Don’t you hate it when you lose your keys and the security guard won’t let you into your own gated community? Ok, most of us probably don’t get to deal with the security guard part, but regardless, when it’s 4:30 in the morning, all you want to do is go to bed after a night out. Instead of his cozy bed, rapper T.I. had to settle for a jail cell after he was arrested while attempting to enter his own gated community....
On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it would be fining Japanese car maker Toyota nearly $16.4 million for a failure to report problems with accelerator pedals in its cars. The government says it has evidence Toyota knew of the problem as early as September 2009, but did not act to recall any vehicles until January, 2010. According to a report by The Detroit News, the $16 million plus fine is the largest the government could legally levy against the car company since Congress increased the penalties in 2000....
WikiLeaks, true to its name, has been the source of thousands, if not millions of leaked government and intelligence documents. The published documents include videos of airstrikes and diplomatic cables from the Iraq war, leading Democrats’ emails during the 2016 presidential campaign, and, most recently, “a trove of C.I.A. documents last month that described sophisticated software and techniques to break into electronics.” The last leak might’ve been the criminal straw that broke the prosecutorial camel’s back....
Like individuals, companies can be indicted if they violate criminal laws. So what happens when a corporation is criminally charged? This has just happened to California’s largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric. The company is facing 12 federal criminal charges stemming from a 2010 gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people and leveled a suburban neighborhood. Prosecutors allege that the company didn’t conduct required inspections that may have prevented the massive blast, according to the San Francisco Chronicle....
Everyone’s heard the age old-saying: if you do the crime, you do the time. But what about if you don’t do the crime, can you still do time? And what exactly would that time be for? The fact is that simply planning to commit a crime can very well be a crime, but there’s got to be a bit more than just an idea, or fully fleshed out plan in some scenarios, before merely planning a crime will be a crime....
Minnesota lawmakers have okayed a compensation agreement in connection with last summer’s Minneapolis bridge collapse, including a $38M settlement fund for victims and their families. On August 1, 2007, an Interstate 35W bridge collapsed over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, killing 13 people and injuring dozens. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the legislation sets up two funds for the 183 victims of the collapse: one $24M fund for victims and their families – capped at $400,000 per individual – and a supplemental $12....
This week, “The Good Wife” took a break from its attenuated NSA plotline to tackle a deeply emotional and controversial issue – that of surrogacy and abortion. Add some nasty internal firm politics to the mix and voila, you’ve got 45 minutes of legal-tainment brimming with drama. Here’s a breakdown of the third episode from the new season, “A Precious Commodity”: Two surrogate parents opt to terminate their fetus when they learn it would have severe birth defects and only a 15 percent chance of survival....
Fleeing to a country with no extradition treaty may safeguard you, at least for a bit, from the nastiness of being dragged into criminal court in the United States. For those on the run like alleged NSA leaker Edward Snowden, most countries do have an extradition treaty. Once that foreign power gets a hold of you, they will happily ship you back to the United States. If extradition isn’t your bag, you may want to consider one of these five countries without a U....
Following the Anthem hack attack that potentially exposed the personal information of some 80 million customers, another danger has arisen: “Phishing” emails attempting to scam those same customers of even more personal information. Ars Technica reports that scammers are using the hacked information to email Anthem customers in the hopes of gaining access to customers’ personal data. The extent of this phishing campaign is unknown at this time, but Anthem’s press release regarding the scam asserts, “There is no indication that the scam email campaigns are being conducted by those that committed the cyber attack, or that the information accessed in the attack is being used by the scammers....
Abbott Labs is recalling some of its baby formula due to a possible beetle contamination. The pharmaceutical company announced that it had initiated the voluntary recall following reports from two consumers that they had found contamination in bottles of the company’s No. 1 Similac powdered infant formula. Inspections of one part of a plant in the town of Sturgis, Michigan, showed evidence of beetles or their larvae. Reuters reports that according to the company, the Similac recall will affect less than 5 million units in the U....
