I was just about to give up on finding anything to blog about when I came across this little decision out of the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. In George v. Rehiel et.al. Dkt.:11-4292 (3rd Cir. 2013)( a Civil Rights case brought under 42USC1983) an American college student of Middle Eastern Culture at a University in California was boarding a plane in Philadelphia (heading back to school) and under went an "administrative search" (which is a recognized "exception" to the 4th Amendment) at the boarding area. It is an everyday bother for airline passengers but it does keep us safer and it is usually minimally intrusive, that is until the Third Circuit decided to throw America's new obsession with paranoia into it.
During the search, the TSA employees (who seemingly have absolutely no training in law) found handwritten flash cards that included the Arabic/English words for everyday language as well as for some words that if SAID ALOUD, would trigger an arrest in an airport (words like Bomb, Terrorist, Explosion, Attack, Kill, Battle, To Wound, to Kidnap). Now the fact that he was a student and one might want to know these words if involved in Mid Eastern current events did not matter. That he wasn't speaking the words but that the cards were in his carry-on so he could study didn't matter either. That after finding the flashcards and swabbing everything around for explosives and finding zilch well that still did not matter. As far as the TSA was concerned these flashcards (and a treatise a college kid might read on the failures of American Interventionist Foreign Policy) required he be detained for a supervisor to question him AND for TSA to call the police.
The supervisor came and for 15 minutes more she stalled Mr. George in a TSA security room (which by the way he was not free to leave) asking inane questions such as:
Q: Do you know who is responsible for 9-11?
A: Osama Bin Laden
Q: Do you know what language he spoke?
A: Arabic
Q: Do you see why these (flash)Cards are suspicious????????????
WTF????? Really???? Needless to say Mr. George was arrested, cuffed, detained for 5 hours, and missed his flight. Yes, if you were wondering, Philadelphia is part of the United States of America...
Mr. George and his attorneys sued the TSA agents, the cops, and FBI agents (who after five hours arrived, questioned the kid another 30 minutes and determined that he was not a terror threat) for violating his civil rights: His rights under the Fourth Amendment, Free speech and further sued for false arrest false imprisonment etc.
The question before the court was: did the TSA agents act outside of their employment authority by detaining young Mr. George, and if so did they have a reason to know that acting that way was against an established rule supporting the rights to privacy and speech.
The court never reached the knowledge element because it ruled that given the "totality of circumstances here could cause a reasonable person to believe that the items George was carrying raised the possibility that he might pose a threat to airline security".
Re-read the quote from the decision that I highlighted above. Have you ever seen a more tepid comment?
"...could cause...to believe...possibility...might pose." Gee he could have been carrying a New York Times and all those words would be in it. It is indisputable he had the right to have those cards and that he had a right to have and read the book on the failure of American intervention in the Middle East. Does it really raise a right to detain someone for 30 minutes or even 5 minutes once they found he had no explosives or contraband on him? Do you know what it feels like to be detained at an airport in an tiny room that you cannot leave. They have your phone? You can't call out check email tell others what's up? WTF??? Then they called the cops who arrested him and held him handcuffed in a cell for up to five more hours!! The court held the cops arrested him on their own. In other words a cop came up and not on the say of the TSA he just decided to bust the kid for five hours without being asked because presumably he found probable cause to make an arrest!! Based on flashcards and a book? (In fairness to the court they did rule that you cannot arrest someone because of the books they read. Evidentially flashcards are far more dangerous...) The court held it was speculative that the TSA ordered the arrest. I am sorry but I don't see that at all, of course that is one of the myriad of reasons I will never be a judge. I cannot suspend my disbelief for a long enough period to excuse people when they act like idiots in the name of the USA.
I am accustomed to government paranoia. Look we are all gonna die someday but really can't we go as men and women and not as frightened sheep? Are these judges for real? Are they going to hide behind 9-11 to support clearly illegal conduct by federal agents for the rest of our lives?? Liberty does hang in the stakes. If the Courts will not rein in the government when it clearly goes beyond our ever more liberal rules for destroying our Constitution, then we are lost.
That the lead judge was a Clinton appointee not some Neo-con Bush appointee. So if you are learning Arabic, and studying Middle Eastern culture, you better watch out...you just gave your government the right to detain you based on what they unreasonably fear might be a possible preparation for an attack or maybe just a learning thing but they are really unsure but they don't need to be any more sure because that could cause them to not detain Osama bin Laden or the ENGLISHMAN who was the shoe bomber or THE LATINO that was an underwear bomber. If you understand any of that, you MAY qualify to be a Federal Judge...
Sad.
H/t: Justia (US Third Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries.) and Rueters.
*The title of this post paraphrased the questions but the quotes here are from the decision and are culled from plaintiff's complaint.)
Showing posts with label Police Misconduct. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Police Misconduct. Show all posts
Friday, December 27, 2013
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Breaking News: Newsday Special Investigation Into Police Misconduct on Long Island!
Newsday has broken a major investigation into police misconduct and its failures to be properly investigated or punished. Police misconduct puts good citizens at risk and worse makes it very hard for good cops to do their jobs well. It corrupts a system.
Nassau and Suffolk have had this problem for a number of years. Whether it be the band of thugs that run the land of NO on Fire Island, or the insanity of the Nassau cop who beat and shot a taxi driver for no reason in Suffolk, or the many instances of testalying and other misconduct, it has to end.
I have regularly called for the institution of a Civilian Review Board with teeth. Now is the time. We need it here.
What do you think? How do you feel about a Civilian Review Board?
Nassau and Suffolk have had this problem for a number of years. Whether it be the band of thugs that run the land of NO on Fire Island, or the insanity of the Nassau cop who beat and shot a taxi driver for no reason in Suffolk, or the many instances of testalying and other misconduct, it has to end.
I have regularly called for the institution of a Civilian Review Board with teeth. Now is the time. We need it here.
What do you think? How do you feel about a Civilian Review Board?
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Going Rogue: Who in the Hell is Watching the ATF??
Okay I am back, for a while I guess. Somehow my long term writers block seems to have lifted. Lets hope it stays this way for a while.
We have spent most of the year looking at how the NSA is really an internal spying organization run by former military men whose level of paranoia while likely defensible is waaaayyy to high to actually run a spying agency in a democracy. Thanks to Edward Snowden, we now know that the US government has since 2001 been doing an really good job acting like the KGB of 1955. Now this comes as no surprise because for a nation that prides itself on talking about civil rights, we suck at providing them to anyone who isn't in our view when we look in the bathroom mirror.
Nevertheless, while the NSA, CIA, DEA, FBI and main Justice (Just us?) Dept. have all been seriously scrutinized these last few months by the libertarian (and only reluctantly by the main stream) press, our old friend of merry makers, the original set 'em up and blow them up gang over at the AFT (Bureau of Alcohol Firearms and Tobacco) (remember WACO? RUBY RIDGE?? FAST AND FURIOUS??????) have been on the down low... until now.
Seems that the agency hasn't had a real director since 2006. That is 7 years... for the last two years the "acting director" was also the full time US Attorney in Minnesota!! All this lack of supervision has given the merry men of the ATF way too much time on their hands. Hence they have come up with all kinds of ways to screw up on our dime. (Actually on our $1.23BILLION DOLLAR dime)
Lets lookie see what they have been spending money on...:
Well they have been picking on mentally challenged men and encouraging them to have tattoos of Giant Squids Smoking a Joint put onto their necks
They have encouraged robberies so that they can then buy the stolen merchandise back and lock up the guy who stole it, except most of the robbers never stole before the ATF decided to give away money by OVERPAYING for the stolen stuff
Oh yeah they like over paying for stuff, so they offered to buy guns for more money that they could be purchased for at a place like Dick's sporting goods... so even the mentally challenged figured out that it was worth it to BUY THE GUNS Legally and sell them for a profit to the MORONIC Special Agents...
