The title of this post is the headline of this notable new Vice article. Here are excerpts: New York state lawmakers voted to legalize marijuana for medical use in 2014, and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law last June. The new law just took effect on January 6...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/VH16YQNpqEU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
"How New York Totally Screwed Up Legalizing Medical Marijuana"
↧
↧
Minnesota Touts High Probation Rates, but with High Revocation Rates
After a defendant is convicted of a crime, Minnesota statutes allow the court to issue a stay of the sentence and place the defendant on probation. State law defines probation as a sanction ordered by the court to be imposed on a criminal offender for a period of supervision. Courts impose probation as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, imprisonment or other sanctions. Probation is intended to deter further criminal behavior, punish convicted individuals, give them the opportunity for rehabilitation, and provide them with time to pay restitution to … [Read more...] The post Minnesota Touts High Probation Rates, but with High Revocation Rates appeared first on Minneapolis DWI Lawyer Douglas T. Kans.
↧
How to Hire a Criminal Defense Lawyer
How to hire a criminal defense lawyer? There are many articles and blogs that discuss how to hire criminal defense lawyers which are little more than marketing pieces for the attorney or law firm. In my view, hiring a lawyer is like buying a car. Some people just want to get a car that will get them from point A to point B. Others want a luxury SUV, they want to ride in comfort and have the ability to go through snow and mud. Others want a sports car. Some criminal attorneys will say hire a lawyer that is in court every day. This is meant to imply that the lawyer is experienced, popular, and busy. It also may mean that the lawyer doesn’t have much time to actually work on your case, assuming all other things being equal. A lawyer works on a case by learning the facts, applying the law, and simply taking the time to think about how to best represent the client. For example, comparing a high volume lawyer who is in court…
↧
"Wanted man sends police department selfie to replace mug shot"
↧
HURST v. FLORIDA
FLORIDA DEATH PENALTY STATUTE STRUCK DOWN Today (January 12, 2016), the Supreme Court struck down Florida’s death penalty statute in Hurst v. Florida-Case # 14-7505 because it violates a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a trial by jury. SUMMARY OF FACTS On May 2, 1998, Cynthia Harrison’s body was found in a freezer of the Popeye’s Fried Chicken restaurant where she worked in Escambia County, Florida. She was bound, gagged, and stabbed over 60 times–likely with a box cutter. (click here for the facts surrounding the murder.) Police arrested her co-worker, Timothy Lee Hurst, and charged him with first-degree murder. A jury then found him guilty of murder. Hurst was then sentenced to death by a trial judge under Florida’s hybrid-sentencing scheme. Under Florida’s death penalty statute, a jury only issues an advisory verdict or recommendation on whether a defendant should get life imprisonment or the death…
↧
↧
Unless Prez Obama goes off script, do not expect much SOTU talk about criminal justice reform
↧
State of the Union Thread
I just tuned into the State of the Union. How's Obama doing? Does he have anything new to say? [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
↧
Doctor Who Pre-Signed Prescriptions for Psychiatric Drugs Allegedly Diverted to Black Market and Billed to Medicare Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison
A Los Angeles physician was sentenced to a long sentence after trial in an unusual case involving the prescribing of anti-psychotic medications to recruited paid patients who did not need them. The patients then returned the medications to other codefendants (not the doctor or pharmacy) for resale on the black market to other pharmacies. This investigation was called "Operation Psych Out." It was alleged that the prescriptions were all written Dr. Johnson's name from 2009 to 2011 and that he never examined or evaluated these patients for the prescriptions. Prescriptions were pre-signed and issued by another codefendant Nuritsa Grigoryan (a doctor in Armenia but not licensed here) to the patients. These prescriptions were then filled at pharmacies and then the patients allegedly gave the medications back to other codefendants, who then sold and redistributed the medications on the black market. The charges related to the time period…
↧
Unimas Begins Airing "Ruta 35"
Ruta 35: The Escape Valve is finally airing on Unimas (with English captioning.) It's about the snitches recruited by long time ICE agent Dylan Wilkins to rat out drug lords and other felons in exchange for leniency for their own misdeeds. ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
↧
↧
Bexar County Detention Officer Faces Termination After Alleged Sexual Assault of Female Inmate
On December 27, a Bexar County detention officer allegedly forced a female inmate to have sex in the jail parking lot in a Sheriff’s Office van, according to news reports at Expressnews.com. 35-year-old Erick Montez has now been arrested and is facing termination. Sheriff Susan Pamerleau said the department had obtained surveillance footage that appears to support the female inmate’s allegations. She also said that Montez confessed after questioning by investigators. Pamerleau said that in his employment capacity, Montez was responsible for transporting inmates and overseeing a housing unit. She called the sexual assault a “disgrace,” saying Montez not only violated the inmate, but the public’s trust. Pamerleau said in a recent news conference that the termination process for Montez was underway. Montez began working at the Bexar County detention facility in 2008, and according to the sheriff had no prior complaints or disciplinary action against…
↧
Grand Jury in Texas: Defending Witnesses and Targets of Grand Jury Investigations
You read about grand juries all the time: just this month, there was national news coverage in the Tamir Rice case, because there was no indictment; the grand jury voted against it. Another example: in the Sandra Bland case, there was an indictment because the grand jury voted for it – after the grand jury didn’t issue other indictments in the same case. Right now, there are editorials calling for the end of the grand jury system in this country (read, for instance, this editorial published earlier this week). Odds are not high that that’s going to happen: the grand jury process has been with us for years, it is an entrenched part of the criminal justice system. Ask most of us involved in that system, and you’ll hear that grand juries are here to stay. One big reason they’re gonna stick around: prosecutors love them. More on that in a bit. Another reason for Texas Grand Juries: they’re guaranteed in the Texas Constitution. No one can…
↧
A PHENOMENAL (REAL) DEFENSE TO DUI
THE HYPOTHETICAL You’re driving home from a lovely night out on the town when you see those dreaded police lights behind you. You hope the officer is just trying to around you, however, you quickly realize that he wants you to pull over. As you think of all the reasons why the cop may have interest in you, you remain calm knowing that you weren’t speeding and that you’ve only had a couple of drinks over the course of a several hour dinner. The officer approaches and immediately smells the odor of an alcoholic beverage protruding from your breath. He asks, “Have you been drinking?” After you admit to the couple of drinks you consumed over dinner, he asks you to perform roadside “tests.” (We call em’ “exercises”) In spite of feeling fine and thinking you performed well, you are told that you are being placed under arrest for DUI (also known in other states as DWI and more commonly referred to as “Drunk…
↧
Grimmelmann on Consenting to Computer Use
James Grimmelmann (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law) has posted Consenting to Computer Use (George Washington Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) makes it a crime...
