On the wall at my house, hangs a piece of Jewish art I bought more years ago than I can remember. I found it back in the halcyon days when I was a religious conservative Jew jetting around Fresno on rollerblades, tzitzit flapping in the wind. The artwork shows a verse from the Torah—specifically, Deuteronomy 16:20—in both English, and Hebrew, along with art depicting a pair of scales. Online, the piece is frequently referred to as “The Lawyer’s Creed.” Ironically, I don’t think I knew that until I started writing this post, and went looking for a jpg version to show you. My days of religious observance of any sort are long gone, having ended well before I went to law school, though the remnants remain scattered throughout my house, and my life. Though no longer religious, I still feel my life centers around striving for “justice”–perhaps because, as Rabbi Bradley Artson writes, it is the center of, the driving engine of,…
Justice, Only Justice
↧
↧
Help Me Free My Father, Leonard Peltier
By Kathy Peltier, Daughter of Leonard Peltier Today, fathers across the U.S. will be celebrated, spending time with their loved ones and enjoying time with their children. But for me, Father’s Day is an empty day. My father is , a prominent member of the American Indian Movement (AIM). His name is synonymous with the struggle for Native rights and he has been behind bars for over 40 years—my whole life. With my father’s health failing, it would mean everything to me if he’d get to spend a little of his life with me—even a week with him would be incredible. Help bring my father home: Tell President Obama to grant Leonard Peltier clemency. In 1975, two FBI agents and a Native American person were killed during a confrontation between the FBI and AIM in South Dakota. My father was there that day but has always maintained his innocence. Many people—including judges, prison guards and legal experts—have agreed that his trial was…
↧
Beyond (narrow, politicized) explanations for the 2015 homicide spike
Debates over crime-stat interpretation continue, with the publication last week of this NIJ-funded analysis from an academic, Richard Rosenfeld, "Documenting and Explaining the 2015 Homicide Rise," suggesting "Research Directions." For the record, the author only succeeded at the first half of the title. The paper documents the 2015 homicide rise, but scarcely explains it.(See a good analysis of the document from CityLab. On Twitter, John Pfaff provided this helpful historical national murder data. For those who want more detail, use this tool to analyze crime rates for all types of offenses over time.)Like the Brennan Center before him, Rosenfeld finds that the homicide rise is real, but confined to a handful of cities (Houston made the list of ten cities with significant homicide increases last year) and within those cities mainly among black folk.But he then does something Grits found odd, postulating three "plausible explanations" for the 2015…
↧
Alabama appeals court says, in essense, "roll tide" to its capital sentencing process
↧
Some highlights from Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform . . . for Fathers' Day(?)
↧
↧
Case o' The Week: Venn and the Art of Jurisprudential Maintenance - Davis and Fractured Supreme Court decisions
The Ninth gets all Venn on us. United States v. Davis, 2016 WL 3245043 (9thCir. June 13, 2016) (en banc), decision available here. Players: Decision by Judge Paez, joined by Judges Fletcher, Rawlinson, Callahan, and Owens. Concurring opinion by Judge Christen, joined by CJ Thomas, and Judges Tallman, Nguyen, and Hurwitz. Judge Bea, dissenting. Big win argued by ND Cal (and Jones Day) counsel Nathaniel Garrett.Facts: Davis plead guilty to distributing crack, under a (c)(1)(C) deal. Id. at *2. The agreement acknowledged a guideline range and recommended a sentence below it. Id. Congress then passed the Fair Sentencing Act, and Commission adopted lower retroactive crack guidelines. Id. at *3. Davis filed a § 3582 motion to reduce his sentence. The district court held it was bound by Justice Sotomayor’s concurring opinion in Freeman, and found it lacked jurisdiction because Davis’s sentence was “based on” the (C)…
↧
Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Law eJournal
are here. The usual disclaimers apply. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 499 The Federal Circuits’ Second Amendment Doctrines David B. Kopel and Joseph G.S. Greenlee Independence Institute and Independent Date posted to database: 21 Apr 2016 2 195 Living at...
