Bipartisan bill would end IRS federal taxation of compensation for wrongful conviction (Washington, DC — Dec. 18, 2015) Today, as a part of the tax extenders package, Congress passed H.R. 3086, the Wrongful Conviction Tax Relief Act of 2015. This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Reps. Sam Johnson (R-TX) and John Larson (D-CT), and supported by several members of the Senate, including Charles Schumer (D-NY) and John Cornyn (R-TX), ends the federal government’s taxation of compensation received for wrongful conviction. In the U.S., individuals who have been wrongfully convicted and exonerated by DNA evidence spent on average 14 years wrongfully incarcerated. After being released, some of these men and women then had to mount an additional fight either through their courts or state legislatures to secure compensation for their wrongful convictions, only later to discover that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sought to tax a significant portion of their…
Innocence Project Applauds Congress for Passage of the Wrongful Convictions Tax Relief Act of 2015
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12 Year Sentence in Child Pornography Case Vacated Due to Court’s Failure to Give Statement of Reasons
Roughly, 95 to 97 percent of federal defendants plead guilty. Perhaps that explains why criminal trials, and their ensuing verdicts, attract the most public attention and scrutiny. Sentencing is treated like some inconsequential procedural necessity when in most cases, given these statistics, it is often the most important aspect of a criminal case. It is unfortunate that many lawyers and judges often give sentencing such short consideration. Sentencing Reform Currently pending before Congress is the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 whose purpose is to bring about badly needed reforms in both sentencing and corrections. There is increasing public and political support for eliminating harsh mandatory minimums in the federal sentencing scheme, especially in drug cases. Sentencing in Child Pornography Cases Fashioning the appropriate sentence in a criminal case is one of the more difficult tasks faced by a criminal court judge.…
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Chuck Ramsay Interviewed By Minnesota Lawyer Regarding The Bernard Case
In the wake of the United States Supreme Court's decision to review DWI Test Refusal law, the nation's attention is being focused squarely on the state of Minnesota . . . and those attorneys who are closest to the fight. Minnesota Lawyer, the premiere legal publication for our state, interviewed Chuck Ramsay to get his opinion on what the possible impact will be for Minnesota now that the State v. Bernard case is going to be ruled upon by the highest court in America. Here's what Mr. Ramsay had to say (the full article is behind a pay wall, and is likely only accessible by attorneys). Defense attorney Chuck Ramsay agreed the potential impact is hard to overstate. “It could be tremendous because, with a handful of exceptions, it would affect every single DWI case in Minnesota,” said Ramsay, who wrote an amicus brief when Bernard went before the Minnesota Supreme Court. “I can’t think of any other crime, except for the…
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Interpreting Service Company Owners and 7 Employees of G&G Charged With Workers' Compensation Fraud in ProvidingTranslating Services to Medical Clinics' Patients
Interpreting services in the workers' compensation system has been criticized at times as being overused and abused ancillary service. However, it was handled in lien negotiations with insurance carriers handling those services separately.State criminal charges have been filed against nine people alleged to be part of an interpreting service company specializing in providing interpreting services to workers' compensation patients in medical clinics. In an apparent political move, this case is being filed just around the time that there are hearings relating to disputes between carriers and the rights of non-English speaking workers to have the right to interpreting services with certified interpreters. This case may also be used to challenge the liens by this company and the insurance carriers have a lot of power in determining who gets charged criminally in state court cases.The prosecution allegeds that G&G billed for interpreting services…
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We don't need no stinkin' Speedy Trial Act
Though Texas has no speedy trial act on the books, there's a general sense within the system that, as the adage says, justice delayed is justice denied. But the judiciary has been loathe to accept actual temporal limits on their work, allowing huge backlogs to develop that fill up county jails with people who can't make bail awaiting trial. A recent move to create aspirational goals to improve those timelines faces perhaps predictable judicial opposition. From Texas Lawyer (Dec. 15):The Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee is planning to convene a task force of its members and others appointed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to begin drafting time standards for criminal cases for the Texas Rules of Judicial Administration.Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht asked the SCAC to make recommendations about how to amend Rule 6.1, which sets aspirational time standards for courts to dispose of criminal cases. Currently the rule refers to a 1987…
