Being a victim of child molestation can negatively impact you for the rest of your life. Fortunately, under California law, you may be able to sue the person who molested you, even after you have turned 18 years of age,...
How long does a person have to bring a lawsuit against someone for molesting them?
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Suspect in Utah Cabin Burglaries Apprehended
We’ve previously discussed the Mountain Man cabin burglaries on this blog; a suspect in the string of robberies has been arrested in a law enforcement operation involving multiple agencies. Mountain Man Burglaries Troy Knapp, aka the Mountain Man, was taken into custody after running into a father and son who were hunting in the woods. [...]
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Mortgage Broker Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Lender
Gloria Arias, 44, Weston, Florida, pleaded guilty to making material misrepresentations to a financial institution. Arias faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison for her involvement in this mortgage fraud offense.
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Spapens on Decriminalization in the Netherlands
Toine Spapens (Tilburg University, Law School) has posted Decriminalization as Regulation: The Gambling and Cannabis Markets in the Netherlands on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Decriminalizing an illegal market may be a useful strategy for reducing crime. It is also...
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Conspirators Sentenced for Inflating Purchase Prices
Quincy Dynell Harrington, Corinth, Texas, has been sentenced for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme.
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Charges Filed Against Woman Involved in Massive Mortgage Conspiracy
Rashika J. Moon, 42, Carneys Point, New Jersey, was charged by information with participating in a mortgage fraud conspiracy involving more than 100 Philadelphia properties and more than $20 million in fraudulent loan proceeds.
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Former Political Candidate Who Promised 'Real Change' Indicted in Concert Promotion Ponzi Scheme
“The people of Hawaii need to learn that there is no such thing as an investment with guaranteed returns of 25 percent to 50 percent. Somehow these cases keep recurring here. It’s baffling."
-FBI Special Agent Tom Simon
A Hawaii man who once ran for political office was indicted on charges that his concert and promotion business was a Ponzi scheme that took in over $1 million from at least 29 Hawaii families. Jason Pascua, a U.S. Army Reservist and former candidate for the Hawaii House of Representatives, was charged with a single count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum prison sentence of twenty years in prison as well as criminal monetary penalties. According to authorities, Pascua is not currently in Hawaii and has not been arrested, with news reports suggesting that he will plead guilty upon his return on May 23, 2013.
Pascua was the sole owner of J2 Marketing Solutions ("J2"), which purported to be in the concert and nightclub promotions industry. A regular on the political circuit, Pascua frequently mingled with Hawaii politicians and even tried his hand at running for political office in 2010. Pascua also had extensive community ties, having previously served as President of the local Filipino Chamber of Commerce and a marketing director of the Hawaii Central Credit Union.
Beginning in 2009, Pascua used these ties to solicit investors to invest in J2, telling them he worked as a concert and nightclub promoter spliting his time between Honolulu and Las Vegas. Investors were offered the opportunity to earn short-term returns of 25%-50% by financing Pascua's promotion of multiple concert and night club events. Pascua assured investors he would spread their investments over the promotion of multiple events in an effort to "mitigate risk." Ultimately, Pascua would raise more than $1 million from nearly 30 Hawaii families.
However, according to authorities, Pascua did not use investor funds to promote concerts or night club events. Rather, he diverted funds for his own personal use, as well as pay fictitious returns to investors. Ironically, Pascua did use some funds for event promotion - but those events were pet expos at a popular Hawaii entertainment complex.
