Here is today’s opinion from the First Circuit in U.S. v. Ortiz(No. 05-1718), a case having to do with conspiracy charges filed against a guy who was driving around individuals involved in a drug deal and letting the dealers use his phone. In terms of drug law, I’m not sure that there’s much to it other […]
READ MOREHow To Avoid Facebook Dating Scams
If you want to avoid falling victim to Facebook dating scams, you need to learn how to spot the signs that the man you have met is actually a love rat. Many emotional con men deliberately target women over 40through social networking sites but a few simple precautions can ensure you don’t end up falling […]
READ MOREKentucky Places Tough Restrictions on Out-of-State Pharmacies
Holy commerce clause, Batman! Kentucky has just approved “a beefed-up application for out-of-state prescription drug suppliers that authorities say will help them track and catch companies selling pills to Kentucky’s black market,” according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. Constitutionally problematic? Perhaps not, given that the regulating health and safety is a core state interest. But it […]
READ MOREWhitehouse.gov Expresses Support for Removing Ban on Federal Funding for Needle Exchange, Calls for the Crack-Powder Disparity to Be “Completely Eliminated”
Transform notes an important detail on the just-revamped White House website: a reference on the “Civil Rights” page to the fact that Obama “supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users.” Also notable: the page expresses support for drug courts, calls for an end to […]
READ MORETechnology for Lawyers
As the chair of the local bar’s computer and technology committee, I often get questions about computers, software and other things. Here are a few of my recommendations for the trial lawyer. Computer – I would go with a lightweight laptop over about anything. Portability is key. I use a Dell Latitude D400. Although, if you […]
READ MOREReuters: DEA Using NSA Intelligence For Drug Investigations
I’ve stayed away from writing about privacy and the NSA, mostly because I have mixed feelings about the government collecting massive amounts of metadata for terrorism investigations. I can understand the concept of having a haystack in order to find the needle. That doesn’t mean I was comfortable with the idea. Then there were other […]
READ MOREJustice Souter on Criminal Law, Part II
Our summary retrospective of Justice Souter’s contributions to the Supreme Court’s criminal law jurisprudence continues. In addition to writing for the majority in many important criminal decisions, Justice Souter has authored concurring decisions in many cases, including criminal cases. While the Justice’s concurrences in criminal cases have typically been brief, Justice Souter has frequently raised […]
READ MOREInternet Tobacco Sale Lawsuit
The AP reports: “A group of cigarette distributors and sellerssued New York Wednesday seeking to overturn a law banning Internet, telephone and mail order tobacco sales.” The case is called Association of Responsible Cigarette Sellers v. New York, and the complaint is here. The commerce clause arguments here piggyback a bit on (but also differs from) last […]
READ MOREAmericans Fear Crime
Are you afraid of crime? Do you think about becoming the victim of crime often? According to the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, many Americans fear becoming the victim of crime often. As I will show in this article, the fear crosses all linessex, race, education, age and profession. Subjects were asked if they were […]
READ MORECriminal Records For Residents Of New York
The State of New York keeps several different archives of information on criminal records. However, a minor problem is that majority of these sources of New York criminal records deal mostly with convictions. Criminal records for New York State do not necessarily warrant convictions. In fact, not all criminal records for New York result in […]
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