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Sanders Sues DNC, Case Settled, Dems to Debate in NH
Here's the complaint Bernie Sanders' campaign filed in federal court against the DNC for suspending its access to public voter data. The case was quickly resolved. What the ruckus was about: The suit came shortly after campaign manager... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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LA JUSTICIA EN EL PERÚ, UN APORTE PARA CORREGIR Y AUMENTAR He decidido no volver a escribir sobre política ni sobre las Compañías de Seguros que se llevan NO menos del 70% de clientes de las AFP (de la cual son dueñas) cumplida la edad de jubilación a los que les pagan una pensión de por vida luego de haber recibido la integridad de su fondo (nunca es más vigente la frase del panzón AGP a esos negocios “la plata les llega sola”). La primera es una cloaca, les pondré un último ejemplo, ayer, 18 de diciembre de 2015, en ATV+ a las 20 horas, un señor obeso de apellido Medina, dizque “analista político” dijo que la japonesa Fujimori es posible que gane en primera vuelta ¿Por qué?, pues según él, el antivoto contra esa persona es del 40% y como tiene –para él- un sólido tercio del electorado, existe un 25% que no tiene…
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Refusing a breath test: Can it result in criminal penalties, the United States Supreme Court will address this question
The United States currently has thirteen states which have criminalized drunk driving test refusal, allowing police officers to arrest and charge individuals for refusing the Breathalyzer or blood test. Unlike these thirteen states, it is not a crime to refuse such tests in Massachusetts. Although there will be a license suspension, drivers in Massachusetts can refuse a breath test without incurring any criminal penalty or adverse inference during an OUI trial; however, the driver will face a license suspension depending on the number of OUI convictions they have in their lifetime. While the ruling of the United States Supreme Court will not directly impact Massachusetts drivers, it is an important decision for DUI attorneys. The decision would impact DUI convictions from Rhode Island. Currently under Rhode Island DUI law, a second offense refusal to submit to a breath test is a criminal offense, even though a first offense refusal is only civil. This decision…
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On arresting kids for their electronics
Once they figure out it's battery charger, not a bomb, couldn't the arrest and two nights in juvie for a 12-year old kid of Indian descent be avoided? (Not the clock kid, another one, this time down the road in Arlington.)We're in an era of DIY electronics, robotics, Arduinos, Raspberry Pis, the Internet of Things, etc., where lots things in a prototyping stage and even, apparently, some finished projects "look like bombs" based on pop culture, with all sorts of wires and components which seem inexplicable to the uninitiated but are entirely benign.Circuitry to control 2 DC motors with an ArduinoYour correspondent has been teaching an after-school group one day a week at the granddaughter's elementary school where, this year, we took apart a broken printer to harvest the motor systems and will wire one of them up independently to make what we're dubbing a laser shooting robot. ("Robot" is strong - the kids will control it, it's…
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False Reports to or Communications with Public Safety Entities Charges in Iowa
The Iowa crime of False Reports to or Communications with Public Safety Entities, sometimes referred to as making a false statement, is defined by Iowa Code section 718.6 as follows: 1. A person who reports or causes to be reported false information to a fire department, a law enforcement authority, or other public safety entity, knowing that the information is false, or who reports the alleged occurrence of a criminal act knowing the act did not occur, commits a simple … Continued
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Conspiracy Charges in Iowa
The Iowa crime of Conspiracy is defined by Iowa Code sections 706.1 and 706.3 as follows: 1. A person commits conspiracy with another if, with the intent to promote or facilitate the commission of a crime which is an aggravated misdemeanor or felony, the person does either of the following: a. Agrees with another that they or one or more of them will engage in conduct constituting the crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit the crime. b. Agrees to … Continued
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Recent Changes in Criminal Defense in Ventura County
Recent Changes in Criminal Defense in Ventura County By now a lot of people have heard or dealt with the changes that have occurred in Ventura County’s criminal justice system. The biggest change is the seemingly permanent closure of the work furlough program. Work furlough is a jail substitute where people who were convicted of crimes and sentenced to jail could serve their time at a facility located at the Camarillo airport. The location was supervised by probation officers and allowed “inmates” to leave during the day for work and return to the facility at night, thereby getting day for day credit for their stay in the program and avoiding jail. When furlough was permanently closed, another change occurred. The sheriff’s department took over the supervision of electronic monitoring (EMS) in Ventura County. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: There is no electronic monitoring in Ventura County, right? Well, this was not…
