A jury recently found a former police officer guilty of multiple violent crimes after a two-day trial in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County. The shamed officer was indicted for an incident that occurred in May of 2014, when the officer questioned a man for sitting in a parked car. The man was parked in front of his Bowie home along with his cousin, and exited the vehicle after exchanging words with the officer. As the man was walking toward his front door the former patrol officer pulled out his firearm and ordered the man back in the car. The officer then pointed his gun at the victim’s back as he directed him to the vehicle. After the cop pushed the victim they turned to face each other, and at this time the cop had his gun pointed directly at victim’s head and then with the barrel mere inches from his face. The victim was then arrested for disorderly conduct, a case that was dismissed by prosecutors six months later. The verdict came down earlier…
Prince George’s County Cop Found Guilty of Assault
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SEC Enforcement Director Tells House Judiciary Committee That Investigation Agencies Should Not Need Warrants to Access to Email Data Directly from Internet Service Providers
On Tuesday, Andrew Ceresney, Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, told the House Judiciary Committee that the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 699) and the Electronic Communications Privacy Amendments Act (S. 356) should not be amended to require prosecutors and civil enforcement agencies to obtain criminal warrants when requesting emails and other electronic data directly from internet service providers, which include cloud-based storage services. The draft legislation, supported by civil liberties advocates and internet service providers, would amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”) of 1986 to bar civil investigators from using subpoenas, rather than warrants, to obtain electronic communications that are more than 180 days old directly from electronic hosting services. The bill’s proponents argue that the ECPA does not adequately protect Americans’ privacy because the law did not…
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//blawgsearch75.rssing.com/chan-6519914/article15443-live.html
Today's squib focuses mostly on a 94-page opinion, issued 17 months after oral argument, in a securities-fraud case, but also includes a short nod to an issue of Fourth Amendment standing decided in a § 1983 case.1. United States v. Lloyd et al., Nos. 12-50499, -50500, -50509, -50514, -50526, and -50566 (Rosenthal (S.D. Tex.) with Berzon and Clifton)) --- The Ninth Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed following their guilty pleas on the manager of a telemarketing "boiler rooms" but vacated the conviction of the other. The Ninth Circuit also addressed appeals brought by three employees who went to trial -- it vacated the conviction of one employee but affirmed the conviction of a second; the third employee who went to trial did not properly challenge his conviction on appeal. Of the two employees whose convictions survived, the court vacated the sentence on one and affirmed the sentence on the other. The securities fraud revolved…
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Pinellas woman accused of fake online profile, encouraging sex assault
A blurb from the ever popular Thesmokinggun.com website shows how one woman’s anger towards another resulted in a felony charge of aggravated stalking. The allegations? That she set up a fake profile of someone she knew on Plenty of Fish asking men to rape her as part of role play… 39-year-old Frances Lee Tapscott of Largo, is in Pinellas County jail on a $10,000 bond, charged with one count of aggravated stalking. With the help of a friend, Ms. Tapscott made a fake plenty of fish profile of a real girl, complete with her real pictures and contact information. The victim, a 25-year-old woman, was made out in the fake profile as a woman who fantasized about rape scenarios. Calling it role play, the fake site begged men to come over to her given address and rape her! According to the complaint, “The fake profile contained a request for an individual to come over and rape the victim, stating that she liked to ‘role…
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Friday Open Thread
Here's a new open thread, all topics welcome. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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How Toilets Can Make Schools Safer
Safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, collectively known as WASH, aren’t usually the first thing that comes to mind for women’s rights advocates and activists, least of all during 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. Yet they are undoubtedly huge barriers to safety, equality and education for women and girls worldwide. One of the most insidious impacts of lack of WASH is on girls’ educational access, success, and sense of safety. One in three people worldwide doesn’t have access to a decent toilet. In low-income countries it is estimated that nearly half of all schools don’t have safe drinking water, decent toilets or hygiene facilities on the premises. So how does WASH relate to this year’s 16 Days of Activism theme of making education safer for all? If it makes you vulnerable at home, it makes you vulnerable at school, too. Lack of access to safe water and sanitation is a source of…
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What is on your attorney's wall?
