In our last blog post, we discussed a recent issue that has come up in South Dakota, where police are forcing drivers suspected of operating a vehicle under the influence (OUI) to provide a urine sample. If these drivers refuse, police have obtained a warrant to get one, and if the drivers still refuse, police have forcefully gotten the urine sample using catheters. While the South Dakota Attorney General claims that the practice is widespread and perfectly constitutional, criminal defense attorneys have disagreed on both points, and the state's courts are currently resolving the issue. The situation does, however, bring into the spotlight one of the most crucial aspects of your rights under the Fourth Amendment – your expectation of privacy. What is a “Privacy Expectation”? The Fourth Amendment prohibits warrantless searches that are unreasonable. However, if police look for evidence in a place where you do not have an expectation of privacy, then…
Your Privacy Expectations During an OUI Investigation
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Police in Florida Could Not Prove Constructive Possession of Drugs Found in Hotel Room
For any type of drug possession case, there are two ways the state can prove the crime in Florida. The easiest way is with an actual possession case. Actual possession is what it sounds like. If a person is holding the drugs or has drugs in his/her pocket or is actually possessing the drugs in any other way, that is an actual possession case that is likely easy to prove. However, even if a person does not have actual possession of the drugs, the state can still prove a drug possession case. The other form of possession is called constructive possession. This can be proven when the state establishes that the defendant knew of the drugs and had some ability to control the drugs. For instance, I have constructive possession of the sunglasses in my car even though they are nowhere near me. I know they are there, I have the keys to the car and I am the only one who drives my car. Constructive possession cases get difficult for the state when there are multiple people who…
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News Scan
CA Probationer, Parolee Lead Cops on Chase, Nearly Striking One: Two California men, one a probationer and another a parolee, were taken into custody Wednesday night after leading Hemet police on a chase that ended in a crash. Patch reports that a patrol officer observed an SUV make a traffic violation and attempted to stop it, but the driver, Justin Manuel Leon, 30, refused to pull over and sped off with his passenger, Michael Ray Kaphan, 24. When a second patrol unit joined the pursuit, Leon attempted to ram the vehicle. The suspects' car plowed through a gate and several fences before becoming disabled, at which point the men took off on foot, though they were quickly apprehended. No one sustained any injuries. Kaphan, who has prior theft-related convictions, was booked on suspicion of parole violations. Leon, who was sentenced to 36 months of probation in April after pleading guilty to auto theft, was booked on suspicion of…
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Second-degree Burglary, Mutilated Bras and Emails
This post examines a recent opinion from the Court of Appeals of Minnesota: State v. Deitering, 2016 WL 4262976 (2016). The court begins the opinion by explaining thatDouglas Deitering faced a second-degree burglary charge for entering his former paramour's house and stealing or mutilating her bras, blouses, and panties. Deitering claimed during his bench trial that the damaged clothes found in his house were part of a planned erotic photoshoot that he and the victim had contemplated and that he never entered her home without permission. The district court deemed Deitering's assertions incredible and found him guilty. Deitering argues on appeal that the district court erred by excluding evidence of a sex tape featuring him and the victim, an email exchange between the two, and photographs of the victim in her underwear. He also argues that his trial counsel was ineffective for not requesting a separate hearing on the state's motions in limine…
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“DUI Strike Force” Patrolling Wrigleyville this Weekend
The Chicago Police Department’s “DUI Strike Force” will be patrolling Wrigleyville and Boystown from 7 P.M. on August 19 through 3 A.M. on August 20. According to the news release put out by the Chicago Police Department, the purpose of the “DUI Strike Force” is to “saturate a pre-designated area with roving police officers that continually monitor vehicular traffic for signs of impaired driving.” The force will also focus on speeding and seatbelt violations. There will be a mobile unit on-hand to conduct Breath Alcohol Tests to speed up the arrests. If you are charged with DUI in Chicago, your case will likely be heard at the Daley Center Courthouse. Illinois DUI law is extremely complex and it is best you consult an experienced DUI attorney for help with your case. Feel free to contact our firm if you require legal assistance for DUI, or any other criminal offense. Police Will Be Patrolling Wrigleyville For DUIS This Weekend, August…
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E.D.Mich.: Gov’t failed to prove nexus to def’s property in SW affidavit, so no PC
The government fails to prove nexus to defendant’s property in a drug search warrant for three addresses. The lack of nexus is a lack of probable cause [and the court doesn’t even discuss good faith exception]. United States v. Harvey, … Continue reading →
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CA3: Strip searching an inmate in isolation 3 times a day serves no penological purpose and is enjoined
Strip searching an inmate in isolation three times a day serves no penological purpose and is enjoined. Parkell v. Danberg, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 15092 (3d Cir. Aug. 17, 2016): Turning to the balancing of interests, we do not understand … Continue reading →
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CA7: No REP in IP address because it is broadcast
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in the IP address one is using because it’s broadcast far and wide. It is a mere business record under the third party doctrine, and Jones doesn’t alter the third party doctrine. United … Continue reading →
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Incarceration Rates and Offending Rates
