The Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, District I has upheld a trial court’s order denying a defendant’s motion to suppress drug evidence obtained following a warrantless search of a residence. In State v. Breska, an 82-year-old Wisconsin woman went to a local police station to report that she was beaten by her adult grandson in her Wauwatosa home. According to the woman, the grandson often slept in her basement, where the elderly woman’s daughter also lived. After local police processed the woman’s complaint, law enforcement officers went to the home to arrest the grandson. Upon arriving at the residence, the officers initially knocked on the doors and windows of the home in an attempt to get the grandson to come outside for questioning. When the grandson failed to answer the door, police obtained a key from the grandmother. The elderly woman also provided the officers with permission to search her house. Next, police entered the home through an exterior…
Search Warrant Not Required After Voluntary Consent Provided in Wisconsin Drug Crimes Case
↧
↧
Dismiss the Case Against Officer Porter and Make Him a Witness Against the Others
When Judge Barry Williams declared a mistrial in the case against Officer Porter, the prosecutors in the courtroom were visibly upset. The trial had lasted two weeks. The jury had… read more → The post Dismiss the Case Against Officer Porter and Make Him a Witness Against the Others appeared first on .
↧
Three Men Exonerated of 1980 Brooklyn Arson Murder
Three men were exonerated Wednesday when their murder and arson convictions were vacated by a New York State Supreme Court judge. William Vasquez, Amaury Villalobos and Raymond Mora were convicted in 1981 of setting a fire in a Park Slope townhouse that killed a woman and her five young children. The only eyewitness in the trial was the building’s owner, Hannah Quick, who accused the three men of setting the fire. On her deathbed last year, Quick confessed to family members that she lied to investigators. During a review of the case by the Brooklyn district attorney’s Conviction Review Unit, prosecutors discovered that Quick made many contradicting statements to police. The only other evidence against the three defendants was the testimony of a fire marshal who said he found evidence of arson at the scene. In partnership with Adele Bernhardt of the New York Law School Post-Conviction Innocence Clinic, the Conviction Review Unit commissioned experts to reexamine…
↧
Why Texas' civil commitment program was found unconstitutional
After Nancy Bunin did such a great job of analyzing Texas' sex-offender civil commitment legislation this spring, I asked her to author a guest post explaining the import of a recent, widely publicized ruling declaring the program unconstitutional and releasing the first Texas sex offender ever from civil commitment restrictions. Here's that she wrote. Thanks Nancy for agreeing to do this.Recently the Honorable P.K Reiter made headlines by finding Chapter 841 of the Texas Health and Safety Code unconstitutional. On Monday, December 14, Judge Reiter agreed with Defense Counsel Bill Marshall’s conclusion that the involuntary commitment of Alonzo May under the recently amended law was punitive and a denial of the man’s due process rights under both Texas and U.S. (May was previously ordered into outpatient treatment as a repeat sex offender) Earlier this year I submitted an article contemplating the proposed changes pending in the 84th Texas Legislature…
↧
"Leaders With Criminal Histories Should Be Included in Reform Debate"
↧
↧
An Alarming Trend in DC DUI Arrests
The District of Columbia Superior Court is unlike many jurisdictions in that it does not have a bail bond system. In fact, there is not a single bail bonds person or business in the entire District. The City Council outlawed bail bonds years ago. So, the question is how is bond determined in a DC criminal case. DC Superior Court has a condition based system that starts with the general principle that most people should be released on their personal promise to appear in court. That means in most misdemeanor cases, including DUIs, the person arrested will be released and required to sign notice to return for their next court date and appear with their attorney. The notice informs the person that if they fail to appear at the next court date, they could be charged with a separate crime (called a Bail Reform Act violation) that carries a maximum penalty of 180 days and/or a $1,000.00 fine. Often times, however, the judge will also impose court ordered conditions as part of the…
↧
The Arbitrary Execution of Tom Thompson
I knew if I wanted to see Tom one last time I had to leave for the prison soon. It was already late in the afternoon and at 6:00 pm, he would be taken from the visiting area to the death watch cell for his last meal. There he would remain until 25 minutes before midnight when he would be led to the execution chamber next door. There wasn’t anything left for me to do anyway, so I left my San Francisco office and drove over the Golden Gate Bridge to San Quentin State Prison. The parking lot to the East Gate of the prison is just a few yards from the San Francisco Bay. Even after countless visits the contrast between the sweeping vista of the coastline and the grim reality inside the prison’s peach colored concrete walls is striking. I passed through security and walked slowly down the long path leading to the Main Visiting Room. I was let in through the two sets of heavy doors, and saw Tom, surrounded by family and close friends, presiding over a gathering that could…
