As death sentences and executions dwindle around the country and most states are abandoning the death penalty, a few states are determined to keep executions rolling. Top of the list is Texas, the state that’s now gearing up to execute a man who never killed anyone. Jeffrey Wood is scheduled for execution on August 24th, but he didn’t commit murder. He was waiting in a car while Daniel Reneau committed a robbery and, ultimately, killed Kriss Keeran. Reneau was executed in 2002, but according to the “law of parties,” Wood is considered equally culpable simply for sitting in the car outside. The law of parties has only been invoked for execution ten times, and five of those were in Texas. The story of Jeffrey Wood’s death sentence doesn’t stop there. Texas has gone to extraordinary lengths to execute Wood. For one thing, Wood has a history of emotional and intellectual impairments throughout his life, with a variety of diagnoses beginning at…
Jeffrey Wood is Scheduled for Execution on August 24th, but he Didn’t Commit Murder
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More on persuasion- Keeping suffering in the offensive person’s corner
Achieving and maintaining equanimity is critical in the courtroom battlefield and all battlefields. The challenges to powerful equanimity abound. When we recognize and remember that sh*t coming from others is coming from their own roller coaster and suffering, and that we are the masters of our own mood and sense of well being, we are further along the path of achieving such equanimity. Thanks to psychotherapist Shemsi Prinzivalli for a few years ago addressing this equanimity approach to not being offended. We might think we will not be offended so easily when a trespass is committed against ourselves, but what about when a verbal trespass is made in the form of a bigoted comment or a tirade against those near and dear to us? As Shemsi aptly underlines, most of the verbal garbage spewed by others is about them, and their own suffering. We can have compassion for even our worst enemies and their suffering without weakening ourselves. In fact, through compassion for…
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Understanding Unconstitutional Amendments: Reflections on Comparative Constitutional Doctrine and Method
Rosalind Dixon & David Landau, Transnational Constitutionalism and a Limited Doctrine of Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendment, 13 Int’l J. Const. L. 606 (2015). Hoi Kong Rosalind Dixon and David Landau’s Transnational Constitutionalism and a Limited Doctrine of Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendment contributes significantly to at least two fields of legal scholarship: the writing on unconstitutional amendments and the literature on comparative constitutional law. In what follows, I will highlight how this most impressive text contributes to each of these fields. Consider first the article’s contribution to the writing on the doctrine of unconstitutional amendments. As the authors’ exhaustive citations reveal, scholars have long examined how courts should determine whether “some constitutional amendments are substantively unconstitutional because they undermine core principles in the existing constitutional order.” (P. 608.)…
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International Extradition: Charged With a Crime in the United States – But Arrested in a Foreign Country
International extradition is the process in which an individual arrested in one country is surrendered to the requesting country for prosecution or, alternately, to serve a previously-imposed sentence. Extradition requests are usually authorized by extradition treaties between the two countries; even without such a treaty, the countries can still agree to assist each other depending on circumstances which include political considerations. While the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and Evidence do not apply here, an extradition proceeding still retains characteristics of criminal proceedings. For these reasons – and because the defendant may ultimately extradited to the United States to face criminal charges – the target of the international extradition request should hire the best criminal defense lawyer and international extradition attorney he or she can find, whether the case is in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or anywhere in the United…
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Police Bust Large Scale Prostitution Ring
What began as a small-scale prostitution investigation confined to Prince George’s County soon escalated into one of the largest statewide human trafficking busts in years. The PG County Police assigned undercover officers to track and arrest those suspected of harboring young women and then later forcing them in engage in prostitution in the area. What these officers found turned out to be much more than a local conspiracy, and the job soon became too large for just one police department to handle. The Maryland State Police and the Attorney General’s Office eventually became involved after it was discovered that the criminal enterprise was expanding outside of Prince George’s County to Baltimore and even Virginia. The investigation recently concluded with two men and one woman being indicted on multiple criminal counts including human trafficking and receiving earnings from prostitution. Human trafficking and prostitution are both misdemeanors, with the…
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Supreme Court Ruling gives Police Slight Leeway in Illegal Stops
The U.S. Supreme Court opened another small chink in citizens’ protection against illegal police searches this summer. In a 5-3 opinion in Utah v Strieff, the court ruled that although the police officer stopped a suspect illegally, a pending warrant discovered after the stop made evidence gained during a subsequent search to be admissible in […] The post Supreme Court Ruling gives Police Slight Leeway in Illegal Stops appeared first on Minneapolis DWI Lawyer Douglas T. Kans.