Honors and Awards: I get at least three solicitations each week from “associations” that tell me that I’ve been nominated for being one of the best DUI attorneys in Georgia. These nominations entitle me to order a plaque, or pay a fee to have a certificate suitable for framing sent to me. I don’t need to pay for a plaque. As a matter of fact, I find the ones I actually didn’t pay for are just “dustables” in my office, and I’ve taken them off the wall. I’m not sure how they’re manufactured, but I prefer to look at serene photos, or original art work, to looking at a plaque with my name on it. When you’re interviewing an attorney to represent you, take notes of any awards or plaques you may see, and ask the attorney what he or she did to earn that award, or how much he or she had to pay to join the organization in order to be allowed to purchase the award. There are few that count. The one I think matters the…
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GOP Microcosm
What did the Republicans do this week? Seeking to undermine President Obama's efforts at the UN climate summit in Paris, they passed resolutions to roll back the EPA's recent regulations on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They blocked bills aimed at sensible gun control -- one that would prevent those on the no fly list from buying firearms and another that would have expanded background checks to include gun shows and online sales. They voted to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal Obamacare. On a positive note, they offered thoughts and prayers to the victims of gun violence.Climate change denial. NRA obeisance. Hostility towards women's health. Opposition to health care for the poor. Meaningless religious gestures.That's your Republican Party.p.s. According to the latest polls, more than 1/3 of Republican voters support a fascist. Their second choice is a man…
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How Young Girls are Lured into Prostitution in San Diego
In a shocking study just released by researchers from the University of San Diego and Point Loma Nazerene University, results estimated there are 8,830 to 11,773 underage and adult sex-trafficking victims in San Diego per year. This number is much higher than originally thought, and victims of sex trafficking come from all races and socioeconomic backgrounds, although 98% are female. It is estimated that $810 million spent on prostitution annually is connected to sex-slavery. However, only 15 to 20% of human trafficking victims in the county come into contact with law enforcement. Typically, under-aged girls are recruited under the guise of romance by an older male at a public place such as the mall or school. They then get manipulated to work the streets to support their older ‘boyfriends.’ In the internet age, social media such as Facebook is also being used to recruit girls. Children who don’t fit in with their peers, or those who suffer from mental illness…
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What Is Probable Cause?
It is one of America’s major protections. In no state of the union can the police place anyone under arrest without at least a semblance of probable cause. To establish it, they must have more than a simple hunch that someone has committed an illegal act. Beyond suspicious circumstances, they need some sort of concrete verification to which they can point. Establishing Probable Cause When the police pull you over on the road, detain you in the local mall or knock on your door in the middle of the night, you may have reason to fear for your future. That is when some questions may cross your mind. Does law enforcement have the right to do this? Can they search my car, enter my home or take me into custody without probable cause? What if I try to resist arrest? Although members of law enforcement may sincerely believe that the circumstances of the situation warrant taking you into custody, their opinion alone will never be enough. They will have to convince a judge, and in…
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Commercial Vehicle Crash on Interstate 84 near Caldwell Causes Traffic Delays
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: 12/4/2015 6:20 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office On Friday, December 04, 2015, at 1:35 p.m., the Idaho State investigated a commercial vehicle property damage crash on Interstate 84 at mile 26, the Notus exit. Stephen Dick, 61 years old of Eagle, was driving eastbound on Interstate 84 near milepost 26 in the far left lane when he had a tire failure and crashed into the concrete median barrier. The barrier dislodged and went into the westbound lanes of travel, completely blocking the interstate. The 1998 Western Semi, hauling a 50,000 pound piece of construction equipment, slid down the concrete barrier for several 100 feet. The equipment became lodged…
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Trial Experience Matters…
Attorney Karren Kenney defending her client in court. Image taken from KABC News Broadcast. Picture this: you have been charged with a crime and are facing what could be a significant amount of time behind bars. Your only choice is to hire an attorney who would be responsible for convincing a jury of 12 strangers that you didn’t commit the crime that you have been accused of. If the attorney is not successful, your life takes a complete turn as you have to begin telling your family, friends, coworkers, boss and other people that you are not going to be around for some years. It is pretty safe to say that you are going to try and hire the attorney with the most trial experience. Having an attorney who is well versed in trials is invaluable to any case. They know what to look for, when to object, they have the lay of the land in the courtroom, and they’re the best defense system that a defendant could hope for. Trials can last anywhere from a week to three weeks…
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City approves sex offender signs
This is the kind of nonsense that needs to be fought in many ways, like make sign a lay it flat down, face down, on lawn. Get ACLU involved in this stupidity; clearly further punishment. Also fight on equal application of law, for other offenses are not so required; public safety is not the basis of this stupidity.12-5-15 Texas: GONZALES — The Gonzales City Council approved an ordinance at
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Hunter Moore And The Black Magic Outrage
Within the sphere of people who are unquestionably venal for their conduct of deliberately harming women for a profit through revenge porn, Hunter Moore is up there, a disgusting face in the pantheon of scum. Far more so than the intellectually dishonest who would eviscerate free speech by criminalizing revenge porn, guys like Moore are responsible for driving the need to end the blight. Sarah Jeong writes that Moore was sentenced for his conduct, for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, for the intentional harm he caused. On Wednesday, revenge porn site operator Hunter Moore was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison. He will also be paying a $2,000 fine, and on top of that, a bizarrely specific $145.70 in restitution. $145.70: the price of being a revenge porn victim. The term of imprisonment was one thing; the amount of restitution, on the other hand, bred outrage. Charlotte Laws, the mother of one of the victims, is an anti-revenge porn…
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The New York Times Puts Gun Control On A1
For the first time since 1920, the New York Times has put an editorial on page A1, its front page. The title explains why. End the Gun Epidemic in America On its face, it’s a flagrant appeal to emotion. But then, it’s an issue wrapped in emotion. Death does that to people, as well it should. So the Times plays to its audience, northeastern liberals who have neither use for, nor love of, guns, and the heart-rending spectacle of a mass murder. It is a moral outrage and national disgrace that civilians can legally purchase weapons designed to kill people with brutal speed and efficiency. The deliberate choice of framing its position as a moral outrage immediately tell the story that this isn’t intended as a reasoned argument, but one that goes to the bottom line of public sensibilities. What is “moral” is a personal issue. Either you agree that it is or you don’t. It is a moral outrage and a national disgrace…
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Verschiebung des Inkrafttretens der MiFID II ?
