Category: Criminal law

Courts, Criminal law

Marijuana Impairment DUI Arrests Face Challenges Due To Inaccurate And Unproven Impairment Studies

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Marijuana LeafThe standard for which Marijuana Impairment presumptive levels in DUI prosecutions are likely to be under scrutiny due to what some are regarding as unproven scientific evidence. Presumptive impairment levels for THC concentration in blood samples might not satisfy legal requirements from an actual driving impairment perspective. They could in-fact be regarded arbitrary and not scientifically supported.

States do have the legal authority to establish presumptive impairment levels, that is a measurable quantity of a substance sufficient to establish an element of DUI. In fact while the present presumptive alcohol level in the United States for ordinary drivers is .08, states have established .04 for commercial vehicle driving and some states have .02 for those under twenty one years of age who violate analog status offenses that do not define impairment as an element.

Now, the American Automobile Association’s Foundation for Traffic Safety cited a study that differences between individuals can be wide and greatly varied regarding impairment at a set blood THC level. While some drivers show obvious signs of impairment at low levels of THC blood concentration, other persons can have greatly elevated readings and show no outward appearance of signs of DUI.

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Academia, Criminal law, Society

UCLA Professor Killed By Former Doctoral Student

klug.w.sThe academic world lost a gifted member in the murder of UCLA professor William Klug, who was gunned down by a former student Mainak Sarkar, 38.  Sarkar is a former doctoral student that Klug mentored and was upset about his grades, according to police. Sarkar left what is described as a “kill list” that led police to the body of a Minnesota woman who was gunned down in her home.  The list included another professor’s name, but thankfully that professor was not hurt.

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Criminal law, Politics, Society

Former Clinton IT Advisor To Take The Fifth In Deposition On Email Scandal

Hillary_Clinton_Testimony_to_House_Select_Committee_on_BenghaziThe former information technology adviser to Hillary Clinton is reportedly intending to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at a deposition next week in answering questions about Clinton’s decision to use an unsecure personal server exclusively in her communications as Secretary of State. Bryan Pagliano made the disclosure in a court filing where he also sought to prevent the videotaping of his invocation of the privilege against self-incrimination.

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Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law, Media, Politics, Society

UCLA Students Unsuccessfully Move To Silence Conservative Speaker Before A Bomb Threat Is Called In To Police

Ucla_logoWe have been discussing the rollback of free speech on university and college campuses, particularly when it comes to conservatives or right-to-life advocates. As discussed recently, conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulous has been the target of some of the most egregious effort to silence certain speakers and prevent other students from hearing opposing views. The latest such protest was held at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). After protesters blocked fellow students and faculty from entering to hear Yiannopoulous, campus police found an alternative avenue for the audience. However, a bomb threat was later called in and the room cleared by police. Once again, there does not appear to be outrage at the effort of students to block access to such speeches for other students and the denial of free speech on campus. I have no problem with protests but preventing speakers from being heard runs against the core values of an academic community.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Media, Politics

Clinton Offers New Explanation For Email Scandal

Hillary_Clinton_Testimony_to_House_Select_Committee_on_BenghaziI was on NPR yesterday on the Diane Rehm Show to discuss the Clinton email scandal. Appearing on the show was Brian Fallon, spokesperson for Hillary Clinton, who offered a new and rather implausible spin on the worsening scandal. Fallon said that Clinton was relying on her knowledge that Colin Powell used a personal email account as the reason that she thought her server was approved.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Can You Guess What This Man Was Charged With?

colinmurphy16If you answered the earlier mugshot challenge correctly, you are a genius. If you answer this one, you are a God. This is Colin Murphy, 23, who was arrested at a Kroger store in Cincinnati after stripping naked (apparently a trend this week) and defecated on a self-checkout scanner. I assume that folks moved to the next counter for a while.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Religion

Saudi Doctor Delivers Healthy Baby . . . Father Shoots Doctor For Exposing His Wife In The Presence Of A Male

220px-KFMC_Main_HospitalA Saudi husband’s view of the strict Islamic code led to his shooting a doctor despite the successful delivery of the man’s son. The doctor was also a man and the husband was irate that a female was not asked to deliver the baby in accordance with Islamic values. Muhannad Al Zabn, delivered the baby at the King Fahad Medical City in Riyadh and was later treated for his own gun shot wounds.