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Conspiracy Charges in Illinois
The crime of conspiracy in Illinois is defined by 720 ILCS 5/8-2 as follows: A person commits the offense of conspiracy in Illinois when, with intent that an offense be committed, he or she agrees with another to the commission of that offense. No person may be convicted of conspiracy to commit an offense unless an act in furtherance of that agreement is alleged and proved to have been committed by him or her or by a co-conspirator. The sentence … Continued
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“Women Lawyers”
‘Women Lawyers’. I really hate that term. I mean, what does it mean anyway? Real lawyers are men? You never hear someone say ‘Men Lawyers’. I just don’t get it, and never have. No, I’m not some perfect sensitive male, eager to garner favor with the “fairer sex” (another strange phrase). I’m as bad as the next guy. I admit it. When I am fast forwarding through a Seahawks game I might find myself hitting “Play” when the Sea Gals suddenly come on the screen. I don’t fast forward through Victoria’s Secret commercials if I can get away with it (ie. when my wife is looking the other way.) I’m a pig. Just like the rest of us “men lawyers”. But if someone were to tell me that that Sea Gal being blown up all over the screen is a second year law student, just doing this job so she can add it to her resume, I’m never gonna think that means she won’t be a great lawyer one…
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More reform in Native lands: "Warm Springs tribes approve marijuana sales in historic vote"
The title of this post is the headline of this recent article concerning a marijuana vote among a Native American tribal community in Oregon. Here are the details: Members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs said yes to growing, processing and selling marijuana on the recreational market in a...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/PaTTkqCWDZI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Suppression Motions: How They Can Turn a Losing Case Into a Winner
There are many ways to skin a cat – and many ways to win a criminal case without going to trial. Any of the best criminal attorneys in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will recognize that multiple opportunities exist during the pendency of a client’s case in which to damage the government’s leverage and position beyond repair. One such way is to suppress damning evidence against the defendant which has been seized by the government. With the devastating loss of their evidence no longer part of their case in chief, the government is usually amenable to extending a much more favorable plea offer than ever anticipated. Three examples of such winning suppression motions by our firm are explained below. Failure to Provide Sufficient Particularity in a Search Warrant The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution requires search warrants to “particularly describe” in detail the places to be searched and the property to be seized. Andresen v.…
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The Interplay Between Criminal Charges, DHS/DCFS Reports, Custody Cases, and Juvenile Abuse/Neglect Cases
A person who is charged with a crime relating to child abuse will often find themselves also facing a DHS or DCFS child abuse report, a custody case, and/or a juvenile abuse/neglect case. That is because the same accusation that brings about one case can serve as the legal basis for the other case or cases. An example of one allegation leading to many cases As an example, a person could be accused of domestic violence involving a former partner with … Continued
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"On sentencing reform, we have to talk more about reentry"
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Any early set of takes on Prez Obama's clemency work to date
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Five Broward County Residents Settle Insider Trading Charges with SEC
In early November, 2011, an unnamed board member of Pharmasset Inc., a New Jersey based pharmaceutical company that developed a drug named sofosbuvir, (brand name Sovaldi) which had promising results in the treatment of hepatitis C met with members of the company’s Boca Raton based legal team and longtime advisors Robert Spallina and Donald Teascher. Steven Rosen, CPA, a director in a Plantation based accounting firm was also present at the meeting. At the time, Pharmasset didn’t have any major drugs on the market. The unnamed board member owned a substantial amount of his company’s stock and was discussing financial and legal advice with the lawyers and accountant regarding what he may realize monetarily from a pending buyout transaction if the company was sold. Rumors of the sale of the company had been abounding recently causing the stock price to slowly move on a slightly upward bias. During the extent of their conversation he told the three men that…
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