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Four Home Healthcare Workers in Missouri Charged with Defrauding Medicaid - In Home Supportive Services Fraud

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State programs pay home health care workers (IHSS in California) to take care of the non-medical needs of elderly and/or disabled patients who qualify for SSI. These services are performed at the patients' own homes since it is much less expensive than placing these patients in assisted living or nursing homes. This can be a great program. However, the concern about fraud threatens it. In addition, the individual providers are being targeted. These are not large companies but individuals who are often low paid workers. This article is to remind those providers to be careful and not to submit documents with false billing or entries on them regardless of the temptation. In California, it is considered Medi-Cal fraud.Let's be clear. States are aggressively going after fraudulent billing in the home setting. California usually brings charges in state court but we can expect federal charges as well. Missouri just charged four individuals in federal court for billing…

New DUI Laws Effective Today

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Effective today, January 1st, 2016, new DUI laws go into effect which benefit revoked and suspended drivers who want to seek driving privileges before the Illinois Secretary of State. One of these significant changes in the law will allow drivers with a lifetime ban on driving the opportunity to apply for driving relief. Attorney Larry A. Davis, principle of The Davis Law Group, P.C. assisted in the drafting of these new laws and represented the Illinois State Bar Association in securing their passage. Contact The Davis Law Group, P.C. if you would like a consultation or further information on these important changes in the laws. The post New DUI Laws Effective Today appeared first on Chicago DUI Lawyer Blog.

Attorneys Seek New Trial for Houston Man Convicted of Strangulation, Soon to be Executed

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In 2001, Richard Masterson was found guilty of the February strangulation of 35-year-old Darrin Honeycutt in Houston, TX.  Masterson is scheduled to be executed in less than three weeks, however his lawyers are now arguing that Masterson’s conviction was based on a questionable confession and botched autopsy, according to an article at the Houston Chronicle.  The victim was a female impersonator, according to reports. According to Masterson, the two were engaged in sexual activity when Honeycutt accidentally died.  However, Masterson’s attorneys contend that the Harris County medical examiner erroneously classified the victim’s death as a homicide, even though while the death was attributed to strangulation the medical examiner suggested the victim’s neck had not been subject to deadly pressure.  Masterson’s lawyers claim that at the time he confessed to the crime, he was suffering from mental illness. Masterson maintains that…

Self-Incrimination: Crime on Social Media

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Posting pictures or videos of yourself committing crimes is probably not the wisest thing to do in a country where just about everyone is on social media and can easily view what you post.  Even grannies, people with no real friends, and the police have social media accounts, like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. Now, I imagine that there are places in the world where lawlessness runs rampant and posting pictures or videos of yourself using drugs, possessing stolen property, or beating your spouse won’t land you in hot water, but America is not one of those places.  Well, maybe in some parts, but you get what I mean.  In general,  I think that it takes a special type of stupidity to believe that you can do these types of things and suffer no consequences.  Recently, in Gainesville, Florida, according to accesswdunn.com,  a group of young men were arrested after posting images of themselves on Snapchat holding guns, drinking alcohol, and using…

[VIDEO] Can the Police Do That?

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Here are some of the most commonly asked questions I get during consultations. People are often surprised by the answers, but the most important thing is that you know your rights. If you have a traffic charge in Virginia, give me a call so I can let you know what your possible defenses may be. Can a Virginia Officer Stop You After You Park? Can a Virginia Officer Stop You for Marijuana Odor? Can the Police Arrest You if You Are Not Behind the Wheel? Can the Police Lie to You? Is Speeding a Good Stop for Virginia DWI? © marketing for Andrew Flusche, 2016. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh The post [VIDEO] Can the Police Do That? appeared first on Andrew Flusche.