Then they discovered that teenage boys like sex...SO They have been trying to get teenager boys to buy guns and drugs in the vain hope a particularly sexy "special agent" will have sex with them. (Too bad she didn't twerk, maybe the mainstream media woulda picked up the story.)
Finally they are slobs too.
I hope there is a Republican Congressman who sees this. WANNA FIND A BUDGET TO CUT?? Start with the ATF!!!!
Hat Tip: The Atlantic.com
We have spent most of the year looking at how the NSA is really an internal spying organization run by former military men whose level of paranoia while likely defensible is waaaayyy to high to actually run a spying agency in a democracy. Thanks to Edward Snowden, we now know that the US government has since 2001 been doing an really good job acting like the KGB of 1955. Now this comes as no surprise because for a nation that prides itself on talking about civil rights, we suck at providing them to anyone who isn't in our view when we look in the bathroom mirror.
Nevertheless, while the NSA, CIA, DEA, FBI and main Justice (Just us?) Dept. have all been seriously scrutinized these last few months by the libertarian (and only reluctantly by the main stream) press, our old friend of merry makers, the original set 'em up and blow them up gang over at the AFT (Bureau of Alcohol Firearms and Tobacco) (remember WACO? RUBY RIDGE?? FAST AND FURIOUS??????) have been on the down low... until now.
Seems that the agency hasn't had a real director since 2006. That is 7 years... for the last two years the "acting director" was also the full time US Attorney in Minnesota!! All this lack of supervision has given the merry men of the ATF way too much time on their hands. Hence they have come up with all kinds of ways to screw up on our dime. (Actually on our $1.23BILLION DOLLAR dime)
Lets lookie see what they have been spending money on...:
Well they have been picking on mentally challenged men and encouraging them to have tattoos of Giant Squids Smoking a Joint put onto their necks
They have encouraged robberies so that they can then buy the stolen merchandise back and lock up the guy who stole it, except most of the robbers never stole before the ATF decided to give away money by OVERPAYING for the stolen stuff
Oh yeah they like over paying for stuff, so they offered to buy guns for more money that they could be purchased for at a place like Dick's sporting goods... so even the mentally challenged figured out that it was worth it to BUY THE GUNS Legally and sell them for a profit to the MORONIC Special Agents...
Then they discovered that teenage boys like sex...SO They have been trying to get teenager boys to buy guns and drugs in the vain hope a particularly sexy "special agent" will have sex with them. (Too bad she didn't twerk, maybe the mainstream media woulda picked up the story.)
Finally they are slobs too.
I hope there is a Republican Congressman who sees this. WANNA FIND A BUDGET TO CUT?? Start with the ATF!!!!
Hat Tip: The Atlantic.com
Friday, December 13, 2013
Monday, January 18, 2010
San Diego Gestapo...uhhh police...Arrest Innocent Jet Fan
People ask sometimes ask me "what can be worse than the murder of an innocent person by a violent criminal?
For me that is an easy answer: Members of the government allegedly acting on my behalf,and at my expense, who abuse their authority and arrest an innocent person. I am not going to get into the whole thing about allowing 100 guilty men to go free so that one innocent man is not imprisoned, but watching this tape enrages me just as much as the acts of these two idiots
Thank goodness, a thoughtful fan from San Diego used his camera to record what can only be described as a totalitarian behavior from San Diego's men in blue.
These cops shamed their city, their taxpayers and their badges/uniforms. If I were Mayor of NY I'd be calling for an investigation, and if I were Mayor of San Diego there would be one ongoing right now. A bunch of cops would be on desk duty and a few would be looking at demotions and other discipline! Here is the story in the NY POST
For me that is an easy answer: Members of the government allegedly acting on my behalf,and at my expense, who abuse their authority and arrest an innocent person. I am not going to get into the whole thing about allowing 100 guilty men to go free so that one innocent man is not imprisoned, but watching this tape enrages me just as much as the acts of these two idiots
Thank goodness, a thoughtful fan from San Diego used his camera to record what can only be described as a totalitarian behavior from San Diego's men in blue.
These cops shamed their city, their taxpayers and their badges/uniforms. If I were Mayor of NY I'd be calling for an investigation, and if I were Mayor of San Diego there would be one ongoing right now. A bunch of cops would be on desk duty and a few would be looking at demotions and other discipline! Here is the story in the NY POST
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Facebook and DWI: A Defense Attorney's Nightmare.
Chicago IL. Criminal Defense Attorney Steve Komie is doing a bang up job in the case of an 18 year old who was allegedly drunk and killed a motorcyclist. Unfortunately the woman, now 20 can't get out of her own way long enough to help him out.
Komie has proved that Town of South Elgin Police destroyed the blood test prosecutors hoped would prove Erika Scoliere was drunk when she collided with motorcyclist Frank Ferraro. Without the test and sample, the defense cannot test the blood nor can it test the accuracy of the test at trial. That any evidence in an on going case is destroyed is a mystery, that the "best evidence" against a murder suspect is destroyed, right before trial, should lead potential jurors to wonder if the test actually showed ANY proof of alcohol at all.
The lead story in the news Friday should have been about how police malfeasance is causing Scoliere to get less than a fair trial. BUT NO!!
Seems that Scoliere or one of her inane "friends" posted asinine pictures of her on Facebook guzzling Tequila at a college party(in violation of her terms of release.)
Now first off, how did this young woman GET INTO a college to begin with? I mean what kind of brain damage do you have to have to realize that you killed someone and people are not happy with you? Prosecutors are looking for a reason, ANY REASON to convict you, and you decide it is a good idea to be in a place known for alcohol and stupid decisions (sorry Frat parties are Frat parties)?
Secondly, you are out on bail with an order to "call in" to probation while you are allowed to attend your "out of state" private college and go on vacations with your family. How do you "misunderstand" that Court Order?? ( I have to ask though why no one from probation notified Komie that his client was missing calls.)
The damage here is not that Scoliere now must wear a SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor.) It is that instead of being viewed as the victim of police, and a rush to judgment by an angry and hostile prosecution, she is seen as a ditzy, spoiled, bratty kid who needs to be taken down. She is the poster child for the over-indulged college student. She pushed the story of the lost evidence off of the headline and reinforced her image of being the "Paris Hilton" of Kane County. (Piece of unsolicited advice for Steve Komie, you may need to hire this client a PR consultant with a brain.)
We are now in the days of everyone, friends and foes, being able to record every waking moment of our lives. It is time to get smart. Ms. Scoliere's parents need to smarten up too. Get her into the house and keep her there until her trial takes place. How about considering placement into a rehab? It doesn't matter how unhappy she is. Drive her to Mr. Ferraro's cemetery plot every day, and remind her how unhappy his family must be. Have her leave a flower on the grave, a stone on his tombstone, and a prayer for his and her soul.
To my friend and colleague Steve Komie: Keep up the good work. You have a tough client there, but you represent all of us when you work to keep the government honest. Good Luck.
