Hon. Judge Alex Kozinski“This rule of acerbity, i.e., the rule of lenity stood on its head, is not how the criminal law is supposed to work.” United States v. James, 2016 WL 158559, *8 (9thCir. Jan. 14, 2016), decision available here. (Kozinski, J., dissenting).Players:Decision by Judge Tallman, joined by Sr. DJ Piersol. Dissent by Judge Kozinski. Hard-fought appeal by D. Az. AFPD Keith Hilzendeger.Facts: Twenty-eight year old T.C. was severely disabled by cerebral palsy. Id. at *1. She was largely nonverbal, and communicated displeasure with grunts or nodding her head. Id. T.C.’s legal uncle, James, was discovered having sex with her (while inside the boundaries of a reservation). Id. at *2. James was charged with aggravated forcible sexual assault under 18 U.S.C. § 2242(2)(B) – which prohibits sex with a victim who has the mental capacity to consent, but is “physically incapable of declining participation in, or…
Case o' The Week: Interpreting Clarity - James and the Rule of Acerbity
↧
↧
Alan Newton and New York's Flexible Principles of Justice
When he ran for mayor, Bill de Blasio made a point of talking about doing what was right and what was just. Based on these basic principles, our mayor-to-be promised to reform the NYPD's Stop and Frisk program and settle the Central Park Five case, and he followed through on both counts, even though both policy calls were politically loaded.The City engaged in early settlement talks in other serious cases, such as the malicious prosecution and conviction of David Ranta and the wrongful death of Eric Garner. These two settlements were not just right, they were good business. By quickly confronting situations with likely liability and serious damages, the City was able to save money and avoid expensive and divisive litigation. These cases are but a few where New York was willing to take a nuanced view on litigation, to acknowledge it's responsibility for its mistakes, and to reconcile that exposure with its obligation to do what is right by its citizens.So why is Alan…
↧
ISIS Threatens UK in New Video About Paris Attacks
ISIS media center al Hayat released a video today of the Paris attacks. It has some photos that were in the most recent issue of Dabiq magazine, shows the attackers making statements (not together), has a lot of gruesome beheadings, highlights its... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
↧
Private prisons tip of iceberg in profit-based corrections
While a great deal of attention is paid and criticism is devoted to private prisons, the truth about profit-based corrections remains more pernicious. As these infographics from In the Public Interest depict, private companies profit from almost every function of the American criminal justice system:
↧
Is Trump Taking Supporters for Granted?
Donald Trump: "I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot someone and I wouldn't lose any voters. Okay? It's like incredible." I don't even know how to respond to this. If you do, feel free to weigh in. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
↧
↧
Calculated Criminal Disposal of Hazardous Waste Charges in Illinois
The crime of Calculated Criminal Disposal of Hazardous Waste in Illinois is defined by 415 ILCS 5/44 as follows: (b) Calculated Criminal Disposal of Hazardous Waste. (1) A person commits the offense of Calculated Criminal Disposal of Hazardous Waste when, without lawful justification, he knowingly disposes of hazardous waste while knowing that he thereby places another person in danger of great bodily harm or creates an immediate or long-term danger to the public health or the environment. (2) Calculated Criminal Disposal … Continued
↧
E-Checks Now Accepted
Puryear Law is pleased to add e-check as a method of payment. Clients who use MyCase will now see that they can pay invoices online by using an e-check. The process is quite simple and quick. There is no added cost associated with using an e-check as your means of payment with Puryear Law. As always, Puryear Law continues to accept payment by cash, check, money order, credit card, and debit card.
↧
Son of judge, councilman acquitted of sex assault
1-24-16 Nebraska: LINCOLN — The 32-year-old son of a Lincoln councilman and a federal judge has been acquitted of a sexual assault charge. Online court records say Jonathan Camp was found not guilty Thursday by a Lancaster County District Court jury. The charge was felony sexual assault of an incompetent person. Authorities say the woman reported that she was drugged at a home on Sept. 8, 2014
↧
Columbus Massacre by Early Release Trafficker Gets Traction in the Senate
I blogged here, here and here about the murder this month of two children and their mother by a man, Wendell Callahan, who should and would have been in federal prison but for the early release he was given under a 2010 version of sentencing "reform." Callahan was a hard drug dealer (crack cocaine) who had his sentence twice reduced. He was said at the time to be no threat to public safety. This was simply false. At best, those who took this position were forecasting a future they could not know. At worst, they were lying (having plenty of reason to know, from Callahan's violent past, that he was a threat). In either event, two little girls and their mother wound up paying the ultimate price for their mendacity.This horrible story illustrates what sentencing "reform" is actually going to cost if Congress is foolish enough to go ahead with a version of it even more sweeping and reckless than the 2010 edition. Perhaps not…
↧
↧
***UPDATE: Fatality crash westbound I-84 at milepost 164, west of Jerome***
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: 1/25/2016 1:31 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office *****BEGINNING OF UPDATE***** The driver of the Ford F-250 is Steven Pomrenke, 34, of Wendell, and Juan Vargas, 40, of Wendell, was the passenger. Next of kin has been notified. KB / EH *****END OF UPDATE***** On Monday, January 25th, 2016, at approximately 1:11 a.m., the Idaho State Police investigated a two-vehicle, fatality crash westbound I-84 at milepost 164, one mile west of Jerome. Deputies with the Gooding County Sheriff's Office were involved in a vehicle pursuit with a 1999 Ford F-250. The Ford got onto the interstate at the 157 onramp, driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of travel.…
↧
Exonerees speak about their wrongful convictions on Dateline
Dateline NBC released a video featuring exonerees Carlos Perez, Michael Cosme and Devon Ayers who, along with Eric Glisson (not featured), were wrongfully convicted of two murders which occurred in the Bronx in 1995. In the emotional video, the three men speak about the impact wrongful conviction had on their lives. Watch the video here.
