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Criminal Law Tag

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 16, 2015 32 Comments
A re-trial begins this week in Houston for retired firefighter Raul Rodriguez who was previously convicted of murder and sentenced to 40 years in jail, reports the Houston Chronicle.  Rodriquez had unsuccessfully argued self-defense at trial. The notable oddity of this case was the fact that Rodriguez had videotaped himself rather bizarrely confronting loudly partying neighbors. Rodriguez would ultimately shoot and kill one of those neighbors, Kelly Danaher. I first wrote about this case back in December of 2014, after the appellate court ruled that Rodriguez was entitled to a re-trial: "New Trial for Man Who Video Recorded Own 'Self-Defense' Shooting." The grounds for ordering a re-trial was an error in the trial judge's instructions to the jury on Texas self-defense law. As I wrote at the time:
The facts of the case are somewhat ambiguous on detail, but in general they consist of an amalgam of a loud, drunken party, long-simmering neighborhood disputes, and incredibly poor judgment on the part of a retired fire-fighter in electing to exercise his concealed carry license by bringing his pistol to a confrontation. A tragic outcome was entirely predictable.

Posted by Mike LaChance on November 01, 2015 25 Comments
The city of St. Louis has been plagued by a string of fires at churches with black congregations. Some were quick to jump to the conclusion that the fires were racially motivated. David Graham at The Atlantic played that racial card:
The situation is not unlike the arsons that followed the massacre at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston this summer. As The Atlantic pointed out at the time, there’s a long history of terrorism against black churches in America, one that begins in the era of slavery and continues up through Reconstruction, the civil-rights era, and into the 1990s. But unlike those burnings—and despite the intense focus on the St. Louis area since the August 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson—the recent arsons have been slow to get the same attention, either in the national media or even in the area.... Burnings of black churches has often been a tactic for white supremacist groups.
That narrative took a hit with the announcement that a suspect was arrested for two of the fires. The suspect is black. The Washington Post reports:

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 30, 2015 10 Comments
Police in three cities are now boycotting filmmaker Quentin Tarantino for his participation in a recent anti-cop rally, during which he accused police of being murderers. Tarantino's charges are particularly ironic considering the fact that he's built a career producing extremely violent films filled with gun violence and acts of murder. The latest police force to join the boycott is in Philadelphia. Christopher Rosen of Entertainment Weekly reports:
Philadelphia police join call to boycott Quentin Tarantino movies All 14,000 Members of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 have joined officers in New York and Los Angeles in calling for a boycott of Quentin Tarantino’s films.

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 27, 2015 10 Comments
Across the nation, police departments are having difficulty recruiting new officers. Many people who might have considered a career in law enforcement just a few years ago are, naturally, concerned by the anti-cop rhetoric espoused by the Black Lives Matter movement and the accompanying narrative supplied by many in media. CNN provides these stunning numbers:
The direct impact of officer-involved shootings on recruiting new officers is unclear, but police departments small and large are having fewer candidates apply to become officers. Post-Ferguson, the New York Police Department, the country's biggest police force, says applications are down 18%. LAPD saw a 16% drop in applications since 2013. In Philadelphia, where police have had a decadeslong problem of trying to attract new hires, police recruit numbers dropped 47% in 2014 from 2008. Even the small police force in Leesburg, Virginia, says while it hasn't seen a drop in applications, far fewer qualified candidates are applying, affecting their ability to hire good cops.

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 25, 2015 15 Comments
Last week, Democrats blocked the passage of Kate's Law, a measure which would punish illegal immigrants who repeatedly re-enter the country after deportation. Bill O'Reilly of FOX News has been one of the most vocal proponents of the law and spoke to FOX and Friends about what happened in Congress. The FOX News Insider reports:
O'Reilly to Dems Against Kate's Law: 'How Can You Live with Yourself?' Bill O'Reilly said a stand-alone vote on Kate's Law would put lawmakers to the test and -- in his opinion -- disqualify any Democratic senators who oppose it from holding office. The proposal would impose a mandatory five-year prison sentence on felons caught trying to re-enter the U.S. after being deported.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 29, 2015 11 Comments
Joyce Mitchell was arrested on June 11 after authorities discovered that she assisted convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat escape from a maximum security prison in upstate New York. Yesterday, Judge Kevin Ryan threw the book at Mitchell, sentencing her to the maximum of 7 years in prison for first-degree promoting prison contraband, a felony, and a concurrent year for fourth-degree misdemeanor criminal facilitation. She was also hit with over $6000 in fees, and is facing over $100,000 in restitution charges from the state to cover the cost of the three-week manhunt. More from CNN:

