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Daily Report: Private Probation Firm Halts Drug Tests Without Court Order

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Daily Report: Private Probation Firm Halts Drug Tests Without Court Order by R. Robin McDonald: One of the largest providers of private probation services in Georgia will temporarily stop requiring people on probation to submit to and pay for drug … Continue reading →

I was Arrested for Grand Larceny In New York: Challenging Property Value to Lessen Criminal Exposure

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The difference between a felony and a misdemeanor is drastic. Whether the crime or crimes you are arrested for in New York involve those of the white collar or street variety, any criminal conviction is permanent. With a felony conviction, however, there is greater exposure to collateral consequences. When an offense involves a theft or fraud crime, such as Grand Larceny, Petit Larceny and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, those secondary issues may actually be first and foremost on your list of concerns after incarceration. For example, are you licensed through FINRA? Do you work at an FDIC insured bank? Are you a legal resident, applying for a visa or interested in becoming a United States citizen? If so, will the felony trigger a review of immigration because it is deemed a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude or and Aggravated Felony? Staying with larceny and theft crimes that occur in New York City or elsewhere in the State of New York, one of many things you should…

Another Drunk Periscoper Arrested For DUI

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A few months ago, we penned one of our most ridiculous blogs of all time. That blog centered around Whitney Beall, a 23-year-old woman from Florida who thought it would be a good idea to livestream her drunken drive home from the bar. Shockingly, it didn’t go well for Beall, as more than a few concerned citizens reached out to local authorities, and police were able to tap into the feed, determine her location and arrest her before she could harm herself or others. In fact, the escapade was so ridiculous, we recently awarded her with the 2015 Criminal Oscar for “Best Performance By a Dumb Criminal.” We thought that would be the last time we heard about someone broadcasting their drunken drive home, but we thought wrong. According to police in Long Island, a 33-year-old man was recently arrested for DUI after he too livestreamed his drunken drive to viewers. Using the app Periscope, which essentially turns a smartphone camera into a livestreaming webcam,…

Framingham Couple Arrested for Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana

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According to an article in the MetroWest Daily News, a man and a woman were arrested in Framingham earlier this week by police officers searching for a suspect in an unrelated crime.  The article states that the police went to 10 Main Street in Framingham looking for a suspect believed to be involved in a pistol whipping incident at UMASS Amherst that occurred two weeks ago.  The man and woman that were arrested reside in one of the apartments at the Main Street address – the police specifically went to the address because they reportedly “had word” that the suspect in the UMASS incident was friends with the female resident.  When the police arrived, they immediately arrested the woman, who had an outstanding warrant for a probation violation.  According to the article, the police obtained a search warrant for the apartment and then proceeded to search the residence for the suspect in the UMASS incident.  The suspect was not located,…

Men Arrested in Marlborough for Alleged Robbery

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According to an article in the MetroWest Daily News, three men were arrested earlier this week and charged with robbery in Marlborough. The article states that the three defendants met the alleged victim outside a Burger King for the purpose of buying marijuana from him. When the alleged victim presented the drugs, the three defendants reportedly reached into their pockets and pretended to have weapons. One of the defendants then reportedly grabbed the marijuana from the alleged victim while the other two defendants allegedly pushed him and attempted to steal his cellular telephone. The defendants then reportedly drove off in a silver vehicle. The alleged victim called the police and provided them with a description of the vehicle and the license plate number. Officers stopped the car a short distance away. Inside the vehicle, the officers found a bag of marijuana. Following the stop, the alleged victim identified the three men in the car as the people that robbed him. The…

Reducing and Expunging Criminal Convictions

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The Importance of Reducing and Expunging Convictions I get a lot of questions these days about expunging convictions, reducing felonies to misdemeanors, sealing records and even certificates of rehabilitation and pardons. Definitions First, there are a lot of legal terms I just used. These terms apply only to California and California state court convictions. Expungements under Penal Code Section 1203.4: When probation is granted in a case and it is successfully completed for the entire term then probation naturally expires. After probation expires, or upon early and successful termination of probation, we may ask the court to let us withdraw our conviction and dismiss the case. In many cases expungement is mandatory, meaning the court must dismiss the case. In some case, as with the case of a probation violation, expungement is discretionary. Reducing Felonies to Misdemeanors: When a felony is punishable by either time in prison or time in the county…

Florida Judge Denies Reduction in 33-Year DUI Sentence

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Judges presiding in cases of DUI in Los Angeles may be more inclined to show clemency when defendants express true remorse for their actions and make a sincere effort to turn their lives around. But they’re less likely to be merciful when a defendant demonstrates that he continues to demonstrate the same behaviors that got him trouble in the first place. Kenneth Jenkins recently learned that lesson in a Florida courtroom. The Palm Beach Post reported that Jenkins, convicted of causing the deaths of three people in a March 2008 DUI-related accident, asked for a reduction in his 33-year sentence. Circuit Judge Charles Burton denied that request. Three years after his arrest, Jenkins, now age 33, pleaded guilty to DUI and to driving the wrong way on Interstate 95 near Delray Beach. His black Pontiac GTO caused a series of accidents before it eventually slammed into a 2008 Mercedes, killing three of the vehicle’s four occupants. The case dragged on while Jenkins’…

Kahn-Fogel on Eyewitness Identification Reforms

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Nicholas Alden Kahn-Fogel (University of Arkansas at Little Rock - William H. Bowen School of Law) has posted The Promises and Pitfalls of State Eyewitness Identification Reforms (Kentucky Law Journal, Vol. 104, No. 1, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the...

