Windows IT Pro: Microsoft to DOJ: The cloud isn’t an automatic Fourth Amendment exemption by Michael Morisy: Company fights government demands for secret searches of cloud customers Microsoft has filed suit against the DOJ, stating that the federal government is … Continue reading →
Windows IT Pro: Microsoft to DOJ: The cloud isn’t an automatic Fourth Amendment exemption; challenging the third-party doctrine in the Cloud
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TX1: Frequenting bar known for drug sales, going in an out repeatedly, and furtive gestures when stopped was PC
Officers had probable cause under the automobile exception to search defendant’s truck, or at least the trial court had a basis for finding it. Defendant had entered a bar known for drug sales that the police were surveilling. He’d been … Continue reading →
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3 Tax Day Tips You Need to Know Right Now to Avoid Getting Arrested in Connecticut for Tax Fraud or Failure to Pay Taxes
Getting arrested in Connecticut for tax fraud or failure to pay your taxes is usually a federal crime in Connecticut, prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, along with special agents from the Internal Revenue Service. As the best Connecticut federal tax lawyers and attorneys know, a tax fraud arrest or failure to pay arrest is the result of a very long investigation that usually starts as a civil inquiry. Connecticut IRS investigators typically audit your returns and try and sit down with taxpayers to understand the calculations in their federal tax returns. Prior to speaking with IRS auditors, however, you should consult with a forensic accountant or a top Connecticut tax criminal lawyer who has experience in working with federal prosecutors and IRS agents. It’s a lengthy process and a technical one. Here are 3 tips for you to know right now to help you through the process… Tip 1 – Signing a False Tax Return Subjects You to a Connecticut…
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US Sentencing Commission adopts a bunch of (large and small) federal sentencing guideline amendments
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"The history of drug criminalization in America is a history of social panics rooted in racism and xenophobia"
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Privacy gurus: what do you think of (coercive?) plea discussions requiring disclosure of defendant's iPhone password?
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NYTimes: In New Filing, Apple Resists F.B.I.’s Call to Open iPhone in Drug Case
NYTimes: In New Filing, Apple Resists F.B.I.’s Call to Open iPhone in Drug Case by Eric Lichtblau: Apple told a federal court on Friday that it should not have to help the F.B.I. unlock an iPhone used by a Brooklyn … Continue reading →
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The Atlantic: An App That Tracks the Police to Keep Them in Check
The Atlantic: An App That Tracks the Police to Keep Them in Check by Kevah Waddell: New software will help low-income people and communities of color to record their experiences with law enforcement—in order to create a crowdsourced map of … Continue reading →
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Federal Prosecutors Announce Large Baltimore Area Drug Bust
The United States Attorney for Baltimore recently announced the indictments of four alleged drug traffickers that were arrested a week ago in Anne Arundel County by the DEA. This bust is one of the largest in the area over the past year, and it netted the government over $2.4 million cash and 30 plus kilograms of cocaine. The investigation began back in August when law enforcement officers received a tip about a possible drug operation using a Baltimore County trucking business as a cover up. Agents responded to the location of the suspected shell business in Essex to find that the trucking company had been evicted. Law enforcement later learned that the business had moved to Linthicum Heights, which is where officers began to conduct surveillance. After observing the four suspects numerous times the DEA decided to make their move, and stopped one of the men as he drove off the property in a pickup truck. Agents had observed that same truck enter and then exit the…
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Florida Pain Medicine Clinic and its Owners Agree to Settle Qui Tam Case Involving Allegedly Medically Unnecessary Nerve Conduction Velocity Tests
Nerve conduction studies (NCS) or nerve conduction velocity tests (NCV) have been a source of Medicare audits in California and Florida for years. Medical necessity is the usual basis for the audits but in this case, a billing employee brought a whistleblower lawsuit and the U.S. intervened. In a recent case, a civil qui tam case was settled on April 13, 2016 involving the billing of NCS procedures to Medicare and alleged violations of the False Claims Act. The case is United States ex rel. Gomez v. Florida Pain Medicine Associates, Inc., et al., Case No. 13-80856 CIV (S.D. Fla.). The allegations in the case were originally brought by Rosa Gomez under the qui tam, or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. She sued Florida Pain Medicine Associates, Inc. (Florida Pain Medicine) and its owners, Drs. Bart Gatz, Alexis Renta, and Albert Rodriguez. Ms. Gomez had worked in Florida Pain Medicine’s billing…
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MO: Driver had standing becuase passenger was owner of car
Defendant was driving his girlfriend’s car, and she was the passenger. Stopped for a traffic offense, the officer found a warrant from another town, but advised that they didn’t want him arrested on it. The paperwork on the car was … Continue reading →
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Two § 1983 Fourth Amendment claims dismissed for failing to identify a real issue
“Smith denominates this claim as a § 1983 claim based on ‘impermissible interference in family relationships’ in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The substance of her argument makes clear, however, that the Fourth Amendment is irrelevant to the … Continue reading →
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PABLO SECADA, LAS ASEGURADORAS, LAS AFP y EL RETIRO DEL 95.5% de los FONDOS
Secada: Ley que libera el 95.5% de los fondos de las AFP no permitirá ampliar la cobertura previsional Sábado, 16 de abril del 2016 · ECONOMÍA · Diario GESTIÓN · 11:10 El jefe del Instituto Peruano de Economía, señaló que la ley que permite que los afiliados a las AFP puedan retirar hasta el 95.5% de su fondo puede generar problemas a todo el sistema de pensiones: privado y público. · Si bien muchos afiliados a las AFP celebran que el Congreso de la República haya aprobado por insistencia la ley que permite liberar el 95.5% del fondo acumulado en el Sistema Privado de Pensiones (SPP), esto a la larga podría generar daños a todos los sectores…
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Case o' The Week: Karmic Wheel Spins on Appeal -- Parnell and Johnson Crimes of Violence
What happens when state legislatures and appellate courts cram too much conduct into common law crimes, and salvage lousy convictions on appeal? Parnell happens.United States v. Parnell, No. 14-30208 (9thCir. Apr. 12, 2016), decision available here.The Honorable Judge Raymond FisherPlayers: Decision by Judge Fisher, joined by Judge Berzon. Concurrence by Judge Watford. Big win for AFDs Robert Schwarz and Melissa Winberg, Federal Defender Services of Idaho.Facts: Parnell was convicted of armed robbery in Massachusetts. Slip Op. at 3. He was later convicted of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), felon in possession of a firearm. The government sought a fifteen-year mand-min sentence, arguing that the Mass. prior was a “crime of violence” that – along with other priors -- triggered the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). Id. The district court agreed. Id. at 4. Issue(s): “The district court concluded Parnell qualifies as an armed career criminal based in…
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Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Procedure eJournal
are here. The usual disclaimers apply. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 498 Defending the Indefensible? The Increasingly Difficult Job of Defending Soldiers Accused of Sexual Assault Mason S. Weiss Government of the United States of America - Army Date posted...