Posted by Amy Miller on September 08, 2015 2 Comments
Late last month, Virginia reporter Alison Parker and her cameraman Adam Ward were murdered on-air by a disgruntled former coworker. They woman they were interviewing, local chamber of commerce executive Vicki Gardner, was also shot---but miraculously, was able to walk to the ambulance, and made it to the hospital and through an intense operation. Vicki's doctors were cautiously optimistic in the wake of the attack, and kept a close watch for infection. (The bullet came "within centimeters" of taking her life.) But, she pulled through, and yesterday, Vicki Gardner was released from the hospital. From Vicki's Recovery Page:
Good News! Vicki’s Home! Vicki has been released from Carilion Memorial Hospital. We are thrilled to have her home but she does face a long recuperation time to be back at 100%. Vicki wants to thank all of you for your support and prayers and for respecting her privacy as she continues her journey back to full health. She will make a statement to the media as soon as she has had time to rest up and adjust to her new routine.
In the wake of the shootings, Gardner's condition became a sub-story, buried beneath ledes about mental illness, gun control, and racism. It shouldn't have been that way; but the media, as it often does, saw an opportunity to tout an agenda (or, three or four) and did so with gusto.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 08, 2015 15 Comments
Since his return to the U.S. in 2014, there's been much speculation over which charges (if any) Bowe Bergdahl, alleged military deserter and former Taliban captive, would have to face. Tough criticism came from some of his fellow servicemen who believe Bergdahl is a deserter. A new report from the Associated Press via the Houston Chronicle says that Bergdahl will face one charge that's extremely rare:
Military selects rarely used charge for Bergdahl case Military prosecutors have reached into a section of military law seldom used since World War II in the politically fraught case against Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier held prisoner for years by the Taliban after leaving his post in Afghanistan. Observers wondered for months if Bergdahl would be charged with desertion after the deal brokered by the U.S. to bring him home. He was — but he was also charged with misbehavior before the enemy, a much rarer offense that carries a stiffer potential penalty in this case. "I've never seen it charged," Walter Huffman, a retired major general who served as the Army's top lawyer, said of the misbehavior charge. "It's not something you find in common everyday practice in the military."

Posted by Amy Miller on September 04, 2015 2 Comments
Remember El Chapo? Joaquin Guzman, the infamous Mexican drug lord---and head of the even more infamous Sinaloa drug cartel---made headlines this past July when he executed an even more infamous escape from Mexico's maximum security Altiplano prison. He tied his shoes, popped down a tunnel, and surfaced a mile outside the prison walls into the waiting arms (and vehicles) of his drug-running minions. It was El Chapo's second escape from a Mexican maximum security prison, and officials were both baffled* and humiliated* after they discovered they'd been hoodwinked*. (*This, of course, assumes that they were hoodwinked. The man had a privacy wall in his cell and a fully-lit and equipped tunnel. Alas...) Since his escape, El Chapo has been on the run, leaving a bizarre social media trail in his wake. Several times, Guzman's son Alfredo has made posts to social media purporting to show photos of his father not languishing in a cell in central Mexico. His last post, however, may have had a teensy flaw---he left the geotagging on. Mediaite grabbed a screenshot of the tweet:

