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: 5/25/16 at 2:00 p.m. MERIDIAN - Memorial Day marks the beginning of long days filled with sunshine, barbeques and activities with family and friends, however for far too many it also means that loved ones are lost in vehicle crashes. Memorial Day through Labor Day is known as the "100 Deadliest Days" on Idaho's roads and historically it is the time of year when there are more deaths and serious injuries due to dangerous driving behaviors. Idaho State Police along with the Idaho Transportation Department's Office of Highway Safety and other Treasure Valley law enforcement, including the Boise, Caldwell, Meridian and Nampa Police Departments, are partnering during an emphasis patrol this weekend to stop impaired driving, one of the most deadly and preventable causes of crashes. …
Treasure Valley Law Enforcement Unites to Stop Impaired Driving and to Remember the Victims
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Deferred Prosecution: Who Steers the Ship?
The district attorney decides when to defer prosecution. But if that deferral includes probation under G.S. 15A-1341(a1), the court has a role in the process—including what to do in response to a violation of the deferred prosecution agreement. Sometimes the State and the judge are on the same page. Sometimes they aren’t. Granting deferred prosecution. Under G.S. 15A-1341(a1), a person charged with a misdemeanor or a Class H or I felony may be placed on deferred prosecution probation on motion of the defendant and the prosecutor if the court makes the factual findings set out in G.S. 15A-1341(a1)(1)–(5). Those findings include an indication that the deferral has “the approval of the court”—meaning the court apparently may disapprove. In that case, the State may still defer prosecution if it wants to, but it will have to be an informal arrangement, without the benefit of probation. Conditions of deferred prosecution probation. As discussed in…
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Cramer on Texas' Stand Your Ground Law
Clayton E. Cramer (College of Western Idaho) has posted Texas’ Stand Your Ground Law: An Historical Perspective (Presenting at Texas Bar Association, September 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In the aftermath of the Treyvon Martin shooting in Florida,...
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Did Under-incarceration Kill Prof. Dan Markel?
Prof. Dan Markel was a popular teacher at Florida State Law School and an active legal blogger. I met him only once that I remember, but we had a number of mutual friends.He was assassinated at his home, in broad daylight, on July 18, 2014. Until today, his murder was unsolved. This morning, 34 year-old Sigfredo Garcia was arrested for the killing. As I suspected, it seems to have been a hit -- i.e., a murder-for-hire.What I was not suspecting was the killer's rap sheet, summarized as follows in Tallahassee Democrat (emphasis added):Garcia has been arrested at least 22 times in Florida. His first arrest, for vehicle theft, happened in Miami on April 30, 1997, just three days after his 15th birthday.....He was arrested several other times as a teenager, on charges including assault on a law enforcement officer, car burglary, making or attempting to make an explosive device, possession of marijuana and trafficking in amphetamines,…
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Driver Hits CHP Officer and Flees – Arrested for DUI
On Wednesday, May 25, 2016, a 76 year old driver was booked for felony hit-and-run and felony driving under the influence, after he allegedly hit a CHP officer as she stood in the road directing traffic. The driver then fled the scene. The CHP officer suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken by helicopter to the hospital. Responding CHP officers observed the driver, based on license plate information they had received from a tow truck driver, and pulled him over. It was later determined that he was suspected of driving under the influence and he was arrested for DUI and hit and run. The driver was apprehended several miles north of the hit-and-run collision location. California law enforcement officers encourage people to not to drive after drinking and say that if you chose to drink then arrange for a designated driver or a safe ride home. If a driver is arrested for a DUI a long…
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Washington Appeals Court Addresses Recreational Use Immunity in Personal Injury Case
In a recent case, the Court of Appeals of Washington reviewed a personal injury claim brought by a park visitor against the Port of Skamania County. In Hively v. Port of Skamania County (Wash. Ct. App. Apr. 4, 2016), the plaintiff was visiting one of the Port’s parks, Teo Park, when he tripped and fell on an asphalt path on the way to the restroom. The plaintiff brought suit against the Port for negligence. The Port moved for summary judgment on the ground that it was entitled to recreational use immunity, and the trial court granted the motion. The plaintiff appealed the trial court’s decision to the appellate court. In Washington, there is a statutory exception to common law invitee premises liability, known as recreational use immunity. The purpose is to encourage landowners and those in lawful possession of land to make it available to the public for recreational purposes by limiting their liability. To be immune, the landowner must prove that…
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Investing in Youth Through Education