Hattip Avvo Legal News
Hey guys next time dig a little deeper, your article missed the "real story" the one about the Police destroying evidence!!
Komie has proved that Town of South Elgin Police destroyed the blood test prosecutors hoped would prove Erika Scoliere was drunk when she collided with motorcyclist Frank Ferraro. Without the test and sample, the defense cannot test the blood nor can it test the accuracy of the test at trial. That any evidence in an on going case is destroyed is a mystery, that the "best evidence" against a murder suspect is destroyed, right before trial, should lead potential jurors to wonder if the test actually showed ANY proof of alcohol at all.
The lead story in the news Friday should have been about how police malfeasance is causing Scoliere to get less than a fair trial. BUT NO!!
Seems that Scoliere or one of her inane "friends" posted asinine pictures of her on Facebook guzzling Tequila at a college party(in violation of her terms of release.)
Now first off, how did this young woman GET INTO a college to begin with? I mean what kind of brain damage do you have to have to realize that you killed someone and people are not happy with you? Prosecutors are looking for a reason, ANY REASON to convict you, and you decide it is a good idea to be in a place known for alcohol and stupid decisions (sorry Frat parties are Frat parties)?
Secondly, you are out on bail with an order to "call in" to probation while you are allowed to attend your "out of state" private college and go on vacations with your family. How do you "misunderstand" that Court Order?? ( I have to ask though why no one from probation notified Komie that his client was missing calls.)
The damage here is not that Scoliere now must wear a SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor.) It is that instead of being viewed as the victim of police, and a rush to judgment by an angry and hostile prosecution, she is seen as a ditzy, spoiled, bratty kid who needs to be taken down. She is the poster child for the over-indulged college student. She pushed the story of the lost evidence off of the headline and reinforced her image of being the "Paris Hilton" of Kane County. (Piece of unsolicited advice for Steve Komie, you may need to hire this client a PR consultant with a brain.)
We are now in the days of everyone, friends and foes, being able to record every waking moment of our lives. It is time to get smart. Ms. Scoliere's parents need to smarten up too. Get her into the house and keep her there until her trial takes place. How about considering placement into a rehab? It doesn't matter how unhappy she is. Drive her to Mr. Ferraro's cemetery plot every day, and remind her how unhappy his family must be. Have her leave a flower on the grave, a stone on his tombstone, and a prayer for his and her soul.
To my friend and colleague Steve Komie: Keep up the good work. You have a tough client there, but you represent all of us when you work to keep the government honest. Good Luck.
Hattip Avvo Legal News
Hey guys next time dig a little deeper, your article missed the "real story" the one about the Police destroying evidence!!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Around the Blogosphere the Week of 12/14/08-12/20/08: Part III- In and Around NY and Long Island
IN part III of this trip around the Blogosphere I found myself looking at some of the things happening in legal life around "here." ("Here" is Long Island and the five boroughs of NYC)
1. In the News on Long Island; Freaky Driving stories:
A. From Newsday (off twitter feed): A Long Island woman jumps from a moving SUV because the driver didn't want to take her to a bar. He wanted to eat dinner. She died. I heard of dying for a drink, but this one is ridiculous.
B. Also from Newsday Suffolk County Cops taze a 62 year old driver who is experiencing bleeding on the brain. He refused to follow orders of cops, they pull him over, he won't get out of car, they taze him, have to then take him to the hospital and wind up saving his life... Now that is making Lemonade from lemons.
2. The Agitator has this post on the indictment of a NYC Police Officer who attacked a guy on a bike, then arrested the guy for running into him!! The officer probably would have succeeded in getting the bicyclist busted on Felony charges had there not been somebody there with a camera phone taking a movie of the incident. The camera man gave his recording to reporters and the cop is now the first cop to be indicted for "Testilying" in as long as I can remember. Radley of course uses the indictment as a teaching opportunity. He scolds Pennsylvania prosecutors for using an old privacy law to allow cops to prosecute people who take photos of them while they "fail" to do their jobs.
3.NYS Governor David Patterson will be appointing a new Jr. Senator from NY to replace Hillary Clinton if she becomes the new Secy of State. So far we have Caroline Kennedy and Fran "The Nanny" Dresher. I would love to throw my hat in the ring too, as it seems the only qualification you need is that you have no qualification...
Ok you have to be at least Thirty years old.
Anyway, Kennedy is campaigning for the job (Dresher was on Larry King but she has a snowball chance in hell of getting the job unless she runs for it and gets a voice coach) Now here is the thing
In this story Caroline says she is a "Clinton Democrat". Now that does nothing for me but assuming it does something for a democrat, How can she call herself a Clinton Democrat when she supported Barack Obama against Clinton for President??? (Maybe Caroline is more qualified for the US Senate than we think, she clearly already knows doublespeak.)
Then I notice her voting record in general elections is "spotty". That means sometimes she doesn't chose to vote. Now while it is popular to say that it is everyone's duty to vote, I for one do not agree. I refuse to vote when I think that I am voting for the lesser of two evils. That is usually how I feel when I vote for President and sometimes Governor but at least there are lesser offices I might care about. I also do not vote when I don't know anything about the candidates or their opinions. I see nothing wrong with that. (About not voting, not knowing positions is a different post entirely, sometimes that is not my fault.)
Ms. Kennedy-Schlossberg is not unqualified to be a Senator from NY because she has missed votes, nor because she has never held nor run for public office. She is unqualified because she knows nothing of the needs of New Yorkers and we do not need another celebrity senator coming from this state when there are a number of people who do know what they are talking about and what to do about the issues. Unfortunately none of them are even in Congress right now.
Finally there is this interesting choice for US Senator, one that the Governor should really think about, one who has served our state very well over the last 20+ years and who is well aware of the needs of the people of our state. I think Eric Turkewitz of New York Personal Injury Attorney Blog is on to something when he recommends Chief Judge Judith Kaye who retire in 2 weeks to be our new Junior Senator. The only qualm I have with Eric's post is that he compares Ms. Kennedy with Pres. G.W. Bush. I am sorry Eric, there is no comparison. Caroline was an excellent student and a very good child. She has always been thoughtful and concerned about others while she guarded her privacy. Comparing her to Bush is like comparing the Pope to Saddam Hussein. Still I think Judge Kaye would make a great democrat possibility for US Senate.
4. Finally, The New York State Bar Association has a general Practice committee. It has a blog. The blog written by Leonard Sienko has a lot of important stuff on it. You don't have to be a member of the State Bar to read the Blog. So READ THE BLOG!!
Two important posts:
A. NY has finally adopted the Model Rules for Professional Conduct. It goes into effect in March 2009. I will be blogging on that I imagine a lot in the next few months.
and
B. The IRS is willing to help struggling homeowners refi and sell their homes by allowing Federal Tax liens to take a secondary position to some mortgages. It's a start anyway.
5. Over at the Divorce hotline, Janine Barbera (aka MatMaven) has a post about the way some judges just lord over a court, forgetting the people that use the court are not there to serve them so much as to be served by them. The post is short on facts but that is fair, Janine wants to be able to continue to practice law. Besides if any judge she appeared before in the last couple of days sees himself, then he should CHANGE HIS WAYS!!!
Q: In the meantime here is a quiz... What is the shortest time span known to man??
A: The period of time it takes for a newly minted judge to forget he was ever a practicing lawyer...
Ok that is a generalization, but sadly it is true way too often. Maybe it is something they should address in judge's school.
