Category: Criminal law

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Media, Politics, Society

Seventh Circuit Overturns Five Counts From Blagojevich Conviction

Rod_Blagojevich_mug_shotI have been a critic of aspects of the case against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Blagojevich, 58, was convicted of 18 counts of corruption and given a 14-year sentence. The most problematic charge in my view concerned Blagojevich’s wheeling and dealing for the appointment of a successor to fill the 2008 vacant U.S. Senate seat of then-President-Elect Barack Obama. Now a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has overturned five of the counts specifically dealing with that vacancy controversy.

Continue reading “Seventh Circuit Overturns Five Counts From Blagojevich Conviction” →

Criminal law, Media, Society

Cold Injustice? TNT Star Kelly Siegler Accused of a Pattern Of Prosecutorial Misconduct

9AsBNK_n_400x400Cold_Justice_LogoTelevision personality Kelly Siegler is under fire this month for what critics are saying is a history of unethical conduct as a prosecutor, including the hiding of evidence in capital punishment cases. After a career as a Harris County prosecutor, Siegler became the star in a reality series on TNT called Cold Justice, now in its third season. Siegler’s allegedly checkered history as a prosecutor is reminiscent of the controversy surrounding Nancy Grace, who was denounced an an unethical prosecutor who violated the rights of accused persons but has been retained by CNN as a show host and legal commentator.

Continue reading “Cold Injustice? TNT Star Kelly Siegler Accused of a Pattern Of Prosecutorial Misconduct” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

Richard Did It: Seventy-Year-Old Woman Sentenced In Trans-Fraud Case

There is a criminal case that is truly a reflection of our changing times. A 70-year-old transgender woman named Richelle Dee McDonald was convicted of stealing nearly $250,000 in federal disability benefits. What makes this different is that it was committed by both Richelle and Richard McDonald, who are one and the same. McDonald applied for benefits as a man while working simultaneously as a woman during much of the same period she was receiving SSI payments.

Continue reading “Richard Did It: Seventy-Year-Old Woman Sentenced In Trans-Fraud Case” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Religion, Society

Rainbows Make You Gay: Saudi Religious Police Arrest School Administrator For Having Rainbow Image On Building

Rainbow-House-x400Saudi Arabia has given the world another bizarre example of life under the strict Islamic code and values of the Kingdom. The Talaee Al-Noor International School in Riyadh painted an inviting and playful rainbow image on its building. The Kingdom’s religious police quickly swooped in an arrested the administrator, fined the school $25,000, and ordered the facade painted over. The reason? Rainbows are seen as “emblems Of homosexuality.” It is not clear what the religious police will do with naturally occurring rainbows.

Continue reading “Rainbows Make You Gay: Saudi Religious Police Arrest School Administrator For Having Rainbow Image On Building” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Media, Military, Politics, Society

Wesley Clark Calls For New American Internment Camps

220px-General_Wesley_Clark_official_photograph,_editedRetired general and former Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark has caused a stir with an interview with MSNBC in which he appeared to call for the establishment of World War II-style internment camps to be revived for “disloyal Americans.” Clark used the infamous American internment camps for Japanese, German, and Italian Americans as a model: “if someone supported Nazi Germany at the expense of the United States, we didn’t say that was freedom of speech, we put him in a camp, they were prisoners of war.”

Continue reading “Wesley Clark Calls For New American Internment Camps” →

Criminal law, Society

Rhode Island Man Arrested For 41st Offense In Two States

8330477_GThe arrest of Brandon Hayes, 30, in Rhode Island may have seemed like a routine traffic stop and possession case until police officers checked his record. Hayes had succeeded in racking up his 41st arrest in two states. That is 38 arrests in Massachusetts and two in Rhode Island including gun and drug charges. The case is a prototypical example of habitual offender in the criminal justice system.

Continue reading “Rhode Island Man Arrested For 41st Offense In Two States” →

Criminal law, Politics

Maryland Legislator Charged With Bizarre Conduct Outside Ex-Husband’s House

1198-1-06950bA Maryland state lawmaker was recently charged with trespassing and indecent exposure for allegedly baring her breast during a dispute with her ex-husband at his home. Delegate Ariana B. Kelly, a Montgomery County Democrat, was charged with trespass and indecent exposure in a confrontation with Barak Sanford after dropping off their two children.

Continue reading “Maryland Legislator Charged With Bizarre Conduct Outside Ex-Husband’s House” →

Criminal law, Society

Police Seek To Identify Car Suspected In Murder Of Florida State University Law Professor

1405809806000-Dan-MarkelIt is hard to believe that it has been a year since the murder of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel on July 18, 2014. There has been no arrests in the case but this week the police released a picture of the car that they believe may have been involved in the crime.

