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A Lesson In Appealing Ohio Administrative License Suspensions

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Practicing law is an art, not a science, and there are various methods to develop skill at the art of lawyering. One method is to learn the hard way. In a recent Ohio OVI case, the defense lawyer learned the hard way how to appeal an Administrative License Suspension (A.L.S.). Hopefully, others will learn from this example. In Ohio, an A.L.S. is separate from the underlying charge of O.V.I. An A.L.S. is imposed if a suspect is arrested for O.V.I. and either refuses a chemical test for alcohol/drugs or tests ‘over the limit’. The length of the A.L.S. and the suspect’s eligibility for limited driving privileges depend on whether the suspect has prior O.V.I. convictions and/or prior test refusals. The A.L.S. can be appealed. Although the A.L.S. is separate from the O.V.I. case, a defendant may appeal the A.L.S., and/or seek limited driving privileges, in the context of the O.V.I. case. The A.L.S. appeal is filed with the court in which the O.V.I. case is being…

33-year Veteran Louisiana Prosecutor Gets Three Years for Soliciting Sex from Women, Labeled a ‘Sexual Predator’

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Recently, 73-year-old Harry Morel Jr., a 33-year veteran prosecutor in St. Charles Parish in Louisiana, was sentenced to three years in prison for allegedly trading sex for leniency in cases he prosecuted.  Federal authorities investigated the case for three years before Morel eventually pleaded guilty in April of this year. Authorities claim Morel is a ‘sexual predator’ who engaged in sexual misconduct for about 20 years with at least 20 difference women, according to the Times-Picayune.  News reports reveal that one woman who was facing a DUI charge helped build a case against Morel, an extremely popular man who had been elected as St. Charles Parish’s district attorney for more than 30 years.  Even though Morel is accused of giving women charged with crimes favorable treatment in exchange for sex, he hasn’t been charged with any sex crimes, and has been disbarred as he is scheduled to begin serving his prison sentence on September 26.…

Committed a Bizarre Crime??????

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With the technology that fills society today, think twice before getting into an accident and turning it into road rage. On Wednesday, KSNV, Channel 3 News, reported that a 34-year-old woman driver had just exploded into crazy road rage after making an incorrect lane change during on I-95 Thursday afternoon in Las Vegas. That would have been the end of it, fender-benders happen every day, but this motorist lost it, and the motorist she hit, caught it all on their cell phone. Her extreme road rage stopped traffic as she flashed the other driver as she hurled profanities the entire time. The video was posted on News 3 and Facebook and viewed more than 30,000 times. Then, on top of everything, she then took off, and Nevada Highway Patrol had to give her a hit-and-run. The video caught her driving away, but, everybody has a cell phone, so it pays to remember that before committing a crime. Only six days later, NHP arrested this crazed driver; she had nowhere to go because her face…

Probable Cause to Believe a Joint Venture Crime Has Been Committed

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In Commonwealth v. Sanchez, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts appealed from orders that granted motions to suppress evidence that was seized during the search of codefendants. There were four companion cases. The issue in the case was whether the police had enough of a basis to believe that the codefendants were joint venturers with Jose Rotger, a man who’d broken into a car and stolen objects from it while the codefendants stood nearby. On the evening of the theft, the codefendants and Rotger were walking down the street. Rotger looked into a parked car. The codefendants didn’t look into the car but stood nearby looking around. The three men kept walking, but Rotger looked into another car, while again the codefendants stood nearby. At this car, the defendant opened the passenger door, reached into the car, and then closed the door, leaving it unlocked. The three continued down the street. Officers who were watching them thought they were handing something back and…

Denno on The Firing Squad

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Deborah W. Denno (Fordham Law School) has posted The Firing Squad as a 'Known and Available Alternative Method of Execution' Post-Glossip on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In Glossip v. Gross, the United States Supreme Court’s most recent effort to...

News Scan

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Chicago: Murders Increase as Detectives Decrease:  The city with up to 90 shootings a week and a murder rate on track to hit the highest level in nineteen years is losing detectives.  Since 2008, the number of detectives in the Chicago Police Department has dropped from 1,252 to 922 according to this story by Flona Ortiz and Justice Madden of Reuters.  The clearance rate seems to have suffered, with just 46% of last years 480 murders solved, while other large cities solve an average of 68%.  Contributing to the difficulty in clearing murder cases is the fact that 61% of homicides are gang related and witnesses are afraid to get involved for fear of retaliation.   This story from CBS Chicago indicates what police are dealing with.  Appearing in court on a charge of attempted murder of a police officer, Kentrell Pledger, a 29 year-old gang member, told the judge "I should have smoked his ass.  He shot at me first, so get your story…

Can I Refuse a Field Sobriety Test when Pulled Over for DUI?

