Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, Orin Kerr has some harsh wordsfor the California Supreme Court’s reasoning in People v. Brendlin, the June 2006 decision in which it said that the passenger of a car stopped by police is not “seized” for Fourth Amendment purposes. Kerr calls Brendlin “one of the nuttiest Fourth Amendment decisions I […]
READ MORESavannah Attorney Arrested on Counterfeiting Charges
Savannah attorney, Arthur Gibson, 63, was arrested last week on counterfeiting charges after an investigation that lasted several months. During the course of the investigation, as detailed in this complaint and affidavit, Gibson purchased $10,000 of counterfeit currency for $2,000. As detailed in the affidavit, Gibson came to the attention of the U.S. Secret Service following his […]
READ MOREWhitey Bulger’s Girlfriend to Plead Guilty
Whitey Bulger’s longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, is set to enter a guilty plea today in federal court in Boston to multiple counts relating to her 16 years on the run with the notorious Boston gangster. The Bulger case has fascinated us for almost 2 decades after his flight to avoid prosecution just before his indictment in […]
READ MOREUnited States v. Rodriquez: Supreme Court on “Serious Drug Offense” under the Armed Career Criminal Act
The Supreme Court today handed down United States v. Rodriquez, a sentencing case involving the interaction between state and federal law for people with prior “serious drug offense” convictions. I’m too slammed to do a writeup, but here’s the link to the opinion. Prof. Berman has a little analysis at the Sentencing Law and Policy […]
READ MOREErrors in DNA Match Calculations Show the Fallibility of Scientific Evidence
For many criminal defendants, DNA evidence is the key piece of prosecutorial evidence that results in conviction. A prosecutor has the burden of proving a case beyond a reasonable doubt, and if there are questions about whether you were the person who committed the crime, DNA evidence goes a long way towards showing you were […]
READ MORELengthy Prison Sentences Can Come from Not Cooperating with Police Investigations
Can individuals who don’t actually commit a criminal act be sentenced to prison for helping to cover up evidence when a crime is committed? The answer to this question is a resounding yes. If you help a friend after-the-fact or obstruct a police investigation, you can face serious criminal charges. Three college friends of Dzhokhar […]
READ MOREDepartment of Justice Focused on Preventing Healthcare Fraud
In mid-May, the Assistant Attorney General spoke to the American Bar Association about the problem of health care fraud. According to the Department of Justice transcript of the remarks, the focus of the discussion was on the Criminal Division’s efforts to fight against fraudulent claims made by healthcare providers. Healthcare fraud takes many forms, including […]
READ MOREAbortion Laws in New York State
Mets vs. Yankees. Subway vs. Bus. Upper East Side vs. Queens. Pro-life vs. Pro-choice. The number of topics that can start an argument in New York City is unlimited. Possibly none as much as the subject of abortion. Despite New York abortion laws being less restrictive than many states, the state does have some abortion […]
READ MOREAssault Weapon Ban
Even a New York Judge can’t get the Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo or the NY State Police to release what could be embarrassing numbers. Despite an order issued by New York Judge Thomas J. McNamara, and required by the SAFE Act, The state officials are dragging their feet. Release of Data Resisted Arguing that […]
READ MOREJuvenile Justice Reform Could Help NY Teens Accused of Crimes
It is never a good thing when a teenager faces criminal charges, but the biggest nightmare for teens and parents is when a young person ends up being charged as an adult. Teenagers do not have the maturity or knowledge to make informed and rationale decisions or to weigh the consequences of their actions the […]
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