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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday issued two decisions giving federal judges greater discretion in setting sentences for drug offenses under the federal sentencing guidelines. In Kimbrough v. U.S., recognizing that under federal criminal statutes and sentencing guidelines, a drug trafficker dealing in crack cocaine is subject to the same sentence as a trafficker dealing in 100 times more powder cocaine, the Court declared that a federal district court judge may consider the disparity between the treatment of crack and powder offenses under federal sentencing guidelines, and the judge has discretion to find a sentence under those guidelines “greater than necessary” when sentencing for a cocaine offense....

Jessica Tata was charged with felony murder after four children died in a fire at her home day care. On Tuesday, a Texas jury found her guilty. The fire happened in February 2011 while Tata was out shopping. She left seven children in her home, unsupervised, and also left a pan of oil heating on the stove, the Associated Press reports. The oil ignited and sparked a fire that killed four of the children and injured the others....

Hopefully Vince Vaughn enjoyed his summer, because the easy living may be behind him. Vaughn was arrested back on June 10, 2018 in Hermosa Beach for misdemeanor driving under the influence (DUI) and disobeying an officer. His male passenger was also arrested for public intoxication. It is unclear to what level Vaughn was disobedient – perhaps he was trying to resist taking the drunk test, or maybe he was just having fun with the officers....

If your bike gets stolen, how can you get your stolen bike back? Unfortunately, sometimes this doesn’t ever happen. However, these days, you may be surprised by how easily you can recover your stolen bicycle if your thief isn’t exactly a criminal mastermind – and if you get yourself into gear and take some action. Here are 10 tips that can potenailly help you get your stolen bike back: Call the police....

Not long ago, as Findlaw’s Law and Daily Life Blog noted, a ground breaking decision by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was made to begin a pilot program allowing cameras in the courtroom for those courts under his purvey. One of the first off the runway was going to be a key case, the hearing on the constitutionality of Proposition 8 (Prop 8), California’s ban on gay marriage....

Descriptions of disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s behavior have ranged from rape and serial sexual assault to sexual harassment and “workplace misconduct.” Good Morning America called his behavior “gross,” and the New York Attorney General opened a civil rights investigation into his former production company. And now you can add sex trafficking to the list of descriptions. A British actress is suing Weinstein, claiming his assault on her in a French hotel room falls under the legal description of sex trafficking....

That’s according to the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime. Proactive Policing The main focus of community policing is a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to crime control, normally by working closely with a community and creating a more cooperative relationship with citizens....

If you’ve watched just about any mob movie in the last 30 years or so, you’ve heard the phrase “witness protection program.” It either involves a former gangster going in (like the end of Goodfellas) or comically navigating his new life (like My Blue Heaven). There are all kinds of conditions like changing names and moving to the suburbs, and always the risk of whomever the gangster is testifying against hunting them down....

Hip-hop star Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow” was a commercial success with tons of radio play. Now, Wiz Khalifa is facing a lawsuit over the song filed by Pennsylvania songwriter Max Gregory Warren. Warren says that Wiz Khalifa stole his song. Warren claims he wrote a song in November 2007 called “Pink N Yellow.” Warren filed for copyright protection, and received a certificate dated February 25, 2008. Wiz Khalifa later released the similarly titled “Black and Yellow....

It’s never fun getting food poisoning, but usually it passes within a few days. Sometimes, however, you end up with a severe case that can take much longer to recover from and have a significant impact on your life. When that happens, you may have the right to a legal remedy. Dawn Malek is one person affected by food poisoning who has decided to take legal action. She has filed a lawsuit against Burrito Delight, which is currently being investigated for a salmonella outbreak that occurred in February....

New photos of Charles Manson were released on Thursday to much Internet fanfare. The cult leader and convicted killer is looking decidedly haggard, but remains easily identifiable by the swastika tattooed on his forehead. The photos, which were taken at a California correctional facility, have surfaced just one week before his twelfth parole hearing. Yes, on April 11, Charles Manson is up for parole. Could it be granted? Unlikely. The California Board of Parole has denied Charles Manson parole eleven times since the 1970’s....