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Whenever a driver is stopped under suspicion of DUI, the law enforcement officer asks if the driver is willing to submit to a Standard Field Sobriety Test. There are reasons to refuse this test. In most cases, these tests are voluntary and an officer’s request does not require people to take them in most situations.These tests can be difficult to pass for even non-intoxicated individuals. If the test is not successfully passed, law enforcement can use the failure as incriminating evidence in a case against you. It is always best to refuse to take the test and gain the help of a DUI Arizona defense attorney for any ramifications of the refusal or the roadside stop, itself.Refusing to take a field sobriety test may be misconstrued as an admission of guilt. But a DUI defense attorney can explain the refusal away as part of a defense case for a DUI violation trial. By refusing a field sobriety test, you are not providing law enforcement with any new evidence of driving…

How A Bill Becomes a Law: Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution

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The Constitution’s Article I, Section 7 defines the process by which the federal government passes laws. Section 7 opens with the Origination Clause which requires “Bills for raising Revenue” to originate in the House of Representatives. The second clause and third clauses are known as both the “Presentment Clause” and “Lawmaking Clause”. The Presentment Clause is […]

Wednesday Open Thread:

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Busy work day. Turkey has taken over Jarabulus in Syria. The U.S. aided the effort with airstrikes. According to Twitter analysts, ISIS had already gone, so there wasn't much of a fight. More like they turned the town over. Still, it's... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Why Do We Have Criminal Laws?

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Because it's such a big part of our lives, it can be easy to just assume that having a criminal justice system is a necessity. However, like everything else in the government, the criminal law should not be blindly accepted without thinking about the purposes that it serves. Even though every culture has had some form of criminal justice system, it's only been over the past few centuries that people have thought about why we have it. After years of arguing, four purposes for having a criminal justice system have emerged. They are retribution, restraint, rehabilitation, and deterrence. Retribution One of the aims of criminal law is simply to make wrongdoers suffer. While this is a mainly emotional aspect of why we have criminal laws, it's still one of the biggest reasons why we feel the need for them. Punishing wrongdoers makes the person who has been victimized by the crime feel as if they have received justice. Additionally, seeing a wrongdoer being punished…

Local #BlackLivesMatter police policy agenda pragmatic, achievable

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The missus has been volunteering this year with the Austin Justice Coalition, and I really liked their recently announced agenda on police accountability, which included proposals to:Improve Austin PD's use of force policy (or in APD's Orwellian parlance, their "Response to Resistance" policy) by implementing recommendations from the Police Executive Research Forum and prioritizing deescalation during critical situations. There are quite a few specific proposals under that heading.Create avenues for the public to have meaningful input in the meet and confer process, which in Austin governs not just pay and benefits but all aspects of police discipline.Stop arresting people for Class C misdemeanors for which the penalty is only a fine and incarceration-upon-arrest would be a greater punishment than the maximum sentence. (The Texas Legislature will almost certainly see similar, conservative-backed legislation on this front next year, in response to the Sandra…

Arizona Sheriff Could Be Facing Criminal Charges

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It isn’t often that you see a federal judge asking a federal prosecutor to file criminal charges against a sitting sheriff, but according to Arizona Sheriff Could Be Facing Criminal Charges appeared first on Chapman Criminal Defense Firm.

Interesting exploration of possible harms of "Gateway Crimes"

Sufficient Evidence of a Probation Violation

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Probation violations need not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. All that’s required is sufficient evidence to “reasonably satisfy” the judge that a violation occurred. What constitutes competent evidence of a probation violation? And how much proof is enough? There aren’t many appellate cases that really dig into this question. Let’s start with a few things we know. First, the rules of evidence do not apply at a probation violation hearing. G.S. 15A-1345(e). Hearsay is admissible and, as described in this prior post, may play a prominent role in a trial judge’s finding of violation and ultimate decision to revoke. That’s true even when the alleged violation is a new criminal offense that has yet to result in a conviction. State v. Murchison, 367 N.C. 461 (2014). Second, even the fruits of an unlawful search may be admitted at a violation hearing. State v. Lombardo, 306 N.C. 594 (1982) (discussed here). Third, testimony from…

