Texting and driving is a crime in many states. But what proof do prosecutors need to show that a driver was distracted by a text message? In one recent case in Maryland, prosecutors allege 19-year-old Haley Meyers was texting and driving moments before her car crashed into a motorcycle, killing the 30-year-old rider. If convicted of negligent manslaughter, Meyers could face up to 10 years in prison, Baltimore’s WJZ-TV reports....
Last year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to regulate internet service providers the same as any common carrier of utility services, opening up companies like Comcast and Time Warner to regulation similar to water and electric providers. Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld that notion, an enormous victory for the Obama administration and net neutrality advocates. The ruling also preserves federal regulations prohibiting companies from either blocking or slowing of internet traffic to consumers or speeding up websites that agree to pay a fee for faster access....
There is a voluntary recall of toy cell phones made by Discovery Toys because of a possible choking hazard from the plastic antenna breaking off, Bloomberg reports. In one incident, a child was found with the antenna in his mouth, but it was removed safely by his mother. There have been a total of three incidents reported where the antenna has broken off the toy. The toy cell phones recall includes 2,900 toys in the U....
R&B Singer Usher Raymond is catching a lot of flak these days as he reportedly was a victim of a one million dollar car break-in. Who keeps a million dollars worth of bling in their SUV? According to Fox Atlanta, police said jewelry and electronics were stolen. His vehicle was broken into when the singer and one of his friends were in the AT&T store. Raymond claimed there was over a million dollars worth of jewelry, $50,000 in furs and clothing and about $20,000 stolen from the car break-in....
If your criminal record has been expunged, do you ever have to disclose it? Generally speaking, the answer is “no” for everyday situations like apartment-rental and job applications – but there are a few exceptions that vary by state. Here are five situations that may require you to disclose an expungement, depending on where you live: Applying for a state-issued professional license. If you’re pursuing a license to practice law in any state, you are required to disclose your expungements....
They say online games like Farmville are addictive. They also say that nothing compares to a mother’s love. Sadly in the case of Alexandra V. Tobias, one of them had to give, and it wasn’t Farmville. Tobias, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after shaking her baby to death. The Florida Times Union reports that Tobias became angry, shook the baby, smoked a cigarette to compose herself and then shook the baby again....
Sometimes, you just need to hit the reset button and say goodbye to all those new and complicated things you introduced into your life. And that’s how last night’s episode felt. All those new associates causing trouble at Lockhart, Agos & Lee? Jason Crouse’s complicated relationship with Alicia? Courtney Paige mucking up Eli’s love life? Even Alicia’s beef with Judge Schakowsky – all getting reset to zero. But not without some fireworks in between....
The thiopental sodium story continues to develop. As we’ve previously discussed, there is a shortage of the drug, used by states to carry out the death penalty using lethal injections. Now U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot has approved the use of pentobarbital, a drug used to euthanize animals, for executions in Oklahoma. The decision could have a ripple effect across other states that seek to deal with the national shortage of thiopental sodium....
The Legalize It crowd got a bit of a boost last week, as news outlets published a letter from the Drug Enforcement Administration to Sen. Elizabeth Warren. In it, the DEA said it will review marijuana’s status as a Schedule 1 banned substance, sometime before the middle of this year. The DEA has performed these reviews before, but never in a climate so conducive to reclassification, with major newspapers calling for the agency to move pot to a “less restrictive category that better reflects both its danger and the undeniable facts on the ground – that nearly half the states in the nation allow the use of cannabis for medical purposes, and several allow it to be used recreationally....
Bruce Springsteen fans won’t be dancing in the dark anymore. For many of them who overpaid for their concert tickets last year, their check is in the mail. It appeared that Ticketmaster had a hungry heart. In a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Ticketmaster has agreed to refund Bruce Springsteen tickets to consumers who bought the tickets in 2009 from Ticketmaster’s resale Web site, TicketsNow. The FTC alleged that Ticketmaster used bait-and-switch tactics to sell these tickets to consumers, when they went on sale on February 2, 2009....