Posted by Andrew Branca on September 03, 2015 60 Comments
Yesterday Judge Barry Williams made several important rulings on the Freddie Gray case, in which six Baltimore police officers have been charged with various felonies in the death of the arrested drug suspect, reports the Baltimore Sun. Key among these are that each of the officers will receive a separate trial, and that Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby will not be forced to recuse herself from the proceedings. Left unanswered until a successive hearing next week is whether the trials will be held in Baltimore, where the alleged crimes occurred, or outside the city where defense lawyers argue a less tainted jury pool is available. These rulings strike me as being consistent with reasonable due process as well as political decision-making. The six officers charged were each involved in some, but not all, of the activities around Gray's arrest and later apparent injury while being transported in the police vehicle. This is reflected in the differing charges against each of them. As a result, the evidence relevant and admissible in one officer's prosecution might well not be either in another officer's prosecution. Expecting a jury to keep all this straight in a simultaneous trial of six defendants would be unrealistic, to say the least. Indeed, I very much expect the press and the general public will find doing so all but impossible. (I anticipate we'll be seeing a lot of bad legal analysis as a result.) To refresh our recollection, here's a table listing the six defendants, the charges against them, and their defense counsel. This might well prove a handy reference moving forward:

Posted by Amy Miller on September 02, 2015 13 Comments
Last Friday, Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth stopped to fuel up at a suburban Houston gas station. Soon after, Shannon Miles pulled up, put a gun to the back of Goforth's head, and shot him 15 times. It wasn't a murder---it was an execution; and now, those close to the investigation are asking whether or not nationwide anti-cop rhetoric played a part in it [emphasis mine]:
Surveillance video from the gas station shows that Goforth, 47, had just come out of a convenience store after he had pumped gas and that Miles got out of his red truck, she said. “He runs up behind Deputy Goforth and puts the gun to the back of his head and shoots. Deputy Goforth hits the ground and then he continues to unload his gun, shooting repeatedly into the back of Deputy Goforth,” [Harris County District Attorney Devon] Anderson said. Goforth was shot 15 times and a witness saw the shooting, Anderson said. She added that the shell casings match the .40-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun found at Miles’ home. Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said Saturday that the attack was “clearly unprovoked,” and there is no evidence that Goforth knew Miles. “Our assumption is that he (Goforth) was a target because he wore a uniform,” the sheriff said.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 02, 2015 7 Comments
Do Cops' lives matter? The answer wasn't so obvious to whoever murdered Abilene, Texas-based Officer Don Allen. Allen, 27, was found dead in his Abilene-area home Monday evening. Investigators found nothing to suggest that the killing was a random act of terror against police officers in general, but are treating the death as a suspicious homicide. More from Fox News:
At a news conference Tuesday, Abliene Police Chief Stan Standridge described Allen's death as "suspicious" and said the FBI, ATF, and the Texas Rangers were among the agencies investigating the case. Standridge did not specify exactly how Allen died, but said that multiple leads were being investigated and multiple motives were being considered. The Tarrant County medical examiner was due to conduct an autopsy on Allen's body.

Posted by Amy Miller on August 07, 2015 17 Comments
Three years ago, James Holmes walked into the midnight showing of a new Batman movie, pulled out a gun, and opened fire into the crowd. He killed 12 people, injured 70 others, and referred to his victims as "collateral damage." In the aftermath, the media scurried for explanations, blaming everything from the tea party to mental illness for such a senseless and upsetting act of violence. Still, justice prevailed, and a jury found Holmes guilty of 24 counts of first-degree murder and 140 counts of attempted murder. Today, that same jury will decide whether or not Holmes should face the death penalty for his actions. A decision is expected at 7 p.m. ET, and we'll cover it live here (hopefully with an embedded livestream.) More from NBC News:
For the final decision, the jury deliberated for less than seven hours, starting on Thursday afternoon and continuing through Friday. If the jury decides against the death penalty, Holmes will get life in prison without parole. Twelve people were killed and 70 were injured in the attack. During the trial's penalty phase, Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler told the jury that Holmes deserved to die. "For James Egan Holmes, justice is death," he said. Defense attorneys argued that Holmes suffered from schizophrenia and he was legally insane when he carried out the attack. The jury rejected that defense in finding Holmes guilty. In the penalty phase, Holmes' lawyers said it would be inhumane to execute a man who suffered from mental illness.
***UPDATES*** We have a live stream:

