Information and Insight on Criminal Law and Civil Rights
There is news today involving two Boise cases in which teens convicted of murdering their parents have received life sentences. In the Ada County Courthouse yesterday, Judge Michael McLaughlin sentenced Derek Lewis to life in prison with twenty years "fixed." Under Idaho’s sentencing scheme, that "fixed" component means that Lewis will not become eligible for parole until he has served…
Continue Reading A Tale of Two Teens And Life In Prison – Murder of Parent
For all those times I have watched people throw cigarette butts on the ground, I never really thought I would see anyone charged with littering by cigarette butt – but now I have. In State v. DP – name changed to protect the presumed innocent – the Boise City Attorney’s Office has charged DP with the misdemeanor for doing just…
Continue Reading Boise City Charges Littering By Cigarette Butt – Really!
Congrats to my brothers and TLC Warriors on their victory in Houston in a civil rights case that pitted Kent Spence and Rafe Foreman against Harris County Sheriff’s Office and its deputies. After just four hours deliberations, the jury awarded the estate of Joel Casy $600,000 and $2.4 million to his mother. The Houston Chronicle reported:
Casey’s death was ruled…
So here we go again – another Case o’ the Week from the Ninth Circuit Blog deserves our attention. Headlines: Prosecutor’s Mis-statements Result in Overturned Death Penalty. But not here, in Idaho. The case is out of Nevada, and the issue was whether statements made by the prosecutors in voir dire and sentencing violated the Defendant’s 6th and 14th amendment…
There is news today out of Utah that five Blackwater Security Guards have been charged in the firefight that left 14 Iraqis dead and others wounded in a 2007 Baghdad attack. They have been ordered to appear in Washington in January, where they will enter pleas of not guilty. As a former JAGC officer, I get the need to hold accountable…
I had a call yesterday asking if there was an online place to find out about the daily arrests in Boise. HERE it is. You can easily check out who has been arrested in the Boise, Idaho area, on a daily basis. And yes, DUI arrests are included.Continue Reading Ada County Sheriff’s Office Arrests Online
In an article today in the Idaho Statesman, a federal agency the investigates transportation accidents says Idaho could do better fighting drunk drivers if it would adopt its eleven (11) "best practices." The bottom line – the law and its enforcement would get tougher making the crime even more – well – criminal. DUI laws in Idaho are tough, and…
Tis the season for increased traffic patrols – and DUI arrests in Boise, Idaho. The Statesman reports that between Friday night and Sunday afternoon forty-nine persons were arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Suppose for a minute that you are one of those forty-nine. Any criminal charge is expensive and the outcome important enough…
Continue Reading Five Questions To Ask The Lawyer Before You Sign That Retainer
Once in a while a lawyer blogger needs to talk about something besides lawyering – so I confess: I am a Mac, not a PC. Truth is I have always used Macs to make it easier to organize for trial. I think I am a better lawyer because I have an easier time with the technology. I am not alone –…
Imagine this – a US Senator gets convicted of criminal conduct, doesn’t resign, goes to court and when it all goes bad and he is convicted, he is shocked by the way he has been prosecuted. What went wrong here?
"This verdict is the result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial," Stevens said. "I…
Continue Reading Alaska Senator Ted Stevens Guilty of Corruption