If you have been following the news lately you have heard that Maryland has joined the states that require interlocks in all DUI cases, even for first offenders blowing under 0.15. For example, see Md. lawmaker: Slain officer Noah Leotta ‘is still on the job’ in the Washington Post. However a close examination of the record reveals over 50 changes to the original version of Noah’s law contained in the Conference Committee Report. A key provision in contention would have required a first offender with a test result of 0.08 or higher but less than 0.15 to get an ignition interlock for 90 days. The House had rejected that provision. However, that provision was contained in the third reading of the Senate Bill 945. (The House and Senate had both already stricken a provision requiring defendants charged with DUI or DWI but only convicted of reckless or negligent driving to get an ignition interlock). In the end,…
Senate and House Compromise on Noah’s Law: Ignition Interlocks NOT Required on All First Offenders
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Recent SEC Enforcement Actions and Public Commentary Demonstrate the Commission’s Continued Focus on Internal Control Failures
We have previously written about how, over the past few years, the SEC and other regulatory agencies have devoted substantial resources to investigations regarding allegations that public companies have inadequate internal controls and/or a system for reporting those controls. See here, here and here. That effort shows no signs of waning. As recently as March 23, 2016, the SEC announced a settlement with a multi-national company due in part to the internal controls failures at two foreign subsidiaries. On March 10, 2016, the SEC announced a settlement of claims against Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation in connection with alleged internal control failures. And, on February 17, 2016, the SEC announced a settlement of claims against a biopesticide company, Marrone Bio Innovations, based on the company having reported misstated financial results caused in part by internal control failures.[1] These…
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Civil Judgments for Criminal Monetary Obligations
When can money owed as the result of criminal case be docketed as a civil judgment? You’ve probably seen the recent report from the Administrative Office of the Courts on criminal cost waivers. That report, required annually under G.S. 7A-350, aggregates court cost waivers “by the district in which the waiver or waivers were granted and by the name of each judge granting a waiver or waivers.” I wrote about tracking court cost waivers here. The report is interesting. It sorts judicial officials’ decisions on monetary obligations into several different “money statuses.” The status of primary interest—or at least the one statutorily required to be tracked—is costs that are “Waived/Remitted.” But other statuses are also included. For example, there is a column showing the total number of costs “Ordered,” to “provide a sense of the volume of the dispositions in each county . . . or by each judge.”…
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ISP Celebrates Its Communications Officers In Meridian and Coeur d'Alene During National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE Teresa Baker Public Information Officer Headquarters 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642 (208) 884-7122 Fax (208) 884-7087 For Immediate Release: 4/14/16 at 3:30 p.m. MERIDIAN - The Idaho State Police are celebrating the dedication of its Public Safety Communications Officers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, April 10th to the 16th, at its two Regional Communications Centers. "This is one of our favorite weeks of the year as it is an opportunity to thank our colleagues in dispatch for their dedication in serving the public. Without our dispatchers, ISP would not be able to provide the level of service we provide," said Idaho State Police Statewide Communications Lt. Kevin Haight. "Our dispatchers are the front-line employees in public safety. Their voice is the public's first interaction with another human being when they need help. Our dispatchers are dedicated to our citizens, our troopers and…
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Pereboom & Caruso on Neuroscience, Punishment, and Meaning in Life
Derk Pereboom and Gregg D. Caruso (Cornell University and SUNY Corning) have posted Hard-Incompatibilist Existentialism: Neuroscience, Punishment, and Meaning in Life (Neuroexistentialism: Meaning, Morals, and Purpose in the Age of Neuroscience, OUP Editors, Gregg D. Caruso and Owen Flanagan, Forthcoming)...
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Pennsylvania Eyewitness Identification Protocols Fall Short of Research Based Recommendations
On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association announced the state's first standard set of protocols relating to eyewitness identification. The association's best practices committee had been working since 2014 to create a standard protocol for police departments in the state. Among the adopted recommendations is "blind" administration, where the officer administering a line-up does not know the identity of the suspect. Other recommendations include documenting the witness' responses during lineups and advising them that the actual perpetrators may not be present in the lineup. The policy falls short of the recommendations put forth by the National Academy of Sciences in its landmark 2014 report in that it does not require police to gauge the witness’ level of confidence in their identification with documented confidence statements. "The reason a statement of confidence is so important is that confidence can be…
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Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction for Prosecutor Withholding Exculpatory Evidence
The United States Supreme Court reversed the murder conviction of a Louisiana man and granted him a new trial, finding that the the prosecutor had withheld evidence that could have supported his defense at trial that could have cast doubt on the credibility of prosecution witnesses. This case, Weary v. Cain, is notable because the SJC expanded upon the principle concerning violations of a defendant’s due process rights when the prosecution withholds material evidence. Under the rule pursuant to Brady v. Maryland, the suppression by the prosecutor of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution. In Weary v. Cain, the SJC held that the defendant does not need to establish that “more likely than not” that he would have been acquitted if the withheld evidence had been admitted. Rather, the defendant claiming a…
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Miller on Puerto Rico and Double Jeopardy
Colin Miller (University of South Carolina School of Law) has posted Sovereign Impunity: Why Double Jeopardy Should Apply in Puerto Rico on SSRN. Here is the abstract: On January 13th, the United States heard oral arguments in Puerto Rico v....
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California board recommends parole for former "Manson family member" Leslie Van Houten
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Freedom of Speech?
