Our constitutional “Miranda” rights entitle anyone arrested in Connecticut (or the United States for that matter) to be advised by police that they have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney prior to making any statement to police officers. But what happens when the Stamford, Greenwich or Darien Connecticut police fail or forget to advise you of these Miranda rights? Can you get your Connecticut arrest dismissed if you were never advised of those rights? The best Stamford and Greenwich Connecticut law firms are asked this question all the time, and it’s true…if you are arrested in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien, Westport or anywhere in Connecticut and were not advised of your constitutional “Miranda” rights, then there’s a chance that some or all of the prosecution’s evidence can be suppressed and thrown out of court. But this doesn’t happen quickly and involves investigation and technical motion practice. So…
I Wasn’t Advised of My Miranda Rights during My Stamford, Greenwich or Darien Arrest. Can I Get My Case Dismissed?
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Can A Felony DUI Get Reduced To A Misdemeanor In Okaloosa County?
Accidents or Prior DUI’s Lead To Felony Charges In Florida, we have seen a push by prosecutors to enhance DUI charges. Any DUI related to a crash or accident, or property damage are being treated much more severely by the courts and typically, the prosecutors are asking for jail time on more and more DUI cases. We have also seen an increase in the number of cases being transferred to the felony level, because of physical injuries or because the defendant has prior DUIs. A third DUI typically qualifies as a felony if the last DUI occurred within the last 10 years. Many people incorrectly believe that all three DUI priors must have occurred within the 10 year period. But under Florida Statutes 316.193, if it is an offense within 10 years of the second DUI, regardless of when the first DUI occurred. You could have a DUI from 30 years ago, and still qualify to be charged with a felony with the potential penalty of up to five years in prison. While receiving the maximum…
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ELECTRONIC COURTROOM PRESENTATIONS
SHOW . . . DON’T TELL The Administrative Office of U.S. Courts-Defender Service Division offered a seminar (Feb. 4th-6th) on how criminal-defense lawyers can present electronic data to judges and jurors at trial to help secure “Not Guilty” verdicts. ELECTRONIC PRESENTATION WORKSHOPToday, much of the evidence used in court is in electronic form. This includes pictures taken on digital cameras, discovery documents provided in pdf format, and videos of incidents or arrests taken from cameras on police officers. It is powerful evidence that is always exploited by prosecutors to help convict defendants. Movies and reality TV show us how persuasive electronic data is to securing verdicts in criminal cases. Prosecutors will often play video confessions of a defendant admitting that he did the crime. Prosecutors will show video surveillance footage of bank robberies and then tell the jury that the defendant (who is wearing a ski mask) is the person in the video. These…
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Previewing interim charges at House Corrections Committee
The Texas House Corrections Committee will meet Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss an array of interim charges, so lets preview each of them ahead of time. First up on Tuesday:Study incarceration rates for non-violent drug offenses and the cost to the state associated with those offenses. Identify alternatives to incarceration, including community supervision, that could be used to reduce incarceration rates of non-violent drug offenders.Study inmate release policies of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, including the release of inmates directly from administrative segregation. Identify best practices and policies for the transitioning of these various inmate populations from the prison to appropriate supervision in the community. Identify any needed legislative changes necessary to accomplish these goals.And on Wednesday they'll hear testimony related to their charge to:Study recidivism, its major causes, and existing programs designed to reduce recidivism,…
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"Was there a Ferguson Effect on crime rates in large U.S. cities?"
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Saturday Open Thread
There's another GOP Debate tonight. I'm not wtching. The Super Bowl is tomorrow and probably won't watch that either but that's cuz I'm really work busy. I'm a big Cam fan so pulling for anthers. Open Thread. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Georgia legislator admits to lawbreaking to bring medical hash oil across state lines
In this taped interview, Georgia state legislator Allen Peake admits to lawbreaking to bring medical hash oil across state lines. He says sometimes civil disobedience is needed. How many politicians admit jailable lawbreaking? Peake’s admission by itself will not get a conviction without coupling the conviction with a specific act on a specific date. However, is Peake now on the radar of federal law enforcement, seeing that transporting hash oil across state lines is a federal crime?