In comments to Bill's post on incarceration rates there is discussion of the issue of whether the higher (although shrinking) incarceration rate for African Americans is due to higher offending rates or discriminatory enforcement. I did a quick search for research on this subject. I found Patrick A. Langan, Racism on Trial: New Evidence to Explain the Racial Composition of Prisons in the United States, 76 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 666 (1985). Langan summarizes his results on pages 682:This Article presents the results of a study that tested two competing and controversial explanations of the relatively large numbers of blacks in state prisons. The one--the differential involvement hypothesis--attributes the high percentage of blacks in prison to their more frequent criminal involvement. The other explanation--the racial discrimination hypothesis--attributes it to pervasive racial discrimination against blacks in the administration of criminal…
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A Closer Look at the Berkeley Death Penalty Poll
Bill noted earlier today the poll by the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Let's look a little more at these data.Four years ago, we defeated a death penalty repeal initiative, but the opponents got closer than they should have. I believed at the time that the reason was not opposition to the death penalty as such but rather the success of the opponents in blocking enforcement of the death penalty and the absence of a reform alternative on the same ballot.The topline results of the new poll tend to confirm this hypothesis. For the repeal initiative, the poll found 45.1% in favor and 54.9% opposed. For the reform initiative, the poll found 75.7% in favor and 24.3% opposed. At a minimum, then, one fifth of the people of California intend to vote for both initiatives. That is, if all of the 24.3% who intend to vote no on reform vote in favor of repeal, then 20.8% who intend to vote for reform also…
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Just say no to marijuana kids
Now this is interesting....finally a scientifically backed article on the realities of marijuana use among adolescents.
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Trump Exposed
"NYC Parks stands firmly against any unpermitted erection in city parks, no matter how small." -- Parks Department spokesperson Sam BiedermanThe statues of a grotesque, flabby, emasculated Trump that appeared in public spaces on Thursday in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattlein five cities this week was, depending on one's view: (1) a brilliant takedown of an offensive demagogue or (2) tasteless body-shaming joke that diminishes our politics.The project was inspired by Han Christian Anderson's The Emperor's New Clothes. As reported in the Washington Post, "hoping to strip away the Teflon Don’s legendary confidence to reveal the fleshy mortal beneath the expensive suits and long ties, members of the anarchist collective INDECLINE decided they would showcase the aspirant president in the most humiliating way they could imagine: without his clothes."The idea that this guerilla…
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One vehicle fatality crash on Interstate 15 in Clark County.
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE - generated by our News Release ListServer DO NOT REPLY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Idaho State Police District 6 1540 Foote Dr. Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402-1828 (208) 525-7377 FAX: (208) 525-7294 For Immediate Release: 8/19/16 - 7:45 p.m. Please direct questions to the District Office On Friday, August 19, 2016, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Idaho State Police investigated a rollover crash on Interstate 15 in Clark County. Roland Klahre, age 78, of Polaris, Montana, was driving a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country minivan north on Interstate 15 near milepost 162, about 5 miles south of Dubois. Klahre drifted off the road onto the left shoulder and then overcorrected to the right shoulder. The vehicle then rolled off of the road, coming to rest on its wheels. Klahre was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle. He succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the crash. A juvenile…
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Undercover Police Officers Posing as Prostitutes
This summer, police officers across the United States have been cracking down on prostitution-related offenses. Sting operations aimed at stopping the solicitation of prostitution have been executed across the country, including several in Illinois. The Chicago Tribune reports that a recent sting operation in Arlington Heights resulted in 14 men being charged with the crime of soliciting a sexual act. The Arlington Heights police carried out the sting by placing ads on the internet designating a specific time and hotel for interested people to meet. When individuals arrived at the designated hotel room a female undercover agent greeted them. Additional officers were waiting to arrest offenders who offered money to the undercover agent for sexual acts and to charge them with misdemeanor solicitation of a sexual act. What Constitutes Entrapment? Typically, entrapment occurs when a police officer induces someone to commit a crime that he or she would otherwise not have been…
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DOJ Review of Baltimore Policy Department Indicates Urgent Need for Meaningful Change
(Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) Earlier this week, the Department of Justice released findings from a “pattern and practice” review of the Baltimore Police Department. This is an important step towards transparency and accountability. While the report highlights pervasive problems throughout the BPD in how it interacts with communities of color within Baltimore, below are several of the DOJ’s findings pertaining to deadly force that require immediate attention: The DOJ attempted to review all uses of deadly force by the BPD from January 1, 2010 through to May 1, 2016. Although the investigators identified several deadly force cases that they had not received, the BPD was unable to find and produced case files for all deadly force investigations during that time period – including files for twenty firearm discharges. This means that the DOJ was unable to determine how many deadly force cases actually took place. This inconsistency and lack of…
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Michigan DUI Lawyer – Can you Please Explain Pleas?