This week the California Supreme Court set up another sign-post on the legal road for Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the suit over California’s ban on same sex marriage. As discussed in a prior post, the court was petitioned to force the Governor, along with Attorney General Jerry Brown, to defend the law to the court of appeals. The California Supreme Court has decided the governor and attorney general have no legal requirement that would force them to defend Prop 8....
Bragging about the ring that your boyfriend got you can land both of you in jail. That’s the lesson that one Crystal A. Yamnitzkylearned after she posted a photo of her three-carat diamond engagement ring on Facebook. It turns out that her boyfriend, Robert Driscoll, is acussed of stealing the ring as well as: a diamond ring worth $250, a gold pearl ring valued at $20, another engagement ring of unknown value, and a 14-karat gold cross charm valued at $50....
This week’s DEA raids in Seattle are prompting Washington residents to wonder what effect, if any, state law has on federal drug enforcement. Pot dispensaries that are legal under Washington state law were hit by federal drug agents as part of “a two-year investigation,” Seattle’s KIRO-TV reports. Agents raided medical marijuana providers in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and Gig Harbor. Dispensary owners fear for their livelihood as their “legal” operations are under siege by federal law enforcement....
Consider this: after a night of drinking, you head back to your car. You don’t have cab money, and no one will pick you up. At once, you decide to do the responsible thing and sleep it off in your car. Possibly not. Though the law explicitly prohibits driving while under the influence, it actually prohibits a lot more. In some jurisdictions, you can be busted for parking while drunk. This is what many refer to as a parked car DUI, and its existence is contrary to common sense....
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced today he will be stepping down as soon as his successor can be nominated and confirmed. Holder, the first African-American to hold the post, took office shortly after President Barack Obama began his first term in 2009. Holder leaves on something of a high note, reports The New York Times: Earlier this week, he announced that the federal prison population declined for the first time since 1980 on his watch, and should continue to do so for at least the next two years....
Using physical force to discipline your children, such as spanking, is generally legal in most states as long as it’s done reasonably. But what about the use of implements to discipline a child, such as a belt or a “switch,” as a tree branch stripped of its leaves is called in some parts of the country? NFL star Adrian Peterson was indicted on child abuse charges last week in Texas after it was discovered he had disciplined his four-year-old son using a switch....
In August, President Donald Trump pardoned former ‘America’s Toughest Sheriff’ Joe Arpaio following his conviction for criminal contempt. Arpaio had “willfully violated” a court order barring he and his staff from racial profiling and other forms of unconstitutional policing. But yesterday, a federal judge in Arizona ruled that, while Trump’s pardon of Arpaio may have spared him from corporeal punishment, it doesn’t warrant vacating his underlying conviction. You can see the judge’s ruling below:...
There’s finally some closure to Lindsay Lohan’s latest legal drama. Lohan has agreed to spend 90 days in a drug rehab facility, according to CNN. This comes after Lohan agreed to a plea deal to settle her criminal charges. The Los Angeles judge hearing the case even gave Lohan some candid advice: “Don’t drive.” Lohan was in court Monday to face charges of reckless driving, lying to police and obstructing justice....
Madonna’s Upper East Side neighbors are upset with the pop superstar. She posted fake “no parking” signs outside her townhouse, and painted a yellow line along the curb to block people from parking there, among other violations of Department of Transportation rules. Well, she probably didn’t do it herself – based on what neighbors say, it seems likely the star’s staff took action on her behalf. They’re apparently accustomed to directing foot and automobile traffic around the building so that Madonna can exit the garage unnoticed....
The long-awaited verdict for the Michael Jackson wrongful death lawsuit is out, and Jackson fans are understandably heartbroken. A Los Angeles jury, in a unanimous verdict, has cleared AEG of all liability, Reuters reports. The former King of Pop’s mother, Katherine, 83, and three of Jackson’s children had sued concert promoter AEG Live over Jackson’s death back in 2009 from an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol. Jackson was 50 when he died....
