When someone is wrongfully charged and prosecuted for a crime, what are the consequences? We're fortunate to live in a nation that provides extensive protection for our personal liberties. Where malicious prosecution is concerned, there are two particulars that you should know about:The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects you and your property from unreasonable seizure, meaning without a warrant. It also states that a warrant will not be issued without probable cause.The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that you have a right to your life, your liberty, and your property, and none of those things can be taken from you without due process.If action was taken against you without probable cause and with the intent to cause personal injury, we refer to that as "malice" in legal terms. At the very core of this issue is the other person's desire to take away your liberty, which is illegal, according to the…
What is Malicious Prosecution?
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News Scan
Latest Surge of Illegals is Significant: Recent statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show that illegal immigration by unaccompanied minors and family units surged significantly during the first two months of FY2016 compared to the same period in FY2015. Penny Starr of CNS News reports that CBP revealed that unaccompanied alien children (UAC) apprehended at the U.S-Mexico border between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30, 2015 increased 106 percent compared to the same period last year, with 10,588 UACs taken into custody this year and just 5,129 last year. Family units comprised an even larger increase, so far spiking by 173 percent in the first two months of FY2016, with a total of 12,505 apprehensions versus 4,577 in FY2015. CBP, in spite of its own alarming numbers, reaffirmed that the Obama administration is working "aggressively" to secure the U.S. border. TX May Seek Prison for 'Affluenza' Teen: Texas officials…
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MPP Director provides Top 10 accounting of marijuana reform achievements in 2015
I noted in this post yesterday a Huffington Post commentary by Kevin Sabet, the President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), headlined "Top 10 Anti-Marijuana Legalization Policy Victories of 2015." Today I just realized that a similar (and yet very different) Huffington Post piece authored by Rob Kampia, Executive Director...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/PJbZ8EyoTec" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Is Unvalidated Science Undermining the Justice System? One Canadian Lawyer Says ‘Yes’
Improper science is an ‘alarming thread’ that runs through more than twenty Canadian wrongful convictions, heightening the need for better scientific training of judges and more information for juries, according to criminal defense lawyer and Toronto Director with the Criminal Lawyers’ Association Daniel Brown. “Unlike in television shows, where an investigation and conviction is neatly wrapped up in 60 minutes, forensic evidence is often incomplete and open to interpretation,” Brown warns in an op-ed published today in the Toronto Star. “Wealthy defendants are able to afford top lawyers and expert witnesses, but indigent accused or those from marginalized communities frequently bear the brunt of bad science evidence,” he continues, adding that the poor “cannot match cases assembled by well-funded police and prosecutors, sometimes pleading guilty to obtain a reduced sentence in the face of superficially overwhelming…
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Tuesday Open Thread
The U.S. today said it killed 10 ISIS leaders this month. One was an associate of the "mastermind" of the Paris attacks. This is an open thread, all topics welcome. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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New BJS data show continued (very) slow decline in correctional populations in US
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Leary on The Supreme Digital Divide
Mary Leary (Catholic University of America (CUA)) has posted The Supreme Digital Divide (48 Texas Tech L. Rev. 1 (2015)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Society has long struggled with the meaning of privacy in a modern world. This...
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Interesting Texas state sentencing realities surrounding the future sentencing of 'Affluenza' teen and his fugitive mother
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Life lessons
The following was sent to us via the "Tell Us Your Story" form and posted with the users permission. By TC: We'll here it goes. I had a girlfriend and she had a daughter. We meet at our work. We started dating and after awhile we moved in together. There was and incident involving her kid and it blow out of perportion. And it was OK then we had a kid and seven years later everything was going good. Then her daughter started dating this boy her mom didn't like. There was a big blowout about... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Final Update - Multiple-Vehicle Crash Blocks Bridge in Minidoka County
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: 12/29/15 5:40 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office ***Final Update*** ***Final Update*** ***Final Update*** On Tuesday, December 29, 2015, at approximately 11:41 a.m., Idaho State Police investigated a multiple vehicle crash on Interstate 84 at milepost 215.5, in both lanes of travel on the Snake River Bridge in Minidoka County. Caleb Harper, 25, of Paul, ID, was driving westbound on Interstate 84 in a 2003 Volvo tractor. Kendall Grant, 27, of Eden, ID, was driving behind Harper in a 1993 Kenworth. As Harper slowed for traffic, Grant's vehicle struck Harper's vehicle. Scott Weiss, 55, of Carlin, NV, driving a 2011 Chevrolet pickup, stopped…
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Unjust Punishment of a One Time Offender
The following was sent to us via the "Tell Us Your Story" form and posted with the users permission. By DG: My time on the registry has been nothing short of a nightmare that you never wake. My crime was sexual assault of a child, sounds and reads horrible, however, they use to call it statutory rape or Romeo and Juliet case. I was 19 and she was 13, the sister of a friend that her mother was ok with the relationship. The father came home from desert storm and said no to the relationship and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Levine & Wright on Prosecutors and Wrongful Conviction
Kay L. Levine and Ronald F. Wright (Emory University School of Law and Wake Forest University - School of Law) have posted Prosecutor Risk, Maturation, and Wrongful Conviction Practice (Law and Social Inquiry, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...