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Selbstleseverfahren, Band 146
Unser juristischer Wochenrückblick im Selbstleseverfahren. Foto: PlaceIt.net Gewalt, Cannabis, Dosenravioli: Thomas Fischer über seinen endlosen Schulweg Zschäpe bekommt keinen fünften Pflichtverteidiger Lügen im Internet: Trennt Propaganda von Wahrheit! „Rabauken-Urteil“: Landgericht bestätigt Geldstrafe gegen Nordkurier-Redakteur Vergewaltigung erfunden? Freispruch nach denkwürdigem Verfahren Mandanten um mehr als 110.000 Euro betrogen Das Anrufen von Richtern gefährdet die öffentliche Sicherheit Auf Einreisende darf nicht geschossen werden Tatort: Sprechen wir doch mal über Sex --- Hinweis: Wir haben unsere Feed-Adresse aktualisiert: http://www.strafakte.de/feed/ Bitte aktualisieren Sie die Adresse demnächst in Ihrem Feed-Reader, um sicherzustellen, dass Sie auch weiterhin den Feed erhalten. © Strafakte.de: Twitter - Facebook - Google + | Impressum Der Eintrag Selbstleseverfahren, Band…
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Nervous About Going to Court? Not To Worry – Common Legal Terms, Basic Trial Procedures, and What to Wear
Courtroom entrance, Joel Solomon Federal Building and US Courthouse, by Carol Highsmith (image is in the public domain) It can be intimidating to receive a jury notice, be subpoenaed to appear at a court hearing, or attend a trial to support a family member or friend. All of a sudden, you’re dealing with lawyers and others spouting legal jargon, formal courtroom procedures, and how are you supposed to dress? Relax. Below are several article links that will help you better understand general legal terms, trial and courtroom procedures, and how to dress your best: The Steps of a Trial: Common Trial Terms The Steps of a Trial: Selecting a Jury & Opening Arguments Tips for What to Wear to Court My next post will provide more information about trials, from witnesses, to closing arguments, to the verdict. Basic, high-level information to help you understand US courtrooms and how they work. Have a great week, and Go Broncos! …
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Following and Nothing More: Does Stalking without “Fear” Violate New York PL 120.45 or 120.50
Some times the best legal advice a criminal lawyer can give is not legal advice at all. In fact, it can be more parental than lawyer-like. Unfortunately, just as we don’t always listen to our parents we don’t always listen to our criminal defense attorneys either. With that little life lesson behind us, try listening to this. The best way to avoid an arrest or conviction for a New York Stalking crime, whether or not it is one of the two misdemeanor Stalking offenses of Stalking in the Fourth Degree (New York Penal Law 120.45) or Stalking in the Third Degree (New York Penal Law 120.50), is to steer clear of following, threatening or harassing other people. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, maybe it is and maybe it isn’t, but what if you are arrested for merely following a person without any allegations of physical or verbal threats? Is that sufficient grounds for the prosecution to sustain a viable complaint for Fourth Degree Stalking, NY PL 120.45? The…
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LeGrier’s Killer Tries Tactical Chutzpah*
Off the top, one thing is certain: The factual allegations in support of Chicago Police Officer Robert Rialmo’s claim is completely incredible: After Rialmo stepped into the front door of the building, LeGrier came “barging” out the front door of the second-floor apartment, holding a baseball bat in his right hand, according to the lawsuit. Rialmo had been standing in the front doorway, and when LeGrier got downstairs, he “took a full swing” at the officer, “missing (his head) by inches, but getting close enough for Officer Rialmo to feel the movement of air as the bat passed in front of his face.” Rialmo, who was still shouting for LeGrier to drop the bat and had his gun in his holster, then backed down to the bottom of the steps. LeGrier stood “with the baseball bat cocked back over his right shoulder with a two-handed grip, approximately 3 feet above Officer Rialmo and approximately 3 to 4 feet from where Officer Rialmo was…
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Who’s To Blame For Reform’s Two “Hostages”
It must hurt sometimes. It’s not that the reforms will do much to change federal criminal law or practice, as they’re tepid at best. That won’t prevent the New York Times from throwing a party. An opportunity to pass the most significant federal criminal justice reform in a generation may be slipping away — despite the tireless efforts of many top Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as well as a rare exhortation from President Obama during last month’s State of the Union address. As an aside, the description of efforts as “tireless” is adorable, given that exhaustion has been a key description offered whenever someone complains about how hard it is to create their perfect world. The bill, known as the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015, is the product of years of negotiation over how best to roll back the imprisonment spree of the past four decades, a period in which the federal prison population grew…
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SUPER BOWL 50 AND....yeah.....DONALD TRUMP
