl on Facebook in February while he was on electronic monitoring for a 2014 case in which he held two females against their will. Jackson arranged for a taxi to deliver the girl to him on several occasions to have sexual intercourse. By March, he was holding her captive in his apartment and refusing to let her leave, setting stringent rules for her and punishing her physically. Jackson reportedly complied with all conditions of his monitoring and had a 20-year-old woman take the teen out of the apartment when he was being visited by parole officers. After entering a guilty plea for the abduction case, Jackson was taken off monitoring and fled to Utah before his sentencing in…
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Reducing Car Accidents
Here is another great essay submission for our scholarship contest: Transportation is vital to life because everyone needs to get to each person’s destinations. If people can’t move from one place to another, then they certainly can’t move forward in …The post Reducing Car Accidents appeared first on Colorado Springs Accident Attorney | Quality Legal.
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Emails, Investigations, and Espionage
Bernie Sanders and the Democratic debate audience may be sick of hearing about Mrs. Clinton's "damn emails," but news sources as diverse at the NYT and Fox still think the story is newsworthy.Catherine Herridge and Pamela Browne report that the FBI is now focused on whether there was a violation of the Espionage Act, 18 U.S.C. §793(f). That is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, far more serious than the misdemeanor I noted back in August. I have copied the text of the statute at the end of this post.Matt Apuzzo and Michael Schmidt at the NYT note the reaction of FBI agents to President Obama's statement that "national security was [not] endangered."Those statements angered F.B.I. agents who have been working for months to determine whether Ms. Clinton's email setup had in fact put any of the nation's secrets at risk, according to current and former law enforcement officials.Investigators have not reached any…
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Municipal Court and Illinois Licensed Drivers Knowing the Repercussions of Missouri Traffic and Criminal Offenses
In Missouri there are over 90 municipalities in St. Louis County and many have their own court that handle various traffic and criminal offenses. Missouri and Illinois have very different driver’s license statues and regulations. The ramifications of a traffic and even some criminal convictions in Missouri for an Illinois licensed driver can be significant. For instance, many Illinois licensed drivers do not realize that incurring three traffic convictions within a calendar year can result in a suspension of your Illinois license. If you are under 21, Illinois only allows a driver to incur merely two traffic convictions within a calendar year. This includes any out of state convictions, including Missouri. Illinois’ system is very different from Missouri, wherein a point system is used. This point system can be confusing and misleading to many Illinois licensed drivers. Not only can traffic convictions cause many issues with your Illinois Driver’s License,…
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Farrell on Strict Scrutiny Under the Eighth Amendment
Ian P. Farrell (The University of Texas School of Law) has posted Strict Scrutiny Under the Eighth Amendment (Florida State University Law Review, Vol. 40, No. 4, 2013) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The basic principle of the Supreme...
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