JAY HOGAN AND BILL RICHEY HAVE BOTH PASSED AWAY

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It was an era when being a criminal defense attorney meant being a trial lawyer. And two of the very best trial lawyers of that era were Jay Hogan and Bill Ritchey and both have passed away within the last 24 hours. Jay Hogan was one of the true superstars of the Florida criminal defense bar. He looked and talked and dressed and acted like a trial lawyer, and it was a case of if you can walk the walk and talk the talk. When judges got into trouble, Jay Hogan was called. People still talk about his performance in the Miami Court Broom Corruption case. When Jay Hogan walked into the courtroom, prosecutors took notice, judges took notice, and jurors, even through they may not have known his reputation, quickly learned they were in the presence of greatness. Bill Richey was an alumnus of the Dade State Attorneys Office when Richard Gerstein and then Janet Reno routinely turned out legal superstars. Bill was the type of prosecutor unrecognizable today- his word was his…

Possession of Child Pornography and the “Unit of Prosecution”

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This post examines a recent opinion from the Supreme Court of Minnesota:  State v. Bakken, 2016 WL 4126390 (Supreme Court of Minnesota 2016).  This court is examining an issue the Court of Appeals of New Mexico addressed last spring, in a case I turned into an earlier blog post. You might want to compare the two opinions. As courts usually do, the Supreme Court begins the opinion by explaining that[b]etween November 2012 and June 2013, appellant Timothy Bakken downloaded, viewed, and saved to his computer's hard drive seven pornographic images of minors engaged in sexual conduct. He downloaded and saved these photographs on different days—one each on November 9, December 2, December 9, December 14, March 5, April 28, and June 4. Each photograph depicted a different minor. After police seized Bakken's computer and discovered the images, he was charged with seven counts of Possession of Pornographic Work Involving Minors, in violation of Minnesota…

Would Trump and Lochte Have Received Acceptance of Responsibility Reductions?

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Criminal defense lawyers in federal courts in this nation on an average plead 35 defendants guilty for every one they take to trial. Accordingly, many criminal defense lawyers are not much more "trial lawyers" than the many big firm "litigators"...

"California Senate Sends Major Civil Forfeiture Bill to Governor’s Desk"

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From a press release from the Institute for Justice: Today, the California Senate voted to overhaul the state’s civil forfeiture laws by passing SB 443. The bill marks one of the nation’s most significant reforms of its kind. “Civil forfeiture...

Man Accused of Travelling From New York to New Port Richey To Meet Teen For Sex

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A New York man is accused of traveling to New Port Richey to have sex with a 13-year-old girl. On Tuesday night, at approximately 11 p.m., Pasco deputies were dispatched to the girl’s home in reference to an unwanted guest complaint. The caller advised that his wife found a 21-year-old man in the bedroom closet of his 13-year-old daughter. The man, 21, apparently told detectives he traveled from Staten Island, New York to New Port Richey by train to visit the teen.   The detective allegedly discovered the man had numerous nude photos of the victim on his cell phone. Detectives arrested the man for lewd and lascivious battery, traveling to meet a minor and possession of child pornography. According to the arrest report, the man told detectives he met the girl three years ago online and started “dating” her a year ago. He apparently told detectives he was unaware that the girl was 13.   The man was booked into the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center…

Steve Jumes Testifies Before Lawmakers on Asset Forfeiture Reform in Texas

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Asset Forfeiture Reform in Texas AUSTIN –  Some Texas lawmakers are calling for change to civil asset forfeiture and, on Tuesday, attorney Steve Jumes weighed in on the issue during a Senate Criminal Justice Committee hearing at the state capitol. Jumes, a partner at Varghese Summersett and a nationally recognized asset forfeiture attorney, was invited to testify by state Sen. Konni Burton, R-Colleyville, who is sponsoring Senate Bill 1863 calling for reform. Civil Asset Forfeiture Civil asset forfeiture is a legal tool that allows the government to seize and keep money and property believed to be linked to illegal activity – even if the owner is never convicted or even charged with a crime. This practice has proved to be lucrative for law enforcement and, in some cases, has led to abuses of power. For example, in 2013 Tarrant County retained approximately $4.35 million in forfeiture proceeds. Proposed Legislation would Reform Asset Forfeitures in Texas…
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