Federal law prohibits those convicted of felonies and certain other offenses from possessing a firearm or body armor. That law is codified in 18 U.S.C. § 931, which provides as follows: (a)In General.—Except as provided in subsection (b), it shall be unlawful for a person to purchase, own, or possess body armor, if that person has been convicted of a felony that is— (1) a crime of violence (as defined in section 16); or (2) an offense under State law … Continued
Federal Felon in Possession of a Firearm Charges
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Miller on Digital Border Searches
Thomas Mann Miller has posted Digital Border Searches After Riley v. California (Washington Law Review, Vol. 90, 2015, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The federal government claims that the Fourth Amendment permits it to search digital information on...
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Democrats Debate in New Hampshire
The Democratic Debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. begins at 8pm ET. ABC is hosting the debate. Here's a thread to discuss it. ISIS is probably very happy tonight knowing the candidates all know what's in their videos. If... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Jury versus Bench Trial in Criminal Cases
A person facing criminal charges can have either a jury trial or a bench trial. Depending upon the nature of the charges and facts of the case, it may be wise to opt for one type of trial or another. In a jury trial, members of the community determine a person’s guilt or innocence. In most criminal trials, there is a jury of 12 citizens, and some number of alternate jurors. The purpose of the alternates is to take the place … Continued
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The Making of a Narco-Terror Case
I've been writing about the DEA's most excellent African Adventures since 2009, particularly the sting cases where people from all over the world are extradited (or kidnapped and forcibly brought) to the U.S. for trial on drug offenses that... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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California Medical Doctor and Wife Plead Guilty to Obtaining Prescription Drugs for Themselves Prescribing Under Fake Patient Charts. Charge is Conspiring to Acquire Controlled Substances by Fraud and Deception
Drug addiction hits doctors and professionals. We have represented numerous physicians, nurses, attorneys, and professionals with drug and alcohol addiction. Sometimes, the addiction issues create criminal issues in addition to licensing isuses. This week, a physician and his wife a MFT intern, who have admitted to addiction issues, pleaded guilty in federal court for improperly obtaining prescription drugs through self-prescribing by the husband doctor. On December 16, 2015, Dr. Matthew Cole, a dermatologist at Insight Dermatology with offices in San Diego and National City, and his wife, Shireen Cole, who are both in drug treatment programs, pleaded guilty to prescription drug-related charges. They admitted that they conspired to obtain scheduled pharmaceutical drugs commonly known as Percocet, Xanax and Ambien by submitting fraudulent prescriptions to pharmacies as if they were valid.Dr. Cole used his own prescription pad with his assigned DEA registration…
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Koehler on The Impact of Prosecution Agreements on FCPA Enforcement
Mike Koehler (Southern Illinois University School of Law) has posted Measuring the Impact of Non-Prosecution and Deferred Prosecution Agreements on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement (49 U.C. Davis Law Review 497 (2015)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Historically, the...
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"'Necessary AND Proper' and 'Cruel AND Unusual': Hendiadys in the Constitution"
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Michigan Supreme Court takes up punishing questions about lifetime sex offender registration
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Documenting Visitation Interference
A parent who is facing visitation interference should carefully document and report that interference, so that their attorney can properly use that evidence in court to resolve the problem. Stopping visitation interference is important for both the child and the parent, as interrupted contact between a child and parent are harmful to everyone. Since there is no such time as a time machine, missed time with a child cannot be recreated. As such visitation interference is something that should be … Continued
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State Can’t Prove Violation of Probation on a New Arrest
Violations of probation (VOP’s) come in all shapes and sizes. Some are more difficult to prove than others. A dirty urine violation, for example, is deceptively complex. Even a curfew violation may not be as simple as you might think. But today we’re going to review what happens when a citizen is on probation and violates by getting arrested on a new charge. Nothing gets a prosecutor more giddy than a VOP case based upon a new arrest. But, don’t be distracted by a prosecutor’s confidence, as their zeal often blinds them to the weaknesses in their case. I’m all for a little confidence, it makes my job easier. The recent case of Vidale v. State sheds some light on just how difficult it can be to prove up a new law violation at a VOP hearing. 166 So. 3d 935 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015). Vidale was serving a two year probationary term for dealing in stolen property and throwing a deadly missile. Like…
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Federal Illegal Reentry of Removed Aliens Charges
US federal law makes it crime for a person who has been removed (deported) to reenter the United States. 8 U.S.C. 1326 states as follows: (a) In generalSubject to subsection (b), any alien who— (1) has been denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed or has departed the United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding, and thereafter (2) enters, attempts to enter, or is at any time found in, the United States, unless (A) prior to … Continued
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St. Johns County man arrested, accused of traveling to meet a minor for sex
A St. Johns County man was arrested when police say he arrived to meet someone he thought was an underage girl for sex. Police said the man arranged the meeting online and detectives were waiting for him when he showed up, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The man is charged with travelling to meet a minor for sexual activity and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. The travelling to meet a minor charge is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison. The unlawful use of a communications device charge is a third-degree felony with a maximum prison sentence of five years. Typically, these types of St. Johns County Sex Crimes cases are part of a larger sting by several law enforcement agencies where a couple of dozen men are arrested over several days. These stings were part of the national spotlight after the popular Dateline NBC: To Catch a Predator series used hidden cameras to show the men walking up to the houses and…