Editorial out of the Albuquerque Journal hits the nail on the head.http://www.abqjournal.com/756770/opinion/civility-police-hammer-unm-medical-student.html
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One vehicle non injury crash
Idaho State Police Regional Communication Center - North 615 W Wilbur Ave Suite A Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83815 Please direct questions to the appropriate District Offices District 1 (208) 209-8620 Fax (208) 209- 8618 District 2 (208) 799-5150 CASE #: L16000523 District: Two --------------------- PRESS RELEASE ----------------------------- DATE: 04/14/2016 TIME: 3:02 PM LOCATION: SB US95 at Milepost 322, North of Lewiston ASSISTING AGENCIES: Lewiston Ambulance ------------- VEHICLE #1 DRIVER: Sarah Fritz AGE: 33 ADDRESS: Clarkston, WA INJURIES: No VEHICLE YEAR: 2000 VEHICLE MAKE: GMC VEHICLE MODEL: Jimmy WRECKER: Bernards Towing SEATBELTS WORN: Yes ------------- INCIDENT NARRATIVE: Fritz was SB on US95 at milepost 322 when she hydroplaned on rain and hail. Fritz corrected and then hydroplaned again, causing her vehicle to leave the roadway and roll. DSP INITIALS JR -----------------------------------
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Parole Board Recommends Parole for Leslie van Houten
Is the 20th time the charm for former Charles Manson follower Leslie van Houten, imprisoned since 1969 for the La Bianca murders? The parole board in California today agreed to recommend she be granted parole. Although she has been a minor inmate,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Republican Gala in NYC
Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich are speaking tonight at a Republican gala at the Grand Hyatt hotel on 42nd St. in New York City. Will Trump remind everyone he built the hotel at age 27, and 20 years later sold his interest for $140... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Hillary and Bernie Debate in Brooklyn
We've been spared Democratic debates for a month. There's one beginning in a few minutes on CNN. If anyone's watching (and I will watch some)here's a place for your thoughts on it. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Thursday Night Open Thread
If you aren't into tonight's Democratic Debate or the Republican Gala, here's an open thread to discuss other topics. As for me, I'm pretty much focused on what I'm now calling "alternative TV watching" and ISIS news. For... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Cohabitation No Longer a Crime in Florida
Cohabitation No Longer a Criminal Act in Florida Robert Napper – Legal Correspondent Breathe easy you Florida couples who until a week ago lived together illegally while unwed. You will not be facing up to 60 days in the county clink and a $500 fine on a second-degree misdemeanor charge for co-habitation while not married. A Florida law that banned unmarried couples from living together dating back to post-Civil War Reconstruction is no more. Gov. Rick Scott signed SB 498 which repealed a law that made it a misdemeanor “if any man and woman, not being married to each other, lewdly and lasciviously associate and cohabit together.” Effective immediately, that language – which dates back to 1868 – is no more. Instead, the new law now reads: “If any man or woman, married or unmarried, engages in open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior, they shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree.”…
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News Scan
Illegal Immigrant Charged with Deaths of TX Firefighter, 2 Children: A previously deported illegal immigrant who killed a volunteer firefighter and his two children earlier this month in a car crash now faces both state and federal charges. Bob Price of Breitbart reports that Margarito Quintero was drunk and driving without a license when he slammed head-on into Nevada Volunteer Fire Department Captain Peter Hacking's vehicle, killing him and his two young children. He faces charges of criminally negligent homicide as well as a federal charge of illegally reentering the U.S. after being deported in 2008. Quintero's case is just one of many examples of criminal aliens reentering the U.S. after deportation due to such a porous southern border.OH Man Accused of Killing 4 will Face Death Penalty: An Ohio man indicted on 46 charges in connection with a 2014 quintuple murder will face the death penalty. John Harper of Cleveland reports…
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The Dangers of Distracted Walking
Distractions like texting and talking on the phone are not just dangerous for drivers; they are equally risky for pedestrians. Distracted walking accidents are occurring with increasing frequency in America, particularly amongst teens and college students, according to ABC News. Many of these accidents occur on city streets, near shopping centers, and in parking lots. They are all avoidable. Simple precautions could prevent many of these distracted walking accidents and save thousands of lives each year.What are the most common types of distractions for pedestrians?Anything that takes your eyes or attention off of your surroundings is a form of distraction and can increase your risk of getting involved in a pedestrian accident. The most common things that distract people when walking include texting, playing games on mobile devices, listening to music, daydreaming/zoning out, and being involved in a conversation with others.In its 2015 Distracted Walking Study, the…
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Who Can the Police Detain in a Traffic Stop?
Can the police detain a car passenger even if that’s not the reason they were pulled over? Several Florida courts have said that the police are not allowed to detain a passenger who attempts to leave the scene of a… The post Who Can the Police Detain in a Traffic Stop? appeared first on Chapman Criminal Defense Firm.
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I Am Not Making This Up
This is the headline in today's The Hill: "Obama, Rappers Meet on Criminal Justice Reform."The story starts:President Obama is meeting with a group of music stars on Friday to discuss his push for criminal justice reform and his initiaitve dedicated to helping young men and boys of color.Rappers Busta Rhymes, Common, J. Cole, Wale, Ludacris and Chance the Rapper are all attending the meeting, according to a senior administration official. "Many of these artists have lent their voices and platforms to promoting these issues," the official said. "Through their own nonprofit work or artistic commitment, many of these artists have found ways to engage on the issues of criminal justice reform and empowering disadvantaged young people across the country."The President's meeting with "Ludacris" says about all I am capable of writing about this, within the bounds of the polite discussion we like to maintain on…
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