↧
Opinion in computer access case holding that sufficiency claim measured against statute, not jury instructions, and that statute of limitations argument waivable
Justice Thomas delivered an opinion for a unanimous court in Musacchio v. United States.
↧
The Slow Drip of the Eighth Amendment
My friend Prof. Josh Blackman at the Law School of the University of South Texas is more pessimistic than I about the prospects that the Supreme Court will outlaw the death penalty, but he does a brilliant job of describing the Court's potentially "abolition-by-slow-drip" jurisprudence:I freely admit that I find the 8th Amendment uninteresting. At least five Justices have made up their mind that the death penalty needs to be eliminated, but because they don't want to do it all at once, they are systematically, step-by-step, making it harder and harder to execute someone.The article is worth your read for Josh's acidly humorous description of the back-and-forth between Justices Scalia and Kennedy. I am not for the moment going to describe at length why I think Josh is wrong about the death penalty's ultimate fate. Suffice it to say that I'm decently sure that rejecting per se abolition has four sure votes (Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and…
↧
↧
Monday Open Thread
Thread. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
↧
"Revenge Porn," Defamation and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
This post examines an opinion recently issued by the Fourteenth Court of Appeals of Texas – Houston: Patel v. Hussain, 2016 WL 270014 (2016). The Court of Appeals Justice who wrote the court’s opinion begins by explaining thatThis appeal follows a plaintiff's jury verdict in a `revenge porn’ case. Specifically, appellee Nadia Hussain sued appellant Akhil Patel, alleging that after the couple broke up, Patel hounded her with a slew of offensive and threatening communications, hacked or attempted to hack her accounts, and posted secretly recorded sexual videos of Nadia on the Internet. The jury found in Nadia's favor on her claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), intrusion on seclusion, public disclosure of private facts, and defamation. The jury awarded her damages totaling $500,000, including past and future mental anguish damages, past and future reputation damages, and exemplary damages. The trial court…
↧
Supreme Court Holds General Statute of Limitations is Not Jurisdictional Defense
It appears that not even this weekend’s colossal winter snowstorm could deter the Supreme Court from its business, today deciding several criminal cases on its docket. In addition to the landmark Montgomery v. Louisiana decision, which gives retroactive effect to Miller v. Alabama and will have massive implications for those juvenile defendants serving life sentences for murder who may now seek resentencing or parole, the Court affirmed the convictions of Michael Musacchio, a former logistics industry executive who was convicted of improperly penetrating his past employer’s computer system with help from another former employee. Musacchio had been president of Exel Transportation Services until he resigned in 2004. In 2005, he started a rival logistics company, Total Transportation Services, and soon thereafter hired Roy Brown, Exel’s former chief of information-technology. Using a password Brown supplied, both Brown and Musacchio continued to…
↧
"Will 'deal' with prosecutor sink Cosby case?"
From CNN.com: And it seems that the terms of the verbal agreement were that if Cosby gave up his constitutional rights and gave deposition testimony in a civil case, there would not be a criminal case against him. This is...
↧
↧
What’s the Difference Between Kidnapping and False Imprisonment?
After unsuccessfully appealing his armed robbery and kidnapping conviction, O.J. Simpson has found himself back behind bars. The case still has many scratching their heads. Although most understand the first accusation, some may still wonder why the charge of kidnapping had ever entered the equation. After all, when the Heisman Trophy winner and six of his associates broke into Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley’s Las Vegas hotel room in September 2007, none of the intruders made any attempt to capture and carry off their victims. Although at least two members of O.J.’s entourage did hold them at gunpoint, O.J. himself had only one objective in mind: to retrieve a number of items that he considered to be his own personal property. Since nobody dragged the two sports memorabilia mavens from their hotel room, wouldn’t false imprisonment (NRS 200.460) seem a more likely charge? The Difference Between Kidnapping and False Imprisonment In Nevada as in many other…
↧
Helpful accounting by Pew Charitable Trusts of huge state-level reforms resulting from Justice Reinvestment Initiative
↧
Do SCOTUS watchers really expect the Justices to take up the basic constitutionality of the death penalty soon?
↧
More Pages to Explore .....