We all know that children often become what they’re exposed to, whether they live in high-crime areas, are the victims of abuse and neglect, or exposed to a substantial amount of crime/violence through television, video games, etc. Thankfully, fighting crime through education, school programs, and providing support for troubled kids can help us build a future society of young people who instead of turning to crime can live productive, successful lives and hopefully avoid becoming a defendant in the criminal justice system. Children today are tomorrow’s adults; what we must do is instill in kids that crime and violence are to be avoided. This can begin at a very young age, and impact how our world will look 10 or 20 years from now in terms of crime rates. An organization called Fight Crime: Invest in Kids supports anti-crime efforts and takes a close look at research regarding what we can all do to help ensure today’s kids don’t become…
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Violations of Your Sixth Amendment Rights Can Also Exclude Evidence
In one of our recent blog posts, we went over a legal doctrine called fruit of the poisonous tree. This legal concept prevents prosecutors from introducing evidence against you in trial, if that evidence was found as a result of a violation of your civil rights. The metaphor is that the civil rights violation is the “poisonous tree,” and the evidence that gets found as a result of this violation is that tree's fruit. However, our earlier blog post focused on the fruit of the poisonous tree, as it is applied to the Fourth Amendment. While the Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches or seizures, it is only one of the Constitutional Amendments that protects you during a police investigation. Among the other rights that you have during a criminal investigation comes from the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees your right to an attorney for your defense. The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Also Applies to Violations of the Sixth Amendment Because the Sixth…
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El Salvador – Maria Teresa thanks supporters after release from jail
First portraits of Maria Teresa Rivera free. She spent 4 years in prison before a court dropped the charges against her on 20 May 2016. María Teresa was one of “Las 17″ group of women in prison out of suspicion of having had an abortion. By Maria Teresa Rivera On 20 May 2016, Maria Teresa Rivera was finally freed from prison in El Salvador after a judge dismissed the charges against her. In 2011, she had been given a 40-year sentence after suffering a miscarriage. Thousands of people across the world rallied to her cause. This is her thank you message to everyone. I want to thank everyone who supported me and who never left me alone, everyone who believed in me and always said that I was innocent even though you did not know me. This was very special to me. When I heard that I was free I felt very happy because I had not seen my son for a year and a half. That kept me in despair and anguish because I did not know how he was. When they told me I…
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Richardson, Spencer & Wexler on Therapeutic Jurisprudence
Elizabeth Richardson , Pauline Spencer and David B. Wexler have posted The International Framework for Court Excellence and Therapeutic Jurisprudence: Creating Excellent Courts and Enhancing Wellbeing (25 Journal of Judicial Administration 148 (2016)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: There...
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News Scan
IA High Court Bans LWOP for Teen Killers: In a 4-3 ruling Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court banned judges from sentencing juveniles convicted of first-degree murder to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Ryan J. Foley of the AP reports that justices ruled in the case of Isaiah Sweet, who was age 17 in 2012 when he committed the premeditated murders of his grandparents, determining that juveniles should have the option to someday prove to the parole board they have been rehabilitated given that their brains are still developing. The dissenting justice, Edward Mansfield, criticized the ruling, calling it wrong to strike down a sentencing option that state lawmakers overwhelmingly reauthorized last year. However, the ruling doesn't guarantee parole for juveniles offenders but, rather, contends that parole officials and not sentencing judges should make the determination. Iowa is the 19th state to ban life without parole sentences for…
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CA2: Retention of mirror image of hard drives for 3 yrs before searching them under SW was at least good faith
The government copied defendant’s hard drives in 2003 but didn’t get around to searching them until 2006. After discussing the privacy interests in data and the wealth of information that could be held on a computer, the court said: “Having … Continue reading →
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GA: Officer searched after a private search, but state failed in burden of showing any justification for officer’s search
Defendant was transported to the hospital by ambulance after a car wreck. Hospital security smelled marijuana in his backpack and searched it and called the police. An officer arrived and searched the backpack without consulting with hospital security. The search … Continue reading →
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Want to Cut Violence Against Our Communities? Decriminalize Sex Work.