News Scan

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TX Man Set to Die for 1998 Murder:  A south Texas man is scheduled to be executed Wednesday for the brutal murder of a 12-year-old boy nearly two decades ago.  Michael Graczyk of the AP reports that 38-year-old Pablo Lucio Vasquez murdered David Cardenas in April 1998 in what police speculated at the time to be an attempted satanic cult crime.  Vasquez, who was 20 at the time, hit Cardenas in the head from behind with a pipe, cut his throat and lifted him, still conscious, so blood would drip on his face.  He claimed that he heard voices telling him to kill the seventh-grader, drink his blood and mutilate his body.  Vasquez's cousin pleaded guilty for his role in the crime, which was assisting in an unsuccessful attempt to decapitate the boy, and was sentenced to 35 years.  Three other relatives of the cousins received probation and fines for helping cover up the murder.  Vasquez's argument that he is mentally ill and should be…

RIFKIN ROARS

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She's seen it all, and done it all, almost. She's handled the tough Miami murder cases for at least two decades. And now Dade ASA Abbe Rifkin wants to be a judge. She's done everything except take three hour lunches, sandwiched between denying a motion to suppress in the morning and a rule 3 in the afternoon. Now Ms. Rifkin will be challenging outspoken Broward Judge Matthew Destry in the upcoming judicial election. The New Times newspaper article is here.  Rifkin is quoted as saying: "It’s 2016 and an election year, so I’ve decided to take it to the people."Wow. We just had a sixties flash-back. Taking it to the streets. Some ratty jeans; a tie-dyed shirt; a sit in; a march; tune in-turn-on baby. Feel the Bern!!Anytime a Dade lawyer takes the bench in Browerid, it's a good day. See You In Court. Site Feed

Flat Tire Results in Drug Charges for Cincinnati Teen

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On Sunday, April 3, a 19-year-old Cincinnati man was arrested on drug charges after he drew the attention of Madison County Sheriff’s Dept. deputies by stopping suddenly on Interstate 75. According to news reports, Christian Michael Spaulding was traveling in a southbound direction on the interstate when he went off the roadway after crossing all lanes of traffic. Upon exiting his vehicle, it continued moving forward. When deputies arrived at the scene, they noticed Spaulding’s speech was slurred, and that he was having problems maintaining his balance. Deputies asked Spaulding what was going on, to which he replied he had a flat tire. The citation claims that when asked if deputies could search his vehicle, Spaulding refused. A canine unit was deployed by deputies, which resulted in the dog alerting to the presence of drugs in the vehicle. Upon searching, officers discovered a baggie containing four Xanax pills, six empty baggies, and several baggies of marijuana…

" . . . . and Knocked Down For Its Dollars."

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If you ever watched the American version of The Office, your poor brain is probably overloaded with funny and memorable quotes from the office manager, Michael Scott. One in particular stands out in my mind, the one memorialized by the picture leading this blog post.  This week, the Court of Appeals issued a decision worth highlighting, even though it is only slightly related to DWI law. The decision itself was pretty straightforward in a legal sense; the majority (2 judges from the 3 judge panel) upheld the district court's decision to send a guy to prison for violating the conditions of his probation. One judge dissented, and he led his dissent with a quote from Charles Dickens that cuts right to the heart of why this case was so troubling.  "Dollars! All their cares, hopes, joys, affections, virtues, and associations, seemed to be melted down into dollars . . . . Men were weighted by their dollars, measures gauged by their dollars; life was auctioneered,…

Violando órdenes de exención de dependencia: Cuando uno de los padres afirma injustamente un dependiente Por Marisela E. Cantu, abogado www.cantuattorney.com

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¿Qué pasa cuando un padre de familia continúa a reclamar la exención de dependencia en violación de la orden judicial? A partir del 01 de agosto de 2015, un nuevo estatuto de Minnesota para dividir las exenciones de dependencia entró en vigor que proporciona una norma jurídica para ser concedido la exención de la dependencia federal y ahora proporciona alivio si un padre injustamente reclama la exención de impuesto o no ejecutar el formulario de impuestos adecuado en violación de la orden del Tribunal. La relevación potencial le permite ir a la corte y pedir que los padres por negligencia compensarle por el monto de la perdida beneficios, costos y honorarios de abogado razonables. Propuestas de alivio deberán presentarse no más tarde de 3 años desde la fecha de declaración en la que la exención era o podría han sido reclamada. Si usted tiene alguna pregunta por…

