Back in May of 2006 this blog noted some of the potentially complicated issues that can arise in criminal cases where the defendant claims his or her behavior was related to use of the drug Ambien. The issue arises in cases like the one I noted last June where a woman claimed that the drug […]
READ MORESleeping Pills vs. Salvia and the Rhetoric of Risk
Many times when legislators speak about the need to criminalize the hallucinogenic plant salvia divinorum, they cite the risk that somebody could drive when under its influence, a scenario that suggests that salvia is dangerous even if people normally just sit around in their living room while they use it and don’t harm anyone. (See, […]
READ MOREPlea Bargaining
Prosecutors Not Disclosing Extrajudicial Consequences of a Plea Bargain Plea bargaining has become the norm in criminal cases, with 97 percent of federal convictions and 94 percent of state convictions resulting from guilty pleas. Plea bargains have become more and more common as prosecutors increasingly threaten defendants with serious charges carrying mandatory minimum sentences […]
READ MORENew York City homicide rate for 2015 tops last year’s tally, data shows
In a week punctuated by the killing of a 2-month-old boy in the Bronx, New York City’s homicide rate has passed 2014’s record low tally, with 339 killings through Sunday, according to the latest NYPD data. For all of 2014, New York City reported 333 homicides — the lowest number since the modern era of […]
READ MOREDOJ Aims to Fix Crime Lab Issues
DOJ Puts Forth Plan to Fix Problems at Crime Labs- But It’s Not Enough When prosecutors present evidence in court, the evidence should be accurate, as a defendant’s future hangs in the balance. Much of the evidence that prosecutors present comes from crime labs, which conduct testings of DNA, do hair analyses, and evaluate a […]
READ MORENaval Base on Jeju
I am an American, but I have lived and worked in South Korea as an ESL teacher for the past ten years. America has a few military bases set up throughout Korea, which causes concern and problems throughout the peninsula. Some of the old timers claim that the American military presence is necessary due to […]
READ MOREUnderstanding Hate Crime Laws
It is a longstanding principle that people should not be punished for bad thoughts, but only for bad actions. A person can think about breaking the law, but should only be charged with an offense when a step is taken towards violating the law as people cannot be punished for thought crimes. There is, however, […]
READ MOREMADD Pushes for Nationwide Interlock Systems
The Associated Press notes today that Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has kicked off a campaign to encourage all states to pass laws requiring “breath-test interlock devices” in the cars of people who have been convicted once of drunken driving. “Only New Mexico has such a law for first offenders; 45 states and the District of Columbia […]
READ MORESheldon Silvers Albany NY
Argentina and New York each got a wake-up call recently. In Argentina, the first anti-Peronist in 70-years has been elected as President while, in New York, a long-term, state legislator was convicted. Carlos Menem, a former Argentine President, has been convicted of embezzlement, the same charge brought against Sheldon Silver in New York. While Peronism […]
READ MOREDo police records compromise privacy of victims
Some police agencies do. Some police agencies don’t. And According to one Mid State Police chief, there is no law that mandates it gets done. We’re talking about redacting private, sensitive information on police reports that any citizen can obtain. The question is what information is necessary as part of the public document and what […]
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