By Hayley Gorenberg, Deputy Legal Director at Lambda Legal What’s the cost to our communities of outlawing sex work? Amnesty International’s new reports lead off with a brutal list of consequences: “Beatings. Rape. Harassment. Forced HIV testing. Exploitation. Extortion. Forced evictions. Exclusion from basic health services. Discrimination.” And much of it is leveled at LGBT people and people living with or affected by HIV. Last year, both in solidarity and in recognition of the impact on LGBT people and people affected by HIV, Lambda Legal formalized our position for decriminalizing sex work. Days later, we told the world what’s wrong with prosecutions that endanger sex workers’ safety. With Amnesty International’s new material, we build an ever more dramatic showing of why we need to stop heaping criminal penalties on people engaged in sex trades. First and foremost, we know that vectors of discrimination…
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CA8: Consent to fully search a home includes forensically search computers found there
Consent to fully search defendant’s home by PO’s after a computer was found in violation of the terms of his release is consent to forensically analyze the product of the search, here a computer hard drive. United States v. Berger, … Continue reading →
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Spaceman For Governor
You're supposed to sit on your assAnd nod at stupid things man, that's hard to doAnd if you don't they'll screw youAnd if you do, they'll screw you, too And when I'm standing in the middleOf the diamond all aloneI always play to winWhen it comes to skin and boneAnd sometimes I say thingsI shouldn't, likeAnd sometimes I say thingsI shouldn't, like . . .-- The Ballad of Bill Lee" by Warren ZevonBill Lee is running for Governor of Vermont on the Liberty Union ticket (Bernie Sanders was the Liberty Union's candidate for Governor in 1976) The former lefty pitcher, not surprisingly, has lefty positions, including legalization and taxation of pot in Vermont, single-payer health care, and paid family leave. In contrast to Donald Trump, Lee wants to abolish the border between Vermont and Quebec to make travel easier. He has astutely compared penurious Republicans to pterodactyls: “They…
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Engel and Martin Files Lawsuit for Charter School Scandal Records
Engel and Martin, LLC has filed a pubic records lawsuit on behalf of the blog Plunderbund Media against the Ohio Department of Education. The lawsuit seeks to compel the disclosure of public records stored in the private email account of a former state employee. Plunderbund has been active in seeking records concerning the Ohio Charter School Scandal. The Department of Education employee responsible for monitoring charter schools, who also included false data in a $71 million grant application to the federal Education Department, used a private gmail account for state business. Plunderbund has requested the records stored on the private gmail account. The Department of Education has not complied. A Memo. filed with the Complaint states: [The Employee] and the Department of Education are not the first to seek to avoid their responsibility for public records through the use of private email accounts for public…
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THE DMV ADMINISTRATIVE PER SE HEARING
In my previous post I discussed the DUI arrest process and the fact that when you are arrested for DUI, your license to drive will be immediately suspended by the DMV and you are issued a temporary 30-day license to drive. One of the reasons you receive the temporary license is because you have the right to challenge the DMV suspension of your license at what is called an Administrative Per Se Hearing (APS Hearing). Even before you worry about the criminal charges, you need to address the DMV suspension of your license because you have only ten days in which you can request an APS hearing before the DMV. The APS hearing is completely separate from the criminal case. Yes, you must defend your DUI on two fronts: the administrative per se sanctions and the criminal charges; they are completely separate from one another. Since the time to request the APS hearing is so short, that should be your first order of business. You are not required to request or appear for the APS hearing…
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What To Do If I Am Arrested In California
THE FIRST RULE TO FOLLOW AFTER AN ARREST: REMAIN SILENT EXCEPT TO REQUEST AN ATTORNEY There is a scene in the Showtime series “Billions” where one of the characters is arrested by the F.B.I. for financial fraud. As he is read his Miranda rights and led away in handcuffs, he repeats only one word: “Lawyer, Lawyer, Lawyer,” Now I don’t say this just because I am a criminal defense attorney, but this scene got it right. When you are arrested, the cops must immediately “read you your rights,” which is to say, you must be informed that you have the right to remain silent, that anything you say may be used against you in a court of law, and that you have the right to an attorney. Let me emphasize something: anything you say will in all probability be used against you in a court of law even if the police later suggest during an interrogation that it won’t. All too often after an arrest the cops will use well-honed tactics to get an…
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"Iowa top court rules juveniles cannot be given life without parole"
From Jurist: The Iowa Supreme Court [official website] on Friday ruled [opinion, PDF] that juvenile convicted of first-degree murder may not be sentenced to life without parole. The court reasoned that sentencing a juvenile to life without parole was cruel...
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