↧
One More Reason We Don't Need Sentencing "Reform"
The reason is that Barack Obama will do the "reforming" all by himself. He showed this again today by issuing yet more (literal) "get-out-of-jail-free" cards. He has now issued more commutations than his immediate four predecessors combined -- Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. But that's OK, because we know that Obama is a more humane and far-sighted man than any of those cretins. Either that, or his political base is rooted in criminality and the Soros-funded interest groups that speak up for it, and him.There several notable things about today's dozens of clemencies -- notable for their implications about politics, governance, and justice. For now, I want to discuss just one: The red flag raised for pro-sentencing "reform" Republicans. Let's think about what today's action implies about the so-called need to reduce sentences by…
↧
Chicago Property Crimes
When people think about crime, it is usually violent crime that comes to mind. Drug and gun related crime dominates the news, especially in the Chicago area. That said, property crimes are four times more prevalent in Chicago than violent crimes, and many such crimes are serious offenses. Being convicted of certain property crimes can result in serious consequences including incarceration and hefty fines and fees. Do not take property crime charges lightly. If you are facing any charges related to a crime against the property of another in the Chicago area, you need an aggressive Chicago criminal defense lawyer. What are Property Crimes in Illinois? Property crimes are those crimes involving the theft or the destruction of the property of another. The term property crime is an umbrella category under which many different misdemeanor and felony charges can be brought. Illinois recognizes numerous crimes against property, and defines property as anything of value. Some examples…
↧
↧
Prez Obama commutes 95 federal prison sentences and grants 2 pardons
↧
Guards say Texas prisons a 'living hell,' and other stories
I finally created bios for all of Grits' new contributing writers. See here. And here are a few odds and ends which haven't made it into independent Grits posts but merit readers' attention heading into the weekend:The trial date for Sandra Bland's family's wrongful death suit has been set for January 2017.Pew: Push for policing reforms expected in upcoming legislative sessions.WFAA: Prison guards say working conditions a 'living hell' ("I'm not about, 'Let's go hug these inmates' ... I'm about taking care of these officers.")Houston Chronicle: Four of the nine dead from the Waco biker shootout were killed by police snipers with long guns. Reportedly, no police officers fired their pistols. UPDATE: Ten dead bikers?! Tommy Witherspoon found another one referenced in a recent indictment, though it could be an error.Quorum Report: Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman called for sentencing reform for…
↧
Man Charged with Murder of Westborough Woman Seeks to Suppress Statements to the Police
According to an article in the MetroWest Daily News, attorneys for a New Hampshire man charged with murder are seeking to prevent the prosecutor from admitting the man’s statements at trial, as well as all of the evidence derived from those statements. The man allegedly murdered 19 year-old woman from Westborough, MA in October 2012. THe alleged victim was a student at the University of New Hampshire. Shortly after the murder, the police went to the defendant’s place of employment and transported him to the police station for questioning. Police then interrogated him at the police station for a total of 11 hours. During the course of the interrogation, the defendant admitted that the alleged had died of asphyxiation during a sexual encounter with him. He also told the police where evidence of the crime could be found. Specifically, the his statements led the police to Peirce Island in Portsmouth, NH, where hair…
↧
Framingham Woman Charged with Assaulting Former Co-Worker
According to an article in the MetroWest Daily News, a 23 year-old Framingham woman attacked a former co-worker in Wayland earlier this year. The defendant is a professional dog walker. The alleged victim in the case was reportedly a former employee of the company, but was laid off because of a broken ankle. Following her recovery, the alleged victim began walking dogs again, but not with the same company. According to the article, the defendant encountered the alleged victim while both were on the job in the Loker Conservation. The defendant reportedly noticed that the alleged victim was walking two dogs that belonged to former company’s clients and became upset. The alleged victim specifically reported that she and the defendant got into a verbal exchange during which the defendant accused the alleged victim of depriving her of her livelihood by stealing clients. The two women then walked away from each other, but crossed paths again in the…
↧
↧
Crofts on Malice
Penny Crofts (University of Technology Sydney, Faculty of Law) has posted The Poisoned Apple of Malice (Griffith Law Review, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 150-179, July 2013) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Contemporary criminal law tends to regard malice...
