A Ponzi scheme is a scheme in which unrealistically high rates of return are promised to investors. When new investors are lured by these promises and provide their funds to a money manager or financial advisor, money that the new investors pay in is used to enrich the person orchestrating the fraud scheme as well […]
READ MOREDeath Penalty Faces Biggest Test in Decades
Death penalty in the US is currently facing one of its biggest tests in decades. While capital punishment is legal in 36 nations including China, Japan and the US and it is legal in the 32 American states, three death row inmates in Oklahoma are now challenging new experimental drugs that are used in lethal […]
READ MORECA 4th District on Warantless Search of Probationer
A police officer can not use a probationer’s search condition to retroactively justify a warrantless detention that begins before the officer learns of the condition, the CA Fourth District Court of Appeal held 1/4/07 in People v. Miller, G033762. The officer in Miller stopped a car purely because of the car was in a dark […]
READ MORECA 1st on Detention By Spotlight, Officer Tone
A police officer who stopped his car about 35 feet away from a man, shined his spotlight directly at the man, and then began to walk briskly toward him while questioning him about his legal status, did in fact “detain” the man by taking these actions, implicating the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and […]
READ MOREOperation Rotten Tomato Case Ends in Guilty Plea
In a fascinating case arising out of the Eastern District of California that I’ve watched for the past couple of years, the government has vigorously pursued the former owner of a California based food company. The head of SK Foods, Scott Salyer, entered a surprising guilty plea Thursday to one count of racketeering and one […]
READ MOREThree Strikes: A Mistake That Led to Mass Incarceration
In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed an omnibus crime bill into law. The bill included a “three strikes” provision at the federal level, which imposed a mandatory life sentence for a criminal convicted of a violent felony after having two prior convictions. These two prior convictions could be for a huge variety of different crimes, […]
READ MOREOpenings in Two High Profile Criminal Trials: Clemens & Edwards
In former Senator John Edwards’ trial, opening statements have concluded and Edwards’ former staffer, Andrew Young, is currently on the stand, according to the Greensboro, North Carolina, News & Record. Assistant United States Attorney David Harbach emphasized Edwards’ deception and manipulation of those around him in order to preserve his chance to become President. The […]
READ MOREThe Top 10 (plus one) Drug Law Stories of 2007
Another year is wrapping up and so it is once again time to consider the most interesting drug law stories of the last 365 days. Keep in mind that I’m a California oriented blogger and my interests have to do primarily with issues that are either in criminal law or in areas of our national […]
READ MOREJudges Allows Entertainment Videos to be Used as Evidence in Trial
A federal racketeering case is currently proceeding in Brooklyn against an alleged drug gang and the U.S. District Attorney prosecuting the case asked the judge to admit mafia tattoos into evidence, as well as to admit YouTube music videos that were made by the alleged gang leader. The Brooklyn judge ruled that the videos were […]
READ MOREPeople v. Laborde: Cruise Ship Searches At The Border Generally Require No Evidence
A search of a cruise ship stateroom conducted by customs officials in Long Beach after the ship had docked on arrival from a foreign location was a “routine” border search, requiring no suspicion of criminal activity, the Second District Court of Appeal concluded today in People v. Laborde, B199726. That decision meant that a guy […]
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