OK so much for Part III.
1. In the News on Long Island; Freaky Driving stories:
A. From Newsday (off twitter feed): A Long Island woman jumps from a moving SUV because the driver didn't want to take her to a bar. He wanted to eat dinner. She died. I heard of dying for a drink, but this one is ridiculous.
B. Also from Newsday Suffolk County Cops taze a 62 year old driver who is experiencing bleeding on the brain. He refused to follow orders of cops, they pull him over, he won't get out of car, they taze him, have to then take him to the hospital and wind up saving his life... Now that is making Lemonade from lemons.
2. The Agitator has this post on the indictment of a NYC Police Officer who attacked a guy on a bike, then arrested the guy for running into him!! The officer probably would have succeeded in getting the bicyclist busted on Felony charges had there not been somebody there with a camera phone taking a movie of the incident. The camera man gave his recording to reporters and the cop is now the first cop to be indicted for "Testilying" in as long as I can remember. Radley of course uses the indictment as a teaching opportunity. He scolds Pennsylvania prosecutors for using an old privacy law to allow cops to prosecute people who take photos of them while they "fail" to do their jobs.
3.NYS Governor David Patterson will be appointing a new Jr. Senator from NY to replace Hillary Clinton if she becomes the new Secy of State. So far we have Caroline Kennedy and Fran "The Nanny" Dresher. I would love to throw my hat in the ring too, as it seems the only qualification you need is that you have no qualification...
Ok you have to be at least Thirty years old.
Anyway, Kennedy is campaigning for the job (Dresher was on Larry King but she has a snowball chance in hell of getting the job unless she runs for it and gets a voice coach) Now here is the thing
In this story Caroline says she is a "Clinton Democrat". Now that does nothing for me but assuming it does something for a democrat, How can she call herself a Clinton Democrat when she supported Barack Obama against Clinton for President??? (Maybe Caroline is more qualified for the US Senate than we think, she clearly already knows doublespeak.)
Then I notice her voting record in general elections is "spotty". That means sometimes she doesn't chose to vote. Now while it is popular to say that it is everyone's duty to vote, I for one do not agree. I refuse to vote when I think that I am voting for the lesser of two evils. That is usually how I feel when I vote for President and sometimes Governor but at least there are lesser offices I might care about. I also do not vote when I don't know anything about the candidates or their opinions. I see nothing wrong with that. (About not voting, not knowing positions is a different post entirely, sometimes that is not my fault.)
Ms. Kennedy-Schlossberg is not unqualified to be a Senator from NY because she has missed votes, nor because she has never held nor run for public office. She is unqualified because she knows nothing of the needs of New Yorkers and we do not need another celebrity senator coming from this state when there are a number of people who do know what they are talking about and what to do about the issues. Unfortunately none of them are even in Congress right now.
Finally there is this interesting choice for US Senator, one that the Governor should really think about, one who has served our state very well over the last 20+ years and who is well aware of the needs of the people of our state. I think Eric Turkewitz of New York Personal Injury Attorney Blog is on to something when he recommends Chief Judge Judith Kaye who retire in 2 weeks to be our new Junior Senator. The only qualm I have with Eric's post is that he compares Ms. Kennedy with Pres. G.W. Bush. I am sorry Eric, there is no comparison. Caroline was an excellent student and a very good child. She has always been thoughtful and concerned about others while she guarded her privacy. Comparing her to Bush is like comparing the Pope to Saddam Hussein. Still I think Judge Kaye would make a great democrat possibility for US Senate.
4. Finally, The New York State Bar Association has a general Practice committee. It has a blog. The blog written by Leonard Sienko has a lot of important stuff on it. You don't have to be a member of the State Bar to read the Blog. So READ THE BLOG!!
Two important posts:
A. NY has finally adopted the Model Rules for Professional Conduct. It goes into effect in March 2009. I will be blogging on that I imagine a lot in the next few months.
and
B. The IRS is willing to help struggling homeowners refi and sell their homes by allowing Federal Tax liens to take a secondary position to some mortgages. It's a start anyway.
5. Over at the Divorce hotline, Janine Barbera (aka MatMaven) has a post about the way some judges just lord over a court, forgetting the people that use the court are not there to serve them so much as to be served by them. The post is short on facts but that is fair, Janine wants to be able to continue to practice law. Besides if any judge she appeared before in the last couple of days sees himself, then he should CHANGE HIS WAYS!!!
Q: In the meantime here is a quiz... What is the shortest time span known to man??
A: The period of time it takes for a newly minted judge to forget he was ever a practicing lawyer...
Ok that is a generalization, but sadly it is true way too often. Maybe it is something they should address in judge's school.
OK so much for Part III.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Stupid Cops Are As Big a Threat To Kids as Stranger Pedophiles: Two Cases of Keystone Kops Actions That Will Scar Innocent Children For Life
My first civil rights case, was on behalf of a Haitian kid who had the temerity to cut his grandfather's lawn while being black and wearing dreads... no joke.
Three dolt cops were looking for a car with the license plate WTZ 469 my client had a plate, WZT 469. The car they were looking for, a stolen vehicle, was a white SUV. My client's car was a green coupe.
They watched him as he took a lawn mower out of the back of his car, and started to mow the grass at his Grandfather's house. Then these dyslexic cops jumped out of their car, without identifying themsleves, jumped him onto the cement sidewalk causing contusions to his face, and set off a mini-riot as people were yelling at them for arresting an innocent kid. His mom (the rightful owner of the kid's car) pulled up and tried to tell these idiots that the car belonged to her. No matter. They slammed the kid into the vehicle so hard that his face broke the window!!
Backups had to be called in to quell the disturbance, and while that was going on one of the jerks calls into the precinct only to learn they had the wrong car. Now one would figure that such a finding would result in releasing the kid, apologizing and of course telling the kid to contact the department to pay for the damages to his face...Right.
No the cop on the radio informs the patrolman to switch to another "unmonitored" channel and then they have a conversation about how they better arrest the kid and the mother and charge something or they are going to pay a lot of money out to some "%^&ing Lawyer and the kid". So they arrested the kid and the next day his mom.
Case got dismissed and then I sued. Why? Turns out an amateur radio operator was "monitoring" the band the cops used to come up with the story that they were going to tell. There was an internal investigation... No charges brought. My case settled for just under $25k + free medical and attorney's fees. Kid was happy, and at the time, I was happy. Looking back, I wish we had gone whole hog on it, you know trial and all. On the other hand, it was the early 90's and pre-Louima so who knows maybe it would have gone no where and $25K was all we would have gotten. Maybe the press could have cared less. One thing I know, though is that this wasn't isolated in Nassau County NY and it sure as hell isn't isolated in America.
So you can imagine my frustration and anger at reading these 3 posts by Tony(c) award Winner in News blogging The Agitator's Radley Balko
The Dymond Milburn case (posts one and two) especially has my attention. Here is a 12 year old girl, black doing a chore on her own property in Texas. 4 plainclothes cops who are supposed to be looking for 3 white sex workers attack a little girl thinking she is one of the white sex workers??? I am sorry but WTF!!!!.
They are trying to take her away and she is holding onto a try screaming for help. They are beating her up with flashlights and she is afraid she is about to be abducted! Her father comes out and he is tries to explain to these "officers of the law" that the child is 12, a middle school honor student and not a prostitute.
