It was not error for a trial court to refuse to apply Penal Code section 654 to stay multiple sentences for sale of methadone even though the separate sales all occurred during a single football game, the Third District Court of Appeal held 12/16/08 in In re Noelle M. (C056780). Section 654 of course is typically […]
READ MOREHabits of the Common Drug Dealer
The post about Honda Accords being “common” drug dealer cars made me wonder what else the courts say is common drug dealer behavior. So after a little Westlaw browsing, here is a list of behaviors that suggest an individual may be a drug dealer: 1. Whistling (State v. Dunson, 2006 WL 400144 (Ohio App. 2 Dist., […]
READ MORELessons from famous lawyer Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz, the youngest professor of law in history, has some drastically bold ideas for the American legal system. First and foremost, Dershowitz is against the Second Amendment. He has been extremely vocal about gun controls and believes that 100 percent of all guns should be banned. He points out that the perception that guns […]
READ MOREHonda Accords: The Drug Dealer Car of Choice
The Fifth Circuit issued an unpublished opinion Friday in a case called U.S. v. Olvera (No. 04-11499). It’s a relatively unremarkable case about drug evidence uncovered after a search pursuant to the automobile exception. The one thing that’s intriguing about it is the justification given by the agent who stopped the car: “[The suspect] left one of […]
READ MOREShould Prison Sentences Be Based on Crimes Not Yet Committed?
The U.S. Constitution requires due process before a criminal defendant can be deprived of life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness. It is also a fundamental tenet of the U.S. justice system that defendants cannot be prosecuted for things they might do or for things they think about doing- which is why even charges of […]
READ MOREThird Circuit on Qualified Immunity for Heavy-Handed Police Tactics in Drug Bust
The Third Circuit issued a reasonable ruling Monday in a really terrifying case called Couden v. Duffy (No. 04-1732). The case concerns a 2001 drug bust gone wrong in Newark, Delaware, in which FBI and local police, with guns drawn, chased a mom and her teenage kids, threw a flashlight through the window of the […]
READ MOREConrad Black Re-Sentenced to an Additional 13 Months’ Imprisonment
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve of the Northern District of Illinois re-sentenced Lord Conrad Black, former CEO of newspaper giant Hollinger International, Inc., to serve the remainder of his sentence, as reported in Canada’s Globe and Mail. Black has served 29 months of his original 78 month sentence, imposed following his conviction […]
READ MOREFEDS DROP LANCE ARMSTRONG INVESTIGATION
Hello again blog readers. After a year hiatus, I’m rejoining the blogosphere. My thanks to my law partner, Anthony Lake, for keeping things running in my absence. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles announced Friday (no coincidence that the announcement came Friday in an effort by the government to avoid unfavorable press), that is was […]
READ MOREHow Do Human Traffickers Target Children?
Many people in the United States who are being trafficked for sex are U.S. citizens, and the average age at which victims are first trafficked is between 11 and 14. Both wealthy and poor children are at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking, and often the pimps that first solicit victims to be trafficked […]
READ MOREVermont Judge Rejects the Hudson v. Michigan Approach to No-Knock Warrants
A federal trial judge in Vermont last week ruled that the police’s failure to knock at a residence before executing a search warrant is a violation of the Vermont state constitution, even if it is no longer a violation of the federal constitution after the Supreme Court’s decision in Hudson v. Michigan. As the federal […]
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