Mit Presseerklärung vom 27.11.2015 teilte das EU-Parlament mit, dass es eine offizielle Stellungnahme zur Verschiebung des Inkrafttretens der Richtlinie über Märkte für Finanzinstrumente (MiFID 2) der Europäischen Kommission übermittelte. Das EU-Parlament stimmt einer Verschiebung des Inkrafttretens um ein Jahr zu, sofern zwei Bedingungen erfüllt werden: Erstens muss die Europäische Kommission die Level 2-Massnahmen rasch möglichst abschliessen, wobei die im Schreiben vom 27.11.2015 aufgeführten inhaltlichen Kommentare des EU-Parlaments umzusetzen sind. Zweitens muss die Europäische Kommission das EU-Parlament periodisch über den Fortschritt betreffend die Level 2-Massnahmen informieren, wobei eine erste Unterrichtung im Dezember und damit noch vor Finalisierung der Level 2-Massnahmen erfolgen soll. Claude Ehrenspergerhttp://www.lawblogswitzerland.ch
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False Teeth Fraud Inquiry Morphs Into Child Porn Investigation in Sunrise
Marino Vigna was a dentist who primarily treated geriatric patients suffering from dementia in nursing homes throughout Southeast Florida. The Florida Attorney General’s office launched an investigation back in 2012 when they received information indicating the dentist may have been engaging in fraudulent billing practices. There were allegations he was charging for services he never completed. In other cases, there were instance in which it was alleged patients had dental work completed when it wasn’t necessary. In search of billing records that might support these assertions, state investigators seized several office computers in June of this year. These included hard drivers and business records. But when they opened those records, they allegedly found something else entirely: Child pornography. That’s according to a search warrant obtained by The Sun-Sentinel. A number of files on Vigna’s computer appear to show the girls, who are believed to be no…
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Saturday College Football Open Thread
I did good last week, hitting my 2 big plays and many others. Let's keep it going! the picks: Michigan State @ Iowa +4 (5 units), North Carolina +5 (5 units) @ Clemson, USC +4 (4 units) @ Stanford, Air Force +7 (3 units) @ San Diego State, ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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The Emerging Backlash In Academia
In the face of stories of college administrators and professors caving in to, if not enabling, the infantile demands of unduly sensitive students, there was a gnawing question of whether there were any grown-ups left in the Academy. There are, and even though they are faced with being called words that could destroy their careers, like sexist or racist, they have chosen not to acquiesce or remain silent. The least I can do is applaud their willingness to come forward, to say, “enough,” given that I’ve been critical in the past of professors lacking the courage to call out intellectual dishonesty. At PrawfsBlawg, Paul Horwitz began the ball rolling. I have not seen The Hunting Ground and cannot comment on its merits. It seems worth noting, though, both that the movie is prominently features a case involving Harvard Law School, and that a number of professors at the law school issued a public letter criticizing both the film…
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Mongolia: Historic vote abolishes death penalty
Source: Amnesty International (4 December 2015)https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/12/mongolia-historic-vote-abolishes-death-penalty/Mongolia's parliament became the latest to consign the death penalty to the history books, in a major victory for human rights in the country, said Amnesty International today.On Thursday, lawmakers voted in favour of a new Criminal Code that abolishes the death penalty for all crimes. The new Criminal Code will take effect from September 2016, and would bring the total number of countries to have completely abandoned this ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment to 102."Mongolia's historic decision to abolish the death penalty is a great victory for human rights. The death penalty is becoming a thing of the past across the world," said Roseann Rife, East Asia Research Director at Amnesty International."Mongolia has set an example which we hope will quickly ripple across Asia. The countries that continue to…
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