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How to spot driver fatigue in a car crash incident
(Image Credit: pexels.com) According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 7,000 people have been killed over the last decade due to driver fatigue car crashes. Drivers who fall asleep at the wheel put their own lives in danger as well as other road users. Crashes caused by falling asleep while driving usually happens between the hours of 12am and 6am but it can happen at other times of the day when the driver is exhausted. The few seconds of temptation to rest your eyes can be a costly mistake. Continue reading
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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds that DUI Defendants Have No Right to Counsel for Breathalyzer Decision
Since the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), the right to assistance of counsel in criminal proceedings has been fundamental in protecting due process rights of criminal defendants. However, the Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected arguments that the right to counsel should extend to pre-charge proceedings such as questioning by police. The Court has consistently limited the Sixth Amendment right to counsel to proceedings occurring after a formal charge has been brought, as it did in Moran v. Burbine, 475 U.S. 412 (1986), where it upheld a defendant’s conviction although police concealed from him that an attorney was attempting to reach him before he was questioned and confessed. In Comm. v. Brazelton, 404 Mass. 783 (1989), the Supreme Judicial Court held that there was no right to counsel under Art. 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights when deciding whether to submit to a breathalyzer…
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Fighting Firearm and Related Criminal Charges.
If you or a loved have been charged with firearm related criminal charges, or are facing criminal charges related to owning or carrying a firearm, do not fight the government alone. The laws surrounding firearms in California are quite confusing and retaining legal counsel to help fight the charges is strongly recommended. How does one fight firearm related criminal charges? Why California Firearm Laws Can Be Tough to Navigate The state legislature has enacted an array of gun control laws resulting on a hodgepodge of laws around carrying a concealed weapon and illegal possession of a firearm. State laws have been passed regulating the ownership, use, and carrying of firearms. It can be difficult to navigate these laws since some are contingent on the type of weapon involved and the individual facing charges. For example, a former convicted felon will face much harsher penalties for possessing a firearm when compared to someone who only has a misdemeanor on his or her record.…
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Wildwood City Commissioner Accused of Texting Death Threat
A Wildwood city commissioner is facing second-degree felony charges after deputies claim he texted a death threat. The 38-year-old Oxford man was charged Wednesday with intimidation/writing or sending a threat to kill or injure. According to a Sumter County Sheriff’s arrest report, a woman who told deputies she’d been with the man for more than seven years said that on the afternoon of Aug. 1, she received a text message from him that said, “I just beat my sons with a baton because of my anger towards you. I don’t want your gift of freedom. When I get back I’m going to take your life and mine.” She told deputies that the man was in Texas when he sent the text. The woman said that for the entire time they’ve been together, the man has been physically violent toward her and that in the past, she’d been punched, choked, kicked, pushed and dragged across a concrete porch. The woman also alleges the man has previously threatened to…
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9th Circuit: Feds Can’t Pay to Prosecute State-Sanctioned Marijuana
U.S. prosecutors were dealt a significant blow recently with a decision by justices with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in their decision regarding 10 consolidated appeals of persons facing federal marijuana charges. What the court ruled was that prosecutors can’t use federal tax dollars to prosecute individuals who were acting in accordance with state-approved marijuana laws. The ruling follows a 2014 Congressional amendment that strips the Department of Justice of the right to interfere with the state-level implementation of medical marijuana laws. Prior to this, it was not uncommon for federal prosecutors to aggressively pursue those who operated medical marijuana cultivation operations, medical marijuana dispensaries and manufacturers of certain marijuana-infused products. When this law was passed, numerous people who were being prosecuted by the federal government on these types of charges asked the courts to dismiss their cases, arguing their…
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Indictment Alleges Servicer Diversion of Borrower Payments
Robert Pena, 67, the president and founder of the now-defunct mortgage company, Mortgage Security, Inc. (MSI), a Falmouth, Massachusetts mortgage company was indicted on conspiracy and wire fraud charges in connection with and alleged scheme to defraud the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) out of nearly $3 million. According to court documents, MSI was contracted […]
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Why are the Olympic Swimmers In Trouble in Brazil?
