Ruins, Soba Kapassa, Luanda. Dear Ms. Minaj- Following your December 19th concert in Luanda, Angola, you tweeted “Angola has my heart.” More importantly, however, you also tweeted a picture of yourself with Isabel dos Santos, daughter of the president of Angola. You refer to Isabel in a comment using the phrase “girl power.” According to Forbes, “every major Angolan investment held by Dos Santos stems either from taking a chunk of a company that wants to do business in the country or from a stroke of the president’s pen that cut her into the action.” That does not seem to me like girl power. I consider girl power to be a woman who fights for her dreams and makes them happen without any advantages handed to her, earning everything she achieves. Like you, Ms. Minaj. I think girl power is women activists educating themselves on how to peacefully change their government, meeting with others…
Nicki Minaj, Here’s Why Angola Should Not Have Your Heart
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No Automatic DUI Defense for Arizona Pot Users
With the recent passage of a law permitting the use of medical marijuana in California, police officers will soon be dealing with its effects on arrests for DUI in Los Angeles. Will someone using cannabis for medical reasons be able to avoid DUI charges? A recent ruling by Arizona’s Supreme Court has denied medical marijuana users in that state an automatic out on DUI charges. The Arizona court case stems from an appeal by two women, Kristina Dobson and Marvelle Anderson, arrested for DUI in separate incidents. Police originally charged them under two of Arizona’s DUI statutes. An A1 refers to operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a drug—in other words, when impaired. An A3 charge concerns the operation of a motor vehicle when a person has a detectable amount of a drug in their system. Prosecutors eventually threw out the A1 charges against each woman but won convictions on the A3 charges. The women contested their convictions in Arizona’s…
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Pittsburgh Post‐Gazette Highlights Key Players in Fogle Exoneration
In most of the media stories reporting on exonerations, actors relevant to the cases—attorneys, paralegals, judges, district attorneys—take a backseat although their work often determines whether or not innocent people ever see justice. But in the second part of a three‐part series about Innocence Project client Lewis Fogle and his life post‐release, the Pittsburgh Post‐Gazette deviates from the course of most news stories and reports on the three people who had the most influence on his being freed and exonerated. In 1982, Fogle was convicted of the 1976 rape and murder of a 15‐year‐old girl in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. From the time that he was arrested, Fogle was adamant that he had nothing to do with the crime, but it wouldn’t be until 34 years after the time he was sentenced to life in prison that the courts would acknowledge that he was right. DNA testing had provided solid evidence that Fogle was innocent;…
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Party time?
Hosting a celebration this week or next? Here’s a few tips from a DUI attorney who has seen everything: Make sure you serve more than just alcoholic beverages, limit alcohol consumption, encourage the use of designated drivers or ride services like Uber, and consider having “last call” an hour or more before the real end of the party. If there are underage kids at your party, watch them closely to make sure they don’t help themselves to alcohol. If you are found serving alcohol to under 21 year-olds, you could face criminal charges of up to 12 months in jail or a fine of $1,000. Out at a party and leaving jr at home alone? Make sure your teen isn’t hosting a party in your absence. I’ve seen cases before where mom and dad were criminally charged for a party their kid hosted at the family home while they were out. Have a fun and safe holiday season.
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Does the Legalization of Marijuana Increase Marijuana Use Among Teens?
In a word, no. The University of Michigan conducts an annual survey regarding drug use among teenagers. The special interests against marijuana legalization, i.e. pharmaceutical companies that want people using their processed drugs rather than the naturally growing marijuana plant, along with the politicians to whom those special interests pay a lot of money, would have us believe that if we legalize marijuana, teenagers and everyone else will be smoking marijuana for breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, this survey (and other studies) show us that is not the case. The survey indicated that there was no significant increase in marijuana use in the states where it is now legal. In fact, after rising for several years, marijuana use has remained fairly steady since 2010, according to the annual surveys. As most people know, marijuana is now legal in Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, Washington and Washington, DC. Marijuana use among teenagers stabilized before marijuana…
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Herlin-Karnell on European White-Collar Crime and the Financial Crisis
Ester Herlin-Karnell (VU University Amsterdam - Faculty of Law) has posted The Fight Against White-Collar Crime as European Financial Crisis Rescuer: Regulatory Challenges and the Tough on Crime Approach (Hinojosa Martínez and Beneyto (eds), “European Banking Union: The New Regime,”...
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Case Law Update (State v Rose)
Division III Court of Appeals State v. Rose: The Court found that I502, decriminalizing the possession by persons age 21 and older of small amounts of marijuana and marijuana related drug paraphernalia applied to pending prosecutions for possession, notwithstanding Washington’s general criminal prosecution saving statute. The Court found that the statute fairly conveys a legislative…
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Dismissal and Restitution For Backing Without Safety Case
The criminal defense and DUI attorneys at Luftman, Heck & Associates recently took on the case of a 30-year-old man who received a backing without safety citation. The charge came after the man, originally from Somalia, but now an American citizen was seen backing out of a driveway unsafely. The driving infraction caused a minor [...]The post Dismissal and Restitution For Backing Without Safety Case appeared first on Columbus Criminal Attorney.
