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Monday Morning Open Thread
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The New “Cash Cow” for Assad in Syria: Human Rights Abuses
The Syrian economy is collapsing, and the Syrian people are suffering. But the Assad regime has found a new “cash cow” that is reaping great profit for the government: enforced disappearances. We’ve known for decades that the Syrian regime has made widespread use of disappearances to enforce obedience and to spread terror among the Syrian people. Since 2011, the Syrian Network for Human Rights has estimated that 65,000 Syrians have disappeared. Most of the victims are either peaceful opponents of the government, people considered to be disloyal to the government, and family members of wanted individuals. All are held in hellish conditions, subject to torture and moved from prison to prison without the outer world knowing where they are and without access to legal and medical assistance and family. Their families are desperate for information. Desperate for cash during the current economic collapse, the regime offers them a solution. A black market…
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**Update** One vehicle crash northbound SH-55 at milepost 81.5
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: 11/9/2015 11:40 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office *****BEGINNING OF UPDATE***** On Monday, November 09, 2015, at approximately 6:20 p.m., the Idaho State Police investigated a one-vehicle, property damage crash southbound on SH-55 at milepost 80, five miles north of Banks. Leon Qualls, 63, of Emmett, was southbound on SH-55 in a 2006 Kenworth tractor pulling two trailers. Qualls failed to negotiate a curve in the road, went off the road and hit the jersey barrier on the west side of the road. The semi came to rest blocking the northbound lane. The rear trailer overturned. Both northbound and southbound lanes were blocked for approximately an…
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Shoplifting Arrests and Acting in Concert: What Type of Nexus is Needed Between Two People to Establish a PL 155.25 Crime
If there is such a “good” in crimes and prosecutions, arrests and accusations for shoplifting often result in the issuance of a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT) in lieu of a person being processed through Central Booking. The “bad,” however, is that shoplifting arrests for the crimes of Petit Larceny, New York Penal Law 155.25, and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fifth Degree, New York Penal Law 165.40, are so routine that prosecutors, judges and even many inexperienced criminal defense attorneys do not blink an eye when examining an accusatory information to determine its viability and sufficiency. That is not to say these people are lazy by any means, but fatigue of seeing the same boilerplate language leads to poor results. Fortunately for one defendant, the examination of the complaint against her led to a judge dismissing the charges of Petit Larceny after the court determined there was no nexus between her actions and that of an…
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Jamar Pinkney Sr. Shoots his teen son over alleged sex abuse of toddler
A Michigan father, Jamar Pinkney Sr, 37, is accused of killing his son after learning the 15-year-old teen may have sexually abused a 3-year-old toddler. The father played both judge, jury and executioner in this bizarre real life story.Jamar Pinkney Sr was enraged after learning his teen son Jamar Pinkney Jr. had, “inappropriate contact” with a 3-year-old girl. Allegedly the father made his son strip at gunpoint and then shot him to death. A witness reported that both his son and wife pleaded with him to stop.Authorities in Michigan filed a first-degree murder charge on Wednesday against Jamar Pinkney Sr.Corbett O’Meara, the Defense attorney said:“If something were to happen that would cause a reasonable person to lose control of himself, that is something the prosecution would have to take into account,”Judge Brigette Officer entered a not guilty plea for Pinkney and ordered him jailed without bond until a preliminary examination Dec. 1.The…
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Florida DUI Manslaughter, Hit-Run Cases Result in Disparate Sentences
Last month, a South Florida disc jockey was convicted of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in an auto accident that killed a couple in a vehicle stopped at a traffic signal ahead of him. The crash happened in 2013 in Coral Gables. Defendant, Ervens Prudent, is better known in Miami as "DJ AOL." His blood-alcohol level was allegedly nearly twice the legal limit as he was driving home from a friend's wedding. Though he conceded on the stand he was at-fault for the crash, he insisted he wasn't drunk. Rather, he had fallen asleep. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18, and he faces up to 30 years in prison. The question of what he'll actually get is tough to say, given how disparate sentences can be in cases that alleged DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and hit-and-run. This fact was highlighted several months ago in an in-depth analysis by the Miami Herald, which found that while the average DUI manslaughter sentence in Florida…
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A Need for Equity in Immigration Law (Congress, are you listening?)