Experts Discuss Eyewitness Misidentification on Minnesota Public Radio

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Brandon Garrett, author of Convicting the Innocent, and Sandra Guerra Thompson, director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center, joined host Kerri Miller on Minnesota Public Radio News on Monday to discuss how states are combatting eyewitness misidentification, which is the leading cause of wrongful convictions.  Miller asked Thompson what inspired certain states, such as New Jersey, to pass laws requiring judges to instruct juries on the fallibility of eyewitness identifications. “What happened was that a lot of people started getting exonerated and when we went back and did the studies of the kind that Brandon talks about in his book, we discovered that, in the majority of those cases, there was eyewitness identification in which the eyewitnesses simply got it wrong, ” Thompson told Miller.  "People have always known that it's hard to remember the faces of strangers, and that there are problems with…

IOWA THEFT LAWS

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Today, I am publishing a post about Iowa theft laws. Iowa code section 714.1 defines what theft is and specifies ways in which a person can commit theft. According to Section 714.1(1), a person commits theft if he or she takes possession or control of the property of another, or property in the possession of another, with the intent to deprive the other of that property. That means that a person commits theft if he takes another person’s personal property, and when he is taking that property, he is intending to steal it and never give it back to the owner. However, this is not the only way to commit theft.  In Iowa, there are many other ways a person can commit theft. I will blog about them in my next posts. Additionally, in Iowa, there are 5 degrees of theft: (1) theft in the first degree; (2) theft in the second degree; (3) theft in the third degree: (4) theft in the fourth degree: and, finally, (5) theft in the fifth degree. The following chart shows each degree…

Armed ≠ Dangerous for Stop and Frisk by Police, Judge Rules

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Charlotte DWI and Criminal Defense Attorney J. Bradley Smith of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Can the police search my car without a warrant?” The federal appellate court with jurisdiction over North Carolina just ruled in a surprising decision that “armed” does not automatically mean “dangerous” within the context of stop-and-frisk searches by police. Continue reading →

A Crisis in Overdose Deaths

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While Congress plays footsie with reducing prison terms for drug dealers (as proposed in the SRCA), the people who manufacture and sell this poison are busier than ever.  Hence, this story from CBS News:  Opioid Overdoses Kill 10 People in 12 Days in Sacramento area.[Jerome Butler's] death was one of 10 in the Sacramento area in just 12 days that doctors have traced to heavy fentanyl-laced narcotics being sold as generic opioids on the streets."This is not bathroom biochemistry. It's going to be very sophisticated." Sophisticated and deadly, said Dr. Timothy Albertson, a toxicologist at UC Davis Medical Center."It is probably 100 times more potent that than morphine." DEA special agent John Martin says the illegal fentanyl has made a long journey to get here."We believe it is manufactured in China, it is being distributed to Mexico, it is brought up through the normal drug smuggling routes of the southwest border."In other…

Man who allegedly fled police in Baker County ends up bitten

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In Baker County this week, a man was arrested for fleeing police and for kicking a police dog, according to an article in the Florida Times Union.  Officers claim that the man drove over 100 miles per hour while fleeing them.  Police also allege that the man intentionally drove his car at the them, which led to the added charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.  Once the car hit a tree, the man allegedly refused to exit the vehicle.  Police sent in a canine and the man allegedly kicked and hit at the dog.  The man was treated for injuries at a local hospital and medical staff apparently found a handcuff key up his anus. The man now faces numerous felonies in Baker County.  The first is an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.  This crime is a third degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.  A car is considered a deadly weapon and when used to threaten someone with violence, it becomes “aggravated”…

Domestic Violence in Dallas: Arrests Are a Priority for Dallas Police

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Dallas crime rates are really high, and local law enforcement is doing all sorts of things to try and combat the skyrocketing numbers of criminal acts being reported in the Dallas area. There have been cries to oust the Dallas Police Chief, things are so bad — so far, Police Chief Brown is weathering the storm. How high? It’s now reported that the homicide rate is up 80% in Dallas as of March 2016. So, it’s a big concern here – these murders, killings, homicides. According to Chief Brown, a big part of those death rates involve crimes of domestic violence (referred to as “family violence” if you’re looking at the Texas Penal Code). (The other big contributor to the current homicide rate? Drugs: drug deals that fail in some way, resulting in violence.)     Domestic Violence in Dallas Domestic violence can involve a wide variety of things. While most people think about a married couple where the wife is beaten or abused by her…

Maclin on The Right to Silence

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Tracey Maclin (Boston University - School of Law) has posted The Right to Silence v. The Fifth Amendment (University of Chicago Legal Forum, 2016 Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper concerns a well-known, but badly misunderstood, constitutional...
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