Continue reading “Police Seek To Identify Car Suspected In Murder Of Florida State University Law Professor” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law

Law Enforcement Investigators Need To Carefully Review Tenth Circuit Ruling On Admissibility Of Confessions After Promising Defendant Immunity During Initial Investigations

250px-US-CourtOfAppeals-10thCircuit-SealBy Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

In Sharp v. Roling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit granted a habeas corpus petition by a Kansas woman convicted in state court of kidnapping and felony murder. The evidence in question was what the Court determined to be an involuntary confession elicited by detectives on the promise that the defendant would not be jailed in exchange for her statements.

The significance of this ruling should establish a new practice that any offer by law enforcement that can be considered an offer of immunity from prosecution, regardless of whether formal or informal, will generate a high probability of suppression of any confession by a potential defendant.

Continue reading “Law Enforcement Investigators Need To Carefully Review Tenth Circuit Ruling On Admissibility Of Confessions After Promising Defendant Immunity During Initial Investigations” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Science, Society

Federal Court Orders DNA Testing In Rape Case Over Objections From Obama Administration

200px-US-CourtOfAppeals-9thCircuit-Seal.svgdepartment-of-justice-logo1The Justice Department has lost a major case where it sought to bar efforts to determine if a convicted rapist is in fact innocent. The Obama Administration argued in United States v. Watson that Bill Watson should not be able to use a new DNA test that was not available when he was convicted of a rape in 2006. Despite dozens of cases where convicted individuals were proven innocent, the Obama Administration fought to prevent the use of this test even though the Innocence Project offered to shoulder all of the costs. The position of the Justice Department was inimical to the values of due process and the rule of law, in my view. The United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit rejected the highly technical claims that neither Watson nor the court should knew the true identity of source of key evidence found at the crime scene.

Continue reading “Federal Court Orders DNA Testing In Rape Case Over Objections From Obama Administration” →

Criminal law, International, Media, Religion, Society

“Life Is Short and Bitter”: Tennessee Terrorist Reportedly Posted Islamic Messages Before Deadly Rampage

2A98AE1D00000578-3164129-Smirking_Muhammad_Abdulazeez_24_pictured_has_been_identified_as_-a-5_1437092333393We have previously discussed the disconnect in some individuals, particularly ISIS recruits, who live relatively normal lives in the West only to become suddenly radicalized and violent as Islamic extremists. Chattanooga gunman Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez could be such a case, though police are still trying to confirm the motivation for the attacks. The attack has been labeled “domestic terrorism.” Abdulazeez, 24, murdered four Marines and wounded a police officer on Thursday in shootings at two military recruiting and training centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee. What is now known is that he posted a couple posts shortly before the attack discussing how Muslims should act in this short life and how they had to resist the corrupting influence of life around them in proving their faith.

Continue reading ““Life Is Short and Bitter”: Tennessee Terrorist Reportedly Posted Islamic Messages Before Deadly Rampage” →

Criminal law, International

Hong Kong Magistrate Finds Protester Guilty of Assaulting Police Officer With Her Breast

HongKongPoliceLogo.svgWe have seen police in the United States charge people with battery or assault over air kisses, bubbles, hugs, pillow fights, errant french fries, and even flatulence, snowballs, and raspberries. Now a court in Hong Kong convicted a 30-year-old named Ng Lai-ying of assaulting a police officer by hitting him with her breast during a protest in March.

Continue reading “Hong Kong Magistrate Finds Protester Guilty of Assaulting Police Officer With Her Breast” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

Cemetery Worker Arrested For Allegedly Using Veteran Markers For Flooring In This Garage

ht_cemetary_3_kab_150714_16x9_992Kevin Maynard, 59, wants to plead guilty and I can understand why. He is charged with a crime that few jurors would not recoil at. He is a worker at the Rhode Island Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery and is accused of stealing more than 150 granite gravestones to pave the floor of his garage and shed.

Continue reading “Cemetery Worker Arrested For Allegedly Using Veteran Markers For Flooring In This Garage” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

Federal Judge Orders Dinesh D’Souza To Continue Psychological Counseling Despite Contrary Expert Recommendation

220px-Dinesh_D'SouzaI am rather perplexed by a ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman to order not just four more years of community service for filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza but continuation of psychological counseling despite the countervailing findings of two experts in the case. Judge Berman was on solid ground in much of his opinion on the conditions of the prior sentencing order. While tough, the defense was trying to curtail key aspects of the order. However, the counseling component does concern me.

Continue reading “Federal Judge Orders Dinesh D’Souza To Continue Psychological Counseling Despite Contrary Expert Recommendation” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

China Arrests Over 100 Lawyers and Activists In Latest Crackdown on Human Rights

225px-mao_zedongThe Chinese government is carrying out another infamous sweep of human rights lawyers and activists with over 100 people arrested nationwide. The authoritarian communist regime has offered preposterous excuses for the arrests but the message is clear: human rights will not be tolerated in the worker’s paradise that is China. Indeed, with pollution and corruption choking the life out of the public, the communist rulers still view human rights lawyers as the priority danger for the country.

Continue reading “China Arrests Over 100 Lawyers and Activists In Latest Crackdown on Human Rights” →