Jason A. Cade, Enforcing Immigration Equity, 84 Fordham L. Rev. (forthcoming 2015), available at SSRN. Jill Family In the late twentieth century, Congress amended the immigration laws to severely limit the power of immigration judges, the agency’s adjudicators, to grant relief from removal on equitable grounds. At the same time, Congress expanded the categories of activities that render a foreign national removable. The result of the statutory tinkering was that it was much easier to be removable and much harder to be granted relief from removal. The severity of those reforms is well known. Professor Jason Cade’s contribution to the discussion is that he persuasively argues that those statutory reforms from twenty years ago are linked to the most visible controversy in immigration law right now: President Obama’s executive actions creating the chance for a temporary reprieve from removal. Continue reading "A Need for Equity in Immigration Law…
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How to Commit Fraud and Get Away With It
Written by Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, CFF Wisconsin Law Journal If a fraud is worth committing, it’s worth committing right. A little extra effort in the commission of a fraud can go a long way toward profiting from it as long as possible. Follow these recommended steps to increase your chances of successfully pulling off a fraud at work. Don’t Act Suspicious Don’t be a complainer. Don’t blatantly fight the rules. Appear to go along with policies and procedures, and don’t cause trouble for your co-workers or supervisors. You don’t want to appear to be disgruntled or seem like a problem employee. Those types of employees cause suspicion. Do not discuss or display any dishonest behavior. Don’t talk about how you screwed your neighbor out of some money. Do not brag that you got one over on the auto repair shop. Don’t tell people that you filed a false insurance claim. Never daydream out loud about stealing money from someone. Dishonest…
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Mizzou: From Hotbed To Hot Mess
A mere 24 hours ago, I was impressed by the determination of the University of Missouri football team. Not that they were in bowl contention, but that they made the decision to take a risk, a huge risk, and put some skin in the game. The black players decided to strike, to refuse to play ball, and they had the support of their coaches and white players. Their grievance? “Systemic racism,” they said. Their demand? “The athletes of color on the University of Missouri football team truly believe ‘Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere,’” the tweet read. “We will no longer participate in any football related activities until President Tim Wolfe resigns or is removed due to his negligence toward marginalized students’ experiences. WE ARE UNITED!!!!!” The “injustice” wasn’t quite as clear. There were instances of claimed racism, but that’s not a basis for a claim that it’s…
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Foreign Banks Turning in Customers for Tax Fraud
The United States government has strict requirements when it comes to offshore bank accounts. Not only are accountholders required to report and pay all income earned from offshore investments, but accountholders are also required to file an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).Many accountholders are not even aware of FBAR requirements, and are not fully cognizant of their obligations for offshore funds. The government, however, is aggressively going after accountholders for tax fraud, with Forbes reporting some defendants are facing penalties in excess of account values. The loss of funds may only be the beginning, as 31 U.S.C. Section 5322 reports that penalties for violating reporting requirements could lead to five years imprisonment.The government is aggressively investigation tax fraud in an effort to collect unpaid taxes, and one of the most important tools they are using is the Swiss Bank Program. The Swiss Bank Program is leading banks to…
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Dispatch from the front lines of bipartisanship: Comments on the Koch Institute's big crimjust conference
The Charles Koch Institute's Advancing Justice summit was a remarkable event by any measure, and I'd wager the hosts and most of the participants considered it a success. Its goals were simultaneously grand and well-defined: To re-brand criminal justice reform as a conservative issue, or at least as an issue where conservatives and liberals can agree, and to build relationships in the movement across the ideological divide. (See the agenda.)Given the breadth and scope of opinion leaders there - honestly it was like old home week, I hanged out with people I haven't seen in a decade, from all branches of the criminal-justice reform movement - they clearly succeeded in their goals. The invitation-only event - originally planned for 200 people - ballooned to include 550 souls from 300 different groups nationwide, including a who's who of reformers likely recognizable to many Grits readers. Of the ones I knew and met, these were all serious folks; not many…
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Leo on Innocence
Richard A. Leo (University of San Francisco - School of Law) has posted What Innocence Means Today and Why It Matters on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In this essay the author argues that the definition of innocence and the...
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Jack Yantis And The Bull Are Dead
The details are about as far away from the usual cop killing as they come. Jack Yantis was a rancher in Idaho, which is a state somewhere in the middle of nowhere. That’s why they let their cows and bulls roam on the open plain. And by open plain, that includes U.S. 95, a highway where cars drive. It makes no sense to me, but then, I’m really not on top of bull issues. It began with a phone call to Yantis from the Adams County Sheriff’s office dispatcher. The Yantis’ lived “near milepost 142 of U.S. 95, about 6 miles north of Council,” and apparently one of their “2,500-pound black Gelbvieh bull, similar to an Angus, named Keiford,” was hit by a Subaru station wagon. Apparently, it was left to Yantis, who was having a nice dinner with his friend, Rowdy Paradis, to put his bull down and clean up the mess. Off they went, with Mrs. Yantis, to deal with the bull. Jack Yantis told Paradis to get a rifle,…
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Forensic Testing is Investigated in Two Texas Counties
DNA evidence has been routinely used in criminal trials since the 1990s and is seen as an extremely reliable way of linking a suspect to a crime. However, an investigation currently underway in Travis and Williamson counties in Texas has raised concerns about the way examiners have been analyzing DNA evidence in hundreds of criminal cases. Recently, Travis County District ... Read More The post Forensic Testing is Investigated in Two Texas Counties appeared first on .
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National Police Chiefs to Meet with President Obama on Sentencing Policies
Source: http://lawenforcementleaders.org/ On October 22nd, 2015, President Obama met with the Marshall Project, as well as a new group called the Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration. The new group is made up of 130 police department heads and law enforcement officials, including William J. Bratton of the New York City Police Department, Charlie Beck of the Los Angeles California Police Department, and the Chief of Police of Chicago, Garry F. McCarthy. Prior to their launch event on October 21st, the group issued a Statement of Principles, concerning the incarceration rates in the United States. In the Statement they wrote: “…too many people are behind bars that don’t belong there.” The group has encouraged a public debate on the policy considerations of incarceration. The group encouraged the modification of legislation to reduce mandatory minimum prison sentences. Congressional…
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Indonesia Plans Drug Prison Guarded by Crocodiles
Indonesia wants to build a prison for condemned drug traffickers on an island surrounded and guarded by crocodiles. The proposal is the pet project of anti-drugs chief Budi Waseso, who plans to visit various parts of the archipelago in his... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Will new House Speaker Paul Ryan significantly help getting federal sentencing reform enacted?
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"Battle Scars: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty"
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Angola’s United Nations Fail
If Angola intends as it has stated in the past, to be a leader both within the continent and on the world stage, it must start by addressing its own concerns, particularly when the UN explicitly tells you to do so. Angola is currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. That means it stands with an elite group of nations called upon to address serious threats to global security. Those threats include ones that cross borders, as well as those contained within one country, but are serious enough to merit international scrutiny. Highly valid criticisms are lobbed at the UN Security Council (UNSC) regarding its composition (five permanent members with veto power who can and do block efforts based on their personal politics); it’s inaction in the face of severe human rights crises (can we say Syria anyone?); and that it does not reflect the current balance of world economic and political power. But here’s a specific criticism:…
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