As usual, I have no idea. But I can guess. Here are some of the rather sketchy “facts” that have emerged so far: Ryan Lochte was out with some of his other superstar swim team members for a night on the town after completing his grueling week in the water, winning medals and flashing his winning smile all over TV’s around the world. Not to mention the years and years of hard core constant exhausting training he went through to get there in the first place. Now he was finished… for now. Can anyone find it horrible or surprising that he might be out blowing off some steam with his teammates? So maybe that explains why he was posting photos of himself taken in the wee hours, partying it up with the French Olympians at their big ‘do’ somewhere in Rio. After that photo, I believe the next time anyone initially sees Ryan and Company, they are clearing security back at the Olympic Village Ranch later that same morning, just in time for breakfast.…
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//blawgsearch75.rssing.com/chan-6519914/article19474-live.html
US v. Mendoza-Padilla, No. 15-10051 (8-16-16)(Tallman w/Clifton and Ikuta).The categorical approach visits Florida; specifically, whether manslaughter as defined by the Florida Supreme Court constitutes a "crime of violence" under 2L1.2. The 9th holds it is not. Manslaughter under the Florida statute only requires a mens rea of negligence; it is broader than the generic contemporary manslaughter. The statute is not divisible and so the modified approach does not apply. The +16 enhancement is reversed and the case remanded for resentencing.Congrats to CJA panel lawyer Harriet Levitt of Tucson.The decision is here:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2016/08/16/15-10051.pdfUS v. McIntosh et al, No. 10117 et al (8-16-16)(O'Scannlain w/Silverman and Bea). These are 10 consolidated interlocutory appeals and mandamus petitions. The issue raised is whether defendants could avoid prosecution for federal marijuana offenses on the basis of the…
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Court Rules No Constitutional Rights to Cross Examine at Probation Hearing
We are all familiar with cross examination in trial—it seems to be the highlight of every legal TV show or televised trial. What you may not be aware of is that the constitution’s sixth amendment actually guarantees defendants a right to cross examine—that is, the right to question their accusers (or in criminal cases, the state and its witnesses). Defendant has Probation Revoked A recent Maryland appellate court case discusses the parameters of that right when it comes to a probation revocation hearing. The case involves a defendant who pleaded guilty to a robbery charge. His sentence involved probation. During his probation, he tested positive for marijuana, thus violating his probation, and as a result was sentenced to serve prison time for the robbery. Continue reading
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The Dirty Business of Copyright Trolls
1933 Courtroom, James R. Browning US Court of Appeals Building, San Francisco, CA by Carol Highsmith (image is in public domain) Recently in the news, esteemed US photographer Carol Highsmith filed a billion-dollar lawsuit against Getty Images for trying to make her pay them for her own images—images she had generously contributed copyright-free to the US Library of Congress. Seems Getty had been scraping the internet and locating thousands of Highsmith’s photographs, which it then charged the site/user with violation of Getty’s (false) copyright, claiming the innocent user’s violation could be resolved if they promptly sent Getty $120.00 for using the image. In other words, Getty had been playing copyright troll. An interesting topic that is covered in Colleen Collins’s recently released How Do Private Eyes Do That? (Second edition, revised and enlarged). Colleen has given her permission for me to reprint the below book…
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Friday Open Thread
Here's a new open thread, all topics welcome. Has anyone seen a Trump statue in person? G-rated comments only please, or use asterisks for anatomical parts. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Timely new report on benefits of marijuana reform from West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy
This local article, headlined "Could legalizing marijuana be West Virginia's pot of gold?," reports on this interesting new policy brief released by the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy suggests. The article summarizes the themes of the report, which is titled "Modernizing West Virginia's Marijuana Laws: Potential Benefits of...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/0Cr4XYS2HF0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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"It’s Not Legal Yet: Nearly 500,000 Californians Arrested for Marijuana in Last Decade"
The title of this post is the title of this new short report from the Drug Policy Alliance, which gets started this way: Short of legalization, California has some of the most permissive marijuana possession laws in the United States, yet law enforcement continues to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate thousands...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/M3FgGpNRXqc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Skibine on Indians, Race, and Criminal Jurisdiction
Alexander Tallchief Skibine (University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law) has posted Indians, Race, and Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian Country (Albany Government Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: With the possible exception of the Indian...
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