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Criminal Law

Crime & Federalism

Discussing recent news and court opinions, with an emphasis on federalism, criminal law, and civil rights actions.

Post Frequency: 8.6/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 15:45:19

Ninth Circuit Compelled-Use-Immunity Decision

Posted on August 25, 2008
Aside from plea bargaining, one of the prosecutor's greatest procedural advantage is the ability to immunize witnesses. If a prosecutor needs to make a case against a defendant, the prosecutor can make a deal with someone who has relevant information: Testify, and we won't use anything you say against you in a court of law...

Tax Shelters

Posted on August 25, 2008
The Associated Press has this charming story about accountant Charles Ulrich, a man who persuaded a Court of Claims judge to accept his novel interpretation of a federal tax issue. (Ruling.) Years before the court's ruling, Ulrich promoted this tax theory via his website...

Rap Ballad (Graphic Language)

Posted on August 22, 2008
I realize that rap isn't the music-of-choice for most of you. But Immortal Technique's "Dance With the Devil" is a compelling example of story-telling. There are many things to take away from the song. First, he uses concrete examples to show what can happen to someone who wants to become a thug...

Worst Nightmare

Posted on August 21, 2008
We almost got killed on a deadline. Everyone - including me - always says, "Before you do anything with the case file, check the relevant deadlines." Somehow no one - including me - did that. Luckily I decided to review the file once more before bed. "Oh, sheet, no one checked the deadline...

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Chinese Cheat: Olympic Gymnast Really Only 14

Posted on August 21, 2008
Okay, why the Hell would I care about gymnastics? I don't. And do I need proof that China is evil? Not really. What I do care about is great problem solving. What I do enjoy is Internet sleuthing. A hacker demonstrates both here.

Miranda, In Custody, At Home

Posted on August 21, 2008
I just pulled up this opinion, which I'm now reading. Seems exciting: The home occupies a special place in the pantheon of constitutional rights. Under the First Amendment, the ?State has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his house, what books he may read or what films he may watch...

Super Law Trivia

Posted on August 21, 2008
On what day in U.S. history did Ninth Circuit judge Jay S. Bybee either write or join two published, pro-criminal-defense opinions? That would be today, August 21, 2008. United States v. Craighead (holding that a person can be in custody for purposes of Miranda even when interviewed in his own home) (Bybee, J...

How is this Legal?

Posted on August 20, 2008
Shouldn't these practices be felonious? [F]inancial institutions collected more than $17.5 billion in overdraft fees last year, reports the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit policy group. Contrary to popular belief, using a debit card won't prevent you from overdrawing your account...

Follow the Leader

Posted on August 20, 2008
Law students show pluralistic ignorance in action. The Wikipedia entry for "pluralistic ignorance" is pretty good: In social psychology, pluralistic ignorance is a process which involves several members of a group who think that they have different perceptions, beliefs, or attitudes from the rest of the group...

Texas Police Officer Murders Dog

Posted on August 19, 2008
Another sad story of police abuse.

Pot-Stealing Cop Not Charged With Crime

Posted on August 19, 2008

The Bagel Man and White Collar Crime

Posted on August 19, 2008
This is a fascinating article about an honor-based business involving bagels. Paul F.'s business model is simple. He brings bagels, he leaves a drop box, customers put money in the drop box. In general people only cheat him about 11% of the time. There are some exceptions: He is leery of disparaging individual companies or even most industries, for fear...

Fraud and the Family Medical Leave Act

Posted on August 19, 2008
What employee doesn't realize that if you call in sick, you'd better not let your boss see you at the bar later in the day. Obvious stuff, right? Yet "employee-rights" lawyers are throwing a fit because employers are "spying" on employees who fraudulently take leave under the Family Medical Leave Act...

Rhetoric

Posted on August 18, 2008
I shall let the video speak for itself:

Associated Press Still Doesn't Care About the Truth

Posted on August 17, 2008
It's a logical fallacy to argue a false inference. It's also poor form (unless you're a criminal defense lawyer, in which case it may be ethically required). You argue a false inference when you give readers just enough facts that they will draw a false inference...

Prosecutors Talk Shop on DUI Enforcement

Posted on August 16, 2008
Check out this video. Ask yourselves: Do these folks sound like judges? After watching this video, if you were a defendant, would you feel that these judges would be fair and impartial? Would they protect your rights? The video features this panel of judges: Robert Pirraglia of the Rhode Island District Court; G...