Ok, tell me why that asshole shouldn't be shot on the spot by the father? Maybe he had identified himself to the family at that point. Ok don't shoot, but still "I don't care if she is twenty two thirty two or forty six..."??? Screw him, all he wanted was to be in control of a situation that he caused to be out of control in the first place. Oh and did I mention they told her they were gonna shoot her puppy which had come to her aid with barking and biting.
Now for those of you who say that this is only one side, I agree and I still do not care...SHE IS 12. Can anyone imagine what would have happened if one of these Keystone Cops had a taser??
Finally it comes to an end, the kid goes to the hospital for her physical injuries which are fairly serious (two black eyes and wounds to the head consistant with being struck with a flashlight), and the Chief of Galveston Police sends her a dozen roses and an apology right? WRONG!!! No, they go to her SCHOOL three weeks later and arrest her in front of everyone else for resisting arrest and injuring AN OFFICER!! Geeez can they be more arrogant?
If you have the stomach for it, take a look at the complaint. Trust me, if you care an iota about what is left of Civil Rights in this country you better have a barf bag available.
Now even if the first part were entirely made up ala Tawanna Brawley, why did they have to arrest her at school??? SHE IS 12. What part of "12" do these dumb bastards not understand. Call her in, go politely to her home. Why embarass the child? Why is the Governor or Texas not sending his best Assistant Deputy Attorney General and his top State investigator down to Galveston with an order to bring him back some badges?? Maybe it is because Dymond is black, and her parents are poor, and so, well, maybe they think it will go away.
Has anybody seen this on the MSM??? Is Katie Couric focusing on this mess? No, but trust me, I have seen the power of Radley Balko's blog following, and there is about to be some hell to pay. I don't have his readership, but I too am pissed and I want some answers. I will be forwarding this post and a letter to my Congressman and asking that we fix 42 USC 1983 to give it the teeth it had before the SCOTUS and friends dismantled it.
As for the child, Dymond Milburn, she has nightmares about being carried off in the night and being raped by cops. Surprise!
BTW Balko got his story from the Houston Press
Then there is the attack on three kids when SWAT came into their bedroom... well maybe I will have more time for that one later. Oh yeah, the police are still shooting innocent animals too.
Three dolt cops were looking for a car with the license plate WTZ 469 my client had a plate, WZT 469. The car they were looking for, a stolen vehicle, was a white SUV. My client's car was a green coupe.
They watched him as he took a lawn mower out of the back of his car, and started to mow the grass at his Grandfather's house. Then these dyslexic cops jumped out of their car, without identifying themsleves, jumped him onto the cement sidewalk causing contusions to his face, and set off a mini-riot as people were yelling at them for arresting an innocent kid. His mom (the rightful owner of the kid's car) pulled up and tried to tell these idiots that the car belonged to her. No matter. They slammed the kid into the vehicle so hard that his face broke the window!!
Backups had to be called in to quell the disturbance, and while that was going on one of the jerks calls into the precinct only to learn they had the wrong car. Now one would figure that such a finding would result in releasing the kid, apologizing and of course telling the kid to contact the department to pay for the damages to his face...Right.
No the cop on the radio informs the patrolman to switch to another "unmonitored" channel and then they have a conversation about how they better arrest the kid and the mother and charge something or they are going to pay a lot of money out to some "%^&ing Lawyer and the kid". So they arrested the kid and the next day his mom.
Case got dismissed and then I sued. Why? Turns out an amateur radio operator was "monitoring" the band the cops used to come up with the story that they were going to tell. There was an internal investigation... No charges brought. My case settled for just under $25k + free medical and attorney's fees. Kid was happy, and at the time, I was happy. Looking back, I wish we had gone whole hog on it, you know trial and all. On the other hand, it was the early 90's and pre-Louima so who knows maybe it would have gone no where and $25K was all we would have gotten. Maybe the press could have cared less. One thing I know, though is that this wasn't isolated in Nassau County NY and it sure as hell isn't isolated in America.
So you can imagine my frustration and anger at reading these 3 posts by Tony(c) award Winner in News blogging The Agitator's Radley Balko
The Dymond Milburn case (posts one and two) especially has my attention. Here is a 12 year old girl, black doing a chore on her own property in Texas. 4 plainclothes cops who are supposed to be looking for 3 white sex workers attack a little girl thinking she is one of the white sex workers??? I am sorry but WTF!!!!.
They are trying to take her away and she is holding onto a try screaming for help. They are beating her up with flashlights and she is afraid she is about to be abducted! Her father comes out and he is tries to explain to these "officers of the law" that the child is 12, a middle school honor student and not a prostitute.
His protests are met with: "I don't care if she is twenty-two, thirty-two or forty-six, tell her to calm down."
Ok, tell me why that asshole shouldn't be shot on the spot by the father? Maybe he had identified himself to the family at that point. Ok don't shoot, but still "I don't care if she is twenty two thirty two or forty six..."??? Screw him, all he wanted was to be in control of a situation that he caused to be out of control in the first place. Oh and did I mention they told her they were gonna shoot her puppy which had come to her aid with barking and biting.
Now for those of you who say that this is only one side, I agree and I still do not care...SHE IS 12. Can anyone imagine what would have happened if one of these Keystone Cops had a taser??
Finally it comes to an end, the kid goes to the hospital for her physical injuries which are fairly serious (two black eyes and wounds to the head consistant with being struck with a flashlight), and the Chief of Galveston Police sends her a dozen roses and an apology right? WRONG!!! No, they go to her SCHOOL three weeks later and arrest her in front of everyone else for resisting arrest and injuring AN OFFICER!! Geeez can they be more arrogant?
If you have the stomach for it, take a look at the complaint. Trust me, if you care an iota about what is left of Civil Rights in this country you better have a barf bag available.
Now even if the first part were entirely made up ala Tawanna Brawley, why did they have to arrest her at school??? SHE IS 12. What part of "12" do these dumb bastards not understand. Call her in, go politely to her home. Why embarass the child? Why is the Governor or Texas not sending his best Assistant Deputy Attorney General and his top State investigator down to Galveston with an order to bring him back some badges?? Maybe it is because Dymond is black, and her parents are poor, and so, well, maybe they think it will go away.
Has anybody seen this on the MSM??? Is Katie Couric focusing on this mess? No, but trust me, I have seen the power of Radley Balko's blog following, and there is about to be some hell to pay. I don't have his readership, but I too am pissed and I want some answers. I will be forwarding this post and a letter to my Congressman and asking that we fix 42 USC 1983 to give it the teeth it had before the SCOTUS and friends dismantled it.
As for the child, Dymond Milburn, she has nightmares about being carried off in the night and being raped by cops. Surprise!
BTW Balko got his story from the Houston Press
Then there is the attack on three kids when SWAT came into their bedroom... well maybe I will have more time for that one later. Oh yeah, the police are still shooting innocent animals too.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Inspector General Finds Health Dept. Investigator Stomps on Rights of the Accused: Forget the Miranda Violations HE IS A PARKING VIOLATOR TOO!!!
This story is sad. We have an investigator in the NYS Health Dept. (which oversees the Dispensing of drugs) who has a thing for pain killer lollipops. He also has a thing for violating the civil rights of people he arrests. (He goes after Docs who write bad scripts and patients who try to use forged prescriptions). He actually told one poor guy who demanded a lawyer "We NEVER had this conversation". Thanks to the poor management and convoluted reporting of the Dept. this out of control maniacal investigator ran the local Manhattan office using fear as his main weapon. Everyone there was afraid of him.