Posted by Amy Miller on August 04, 2015 15 Comments
In June of last year, Ali Mohammad Brown shot 19 year-old Brendan Tevlin 10 times while Brendan was stopped at a traffic light in Essex County, New Jersey. The murder itself was underreported, and media watchdogs and activists took to social media to demand an explanation for the lack of coverage of such a violent, inexplicable crime. (You can read Legal Insurrection's coverage HERE.) They were right to do so. After Brown was caught and arrested, he told police that the murder was a “just kill” and said it was an act of “vengeance” to compensate for U.S. military killings in the Middle East. He was vocal in his opposition to American intervention overseas, emphasized multiple times the vengeful nature of the act---and yet the media did nothing to expose what could have been the next act of violent jihad come to America. The media's malpractice in this case has been well documented, yet outlets for the most part have only just begun to scratch the surface of what happened. True justice for Brendan, however, is in reach. Last Thursday, Brown was indicted on charges of terrorism, murder, felony murder, carjacking, and robbery, as well as multiple weapons offenses.

Posted by Mike LaChance on July 30, 2015 11 Comments
Chaka Fattah, a Democrat who represents Pennsylvania's second district, has been charged with racketeering conspiracy alongside four other people in a case that smacks of influence peddling. The Department of Justice announced the charges yesterday:
Congressman Chaka Fattah and Associates Charged with Participating in Racketeering Conspiracy A member of Congress and four of his associates were indicted today for their roles in a racketeering conspiracy involving several schemes that were intended to further the political and financial interests of the defendants and others by, among other tactics, misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars of federal, charitable and campaign funds. Congressman Chaka Fattah Sr., 58, of Philadelphia; lobbyist Herbert Vederman, 69, of Palm Beach, Florida; Fattah’s Congressional District Director Bonnie Bowser, 59, of Philadelphia; and Robert Brand, 69, of Philadelphia; and Karen Nicholas, 57, of Williamstown, New Jersey, were charged today in a 29-count indictment with participating in a racketeering conspiracy and other crimes, including bribery; conspiracy to commit mail, wire and honest services fraud; and multiple counts of mail fraud, falsification of records, bank fraud, making false statements to a financial institution and money laundering.
Naturally, Fattah denies the charges:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 30, 2015 99 Comments
On July 4, 2015, 22 year-old Lane Pittman decided to take his electric guitar and play the Star Spangled Banner on the street outside his friend's house in Neptune Beach, near Jacksonville. Pittman says that after a police officer asked him to stop, he asked if it was okay to play on the sidewalk, and was told that was okay. And play he did:
"I don't think I ever played that song as good in my life as I did on that day. It felt right. It was an emotional roller coaster."
The crowd topped 200 people, spilling onto the street around him: Then Pittman was, to his surprise, arrested for breaching the peace:

Posted by Andrew Branca on July 29, 2015 304 Comments
On July 19, just 10 days ago, UC police officer Ray Tensing shot and killed motorist Sam DuBose in the course of a traffic stop, according to reports by CNN and others. Today, prosecutor Joe Deters announced that Officer Tensing had been indicted for murder in the killing. The silver lining for bloggers everywhere is that much of the event was captured by Officer Tensing's body-cam. You can watch the full video here, but I have relevant portions reproduced in slow-motion and relevant screen captures below, as well. Officer Tensing claims that he shot DuBose because the driver began dragging the officer with his car. Certainly, dragging someone with your car is conduct likely to cause death or grave bodily harm, and thus warrants the use of deadly force in self-defense.

Posted by Amy Miller on July 29, 2015 11 Comments
Back in June, we reported on the bizarre New York prison break that led to a three-week manhunt for convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat. Richard Matt was eventually shot and killed by police, and David Sweat shot multiple times and captured alive; but the most interesting---and bizarre---character in the frightening saga is the prison worker who helped the two men escape---at great risk to herself, her husband, and her family. Joyce Mitchell, 51, was was arrested on June 11 and charged with Promoting Prison Contraband in the 1st Degree and Criminal Facilitation in the 4th Degree; today, Mitchell pleaded guilty to those charges. She faces a prison sentence of 27 months to seven years and a $6,000 fine. Mitchell's descent into the madness that was Matt and Sweat's escape scheme started slowly, with small favors; as time passed, however, Mitchell fell victim to her own idiocy---and the apparent allure of weird sex with a convicted murderer. From the New York Times:
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