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News Scan
PA Gov. Postpones Executions: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's authority to postpone executions in the state was upheld Monday by the state's high court. Marc Levy of the Morning Call reports that Wolf, who says the death penalty system is "riddled with flaws, making it error prone," has issued temporary reprieves in the cases of five convicted killers. Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams challenged the governor in court, arguing that reprieves had never been meant or used to indefinitely postpone an execution, but it was rejected in a unanimous decision by the high court, which ruled that the governor's "constitutional power to issue reprieves never required a specific end date...." Wolf announced that the moratorium will remain in effect until he receives a report from a legislative commission, expected in 2016. The Philadelphia prosecutor's office, while respectful of the court's decision,…
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Users, Dealers, Politics and New Hampshire
Heroin addicts suffer in ways difficult to describe -- before they die. They should be helped by whatever means we can. It is thus past time that Presidential candidates started taking note of the heroin epidemic now spreading across the country. It's also the politically prudent thing to do, since one of the most ravaged states is the first primary state, New Hampshire. The LA Times has the story.It's obvious that among the first things we should do to fight heroin addiction is incapacitate those who feed it -- the dealers. This is not rocket science. Yet there is pending in Congress a bill that would do the opposite -- put dealers back on the street sooner than they would get there under present law.This is not just ill-considered policy. It's crazy. It's also inhumane. If you're trying to counteract the effects of poison, you don't decrease the costs of being a poison…
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Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads
in criminal law and procedure ejournals are here. The usual disclaimers apply. A list for the ejournal focused solely on criminal procedure is here, and for the ejournal focused solely on criminal law is here. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1...
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St Louis Speeding Ticket $35: What Happens After My Traffic Ticket Gets Fixed?
ONLY $35 FOR MOST ST LOUIS SPEEDING TICKETS There is almost always a fine that the municipality assesses after the ticket is reduced to a non-moving violation. This fine is normally in the $100 – $200 range. And the muni will give you plenty of time to pay it (anywhere from one to two months, and sometimes more; and often times, the muni will allow you to do a payment plan over the course of several months). A more thorough explanation is given below: When a traffic ticket is issued, the best course of action to handle it is by getting in touch with a good St Louis speeding ticket lawyer. For instance, our firm would seek to have the ticket reduced from a moving violation (like a speeding ticket) down to a non-moving violation like illegal parking). A non-moving violation does not come with any points to your permanent driving record. “Points” are like little red flags that make it appear as if you are a bad driver. Once points become a part of your record,…
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Send a Holiday Message!
Angel Gonzalez, Lewis Fogle, Steven Mark Chaney and Everton Wagstaffe are all home for the holidays! Please join us in sending them holiday cheer and good tidings for the new year. You can share your message below.
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Lawyers’ Christmas Card Greetings
Just for fun, I’ll set out the sentiments from a few lawyers’ Christmas cards: 1. Picture an intense lawyer grilling Santa Claus on the witness stand: “I’ll ask you again sir, did you or did you not look at my client, and in a crowded shopping mall, in front of her children, call her not once, but three times… a ho?” 2. A lawyer making closing submissions in court: “The evidence will clearly show that my client, Mr. Claus, was not the driver of the sleigh the night that Grandma, as the charges read, “got run over by a reindeer”. 3. This time it’s a sleigh full of reindeer being pulled by Santa Claus: “Our lawyers sure know how to negotiate an employment contract.” 4. Husband reading a Christmas card to his wife: “Honey, our lawyer wishes us, but in no way guarantees a Merry Christmas” 5. Child sitting on Santa’s lap in a department store: “Actually my legal counsel has advised me to…
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Hamilton on Life Sentences
Melissa Hamilton (University of Houston Law Center) has posted Some Facts About Life: The Law, Theory, and Practice of Life Sentences (20(3) Lewis & Clark Law Review, Forthcoming 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A diverse band of politicians,...
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Judge Rules Kim Dotcom Can Be Extradited, Bail Continued
Update: My thoughts: This is absurd. The U.S. just got handed a price tag of $120,000. a year to warehouse these four men should they be convicted. (Per Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, June 16, 2015, the annual cost of housing a prisoner at a... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Eastbound lanes blocked on sweetser
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: 12/22/2015 6:40 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office The eastbound lanes of travel on I84 near the sweetser area are blocked due to multiple slide offs. <JH /NH> -------------
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Update Eastbound lanes blocked on Sweetzer
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: 12/22/2015 7:13 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office ***Update*** At this time eastbound traffic is being diverted at Idahome, exit 237. Additional information will be released when it is available. SD/NH ***End of Update*** The eastbound lanes of travel on I84 near the Sweetzer area are blocked due to multiple slide offs. JH /NH -------------
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Griffin on Silence, Confessions, and Accuracy
Lisa Kern Griffin (Duke University School of Law) has posted Silence, Confessions, and the New Accuracy Imperative (Duke Law Journal, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Silence is both overpriced and underrated. This Article assesses the status of silence...
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Man Arrested in Officer Assault During Black Friday Brawl
As the country braces for yet another holiday shopping season, it has already been reported that shoppers have been brawling all over the country at shopping malls. A man in El Paso has been arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer during a Black Friday brawl at a Walmart store. Authorities in El Paso arrested a 23-year-old man named Ruben Garcia after he allegedly hit an off-duty officer multiple times while he was working security at the store. Police claim Garcia was trying to take a TV that was already being held by an elderly woman. She was crying and asking for help. When the officer approached him, a fight ensured. Garcia is also accused of attempting to choke the officer. Garcia was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility and charged with assault of a public servant. What is Assault and/or Battery? People often confuse the terms “assault” and “battery,” but the reality is that they are two distinct crimes in…
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