So how did it come to an end? How did it come that the Inspector General finally stepped in and ended this Reign of Terror??
Turns out the guy abused his parking pass privileges one too many times, came to the attention of a reporter at the NY Times and viole` he was brought down faster than Marie Antoinette's head hit the basket.
Moral of the story?: NEVER screw with the Parking Meter Lady.
BTW Prosecutors are now looking at the cases this guy brought to see if anyone was wrongfully convicted... I bet I know how that will turn out.
Photo Credit: www.phawker.com
Monday, October 20, 2008
Trial Techniques: Exposing Police Testilying
I am representing a nice kid charged with Burglary 2d degree in Queens County. I am trying this case with a good friend John Scarpa who is a former Queens County Assistant District Attorney and a really talented trial Defense Criminal Trial Lawyer.
The case is crazy. I understand DA Brown's office's interest in trying the case because on paper, it should be a slam dunk... Except the defendants are innocent and once a trial lawyer looked at this mess, they should have seen the problems with it.
Queens North Borough Blast unit is an elite burglary unit in Northern Queens. In investigating a bunch of burglaries against Chinese families, the Blast unit began to focus on one fellow, Mario, who was driving a rented car and tooling around Northern Queens. It was interesting to the Blast guys that 1. Mario lives in Staten Island and has no seeming connection to Northern Queens County, and 2. His car license plate was seen driving from the scene of a prior burglary, but no one saw who went in or who was in Mario's car. Mario by the way, walks with a cane and is disabled.
The police obtained a warrant to put a GPS on Mario's car. The BLAST unit started following Mario around and were assigning 10-25 detectives on him at any one time. You can imagine the money they spent. As things were growing more expensive, the unit was starting to worry that all the money spent was going for naught. Then they got what they thought was a break, the truck they put the GPS on was on the move and back in motion in northern Queens county. That's where things stop working out so well...
According to the indictment and paper work, the cops follow the car, one of their team members get out and follow the car passengers to a home and WATCH THEM ENTER IT AND AFTER 20 MINUTES LEAVE THROUGH A SIDE WINDOW. That's right, he allegedly watched 3 guys break into a home, did nothing to help the people inside and waited for the three to leave. I know it seems crazy but that was the testimony.
Now after watching the three leave, he loses sight of them, and another cop (the one whose ass is on the line for authorizing all the money) allegedly sees the three cross a 4 lane street and go to a car that is the one with the GPS on it. He and other cars follow the car and stop it 2 blocks from the burglary. When they stop the car, one guy jumps out and runs. The others are arrested and their are burglar's tools in the car including a radio that can pick up police signals from the local precinct. Oh yeah, it is on cause the cops can hear themselves on the radio receiver...
Now it would normally seem open and shut, except our clients tell us, they never burgled a home, weren't ever in the car, and were there to meet Mario and obtain Marijuana they left in his vehicle the night before when they celebrated his and my client's birthday.
Also of interest to me, was that Mario and the guy who ran, both pled guilty but our clients didn't even think about it. Not even after the judge promised to sentence them to the minimum time. Another thing that bothered me. There was NO physical evidence...None!!
No fingerprints, no DNA matches, No proceeds from the burglary. During the trial of the case, we even learned that not one of the people who testified to stopping the car even saw my client or Scarpa's client in the car!!
Now here is a lesson for young attorneys. If the case seems to strong to be possible, it is not possible... I cannot believe the level of Police testlying that I have witnessed in this trial.
Here is the thing. In order to bring this thing off, the whole Blast team needed to support one and other. At first it seemed impossible to me that the whole team would be able to lie. In fact, they couldn't do it convincingly (well the jury is still out so at least they didn't lie convincingly enough to get the jury to convict quickly)The thing that they did do is they all told the only lie they could all remember.
Lesson to the new trial lawyer: When confronted with a case with a number of people telling the "same story" the devil is in the details. If the discovery is devoid of details, you know they are lying. All you have to do, is break the big lie down to the details and the inconsistencies will jump out like a catfish out of a river on a warm Louisiana day.
In our case, the lie it turns out, is that we saw a burglary and these guys did it. At first it seemed really open and shut, but when we started to look at facts to support that scenario, they were non-existent.
For example, We asked the alleged eyewitness what he saw, he claimed to have seen all three of these guys get out of the car, and then he raced his car around the block got out of his car, race through backyards and set himself up in a dark driveway some 60 feet away, and see through a thicket of bushes and big pine trees the three guys still outside. He saw them take a security grate down and proceed to step up on the grate and go through a side window that was not visible through the trees. He describes 4 Pine trees that failed to grow symetrically so they were less dense on the side on which he had to look. He also testified that he saw the car stay on the same side of the street and that the car never crossed a thoroughfare and that he couldn't see who got in the car or where they sat. Hmmm.
The Lead cop, the guy who was running this shindig testified he too was 60 feet away. It was his job to watch the truck and that the truck not only was across the 4 lane thoroughfare, but that the driver turned it around and was facing the opposite direction from where the house that was burgled was so that the alleged burglars had to cross two streets and he saw them do that... Except he too didn't see who got in the car, nor did he see where they sat or did he see their faces, or if they were carrying anything.
Now there were Photos. Pretty damning photos. All the police testified that the crime scene investigation team took the photos. All the police except the crime scene investigator. He said he didn't take any pictures at the scene, and that the pictures he did take he had staged to represent the items he was photographing in a better light. Hmmm. He didn't preserve the crime scene? Not even with a preliminary photo? That is very strange.
Our intrepid crime scene investigator also testified that none of the officers involved in the arrest ordered fingerprints of the crime scene nor did they they order hats and gloves found in the alleged getaway car checked for DNA that might link the items to people in the SUV.
Finally, if the officer who says he saw everything and everybody, did in fact see everything and everybody, why was it that after stopping the car, and capturing the alleged four occupants inside of it, did the police bring in helicopters with search lights and dogs to search and stop 3 other Hispanic men and why did the police not produce the stop and frisk reports for these men? Could it be that they may have fit the description of the men who burgled the house more closely than the men I represent?? Oh one other thing, if I were watching the burglars, I would broadcast a description of them to the other cops on the case... The eyewitness officer says he did. No one on the backup team said they heard it. NO ONE.
If these were the only inconsistencies they would be enough to raise a doubt in my mind, but there were more!!! For example, forget not going into the house to see if anyone was harmed in there. The police couldn't find the house for 45 minutes after the alleged burglary. How do you lose a crime scene???
Also the Prosecutor never brought a witness in who could give an exact description of what was stolen. One witness on the night of the alleged burglary said fifteen hundred ($1500)Dollars was taken. She was available but not called to the stand. Her mother-in-law was however called and she could not state how much was taken in toto. She said she thought she was missing Three Hundred ($300)Dollars, but she never in three years asked her daughter-in-law how much she and her husband were missing. NEVER.
If these guys took something, where was it. They didn't find it on them and they didn't find it in the house or in the truck or around the truck. Hmmmm.
I could go on, to the next witness, a police Sargent who swore that the whole thing took place in the light of day, and that the only person he saw exit the vehicle came from the back seat of the vehicle (which makes more sense than the other testimony which says the guy got out of the front seat but ran toward the back of the SUV toward the cops.) He also testified that the police involved only used radio transmissions and never used their private cellphones to transmit information as that would be a violation of the patrol guide (the others all said that cell calls were the way they communicated.)