↧
↧
Might misguided mens rea reform concerns derail federal sentencing reform's momentum?
↧
What’s the Story behind the Gory TV Ads?
If you’ve watched an ACC basketball game lately, you’ve seen these ads. The first features a mother placing a pair of diamond earrings on her daughter’s ears, telling her that her grandmother always wanted her to have them. Several seconds go by before the viewer sees that the mother is dressing her daughter’s body, which lies in a casket. The second commercial begins with a dad talking to his son (who is off camera) about the chilly weather and how he will need to bundle him up when they go for a walk. The father continues to talk while he mashes bananas for his son’s breakfast. When the camera pans to the son, the viewer learns that he is not a baby, but instead is a young man confined to a wheelchair. The son is immobile, unable to speak, and has prominent scar on his skull. Both advertisements conclude with the same general message: Talk to your children about the dangers of alcohol and stop underage drinking. The ads are…
↧
In wake of Obergefell, Alaska legislator introduces bill to ban marriage between inmates
↧
Four Ways to Evade the New Treasury Rules on Luxury Property
There is much less than meets the eye in new Treasury Department rules aimed at tracking “secret buyers of luxury property,” as the New York Times put it this morning. When you look at the new rules here, you see that it will fall to title insurance companies in two U.S. cities (Miami and New York) to report the beneficial ownership of corporate entities that pay more than $3 million in cash for a property. This blog takes no position on whether there should be more vigilance about who is buying real estate in the U.S. What is clear is that these rules will do little to shed any light on the matter. If I were a very rich person from Russia, China, Brazil or anywhere else, here are the obvious and inexpensive workarounds I would consider: Forgo title insurance. If you have $12 million to spend on a condo you will seldom visit, you will do without title insurance – a policy usually required by banks in exchange for taking your mortgage. Oligarchs need get…
↧
↧
News Scan
ISIS Growing Faster than Al Qaeda: A former top CIA official told Congress Tuesday that the Islamic State (ISIS) is gaining affiliates "faster than Al Qaeda ever did," testifying that the number of militant groups now swearing allegiance to the terrorist organization has grown to cover 20 countries, from nearly nothing just one year ago. Fox News reports that Michael Morell, President Obama's former deputy and acting CIA director, told the House Armed Services Committee that ISIS poses a "significant strategic and lethal threat" to the U.S. and Europe, warning that the group is "almost certainly" working to wage attacks on U.S. targets, as they have successfully done in Europe. Another U.S. intelligence official says that over 36,000 foreign fighters, at least 6,600 of whom hold Western passports, have traveled to Syria from at least 120 countries to train and fight alongside ISIS, up from an estimated 20,000 foreign fighters…
↧
"'Not Ordinarily Relevant': Bringing Family Responsibilities to the Federal Sentencing Table"
↧
Pulled From Pond, Arrested For DUI
An arrest for DUI in Los Angeles or any other jurisdiction isn’t a good way to start a new year. But a woman in Oswego, Illinois, found herself in hot water on January 1st thanks to a little too much celebrating on New Year’s Eve. Paula Mason, age 50, apparently lost control of her car and drove over a wall around a retaining pond around 1:45 a.m. Witnesses to the crash called Oswego police to report that the vehicle was in the water. Luckily for Mason, who was trapped inside her vehicle, police responded quickly to the scene. The car was located about 100 feet offshore and sinking. A Kendall County deputy braved the frigid pond temperatures to swim out to Mason, but it took several attempts before the deputy could break out the rear window of her vehicle and pull Mason out. Both the deputy and an Oswego police officer who assisted in the rescue ended up receiving treatment at a local hospital. The hospital also treated and released Mason, but police picked her up…
↧
More Pages to Explore .....