2016.001: My Free-Speech Wish List

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In the last three years, I convinced Texas courts to hold five statutes unconstitutional under the First Amendment.1 I filed briefs in the Georgia Supreme Court, will argue the unconstitutionality of a Georgia statute next month,2 and will be assisting Jason Clark in the appeal of another George First Amendment challenge.3 This year, I’d like to hear from: Alaska lawyers with clients charged under Alaska Stat. 11.61.120(a)(6); Arkansas lawyers with clients charged under Arkansas Code 5-26-314; California lawyers with clients charged under California Penal Code section 647(j)(2), 647(j)(3), or 647(j)(4); Colorado lawyers with clients charged under Colorado Revised Statutes 18-7-107 or 18-7-108; Delaware lawyers with clients charged under Section 1335 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code; DC lawyers with clients charged under DC Law 20-275; Florida lawyers with clients charged under 784.049, Florida Statutes; Georgia lawyers with clients charged under Georgia Code section…

2015 Was a Miserable Year

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Looking back at the news during 2015, it was a year that sucked big-time, around the world. Here's a few examples, with just a few of the dozens of graphics I used throughout the year. Feel free to add your own events (mine is just a partial... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Rule of Law versus Rule of Man

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Anyone who followed this blog in the past would know that I used to blog regularly. And then I didn’t. Now comes a New Year (caps required), and the requisite Resolutions, which may, or may not, be kept in coming days – I started to say “weeks,” but I have no idea if I’ll make it that long, or not. What happened? Well, for starters, I got a little caught up in not just wanting to write things for myself all the time, and I seem to be unable to write in a way that interests others. Writing a decent blog post has always been difficult for me. Scott Greenfield, whose name must (by natural law) appear in almost every one of my blog posts, may be able to crank out 2-3 posts before breakfast. Mine are rung from me in ways never easy, and frequently painful. I’m just not as smart, or quick, or blessed, or whatever the difference is, as my friend. But that’s only a small part of why I stopped writing. There are many other reasons, and all…

2016.002: Seeking 150 Criminal-Defense Innovators

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In a series of posts almost five years ago I wrote about the idea of a criminal-defense skunkworks: Building the Criminal-Defense Skunkworks; Fleshing Out the Criminal-Defense Skunkworks; and Potential Topics for the Criminal-Defense Skunkworks. Since then the project has not gotten far off the ground. I had some discussions with some people, but we all have very busy lives and other jobs took higher priority. Late last year I ditched gmail for fastmail for better privacy. Fastmail does not have as whizzy a sorting system as gmail, so my lawyer-listserv emails wound up in folders that I didn’t routinely check. When I stopped reading them regularly I realized how wasteful most criminal-defense-lawyer listservs are. I started the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association listserv with Troy McKinney and we managed it from ’97 or ’98; I was proud of it for a long time; it did a lot of good. But it has outgrown its usefulness to me. It’s been years since I…

Sanger on Ethnic Adjustments to IQ Scores under Atkins

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Robert M. Sanger (Santa Barbara College of Law) has posted IQ, Intelligence Tests, 'Ethnic Adjustments' and Atkins (American University Law Review, Vol. 65, No. 1, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In Atkins v. Virginia the U.S. Supreme Court...

New Year's Open Thread

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As much as I disliked 2015, I have very positive feelings about 2016. I don't much believe in resolutions, so I can't offer up any, but here's an open thread for yours, and anything else that's on your mind. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Affluenza, Parenting, and Root Causes

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To start the new year, here are a few notes on affluenza, parenting, and root causes of crime.The cartoon on the left is by Benjamin Schwartz of the New Yorker.  Click on it for a larger view.Debra Saunders has this column in the San Francisco Chronicle.While the defense attempted in this case is widely regarded as ludicrous, with its emphasis on affluence as a mitigating circumstance in a criminal case, the underlying problem of indulgent, permissive parenting is a much more serious and pervasive one.  It is not limited to the wealthy.  Two weeks ago, Leonard Sax, a practicing physician, had this op-ed in the WSJ on the pandemic disrespectfulness of children today and the role of parents and popular culture in causing that problem.  His article is titled "Parenting in the Age of Awfulness." Dr. Sax begins with a description of a grossly disrespectful kid:Kyle was absorbed in a videogame on his cellphone, so I asked his mom, "How long…

Police Search Ensues After Viral Facebook ‘Toddler Pot’ Video

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The holiday month kicked off with a not-so-festive video that was uploaded on Facebook by an unknown man, pressuring a toddler, who is wearing diapers, to smoke what appears to be a marijuana blunt. The video was uploaded in the Chicago, Illinois area and drew such a national public outrage, that the Chicago Police Department is now looking for the man who uploaded the video. Additionally, detectives with the Area South Special Victims unit have become involved to investigate the footage. A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services also would not confirm whether they will be investigating the video, and the Attorney General’s office announced that it would not. It is unknown when the video was taken or uploaded, but the man who filmed it may face child endangerment charges if caught. The man behind the camera is heard telling the toddler “smoke” and “inhale.” When the video ends the man appears to be saying “let…