In my previous DUI article, we looked at pre-trials. We learned that there can be multiple pre-trials in a DUI (or any criminal) case, and that the ultimate goal of a pre-trial is to work out a plea arrangement that will avoid a person actually holding a trial on his or her charge. It was also pointed out that trials are rare in DUI cases, and that the overwhelming majority of drunk driving charges are resolved through a plea. But what is a plea? How is a plea different from a plea bargain (if it is)? What about a sentence bargain? In this article, I want to provide straight answers to these questions and explain how lawyers use pleas, plea bargains and sentence bargains to resolve DUI and criminal cases. First, let’s define things a bit. In this article and in the larger world, the word “plea” is generally (but not always) used to mean a plea of guilty to some charge, even if not the one originally brought. In…
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The prosecutors approaching their jobs as stepping stones, careers, aimless wandering, and fascist endeavors
One day in 1992, a novice car salesperson called me after I had already bought the same model elsewhere, after his dealership did not bother telling me until after I made an offer, that the one unit with my preferred color had been damaged during delivery. Or was that in truth damage caused during a customer’s test driver. The novice salesperson’s sales manager then pulled shenanigans to try to get me back to try to sell me another unit. Unfortunately, when buying my last two cars last year, I learned that little had seemed to change in the way that too many car salespeople can talk and act offensively and even with double talk. Is it something in the water, or the nature of cutthroat competition? “I feel bad for you,” I said to the novice salesperson when he called after I already had bought my car. “Why?,” he asked. “Because you are caught in the middle between your management and customers.” Did his reply evince doom…
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//blawgsearch75.rssing.com/chan-6519914/article19498-live.html
United States v. Harmon, No. 15-10034 (8-18-16)(Owen w/ Wallace & Nelson). A bad Mechanikcontrols this affirmance of money laundering convictions. Here, before the grand jury, the prosecutor's witness lied about receiving benefits for his testimony (charges would not be brought). He was not corrected. The grand jury indicted, and the defendant was convicted by a trial jury. On appeal, the defendant argued that the misconduct before the grand jury was a due process structural defect and required reversal. The 9th said "no". The 9th relied on United States v. Mechanik, 475 US 66 (1986), where the Supremes excuse all sorts of grand jury mischief and misconduct if the trial jury convicted. This includes intentionally offering testimony known to be false. So it is assumed here. The 9th agrees that the prosecutor should have corrected the testimony and engaged in misconduct. However, the appropriate forum would be the state bar or the…
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The Best Kept Secrets to Fighting Connecticut State Trooper Arrests
If you ask any of the best Connecticut criminal lawyers and attorneys who are “in the know” about Connecticut State Trooper arrests, they will share 2 little known and quietly kept secrets about State Trooper arrests: first, State Trooper bond amounts are usually much lower than those in Greenwich, Stamford, Darien or other Fairfield County, Connecticut police departments; and second, State Trooper arrests rarely find their way onto the Internet or into Google searches of your name. What’s the explanation for this? It’s complicated, but I’ll wrap it up in 2 minutes… What Happens When I Get Arrested by Connecticut State Troopers? Top criminal defense lawyers and attorneys in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien and New Canaan Connecticut understand that crimes committed in a Connecticut city or town are under the arrest jurisdiction of the town or city Police Department where the crime occurred, UNLESS the crime takes place on a state roadway like…
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Threats of death coerced false testimony in Waco innocence case
A judge in Waco recommended granting a habeas corpus writ on "actual innocence" grounds in a case which demonstrates the risks of false convictions from plea bargaining and informant practices. A report from Tommy Witherspoon at the Waco Tribune Herald (Aug. 20) began: Convicted murderer Richard Bryan Kussmaul and the three co-defendants who testified against him 22 years ago are “actually innocent,” and Kussmaul should be freed from prison, a retired state district judge ruled Friday. Judge George Allen, who presided over Kussmaul’s 1994 capital murder trial, recommended that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals grant applications for writs of habeas corpus for…
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