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Failure to Comply Suspension
What does “failure to comply suspension” mean? Failure to comply suspension means an individual has not complied with a court order or failed to pay a fine or fee to a District or Circuit Court in Maryland and that Court has notified the MVA (Motor Vehicle Administration) to suspend your privilege to drive in Maryland. What does Failure to Comply Suspension Mean? Failure to comply suspension means a person has failed to pay a fine or comply with an order of the Court and the Court has notified the MVA and directed the MVA to suspend that person’s privilege to drive. The MVA will typically notify the driver by U.S. mail that their driving privilege will be suspended on a certain date. Failure to Comply Suspension Lawyer Read what the MVA says about failure to comply suspension. If you have been charged with driving on a suspended license or you are facing a driving with a suspended license charge, call attorney Randolph Rice at 410.288.2900 to schedule a…
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Resisting Arrest Charge To Be Dismissed
On November 11, 2015 MN, a 44 year old woman living in greater Boston, went to a local bar/restaurant. She sat at the bar for a number of hours and got quite drunk. She got into a verbal argument with a male patron and was asked to leave by the management. After some back and forth she made it out the front door of the restaurant. The police had been summonsed and MN got into a shouting match with the police and with the crowd that had gathered outside the front of the bar. The police moved in to arrest MN for disorderly conduct. MN resisted and a fight broke out between MN and the police. MN, not a small woman, pushed one of the officers so hard that his shoulder was injured. The police finally got MN cuffed and arrested her. She was charged with Disorderly Conduct and Resisting Arrest. One problem for MN is that she works for the Commonwealth in a quasi law enforcement position and a conviction or any type of admission to the charges could have cost her her job - which she…
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Tax Time is Coming
As we approach the end of the year, many of us are preparing to file our 2015 tax returns. As we do so, it is important to remember that errors and omissions relating to compliance with the tax laws can result in criminal charges. What follows is a very brief primer on how the Internal Revenue Service investigates tax crimes, as well as the results of some relatively recent criminal investigations. The Criminal Investigation (“CI”) section of the Internal Revenue Service investigates possible criminal violations of the tax laws. CI has approximately 3,500 employees worldwide. Approximately 2,500 of these employees are special agents whose investigative jurisdiction includes tax, money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act violations that rise to the level of criminal conduct under the Internal Revenue Code. These investigations are very record-intensive. Because financial records are becoming increasing automated, CI agents are trained…
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John Bradley Dishes Out Texas Justice in the Pristine Paradise of Palau…
John Bradley, the once stout and irreplaceable district Attorney of Williamson County, is like the inexorable march of time—he keeps moving and moving, never missing a beat. He and Ken Anderson were once the celebrated political kingpins in Williamson County, that is, until the Michael Morton case reduced their local stronghold to rubble. It was their political Waterloo, so to speak. Michael Morton Case Michael Morton was 32 years old in 1986 when he was arrested and charged with beating his wife to death. He was innocent, and former Williamson County D.A. Anderson knew it. In fact, all indications suggest that he concealed evidence that would have clearly established Morton’s innocence and deliberately sent an innocent man to prison. The Morton conviction was one of the cases that earned Anderson the 1995 “Prosecutor of the Year” award presented by the State Bar of Texas. Protege of Texas Death Machine John…
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The Importance of a Record in Guidelines Variances
Last week in U.S. v. James Wendell Brown the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed a Booker upward variance in a child pornography case. The majority found Judge Richard Leon's sentence procedurally unreasonable, even under the...
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How the Democrats Would Abuse Criminal Law
C&C necessarily talks about politics, but the central subject here lies elsewhere. Readers may have noticed that I have not been shy about criticizing Republican Donald Trump's xenophobic, know-nothing blowhardism and Republican Sen. Mike Lee's unthinking sponsorship of the dumbed-down sentencing bill masquerading as sentencing "reform." I have likewise dished it out to Republican felons Bernie Kerik and Illinois Gov. George Ryan, the latter having repeatedly sold his office before becoming a Holier-than-thou death penalty critic.In order to provide equal time, as it were, I now want to cite Kevin Williamson's regrettably insightful article in the National Review. One takeaway from it is that among the best ways to erode respect for law and faith in its enforcement is to abuse the power it confers. I think it prudent not to wait for the leading Democratic candidates to show that Williamson is wrong:Donald Trump may talk like a…
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Case o' The Week: Bad Forbidden, Good Forbidden - Lloyd, Lay Witnesses, and Expert Witness Disclosure
Forbidden Warrior.Forbidden expert.Bad films make good law.United States v. Lloyd, 2015 WL 7873401 (9thCir. Dec. 4, 2015), decision available here.Players:Decision by visiting S.D. Texas DJ Lee Rosenthal, joined by Judges Berzon and Clifton. Hard-fought battle by CD Cal AFPD Kathryn Young, former CD Cal FPD Sean Kennedy, and others. Facts: Lloyd and his co-D’s ran telemarketing “boiler rooms,” using false promises to solicit investments in movie productions (Like the classic “From Mexico with Love” and the fan favorite “Forbidden Warrior.”) Id. at *1. During the fraud trial, the government called witness “Agler;” a man who had worked in boiler rooms. Id. at *18. Agler opined about the information and knowledge that telemarketers have when they cold-call investors. Id. Although Agler’s opinions smacked of FRE 702 “expert” testimony, the government failed to provide the defense with pretrial expert…
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