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Erroneous application of sentencing enhancement is harmless when it had no effect on the sentence
Judge Hardiman opened United States v. Zabielski, No. 11-3288, (April 3, 2013) by noting that since United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), the Sentencing Guidelines were no longer “diktats.” However, trial judges must still accurately calculate the Guidelines range and correctly rule on departure motions. Though failure to do so will usually result in the Court of Appeals vacating a sentence and remanding for a new sentencing hearing, a sentencing court’s omission in this regard might be so immaterial that the error will be held harmless. The insignificance of such an error is why Mr. Zabielski’s sentence was left intact.Mr. Zabielski pled guilty to a bank robbery. He handed a note to a teller demanding $10,000. When the teller asked him what account he wanted to withdraw the funds from, he made clear that he was robbing the bank. One of the clues the teller noticed was a bulge in his jacket that looked like it held a gun or knife; the other was his statement that he was in a hurry. He made off with $4767.00. Later, he told several people about the robbery, including his mother, who told him to give the money back. He mailed most of it back from another town. Still, within two days of the robbery, when interviewed by law enforcement, he lied about his whereabouts at the time of the crime. He was indicted, and pled guilty. Although his motion for a downward departure was denied at first, his allocution persuaded the sentencing court he was remorseful, and he received a thirteen month downward departure, and a sentence of only twenty four (24) months. Mr. Zabielski then appealed. His central claim was that the sentencing court erroneously applied a two level enhancement for threat of death.Reviewing past cases, the Court found that Mr. Zabielski’s actions during the robbery— the bulge, the command to hurry (“you have two minutes”)— was not clearly a threat of death, as least by pre-Bookerprecedent. However, as a result of Booker, such enhancements are not as significant as they were before. Therefore, the Court went on to determine whether or not the error was harmless, which in this meant assessing whether or not the enhancement affected the sentence. Enhancements, the Court noted, are meant to highlight some particular set of facts from the crime. Sentencing errors are likely to be harmless when it is clear from the record that when the sentencing court decided to vary from the Guidelines, or even when an enhancement is erroneously applied, the sentencing court understood the facts of a case, grasped their significance, and incorporated them into a just sentence.In this case, the Court found that the sentencing court demonstrated an awareness of the crime, including Mr. Zabielski’s demeanor, appearance, and statements when he robbed the bank. It appreciated the “context surrounding” Mr. Zabielski’s conduct. There was a thorough analysis of 18 U.S.C. §3553(e) factors, and Mr. Zabielski received a big break. The sentence was one that fell below the range that would have applied without the enhancement. All of this rendered any threat from the imposition of the enhancement harmless. The Court did warn that in the future, absent a statement from a sentencing court that the enhancement had no effect on the imposed sentence, it will be hard to state that any erroneous application was harmless. Mr. Zabielski also challenged the “substantial reasonableness” of the sentence. He complained of the sentencing court’s reliance on unsubstantiated assumptions about his criminal record, unsubstantiated assumptions about his criminal background, mental health, and drug abuse, and his being sentenced to an increased term of imprisonment to facilitate his rehabilitation. Applying its deferential standard of review, it rejected these claims. Though the sentencing court made stray and possibly speculative statements about Mr. Zabielski’s supposed drug abuse and mental health problems, the Court found that when viewed in the context of the sentencing court’s entire statement of reasons, those statements were not central to the explanation for the sentence. Moreover, Mr. Zabielski did not dispute that he used illegal drugs and drank alcohol. Also, Mr. Zabielski had received treatment for mental illness. The sentencing court’s remarks on the subject were in response to his arguments that he would not receive proper treatment for mental illness in prison. Mr. Zabielski’s sentence of twenty-four months for a bank robbery therefore stood.Photograph of 500,000th error in Major League Baseball from the New York Times.
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‘Mass Casualties or Death’: Bulletin Warned of Texas White Supremacist Gang Retaliation
Months before the slaying of two Kaufman County prosecutors, Texas authorities sent out a bulletin warning that a gang of white supremacists might seek retaliation involving “mass casualties or death,” sources said. The December 2012 bulletin, obtained by ABC News, warned that “high ranking members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas are involved in issuing orders to inflict ‘mass casualties...read more →The post ‘Mass Casualties or Death’: Bulletin Warned of Texas White Supremacist Gang Retaliation appeared first on Arizona Criminal Law & Defense Blog.
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Zimmerman Files Appeal Over Benjamin Crump's Deposition
George Zimmerman's lawyers have filed a petition for writ of cert in the 5th District Court of Appeals (available here) seeking to overturn the trial court's denial of its request to depose Martin family lawyer Benjamin Crump about his...
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Roth on DNA and the Jury
Andrea L. Roth (UC Berkeley School of Law) has posted Defying DNA: Rethinking the Role of the Jury in an Age of Scientific Proof of Innocence (Boston University Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 1946, public...
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Evening Crash Injures One on Kimberly Road
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer
DO NOT REPLY
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IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE
District 4 Patrol 218 West Yakima, Jerome, ID 83338-5904 (208) 324-6000
Fax (208) 324-7897
For Immediate Release: 04/4/13 7:20 p.m.
Please direct questions to the District Office
On April 4, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. the Idaho State Police investigated an injury crash that occurred westbound on US30 at approximately milepost 222, between a white 1993 Nissan Altima and a black 2010 Dodge Nitro. Both westbound lanes of travel were blocked for approximately an hour and a half, but are now open at this time. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
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Rollover Crash North of Fort Hall on I15
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer
DO NOT REPLY
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Idaho State Police
District 5 5205 South 5th Ave.
