Legal Recreational Marijuana!
Yes, two states, Colorado and Washington, are the first to do what many expected would be done years ago and legalized recreational marijuana in Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012′s election. Oregon, however, was not as forward looking and their recreational marijuana initiative lost with 55% opposed. Now this is not medical marijuana, which has been legal […]
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Jerry McDevitt on the Wecht Trial – Part II
Jerry McDevitt, famed Pittsburgh trial lawyer, comments on Dr. Wecht’s trial and his successful defense: Q: The trial of this case ended in a hung jury in April of last year, tell us a little bit about your theories of defense and your strategies in trying the case. Mr. McDevitt: It was obvious going into […]
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Police Shop for Drugs Online
That’s right at least 21 people were stupid enough to advertise the sale of prescription drugs on Craigslist. One person even mentioned in his ad that “no law enforcement” should answer. Strangely enough NYPD, who had been working for a while on “Operation Dot Com”, ignored this plea and arrested that person and 20 others […]
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Will Obama crack down on Legal Weed
Don’t Try Mr. President. Just Don’t Try When the New York Times published, “Administration Weighs Legal Action Against States That Legalized Marijuana Use”, those with strong opinions were quick to jump on it. Writing for Huffington Post, Radley Balko said: “Notice what expressions do not show in the New York Times piece: pivot, possibly stopping […]
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How to Lose a Debate on Drug Policy – A Primer
YouTube video that shows how drug policy reformers can ensure that they lose the public debate. It’s a BBC interview with David Blunkett, the former British home secretary who moved marijuana from Class B to Class C in England, making it a less “serious” drug for purposes of criminal prosecution, and Rabbi Aryeh Sufrin of […]
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Salvia as “Legal Buzz”
I thought this article from an NBC Atlanta affiliate (entitled “Salvia: A Legal Buzz?”) was going to be about the “buzz” around criminalizing the drug salvia divinorum — which is something that a handful of states have done or are considering. Instead, it’s almost a commercial for salvia use, talking about the fact that salvia […]
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Atlanta Securities Lawyer Gregory Bartko Sentenced to 23 Years for Securities Fraud
Gregory Bartko, a securities lawyer and Atlanta resident, was sentenced last Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina to 23 years’ imprisonment for securities fraud, as reported in the Columbus, Indiana, Republic. Bartko was convicted in 2010 at the conclusion of a 13-day trial on six counts of securities […]
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Lawyer beats Mercedes – Like a Boss
Vince Megna is the self-proclaimed “King of the Lemon Law” and proved it last week when he won a judgment over Mercedes for $618,000. Megna’s client, Marco Marquez, purchased a Mercedes-Benz 2005 E-Class sedan for just over $56k on the assumption that the car would run properly. It didn’t and had to be repaired almost immediately. […]
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Brett Chidester and Salvia: “Suicide Solution” Redux
I’ve been very reluctant to write about the case of Brett Chidester, the Delaware teenager who killed himself in January 2006 and whose parents have been pushing for the criminalization of salvia divinorum. I’m reluctant simply because the fact of losing a child is overwhelmingly tragic, and I don’t have any desire to wade into […]
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Do Stand Your Ground laws worsen racial disparities?
Do Stand Your Ground Laws Provoke Racial Disparities Inside The Justice System With some observers believing how Stand Your Ground (SYG) laws warp the nation’s justice system, the discussion isn’t over — by a long shot. In state-jurisdictions where SYG laws are in place, murders are two-timed as apt to be determined “justifiable” as states […]
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