The protection racket is an old criminal enterprise, consisting of extorting money from people or businesses to keep them safe. Safe from whom? Well, from you of course. And it turns out you can teach an old crime new tricks. Paras Jha and Josiah White ran a company that specialized in mitigating DDoS attacks (when multiple computer systems flood the bandwidth of a targeted system, shutting it down). The two also created the Mirai botnet and, as Brian Krebs put it, “[l]ike firemen getting paid to put out the fires they started,” targeted organizations with DDoS attacks in order to boost their clientele....

Former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal will no longer face the death penalty. The Philadelphia district attorney decided this week to drop their decades-long battle over Abu-Jamal’s sentence. Prosecutors made the announcement just days before the 30th anniversary of his conviction. The decision also comes down after a federal appeals court this year ordered a new sentencing hearing. The appeals court found the jury instructions given in the original case were unclear....

The Food Drug Administration has issued warning letters to various drug companies over their promotional materials making inaccurate or incomplete claims. The Los Angeles Times reports that the FDA warnings involve drug company marketing from Eli Lilly, Bayer, Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Cephalon. For some background on what an FDA marketing enforcement letter is and what it means, look here. What Drug Companies and Drugs Are involved In Recent Warning Letters? Eli Lilly was sent a letter by the FDA about their drug Cymbalta....

Ford has announced it is recalling Escape SUVs and Fusion sedans citing concerns that the engines can overheat and cause fires. The Ford recall will affect more than 89,000 vehicles. The recall affects 2013 model year Escapes and Fusions equipped with 1.6-liter turbocharged engines that were sold in the U.S. and Canada, reports the Associated Press. Ford reportedly does not yet have a solution to the problem, but the company has asked owners to contact dealers to receive a free loaner car until the repairs can be made, according to the AP....

According to MSNBC’s “Consumer Man” more than just counting can go on during a census year. As we all have gotten a bit savvier at manipulating information, especially through the new media and new technologies, so have the crooks, cheats and scammers. Here is a small rundown of the ways the scamming crowd might try to use the census to lay their grubby little hands on your personal information. First, beware of emails purporting to be from the Census Bureau....

An uncle of the bride died following a massive Philadelphia wedding brawl that required police to issue an all-hands-on-deck call. In the posh Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, at least two wedding groups allegedly went at it in the Sheraton Hotel, reports CBS. Dozens of people were reportedly involved and the brawl spilled out into the streets early Sunday morning. To no surprise, police believe that alcohol played a role in the massive fight....

Prince George’s County Police Officer Jenchesky Santiago was convicted of first-degree assault and three other charges for pointing and holding his gun in a black man’s face. The incident occurred in Bowie, Maryland in May 2014, although officials only now released video of the incident in conjunction with Santiago’s criminal conviction. Warning: the video below is graphic and contains profane language. As you can see in the video, Santiago holds the gun to William Cunningham’s head, while ordering him to get back in a car....

Avast, me hearties! Captain Phillips’ lawsuit is set to hit a theater courtroom this winter. Richard Phillips – whose 2009 ordeal with Somali pirates will be depicted in the upcoming film “Captain Phillips” with Tom Hanks – is embroiled in a lawsuit brought by his former crew members who claim his negligence caused the crisis. How’s that for an anticlimactic plot twist? Aaarrrrgh! Phillips and his crew members spent five harrowing days in 2009 as a hostage of Somali pirates on a lifeboat after the Maersk Alabama was hijacked....

Notorious filmmaker Roman Polanski might come back to the United States, if his attorneys are successful in getting his decades-old sex abuse case dropped. In case you missed it, Roman Polanski was charged in 1977 of raping a 13-year-old during a photo shoot. CBS Los Angeles reports that Polanski had agreed to plead guilty to one count of statutory rape, but he fled the country the night before his sentencing in 1978....