↧
WA: FST is a seizure, but it is not a search under Fourth Amendment
Field sobriety test is a seizure, but it is not a search under Fourth Amendment or the more inclusive state constitution. State v. Mecham, 2016 Wash. LEXIS 695 (June 16, 2016): ¶17 Since the State cannot comment on a defendant’s … Continue reading →
↧
W.D.N.Y.: When def saw police at door, he stepped back, and that justified their coming in to arrest him on a warrant
Defendant’s arrest with a warrant inside his apartment was valid, and the constitution didn’t required he be pulled outside to arrest. He stepped back when he saw the officers and they came in and arrested him. A limited protective sweep … Continue reading →
↧
↧
CA1: Seizure of a cell phone to get a SW was proper; frisk of jacket for weapon was, too
Officers suspected defendant of sex trafficking, and Detroit PD called the Portland ME PD to report he was there, likely with a young girl. He was known to them as a prior sex trafficker. They found him at a hotel … Continue reading →
↧
CA8: Fleeing from a car during a traffic stop and leaving a backpack behind is objectively an abandonment
Fleeing from a car during a traffic stop and leaving a backpack behind is objectively an abandonment. The fact it’s a semi-private place isn’t determinative here. United States v. Nowak, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 10956 (8th Cir. June 17, 2016): … Continue reading →
↧
AZ: Serial SWs were justified by further developments in a serial murder investigation
Defendant was ultimately charged with 74 felonies, including nine murders. His house was subjected to three different search warrants, each specific to one or two crimes. It was reasonable for the police to get another warrant to go back after … Continue reading →
↧
KY: Consent to look at a cell phone for a number wasn’t limited to the contacts folder; texts and calls could be examined, too
Consent to look at a cell phone for a number did not limit the search to the contacts folder; it was reasonable to look at calls and texts from that number, too. The officer also clicked on a photo marked … Continue reading →
↧
↧
New Louisiana Human Trafficking Laws
New Louisiana Laws Aim to Crack Down on Human Trafficking In the eyes of some social-service agencies and law-enforcement officials, Louisiana has proven to be a hub for human trafficking. Young women – some under 18, some a little older — are regularly brought into the state, or recruited from within, and allegedly forced into prostitution by their handlers. With that in mind, state Rep. Ronnie Johns, a Sulphur Republican, authored a few bills during the spring aimed at addressing the so-called human trafficking problem. Both bills received little or no opposition, and they have since been signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards. One bill raises the threshold age for victims when determining penalties in Louisiana human trafficking cases by three years, from 18 to 21. It takes effect Aug. 1. Johns’ bill also requires people convicted of human trafficking offenses under the provision to register as sex offenders. Anyone convicted of human…
↧
Jury Selection
During the last week, I sat through a seminar on jury selection.Here are some of my thoughts on that issue.First, the collective intuition of the jury panel is far greater than your intelligence.The panel can smell your manipulation. They can sense your overwhelming want to be liked by them, or, at least, to be liked more than your opponent. They can also feel your want to gently guide them to your side of the case.Therefore, when you utilize any of these old stand-by routines, jurors just get annoyed. And, more importantly, you are wasting their time, which is the one thing that juries hate more than anything else.To have their time wasted.They don't want to hear any jokes. They don't want any psychological tests being given out by an attorney, or some reverse mental trick in an attempt to figure out what they are thinking.If you do these things, just like a dog can sense your desperation or fear, a jury will be able to sense yours.No, they…
↧
"Virginia prosecutors join challenge to restoration of felon voting rights"
From Jurist: More than 40 prosecutors in Virginia filed an amicus brief [text, PDF] Friday in support of a challenge to the governor's executive action[JURIST report] to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 felons individuals in the state. The...
↧
How To Get Rid Of An Outspoken Attorney
Whether that attorney is a Republican or a Democrat?Gay or straight?Bisexual?Conservative or liberal?You go through the disciplinary board.But when the disciplinary board says "no" there is no unethical behavior here that we need to get involved with.Go through the courts, who have the power of contempt at their fingertips.But when the attorney has done nothing to get held in contempt for.Well, start using political backdoor posturing in the hopes that this will work.Although, when you do so, you risk getting the people you are working through in deep, deep trouble.Go through judges to go through commissioners to hopefully bend the Chief's ear and the Deputy Chief's ear. And a Chief or Deputy Chief that permits that........well........You see, this is what Susana and Hilary simply could not understand: In this day and age, e-mails and text are now discoverable. Even if it's your personal cell phone or e-mail account, if you are using them for work…
↧
↧
Should Orlando Shooter’s Wife Face Criminal Charges?
INTRODUCTION The discussion began almost immediately after the abhorrent Orlando shooting took place. Should the shooter’s wife face criminal charges? Even before details were released concerning her alleged involvement, numerous members of the “Court of Public Opinion” were passionately crying out for her arrest, believing that she had to have known of his evil plot and/or must have participated in some way. So why hasn’t she been arrested up to this point? ANALYSIS Continue reading →
↧
Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Procedure eJournal
are here. The usual disclaimers apply. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 231 Policing Predictive Policing Andrew Guthrie Ferguson University of the District of Columbia - David A. Clarke School of Law Date posted to database: 18 Apr 2016 [4th last...
↧
ISIS Releases Video Praising Orlando Attacks
ISIS has released a multi-national video on the Orlando killings through its Media Office of Wilayat Furat. (Link is to news article, not video.) The video is called "You Are Not Held Responsible Except for Yourself." It features multiple fighters... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
↧
More Pages to Explore .....