Welcome to Super Bowl Sunday!As we wrote in our last post, we will not be watching the game. But we have some sights for you. First, don't under estimate the importance of good coaching. Bad coaching can cause errors that can turn the game around. See the video below as to what happens when you have bad coaching: Now on to the game. Right now, the best coach in the playoffs was one of the worst head coaches in the last ten years: Denver's defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. While Denver got lucky that a third string running back fumbled in their first playoff game, their defense was superb against the New England Cheaters. We will take a good defense almost any year in a super bowl game. The hesitation is that the Broncos couldn't stop an injured Ben Roethlisberger, and but for that fumble, they probably wouldn't have won the game. And Panthers QB Newton is a bigger, younger, faster Roethliberger. BUT....Roethlisberger…
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An appeal for the conservative judicial activist pro-Big Government vote in the GOP primary
Grits despises Texas Court of Criminal Appeals elections. Nobody knows who the candidates are. And the campaigns don't raise enough money to educate any more voters than the candidates can reach by driving to a handful of poorly attended forums, or through the lightest possible smattering of earned media. The press barely covers the races, with the biggest outlets at most devoting one news article to all three races before the GOP primary (which is the whole enchilada in 2016 Texas). The media or advocacy groups can vet candidates if they want but it seems to hardly matter. The results will be determined via the vicissitudes of decision making by an electorate with virtually no information about the court or the candidates and thus no basis whatsoever for choosing among them. I've never seen it polled, but in my experience most laypeople aren't even aware that Texas has separate high civil and criminal courts. Many voters quite literally aren't aware the…
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The Fatso Chronicles
Another op-ed about fat shaming graces the pages of the paper of record, because . . . we’re a nation of overweight people and we want to stop feeling badly about it. It’s now a thing, called “fat shaming,” and it’s wrong because any word that diminishes a person’s self-esteem plus “shaming” is wrong. Most people are startled by my unapologetic use of “fat” to describe not only the heroine of my novel, but my own body. To a majority of people, fat can never be anything but an insult. So I’ve explained again and again that fat activists use the word proudly in an effort to destigmatize not only the word, but by extension, the fat body. By “most people,” fat activist Sarai Walker probably means most people she comes across, who give enough of a shit about the issue to spend their time paying attention to the self-absorption of fat activists. I say that only because “most people”…
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The Necessity Defense for DWI Drivers in Minnesota
With one in seven Minnesotans have a DWI on their record, the state has a bustling and active DWI enforcement system comprised of DWI courts, prosecutors, and law enforcement agencies. Minnesota law criminalizes driving while under the influence of either alcohol or drugs, and the police involved in enforcing this law are very strict about […] The post The Necessity Defense for DWI Drivers in Minnesota appeared first on Minneapolis DWI Lawyer Douglas T. Kans.
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Sunday Open Thread
Open Thread. Super Bowl today. I bet Tails and the Panthers. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Mr. Guilty, I presume? The use of statutory presumptions in criminal prosecutions.
This is the first in a series of several blog posts on statutory presumptions in criminal prosecutions, many of which deal with guns and drugs (presumption that all occupants possess a firearm found in a vehicle [Penal Law § 265.15(3)]; presumption that all occupants of a vehicle knowingly possess controlled substance not concealed on a occupant’s person [Penal Law § 265.25(1)]; presumption of knowing possession by all occupants of controlled substances or marijuana in open view in a room used as a drug factory [Penal Law § 220.25(2)]). As noted in Handling a Criminal Case in New York (Muldoon, Thomson Reuters, § 1:33 [2015-2016]) “these function as ‘shortcuts’ to allow the prosecution to establish an element of a crime by establishing other facts. In future installments I intend to examine presumption stacking, a defendant’s burden to rebut a presumption once invoked, and may also take a separate excursion into…
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"Medical Marijuana Could Help the NFL Cure the Illness Menacing Players' Brains, Activists Say"
The title of this post is the headline of this lengthy super-informative article that seems like a perfect read as we await the latest version of the SuperBowl. Here is how a piece worth reading in full gets started: With much of the NFL world camped out in the San...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/Z1IO-Xnb4CM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Our Firm Helps Client Get a New Trial to Fight False Accusations of Child Molestation
On January 15, 2016, a Newton County judge reversed the convictions against our client and granted him a new trial. Our client, Jeffrey Scott Day, had previously been convicted of… read more → The post Our Firm Helps Client Get a New Trial to Fight False Accusations of Child Molestation appeared first on .
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