↧
Updating the bubbling lower-court vagueness mess six months after Johnson
↧
Friday Open Thread
Argue about data theft here. I've been doing it on twitter - @armandodkos . Open Thread. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
↧
IN DEFENSE OF MARTIN SHKRELI
Martin Shkreli, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur was arrested yesterday and social media erupted in a flurry of cheers that the man who gained recent fame for buying pharmaceutical companies and raising the prices of older drugs, was finally arrested for his crimes of using his wealth to hurt the public good.Of course there is no crime of using one's wealth for hurting the public good, but most people think there should be, and Shkreli should be the first defendant. Shkreli was arrested for allegations having nothing to do with raising the prices of drugs he owned. The charges were that Shkreli committed fraud by using money raised in one hedge fund to pay off loses in a prior hedge fund. But what we want to examine is the scoundrel who had the audacity to raise the prices of something he owned that people needed. How dare he! Ownership of private property must always be sacrificed to the public good. We all agree on that, right? For instance…
↧
↧
U.S. Appeal Court to Hear Rasmea Odeh was Denied Fair Trial
Last month, lawyers for Palestinian American community leader and activist Rasmea Odeh (associate director for the Arab-American Arab Network) argued before a U.S. Appeal court that Odeh was denied her constitutional right to a fair trial. In November of 2014, Odeh was convicted of immigration fraud by a jury in federal court in Michigan for failing to disclose her prior conviction, arrest, and imprisonment by an Israeli military court. In 1969, the Israeli military charged Odeh with helping to coordinate a pair of bombings in Jerusalem that left two men dead. She has always maintained her innocence in these matters. More importantly, the court in Michigan sentenced Odeh to 18 months imprisonment, ordered her to pay a $1,00 fine, and stripped her of her U.S. citizenship. She now faces deportation back to Jordan after she serves her sentence. US District Judge Gershwin Drain who had presided over her trial barred Odeh from speaking about the torture and abuse she suffered in…
↧
Public Defenders Office Questions Sex Offender Housing Bills
12-18-15 Wisconsin: Proposed Changes Would Set Distance Requirements From Schools, Other Public Places An attorney from the Wisconsin State Public Defender's Office wants changes to a bill that would restrict housing options for released sex predators, saying it could put the state's civil commitment law in constitutional jeopardy. If it passes, the bill would bar the state from placing
↧
News Scan
Debate Over Parole for Teens Revived: The conviction of a Massachusetts teen for the brutal rape and murder of his high school math teacher has revived a debate over parole for teen killers and the urging of lawmakers to toughen prison sentences. Christian M. Wade of the Gloucester Times reports that 16-year-old Phillip Chism was 14 in 2013 when he followed his 24-year-old algebra teacher, Colleen Ritzer, into a school bathroom, strangled her, stabbed her at least 16 times with a box cutter, raped her and then dumped her body in the woods near the school. He was found guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday after being tried as an adult, but will still be eligible for parole in 13 to 23 years due to his juvenile status. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down mandatory life sentences for juveniles convicted of first-degree murder as a violation of the Eighth Amendment. A year later the Massachusetts high court followed with a similar…
↧
More Pages to Explore .....