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NEW YEAR’S EVE DWI PATROLS
KSAT 12 News is reporting that the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) will have additional police patrols to look for suspected drunk drivers this New Year’s Eve. DWI ENFORCEMENT My advice to all New Year’s Eve party-goers is to make plans to get home safely before you go out. Call a cab, a friend, or have a designated driver. Remember–the best way to beat a DWI charge is to avoid one. A little pre-planning could save you a ton in legal fees and court costs. But I also realize that stuff happens. So if you get pulled over and investigated for suspicion of DWI–remember stay calm–no matter what. The officer likely has body microphones on his uniform that are recording the interaction and the questions he is asking are designed to illicit incriminating responses. There is also likely (but not always) a dash camera that is recording the investigation and arrest. (That’s one of the reasons cops love to ask…
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Thailand warns citizens not to visit Myanmar amid protests over death sentence on 2 migrants
Source: Straits Times (27 December 2015)http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thailand-warns-citizens-not-to-visit-myanmar-amid-protests-over-death-sentence-on-2The authorities in the areas bordering Thailand and Myanmar on Saturday (Dec 26) warned Thai nationals not to visit Myanmar at this time, as thousands of people held protests across the border after a Thai court's death sentence verdict against two Myanmar migrants last week.Peaceful protests were held in the Tachilek and Taungoo border towns in Myanmar on Saturday. And some 60 people continued with their protests for a third day outside the Thai Embassy in Yangon on the same day.In Tachilek town, across Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district, some 2,000 people gathered at a local stadium about 2km from the border area.They protested against the Samui Provincial Court's ruling last Thursday that handed down death penalties on Myanmar men Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun for the 2014 murders of British tourists David…
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I Don’t Think I Can Afford a Bankruptcy Attorney – What Can I Do?
Filing for bankruptcy is a critical decision that many Georgian families have decided to make because their personal and financial circumstances have made it difficult or impossible for them to pay their bills. Because filing for bankruptcy can affect your life in many ways (and for many years), it is of the utmost importance for any person considering bankruptcy to consult with a knowledgeable attorney about this matter. However, some people think that they cannot afford a bankruptcy attorney. If you are one of these people, you are encouraged to at least have a consultation with an attorney, since many attorneys will offer these consultations free of charge. During the consultation, you should ask the attorney about the office’s fees. Remember, you can always ask to pay a lower fee or to pay the fee in installments. If after consulting with an attorney you still feel that you cannot afford to pay one, you may still have a limited number of options for your bankruptcy…
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Cosby Arrest Begs Questions on Connecticut Rape / Sex Assault Arrests & Civil Lawsuits
Just when the best Connecticut criminal lawyers and attorneys thought they had seen it all in 2015…Bill Cosby gets arrested for an alleged 2004 sex assault. Top Stamford and Greenwich Connecticut sex assault criminal lawyers who frequently defend rape cases know that the statute of limitations for rape in Connecticut is much longer than most crimes, but the longer a case takes to get to court, the more likely evidence disappears, memories fade, and a suspect can successfully fight a Stamford, Westport, Wilton or Greenwich Connecticut arrest for sex assault or rape. But perhaps what’s most intriguing about the Cosby case is how effective the parade of Cosby accusers and past “victims” have used the media to put public pressure on prosecutors to bring charges. Now, on the very last day possible in this particular Pennsylvania Cosby case, it looks like their efforts have finally succeeded. The arrest has also caused some of the top personal injury…
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'Harris County Jails Prove Impervious to Reform'
The title of this post is the headline of an item from The Atlantic by Conor Friedersdorf out today chronicling the failure of Harris County jail administrators to fix problems which were clearly identified in a 2009 DOJ investigation. The whole thing is worth a read, but especially notable was his conclusion:Despite being put on notice, jail administrators abjectly failed to bring the system up to acceptable standards. Local officials failed to provide adequate funding and oversight. And innocents have almost certainly suffered irreparable harms to life and liberty as a result of these failures. For them, there will be no happy ending.RELATED: Glimpses of the Harris County Jail's dark underbelly
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Puerto Rico Enacts Post-Conviction DNA Testing Law
By Nick Moroni Puerto Rico yesterday enacted its first law allowing defendants to access post-conviction DNA testing which could prove innocence. The new law, signed by Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla, will allow post-conviction DNA testing in instances when there is new evidence, evidence that was never tested, or the results of previous DNA testing have been called into question, according to the Associated Press. Gov. Garcia Padilla said yesterday that the new law will make Puerto Rico’s justice system more fair and impartial. The law was strongly supported by Justicia Reivindicada (Puerto Rico Innocence Project) and the Innocence Project, whose policy director, Rebecca Brown, traveled to Puerto Rico earlier this year to call for the passage of this important law. “The Innocence Project applauds Gov. Garcia Padilla for enacting this law and is extremely thankful to Justicia Reivindicada for its tireless and persistent advocacy in support of this…
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How can a sex offender prove he is no longer a threat ... three decades after molesting a child?
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What is a Criminal Pretrial Protective Order?
Criminal Pretrial Protective Order and Domestic Violence When a defendant in a domestic violence case goes to court, the judge can enter a criminal pretrial protective order against him. You may have heard of a civil protective order, which permits an individual who has been the victim of violence or threats of violence by a cohabitant to restrain the aggressor from having contact with him or her. A criminal pretrial protective order is similar to its civil cousin, but it is not brought by one cohabitant against another. Instead a criminal pretrial protective order can only be issued by a judge overseeing a domestic violence case. Whether such an order should be entered is within the discretion of the judge. Although the judge on its own volition can enter such an order, the victim can request such an order to be entered and the judge will usually grant the request. We have never seen a judge reject a victim’s request to enter a criminal pretrial protective order. The…
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