Well planned cross, focused on the little facts that would make the big lie true, have left this jury with a lot to think about. In prep John Scarpa and I thought through each and everything a person would have to observe to make the main theory of the governments case true. We then dismantled the case missing observation by missing observation. We also caught a few breaks along the way, but for the most part, we made those happen with well timed and well planned questions which we usually wouldn't ask (because we didn't know the answer) but did ask because the potential risk of a "bad answer" was little in exchange for the shot that the police officer would have to agree with our proposition expressed in our question.
In all, again when you see a case that is supposed to be open and shut, it rarely is. Look at it from all sides and see what is missing and what could be fabricated. Look for facts that would have to be true to support the main story, but could not possibly be true or at least could not be perceived. Then plan plan plan a cross-examination that rattles and gets the witness off guard, and do not give the witness wiggle room nor should you ask the "one question too many" that will allow a dying witness a new life.
I will let you know what the jury thought.
The case is crazy. I understand DA Brown's office's interest in trying the case because on paper, it should be a slam dunk... Except the defendants are innocent and once a trial lawyer looked at this mess, they should have seen the problems with it.
Queens North Borough Blast unit is an elite burglary unit in Northern Queens. In investigating a bunch of burglaries against Chinese families, the Blast unit began to focus on one fellow, Mario, who was driving a rented car and tooling around Northern Queens. It was interesting to the Blast guys that 1. Mario lives in Staten Island and has no seeming connection to Northern Queens County, and 2. His car license plate was seen driving from the scene of a prior burglary, but no one saw who went in or who was in Mario's car. Mario by the way, walks with a cane and is disabled.
The police obtained a warrant to put a GPS on Mario's car. The BLAST unit started following Mario around and were assigning 10-25 detectives on him at any one time. You can imagine the money they spent. As things were growing more expensive, the unit was starting to worry that all the money spent was going for naught. Then they got what they thought was a break, the truck they put the GPS on was on the move and back in motion in northern Queens county. That's where things stop working out so well...
According to the indictment and paper work, the cops follow the car, one of their team members get out and follow the car passengers to a home and WATCH THEM ENTER IT AND AFTER 20 MINUTES LEAVE THROUGH A SIDE WINDOW. That's right, he allegedly watched 3 guys break into a home, did nothing to help the people inside and waited for the three to leave. I know it seems crazy but that was the testimony.
Now after watching the three leave, he loses sight of them, and another cop (the one whose ass is on the line for authorizing all the money) allegedly sees the three cross a 4 lane street and go to a car that is the one with the GPS on it. He and other cars follow the car and stop it 2 blocks from the burglary. When they stop the car, one guy jumps out and runs. The others are arrested and their are burglar's tools in the car including a radio that can pick up police signals from the local precinct. Oh yeah, it is on cause the cops can hear themselves on the radio receiver...
Now it would normally seem open and shut, except our clients tell us, they never burgled a home, weren't ever in the car, and were there to meet Mario and obtain Marijuana they left in his vehicle the night before when they celebrated his and my client's birthday.
Also of interest to me, was that Mario and the guy who ran, both pled guilty but our clients didn't even think about it. Not even after the judge promised to sentence them to the minimum time. Another thing that bothered me. There was NO physical evidence...None!!
No fingerprints, no DNA matches, No proceeds from the burglary. During the trial of the case, we even learned that not one of the people who testified to stopping the car even saw my client or Scarpa's client in the car!!
Now here is a lesson for young attorneys. If the case seems to strong to be possible, it is not possible... I cannot believe the level of Police testlying that I have witnessed in this trial.
Here is the thing. In order to bring this thing off, the whole Blast team needed to support one and other. At first it seemed impossible to me that the whole team would be able to lie. In fact, they couldn't do it convincingly (well the jury is still out so at least they didn't lie convincingly enough to get the jury to convict quickly)The thing that they did do is they all told the only lie they could all remember.
Lesson to the new trial lawyer: When confronted with a case with a number of people telling the "same story" the devil is in the details. If the discovery is devoid of details, you know they are lying. All you have to do, is break the big lie down to the details and the inconsistencies will jump out like a catfish out of a river on a warm Louisiana day.
In our case, the lie it turns out, is that we saw a burglary and these guys did it. At first it seemed really open and shut, but when we started to look at facts to support that scenario, they were non-existent.
For example, We asked the alleged eyewitness what he saw, he claimed to have seen all three of these guys get out of the car, and then he raced his car around the block got out of his car, race through backyards and set himself up in a dark driveway some 60 feet away, and see through a thicket of bushes and big pine trees the three guys still outside. He saw them take a security grate down and proceed to step up on the grate and go through a side window that was not visible through the trees. He describes 4 Pine trees that failed to grow symetrically so they were less dense on the side on which he had to look. He also testified that he saw the car stay on the same side of the street and that the car never crossed a thoroughfare and that he couldn't see who got in the car or where they sat. Hmmm.
The Lead cop, the guy who was running this shindig testified he too was 60 feet away. It was his job to watch the truck and that the truck not only was across the 4 lane thoroughfare, but that the driver turned it around and was facing the opposite direction from where the house that was burgled was so that the alleged burglars had to cross two streets and he saw them do that... Except he too didn't see who got in the car, nor did he see where they sat or did he see their faces, or if they were carrying anything.
Now there were Photos. Pretty damning photos. All the police testified that the crime scene investigation team took the photos. All the police except the crime scene investigator. He said he didn't take any pictures at the scene, and that the pictures he did take he had staged to represent the items he was photographing in a better light. Hmmm. He didn't preserve the crime scene? Not even with a preliminary photo? That is very strange.
Our intrepid crime scene investigator also testified that none of the officers involved in the arrest ordered fingerprints of the crime scene nor did they they order hats and gloves found in the alleged getaway car checked for DNA that might link the items to people in the SUV.
Finally, if the officer who says he saw everything and everybody, did in fact see everything and everybody, why was it that after stopping the car, and capturing the alleged four occupants inside of it, did the police bring in helicopters with search lights and dogs to search and stop 3 other Hispanic men and why did the police not produce the stop and frisk reports for these men? Could it be that they may have fit the description of the men who burgled the house more closely than the men I represent?? Oh one other thing, if I were watching the burglars, I would broadcast a description of them to the other cops on the case... The eyewitness officer says he did. No one on the backup team said they heard it. NO ONE.
If these were the only inconsistencies they would be enough to raise a doubt in my mind, but there were more!!! For example, forget not going into the house to see if anyone was harmed in there. The police couldn't find the house for 45 minutes after the alleged burglary. How do you lose a crime scene???
Also the Prosecutor never brought a witness in who could give an exact description of what was stolen. One witness on the night of the alleged burglary said fifteen hundred ($1500)Dollars was taken. She was available but not called to the stand. Her mother-in-law was however called and she could not state how much was taken in toto. She said she thought she was missing Three Hundred ($300)Dollars, but she never in three years asked her daughter-in-law how much she and her husband were missing. NEVER.
If these guys took something, where was it. They didn't find it on them and they didn't find it in the house or in the truck or around the truck. Hmmmm.
I could go on, to the next witness, a police Sargent who swore that the whole thing took place in the light of day, and that the only person he saw exit the vehicle came from the back seat of the vehicle (which makes more sense than the other testimony which says the guy got out of the front seat but ran toward the back of the SUV toward the cops.) He also testified that the police involved only used radio transmissions and never used their private cellphones to transmit information as that would be a violation of the patrol guide (the others all said that cell calls were the way they communicated.)