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Animals, Bizarre, Criminal law, Media, Society

Many Seek “Justice For Harambe” After Gorilla Is Killed To Protect Child Who Entered Enclosure

34BF5B5D00000578-3615783-Some_said_Harambe_appeared_to_be_guarding_and_defending_the_boy_-a-9_1464591377443We recently discussed the tragedy in Chile where a man sought to commit suicide by jumping into a lion enclosure at the zoo — resulting in two lions being shot and killed to protect him. Now in Cincinnati, a parent failed to properly supervise her 4-year-old son who fell into gorilla enclosure. Even though the lowland gorilla did not seem to be trying to hurt the child, he was nevertheless killed to guarantee the safety of the child. Many commentators have called for the parents to be prosecuted for the loss of Harambe.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Religion

“I’m Muslim, Don’t Panic”: Three Muslim Migrants Savagely Beat Young Iraqi Who Wore Satirical T-Shirt

Screen-Shot-2016-05-29-at-6.11.30-PM-650x571Any Iraqi migrant spotted a t-shirt that seemed to capture the feelings of many Muslims who face assumptions that they are dangerous or unhinged. The 23-year-old wore the t-shirt reading “I’m Muslim, Don’t Panic” back to his asylum home in Berlin and was promptly almost beaten to death by three Muslim refugees who decided that the t-shirt was anti-Islamic.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Déjà Vu: Michigan Man Arrested For Passing Counterfeiting $100 Bill To Stripper

UnknownThis glum fellow is Stephen Gidcumb who has been arrested for counterfeiting. What is interesting about the case is that Gidcumb used his personal computer to generate the $100 bill and the counterfeiting was discovered by a strip joint. Indeed, Gidcumb appears to have returned to the club not long after passing on the fake bill. Not surprisingly, the club is named Déjà Vu.

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Congress, Criminal law, Media, Politics

“The Mystery Emails”: State Department Report References Key Emails That Were Not Previously Turned Over [UPDATED]

Hillary_Clinton_Testimony_to_House_Select_Committee_on_BenghaziHillary Clinton agreed to a brief interview on the stinging rebuke found in the Inspector General Report that we discussed yesterday. The interview lacks questions on most of the contradictions that we discussed and Clinton insists that the report actually vindicates her — a truly breathtaking spin. Unfortunately, the reporter seemed to move as quickly as possible away from the report to turn to Donald Trump — with no follow up questions. However, there is a far more intriguing issue raised by the emails discussed in the report. Some of the emails revealed that Clinton believed that her personal, unsecure server had been hacked and she stated her desire to use a separate system to protect her personal emails from review — both serious contradictions to prior statements. Yet, the November 2010 reportedly was not among those turned over to the State Department. Indeed, at least three emails had not been seen before. Clinton previously insisted that all work related emails were turned over while her staff deleted personal emails.

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Congress, Criminal law, Media, Politics, Society

State Department Refutes Key Statements By Clinton On Email Scandal; Finds That She Violated Clear Rules

Hillary_Clinton_Testimony_to_House_Select_Committee_on_BenghaziWhile the New York Times has reported that the “State Department’s inspector general sharply criticized Hillary Clinton’s exclusive use of a private email server” and “undermined some of Mrs. Clinton’s previous statements”, the report did far more than criticize and undermine. It directly contradicted Clinton’s assertions on a number of key points. It further indicated not only clear violations of the State Department rules, but rules that were made clear to Clinton and her staff.  (The Washington Post took a more critical view of Clinton’s statements in light of the report).  Moreover, while this report deals with State regulations and rules (as well as the Federal Records Act), it does have bearing on the ongoing criminal investigation to the degree that it shows knowledge or reckless disregard of the security protocols and rules. It does show precisely that.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Society

British Supreme Court Gags Media From Printing Names In Widely Discussed Elton John Sex Scandal

sun-front-pageThe rapid decline of free speech in England accelerated further this month with a ruling of the British high court banning The Sun newspaper from naming celebrities involved in a sordid sex story despite the fact that all three names are widely known and discussed on the Internet and non-British newspapers. Indeed, papers like the Toronto Star have running virtually mocking accounts of Elton John, his Toronto-born husband David Furnish, and British businessman Daniel Laurence. Elton John is obviously the quintessential public figure who has participated in a wide range of stories and programs on his family life with Furnish and their children. It is a chilling example of England’s rollback on basic free speech and free press protections.

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