Federal Child Pornography Charges

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Federal law imposes criminal penalties upon those convicted of certain activities relating to material constituting or containing child pornography, as provided for by 18 U.S.C. § 2252A: (a) Any person who— (1) knowingly mails, or transports or ships using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer, any child pornography; (2) knowingly receives or distributes— (A) any child pornography that has been mailed, or using … Continued

Federal Impersonating an Officer or Employee of the United States Charges

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Federal law makes it a serious crime for a person to impersonate an officer or employee of the United States, under 18 U.S.C. § 912: Whoever falsely assumes or pretends to be an officer or employee acting under the authority of the United States or any department, agency or officer thereof, and acts as such, or in such pretended character demands or obtains any money, paper, document, or thing of value, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not … Continued

The “Affluenza defense”: A Criminal Defense Attorney’s Hail Mary

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As criminal defense lawyers, we’ve all been there. A client with little to no defense while facing serious charges. You reach back into the file, re-read the entire record, and hope something will jump out at you in hopes of something to help your client. I am sure a similar scenario played out for the criminal defense lawyer representing Ethan Couch in Texas several years ago. On June 15, 2013, Couch, 16 years old at the time, was partying and drinking with his teenage friends in Burleston, Texas. He and his friends then decided to leave the house, and Couch opted to drive them in his parents’ pick-up truck to another location across town. Couch was intoxicated and, with about 6 of his friends in the pick-up truck, began speeding on a narrow two lane road. He weaved off the road, and stuck several park cars and plowed into four pedestrians on the sidewalk. All four of the pedestrians were killed and many others seriously injured. Couch was charged as a minor…

The Lack of Uniformity in Gun Laws Can Cause Problems for Gun Owners

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Gun laws vary greatly from state to state, and even within states at the city and county level.  These differences can cause a gun owner serious legal problems. There is a great degree of uniformity in many areas of law, so that a person can easily travel within a state or between states without worrying that they will inadvertently violate the law.  For example, an Illinois driver can be confident that their car’s headlights are suitable under Illinois law and … Continued

Santa Barbara Doctor Sentenced After Trial to over 25 Years in Federal Prison for Writing Prescriptions for Schedule II Narcotics

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The war on prescription drug abuse and the physicians who were prescribing to pain management patients continues. Long sentences are being handed out and the most recent case is no exception. On December 7, 2015, a Santa Barbara-area physician Julio Gabriel Diaz who wrote numerous prescriptions for Schedule II drugs was sentenced to a very long sentence of 327 months (essentially a life sentence) in federal prison by United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney. The sentence will be appealed according to his appointed attorney.Former physician Diaz was found guilty by a jury after a 2½-week trial in August of 79 counts of distribution of a controlled substance. The government produced evidence at trial that the prescriptions were outside of the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. Dr. Diaz was not charged with any patient deaths but evidenced was introduced that many patients were drug…

United States v. Navarette-Aguilar, __ F.3d __ (9th Cir. Dec. 28, 2015): Ninth Circuit holds that “pattern of transactions” could not support inference of conspiracy to distribute a kilogram of heroin

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In the 2002 science fiction thriller Minority Report, Tom Cruise manipulated a futuristic computer interface by donning special gloves and waving his hands in the air to manipulate holographic screens of images and data. Using this sytem, he was able to see crimes before they were committed, so that the would-be perpetrators could be pre-emptively arrested and punished. This worked in the movie, because the computer interface was connected to a coven of clairvoyant psychics. And because it was just a movie. And because, well, he’s Tom Cruise. But do not try this if you are a federal district judge ruling on a Rule 29 motion in a drug-distribution conspiracy case, because you will only be waving your hands in the air. And that, luckily for Mr. Samuel Navarette-Aguilar, is not good enough. Mr. Navarette was indicted on a number of drug charges, the aggregate effect of which was to subject him to a mandatory minimum 20-year sentence if, and only if, the jury found beyond a…

"Throwaway Children: The Tragic Consequences of a False Narrative"

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