Well planned cross, focused on the little facts that would make the big lie true, have left this jury with a lot to think about. In prep John Scarpa and I thought through each and everything a person would have to observe to make the main theory of the governments case true. We then dismantled the case missing observation by missing observation. We also caught a few breaks along the way, but for the most part, we made those happen with well timed and well planned questions which we usually wouldn't ask (because we didn't know the answer) but did ask because the potential risk of a "bad answer" was little in exchange for the shot that the police officer would have to agree with our proposition expressed in our question.
In all, again when you see a case that is supposed to be open and shut, it rarely is. Look at it from all sides and see what is missing and what could be fabricated. Look for facts that would have to be true to support the main story, but could not possibly be true or at least could not be perceived. Then plan plan plan a cross-examination that rattles and gets the witness off guard, and do not give the witness wiggle room nor should you ask the "one question too many" that will allow a dying witness a new life.
I will let you know what the jury thought.
Monday, October 06, 2008
The First Monday in October: SCOTUS OPENS ITS NEW TERM
I have mentioned this before, but I love the First Monday in October. I used to love going to the Supreme Court of the United States as a student at Tufts. Catch the train or drive at an un-Godly hour; sleep as much as possible; walk from Union Station in the October air; stand in line to get in, and watch the 9 most important men (it was all men then) in law take their seats and begin to work.
The day before the First Monday in October is the Red Mass. It is a Catholic Mass said for the judges and lawyers. It is solemn and filled with Pomp and Circumstance. Prayers are said for these men and women that they will find the knowledge, justice and mercy that makes for good lawyering and judging.
Tomorrow the term begins. The big issue on the calendar so far is "Preemption". Are the states preempted by federal law from entering into certain areas that the feds now say are theirs? It is not an easy concept to grasp but it is important in for conservatives who believe in state's rights and are fighting the ever growing intrusive role of the federal government into what had formerly been states province.
The Associated Press (AP) gives us a rundown of some of the issues coming in front of the judges this year in an article here
As previously noted Scotus Blog has a rundown of the criminal cases the court faces. These include what an enterprise consists of in a Civil or Criminal RICO suit; Speedy trial delay; and issues surrounding the taking and use of Confessions and admissions at trial when arraignments have been delayed; or when someone gives police a statement without waiving his right to counsel, and it is used against him when he later takes the stand in his own defense. (In other words, if the confession was taken in absence of the waiver, it cannot be used on the Government's case in chief. The question is should it come in if the defendant takes the stand and says something other than what he told the police when Police took his statement without getting the defendant to properly wave his rights).
In all it may be a quieter year, but it holds some really important decisions ahead.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Number 201: A Jog Around The Blogosphere
I am starting an exercise program. (Yes smart guy another one.) So I figured I would start exercising here too. Hence we will jog around the Internet. Let's see how we do.
I. Volokh Conspiracy is talking about a lot of things (hell 5685 law profs blog there... ok less but it feels like that many) I like this one. It is about legislators with too much time on their hands. They are arguing about whether it should be illegal to hang fake bull testicles off of your back bumper.
Really, lets limit their salaries and time in legislature. Pay them about 25% of what they now make. Have them serve Monday to Wednesday from January till June, and make them GO HOME!! Anything they didn't reach we don't need.
II. A blog near and dear to my heart blogs about an issue near and close to my heart. Prof. Berman over at Sentencing Law and Policy blog posts about lawsuits against "civil" penalties that plague sex offenders after they have served their time in jail. I am looking for a plaintiff to attack some of these stupid residency laws and other penalties.
III. As the Law Offices of Anthony J. Colleluori & Associates PLLC changes so do my duties as Principal counsel. I spend a lot of time working on systems and ideas. Allison Shields is a management expert who gives me a lot to think about. Her blog Legal Ease is a great place to figure out how to run a law firm, a skill not taught in law school. This post is about the need for and the building of a follow up system. Work work work...
IV. My Friend Ernie Svenson is blogging about a new book he has read. The book, The Nine by Jeffrey Tobin, is about the changes in the court since 1980 and the Reagan revolution. Ernie's blog is aptly named Ernie the Attorney.
V. Jerri Merritt over at Talkleft has this story about another bad conviction, where the prosecution completely distorted the scientific evidence to get a conviction. The widow enjoyed the death and the money too much. Hence the jury convicted not on the evidence but on the publicity.
Another reason there should be a gag on prosecutors and police. Announce you have a suspect under arrest for the crime, then shut up until the trial and stop trying to sway the jury. I swear if I were a judge and a prosecutor pulled the crap they did here I would disqualify the bastard and move the trial. I would be tempted to let the defendant out on bail while she awaited trial to boot. This argument that they have a duty to keep the public informed is hogwash. All they want to do it kill off any chance a defendant can get a fair trial. Wake Up Judges, WAKE UP!!
Finally,
LII Announce , Cornell Law's blog that accompanies its wonderful website has the following important quote from the late Robert F. Kennedy. I will reprint it here:
"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope."
Robert F. Kennedy, Speech, South Africa, 1966.
Well, that was a refreshing jog.
I. Volokh Conspiracy is talking about a lot of things (hell 5685 law profs blog there... ok less but it feels like that many) I like this one. It is about legislators with too much time on their hands. They are arguing about whether it should be illegal to hang fake bull testicles off of your back bumper.
Really, lets limit their salaries and time in legislature. Pay them about 25% of what they now make. Have them serve Monday to Wednesday from January till June, and make them GO HOME!! Anything they didn't reach we don't need.
II. A blog near and dear to my heart blogs about an issue near and close to my heart. Prof. Berman over at Sentencing Law and Policy blog posts about lawsuits against "civil" penalties that plague sex offenders after they have served their time in jail. I am looking for a plaintiff to attack some of these stupid residency laws and other penalties.
III. As the Law Offices of Anthony J. Colleluori & Associates PLLC changes so do my duties as Principal counsel. I spend a lot of time working on systems and ideas. Allison Shields is a management expert who gives me a lot to think about. Her blog Legal Ease is a great place to figure out how to run a law firm, a skill not taught in law school. This post is about the need for and the building of a follow up system. Work work work...
IV. My Friend Ernie Svenson is blogging about a new book he has read. The book, The Nine by Jeffrey Tobin, is about the changes in the court since 1980 and the Reagan revolution. Ernie's blog is aptly named Ernie the Attorney.
V. Jerri Merritt over at Talkleft has this story about another bad conviction, where the prosecution completely distorted the scientific evidence to get a conviction. The widow enjoyed the death and the money too much. Hence the jury convicted not on the evidence but on the publicity.
Another reason there should be a gag on prosecutors and police. Announce you have a suspect under arrest for the crime, then shut up until the trial and stop trying to sway the jury. I swear if I were a judge and a prosecutor pulled the crap they did here I would disqualify the bastard and move the trial. I would be tempted to let the defendant out on bail while she awaited trial to boot. This argument that they have a duty to keep the public informed is hogwash. All they want to do it kill off any chance a defendant can get a fair trial. Wake Up Judges, WAKE UP!!
Finally,
LII Announce , Cornell Law's blog that accompanies its wonderful website has the following important quote from the late Robert F. Kennedy. I will reprint it here:
"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope."
Robert F. Kennedy, Speech, South Africa, 1966.
Well, that was a refreshing jog.
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