A while back (what’s a couple months between friends) I wrote a post about inherent bias and prejudice, the premise of which was that it is difficult for the defendant to win any criminal case because jurors – the decision makers – start with a bias in favor of the prosecution. They prejudge the defendant because he is charged with
Continue Reading The Decision Maker – convincing 12 people of anything is nearly impossible!
Start with Bias and Prejudice – your story must deal with these or you lose!
Impartiality is a myth. So the idea that you will start with an impartial jury or fact finder (maybe a Judge) misses the mark. We all have inherent bias and prejudice that colors our decision making. All of us.
Let’s start with a simple example involving cars. I have a bias (or preference) in favor of Westfalia vans and Porsche 911s. The two are polar opposites – sexy German sports car and utilitarian German fun wagon. If I had both in my garage I would be a happy camper. Over time I have had both but modern automobiles have taken my eyes away from each. So too the two grandkids I cart around daily.Continue Reading Start with Bias and Prejudice – your story must deal with these or you lose!
On Slate Now – Standoff – Ruby Ridge Revisited
Slate Magazine has done a great job recounting what happened at Ruby Ridge in its Podcast Standoff. Listening now and remembering how life can turn in an instant. Want the inside story? Ron Howen, Gerry Spence and others tell the story from their viewpoint. Episode 4 tells how the FBI held back the most important evidence in the case,
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There’s A Problem With DNA Testing At Crime Labs – They Often Get It Wrong.
Boise State University Professor Dr. Greg Hampikian is a Biologist whose work has identified persons wrongly accused and convicted of crimes. He is regarded as one of the foremost forensic DNA experts in the United States and beyond. He is the founder of the Idaho Innocence Project, which, along with other state Innocence Projects, has helped to clear hundreds of persons wrongly convicted. Those convictions have often been based on faulty science and false confessions. So when he tells us that DNA testing at crime labs is suspect and results may be misleading, we should pay attention.
Dr. Hampikian’s op-ed in the New York Times yesterday should sound a bell for any person who faces criminal charges supported by DNA test results. Dr. Hampikian reports that in a recent reliability study, 74 out of 108 crime laboratories implicated an innocent person in a hypothetical bank robbery.Continue Reading There’s A Problem With DNA Testing At Crime Labs – They Often Get It Wrong.
There’s a problem if you buy CBD oil in Idaho – it may be a crime.
Yesterday I posted about Idaho’s tough marijuana laws. Is Idaho any closer to legalizing marijuana-based products? How about cannabidiol (CBD) oil? I don’t think so.
It seems like every week I receive an email solicitation offering to sell me CBD oil, ordered online and delivered by mail to my home or office. Each such offering indicates that CBD oil is a lawful product in all states, including Idaho. I am not so certain.Continue Reading There’s a problem if you buy CBD oil in Idaho – it may be a crime.
Idaho’s Marijuana Laws Are Tough!
Idaho’s Marijuana Laws Are Tough – Maybe Even Unfair!
I spent time yesterday driving to and from a rural courthouse in Western Idaho for a hearing on a marijuana case. The charge – felony possession of marijuana – arises out of a car having been stopped near the Oregon border during early morning hours for traveling too slowly. That’s right, too slowly. Officers claim they smelled marijuana, and the Oregon driver admitted the illegal weed was on board. As the amount exceeded 3 ounces, the client faced a felony, with the possibility of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.Continue Reading Idaho’s Marijuana Laws Are Tough!
That Medical Marijuana Card Can Prevent You From Buying A Gun!
In 2016 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Wilson v. Lynch (9th Cir. Case No. 14-15799) that medical marijuana cardholders are prohibited from purchasing firearms based on federal regulations. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) sent an Open Letter to gun dealers in 2011 stating that, “If you are aware that the potential transferee is in possession of a card authorizing the possession and use of marijuana under State law, then you have ‘reasonable cause to believe’ that the person is an unlawful user of a controlled substance. As such, you may not transfer firearms or ammunition to the person.”
Continue Reading That Medical Marijuana Card Can Prevent You From Buying A Gun!
“She said she was 19. How can I be charged with RAPE?”
I frequently get this question – “how can they charge me with rape? She said she was 19!” The answer is simple, a representation of the age of an apparently consenting person means nothing!
Bupkis! Nada! Absolutely nothing! What matters is the age of the person – that is – the ACTUAL age.Continue Reading “She said she was 19. How can I be charged with RAPE?”
Stand Your Ground – when, where and who?
Among the changes to Idaho law taking effect on July 1, 2018, is an important clarification of when you can and cannot use deadly force to defend yourself, others or perhaps, your “habitation.” The newest version of Idaho Code 18-4009 lays out the places and people you have a right to defend with deadly force. Previously Idaho focused on one’s home as a place to protect with deadly force. The law now spells out your right to use deadly force – if necessary – to your place of work and your occupied vehicle.
Continue Reading Stand Your Ground – when, where and who?
Federal Prisons Are A Terrible Place to Live and An Even Worse Place To Wait For Death!
I just finished reading a news story in the NY Times titled “Frail, Old and Dying, but Their Only Way Out of Prison Is In A Coffin.” It follows reporting by The Marshall Project on the same topic. The bottom line, accurately told by both is this: there are far too many old prisoners who are dying in
Continue Reading Federal Prisons Are A Terrible Place to Live and An Even Worse Place To Wait For Death!