Pocatello, Idaho 83204-2299
(208) 236-6466 FAX: (208) 236-6068
For Immediate Release: 04/04/13 7:50 pm
Please direct questions to the District Office
At approximately 5:08 p.m., April 4th, 2013, the Idaho State Police investigated a rollover crash southbound I15 at mile marker 85.5, north of Fort Hall. Kara Hodge, 24, of Middleton, was driving south in a 2007 Dodge Caliber in the left lane. Holden Horgan, 21, of Rupert was driving south in a 1995 Peterbilt semi truck in the right lane when he attempted to pass another semi truck, pulled into the left lane causing Hodge to run off the road and into the median where her vehicle rolled. Hodge was transported to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello.
Hodge was wearing a seatbelt. This crash is under investigation.
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Chmura et al. on Selfishness as a Cause of Crime
Thorsten Chmura , Christoph Engel and Markus Englerth (University of Bonn - Faculty of Law & Economics , Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods and Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute...
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UK - Police officer Steven Kellock put on sex offenders register
Steven Kellock
Original Article
04/04/2013
A police officer who sexually assaulted a 15-year old girl in an Edinburgh cinema during a church trip, has been placed on the sex offenders'...
[[ This is only a preview of the article, visit Sex Offender Issues for the full story ]]
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“The Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act” - Legalizing Medical Marijuana in Florida
Although it is currently stalled in committee, Florida State Senate Bill 1250 was introduced by Florida State Senator Jeff Clemens of Lake Worth. The bill is called the “The Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act.” It would allow individuals with medical conditions to possess marijuana if recommended by a doctor. The individual, or their designated caregiver would be allowed to possess up to four ounces of marijuana or grow up to eight plants.Obviously not impressed, officers in Manatee County raided Cathy Jordan's home hours after the bill was introduced. Read an article by Norm Kent, the new Chair of NORML's Board of Directors explaining how attorneys on NORML's legal committee stepped up to the plate to come to her defense particularly - Michael C. Minardi of Stuart, Florida. Other attorneys involved include Norm Kent, Russell Cormican, and Matt Kumin.Florida State Attorney Drops Charges Against Bob and Cathy Jordan, by Norm Kent, Chair, NORML Board of DirectorsOn April 2nd, 2013, Brian A. Iten, the Division Chief with the State Attorney's Office for Manatee County wrote an interdepartmental memorandum. The memo is addressed to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.The memo addresses whether criminal charges should be filed against Robert P. Jordan for the charge of manufacture (cultivation) of marijuana. The memo provides that the State Attorney's Office has decided not to file any criminal charges for the following reasons:Sixty-four year-old Robert Jordan was referred for prosecution after law enforcement learned that Mr. Jordan was cultivating a small quantity of marijuana at his home. Robert Jordan alleged, and the investigation confirmed, that he was growing the cannabis solely for use of his wife, Cathy Jordan, who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in 1985. A review of Mrs. Jordan's medical records supplied through counsel, and telephone contract with Dr. Denis Petro, a neurologist who last examined Mrs. Jordan in 2011, confirmed the following:ALS is an incurable, progressive, neurodegenerative disease.The standard drugs used to treat the symptoms of ALS are very dangerous, with serious side effects, including death. For Mrs. Jordan, cannabis provides relief without the side effects associated with her medical options.In Florida, the doctrine of medical necessity provides an absolute defense to a cultivation of cannabis prosecution when the following are established:That the defendant did not intentionally bring about the circumstances which precipitated the unlawful act; That the defendant could not accomplish the same objective using a less offensive alternative available to the defendant; and That the evil sought to be avoided was more heinous than the lawful act perpetrated to avoid it. See Jenks v. State, 582 So. 2d 676, 677 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). Citing the above facts and law, the State lacks a good faith belief it can over a medical necessity defense in this matter.Watch this video to learn more about Cathy Jordan -.
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CT - Gun offender registry would be concealed from public
Original Article
Either we should have an online registry for all ex-felons, or none!
04/04/2013
By Ed Jacovino
HARTFORD - The bipartisan package of gun control, mental health, and school...
[[ This is only a preview of the article, visit Sex Offender Issues for the full story ]]
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Can I get in trouble if I bought an item that I didn’t know was stolen?
Free legal answers from attorneys - Came up on a ad on Craigslist for a new iphone. Had my neighbor take a look at it, he works at a major phone distributo
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Can multiple people be convicted of possession of the same item?
Free legal answers from attorneys - Girlfriend's brother picked her and I up from the airport. I knew he had a history of selling drugs, but mostly weed a
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North Carolina DWI Law and Ignition Interlock Devices
Courts in the State of North Carolina are beginning to increase the implementation of court orders requiring those who have been charged with DWI to install an ignition interlock device in his/her vehicle. The IID is connected to the ignition system of the person’s vehicle, and prior to starting the vehicle; the offender must submit [...]
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