Californians will get enhanced protection from foreclosure rescue scammers under a new plan from state Attorney General Jerry Brown, which will require foreclosure consultation companies to register with the AG’s office and post a $100,000 bond by July 1st if they want to stay in business. The plan will create a registry of foreclosure consultants operating in the state, which will allow consumers to research companies before they seek their services, and will also open up a paper trail for recourse if the company violates the law....
A wire story last week reported that a Florida man blamed his cat for downloading child pornography onto his computer. Yes, the 48-year-old Sears salesman Keith Griffin reportedly told Sheriff’s deputies that sometimes “his cat would jump on the keyboard and he would came [sic] back to the computer and find strange things on this computer,” But there is more information contained in the detective’s affidavit in support of a warrant for Griffin’s arrest (inset, right)…much, much more....
Billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III, the co-founder of Irvine, California-based computer chip maker Broadcom accused his ex-wife Stacey Nicholas of “character assassination” in her attempts to expel him as co-trustee of their family holdings. The L.A. Times reports that, in a November probate court filing, Stacey claimed her ex-husband “should be removed as a trustee for allegedly squandering $60 million from their fortune on personal indulgences, having her tailed by detectives wearing gorilla masks and threatening her life....
So Conrad Murray has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and remanded to the custody of local law enforcement. What’s next? Conrad Murray’s sentencing. What will those memoranda contain? To start, involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 4 years under California law. Both sides will thus present arguments for and against prison time and probation. The prosecutor will likely point out Murray’s lack of remorse and his refusal to take responsibility for his involvement in Michael Jackson’s death....
Cars and bicycles have never enjoyed a storybook relationship when it comes to sharing the road. But some worry that when the two collide (literally), the driver is often able to avoid criminal charges even when the crash kills or seriously injures the cyclist. In a recent New York Times opinion piece, San Francisco resident Daniel Duane laid out a number of anecdotes from bikers around the country with one common thread: When cyclists were hit by cars, “no charges, no citation....
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that individuals and businesses making contributions to charity should keep in mind several important tax law changes made last summer under the Pension Protection Act. The new law offers older owners of individual retirement accounts a new way to give to charity. It also includes rules designed to provide both taxpayers and the government greater certainty in determining what may be deducted as a charitable contribution....
Judge Judy’s son is suing a local sheriff for defamation – and no, Judge Judy will not be the presiding judge in the matter. Putnam County District Attorney Adam Levy, otherwise known as “Judge Judy’s son,” is suing Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith for $5 million for saying Levy interfered in a child rape case. The mudslinging is in full swing, and it’s almost a shame that it won’t be featured on daytime television....
It’s a generally accepted conclusion that, absent exigent circumstances, police may not search an undetained person’s cell phone without a warrant or prior permission. According to the ACLU, Michigan State Police, armed with cell phone extraction devices, has been violating this principle, illegally culling information from cell phones during traffic stops. For Michigan State Police, cell phone data is an important part of many criminal investigations, which is why the agency purchased the commercially available Data Extraction Devices in 2006....
October 22 is National Nut Day, which many of us will celebrate with trail mixes, pb and j sandwiches, and that perfect delicacy, boiled peanuts. But not everyone can enjoy nuts like the rest of us. Nut allergies and salmonella outbreaks have made nuts dangerous in recent years, so who can be held responsible for allergic reactions and illnesses from nut consumption? Here are some legal aspects to consider: Nut Allergies Incidents of peanut allergies, especially in children, seem to be increasing over the last two decades....
Pfizer Inc., manufacturer of Bextra, will pay $2.3 billion to settle a federal investigation over the company’s off-label promotion of the prescription painkiller, which was pulled from the market in 2005. Bextra (valdecoxib) was intended to relieve symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in adults, but was pulled from the market in 2005 because of links to serious cardiovascualar problems in users of the drug. According to the Wall Street Journal, “[i]t isn’t clear what off-label uses Pfizer’s marketing of Bextra allegedly involved,” although “pt]he company settled another case in October in which the Kentucky state attorney general complained that Pfizer promoted Bextra for acute and surgical pain, despite lacking approval for such uses....