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Next week's criminal law/procedure arguments
Issue summaries are from ScotusBlog, which also links to papers: Tuesday U.S. v. Bryant: Whether reliance on valid uncounseled tribal-court misdemeanor convictions, in order to prove 18 U.S.C. § 117(a)’s predicate-offense element, violates the Constitution. Wednesday Bernard v. Minnesota and...
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On the geography of asset forfeiture and the growing effort to restrict it
Check out a new report by the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Derek Cohen on geographical asset forfeiture patterns. (See the press release.) Declared the abstract, insight into the volume and location of forfeitures is telling. It reveals where the practice may be overused, establishing a reliance on the proceeds of the legally dubious practice. Further, it also shows where and when standardized per-capita localities are aggressively pursuing more forfeiture, regardless of size. This report aims to demonstrate spatial patterns of forfeiture in raw and per-capita terms, and highlight potential misconceptions and problem areas.Basically, forfeiture's geography follows the population and highways where law enforcement finds particularly enticing targets of opportunity. A subhed summarized: "Aggregate Forfeiture Use is Similar to Population Distribution." That's mainly notable because it contradicts pro-forfeiture rhetoric about the practice…
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Los Angeles Area Insurance Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Misdemeanor for Allowing Unlicensed Employee to Advise Clients About and Sell Insurance
Insurance agents are required to be licensed. In an unusual case for criminal prosecution, an owner of an insurance agency and two of his employees were prosecuted for allegations arising from the alleged the unlicensed selling of insurance. This is a case where some of the charges alleged arose out of the response to the investigation (providing false information and hiding unlicensed activity). Another teachable moment in this case.The case began in response to a complaint to the Department of Insurance (DOI). DOI investigators investigted whether Lindhl Lucas, owner of Lucas Insurance Services, allowed and encouraged employees to advise clients about insurance and sell insurance products without proper licenses. At this point, it appears that Mr. Lucas and Kelly Ann Lucas were interviewed and provided information to the DOI agents.One employee Elaine Edey was previously licensed, but her licensed expired in 2008. DOI alleged that Ms. Edey continued to sell insurance…
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Failure of Feds to Comply with Title III leads to Suppression of Wiretaps
On April 8, 2016, the D.C. Court of Appeals in United States v. Scurry issued a significant clarification of wiretaps obtained by federal law enforcement agencies under Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (“Title III”). In 2009, the FBI believed that Eric Scurry was a crack cocaine dealer in a section of Washington, D.C. known as the “Second Court.” Title III Wiretaps In April 2010, the agency sought, and secured, an application for a wiretap of Scurry’s cell phone. Information obtained through this wiretap prompted agents to seek, and secure, wiretaps of two cell phones belonging to an associate of Scurry who was also believed to be involved in the Second Court crack cocaine distribution conspiracy. These wiretaps led to more evidence that prompted to FBI to spread its wiretaps surveillance to another associate in the drug conspiracy. Scurry was subsequently indicted in connection with…
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Dog “Deposits” Lead to Attack with Machete: a First for one Federal Court of Appeals
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is the federal appellate court with jurisdiction over U.S. District Courts in Tennessee, Michigan, Kentucky, and Ohio. In 2015, a total of 52,698 federal appeals were filed in the 12 regional Courts of Appeals, including the Sixth Circuit. Some of those appeals were critical to the nation’s national security, economy, and criminal justice system. Some were so frivolous as to barely merit summary dismissal. A few were unique, different from all other appeals heard by the courts. An even fewer of these cases involved issues presented to the courts for the first time. That was the situation when the Sixth Circuit entertained an appeal out of the Eastern District of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The appeal dealt with the case of Jeffery T. Walker which was decided by the Sixth Circuit on April 11, 2016. Walker’s case actually began more than two decades ago. In 1995, he pleaded to a drug trafficking offense…
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