Did District Attorney Jim Bob Miller File A Frivolous Criminal Complaint Against Blogger?

Posted on August 15, 2008
District Attorney Jim Bob Miller of McAlester, Oklahoma has filed a criminal complaint against his long-time critic, Harold King. King operates a web forum where members of the public may post comments. Some of the comments were critical of Attorney Miller...

Psychiatrists Cause Teen Drug Use

Posted on August 15, 2008
It used to be that the easiest way to decrease the supply of drug was to legalize them. That trend is changing: A growing number of teenagers say it's easier to illegally obtain prescription drugs than to buy beer, according to a survey published today...

Vocabulary Game

Posted on August 14, 2008
This is a pretty good way to spend a coffee break.

Denver Police Star in Police Brutality Video: Are Judges Watching?

Posted on August 14, 2008
If you counsel criminal clients for even a week, you will hear two things repeatedly. One is that, "The cops stole my drug money." Two is that, "The cops beat me up. I never resisted arrest." It's easy to brush off these claims at first. Clients say all sorts of implausible things...

Speaking of Crime: The Language of Criminal Justice

Posted on August 13, 2008
This book sounds fascinating. (You may read excerpts of the book using Google Book Search.) I ordered my copy today. This book review notes that Speaking of Crime makes a genius observation: The courts appear to accept compliance to indirect speech (e...

Criminal Profiling is Junk Science

Posted on August 13, 2008
The latest issue of Skeptic has a fascinating critique of criminal profiling entitled, "Criminal Profiling: Granfalloons and Gobbledygook." Unfortunately, it's available to subscribers only. Fortunately, the article's author, psychologist Paul Taylor, has another article on criminal profiling available online: Criminal profiling (CP) is the practice of using crime scene evidence to infer the personality, behavioural, and demographic characteristics of the...

More Genius Insights from Speaking of Crime

Posted on August 13, 2008
If you're not sold on Speaking of Crime yet, then I don't know what to do with you. Here is another genius example from the authors: Chapter 3: "Consensual" Searches It is worth noting that in California (and, not doubt, many other states) it is a crime not to show your driver's license on demand by an officer...

Eighth Circuit Second Amendment Opinion on Machine Guns

Posted on August 13, 2008
Today the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a Second Amendment opinion. United States v. Fincher, No. 07-2514 (8th Cir. Aug. 13, 2008). Here is the official case summary: District court's determination that defendant's militia group, the Washington County Militia, was not affiliated with the state militia and therefore not subject to the protections of Second Amendment was well supported...

Sexual Harassment is a Crime

Posted on August 12, 2008
In Iowa (via Gowder) it is: A University of Iowa professor was arrested Friday afternoon for allegedly asking female students to let him fondle their breasts in return for an "A" grade for the class. Arthur Herbert Miller, 66, of 1700 N. Dubuque Road, faces four counts of bribery, a class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in...

Police Report v. Reality

Posted on August 12, 2008
I'm sure many of us saw this shocking video of New York police officer Patrick Pogan knocking a bicyclist off of the cyclist's bike. If not, be sure to check it out: After doing so, please read the police report that Officer Pogan drafted. Notice any differences?

Logical Lawyers

Posted on August 12, 2008
The ABA Journal reports (via Ted Frank) that lawyers, suffer from cognitive bias:[1] The group [of lawyers] also suffered from a problem known as ?anchoring,? which is the tendency to be influenced by suggestion when estimating an unknown number such as the value of pain and suffering...

Free SpyWare Software

Posted on August 12, 2008
For one-day only, you can get a free one-year license of ZoneAlarm. Yes, they will try to charge you money next year when the license has expired. Yes, I am on a PC and run windows. I don't encrypt my data or run cloud servers. I am sure there are better programs out there that I do not know about...

Eighth Circuit Upholds Warrantless Destruction of Property

Posted on August 12, 2008
The Eighth Circuit Court of appeals handed down a shocking opinion today. In United States v. Santana-Aguirre, No. 07-3706 (8th Cir. August 12, 2008) (opinion), a 2-1 panel held that when you consent to a search, you also consent to the destruction of your property...

Ex-Marines Attacked in Coney Island

Posted on August 11, 2008
If this had been a white-on-black offense, you could bet the mainstream media would have been all over this: A wolf pack of at least 30 thugs viciously attacked two hero ex-Marines in Brooklyn after they rescued a teenage girl who was being assaulted, police and witnesses said yesterday...

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