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Gary Howard was arrested, charged, and convicted of marijuana possession with intent to distribute after he was found with 18 grams of pot. To put that amount into context, that’s about enough for 18 joints. And, because Howard had a prior felony on his record, those 18 grams got Howard 18 years in prison, without the possibility of parole. Howard appealed his harsh sentence, and was rebuffed by the Louisiana Supreme Court....

Laser pointers are amazing, particularly for the easily amused. The limits to their uses are generally only limited by a person’s imagination, and of course, state and federal law. By now, most everyone knows that there are laws against shining laser pointers at planes, or shining them in peoples’ eyes. However, most people don’t realize how illegal it is to shine a laser pointer at an aircraft. It is very illegal (no, “very illegal” is not a technical term)....

According to a new report issued about product recalls and child safety, 2016 saw the highest numbers of products recalled for dangers to kids since 2004. The product recalls included some rather staggering numbers, with Ikea and McDonalds each accounting for nearly half of all the products recalled. The product categories do not simply include products marketed to or for children, but also include products that pose a danger to children....

A Tennessee mother has been arrested on drug assault charges after giving birth to a “meth baby” who tested positive for amphetamines. Mallory Loyola, 26, of Madisonville, admitted to Monroe County sheriff’s deputies that she’d smoked meth “three to four days” before the birth of her daughter. The Tennessean reports that Loyola is the first to be charged under a new Tennessee law aimed at mothers of drug babies. What is this new law, and how does it relate to the meth baby’s mother?...

A dispute over a hefty cab fare led to the alleged stabbing of a cab driver and the arrest of a high-ranking Morgan Stanley investment banker on a hate-crime charge. William Bryan Jennings, 47, of Darien, Conn., is charged with intimidation by race or bigotry, as well as assault and larceny for allegedly not paying the cab fare, police told Reuters. Jennings’ attorney denied the charges, and claimed Jennings – one of Morgan Stanley’s most senior bond-trading executives – in acted in self-defense....

The jury summons was sent to a “Lawrence Tureaud.” But many of those waiting outside a Chicago courthouse to report for jury duty last week recognized the man as Mr. T, star of television’s “The A-Team” and the movie “Rocky III.” Tureaud, 62, wasn’t wearing any of his trademark gold chains, reports the Daily Herald, but he was still in Mr. T form as he waited to see if he was selected as a juror....

A federal judge has ruled that unpaid interns in New York City have no right to sue over sexual harassment because they are not employees. According to the New York Daily News, this recent ruling came as a crushing blow to 26-year-old Lihuan Wang, who alleged that her boss at Phoenix Satellite Television had “grabbed her butt and tried to kiss her” during her 2010 stint as an unpaid intern....

Last week President Obama announced that he will commute the sentences of 42 federal prisoners, bringing to 348 his administration’s total commuted sentences. This president has used the power of commutation more often than seven previous presidents combined, according to the Huffington Post, focusing particularly on commuting the too-severe mandatory minimum sentences of those imprisoned on drug crimes. The White House’s lead counsel, Neil Eggleston, issued a blog post last week explaining the decision and emphasizing the fact that serious reforms to criminal sentencing will have to take place at a congressional level....

Privacy and technology groups are challenging a federal rule allowing law enforcement agencies to tap Internet phone calls more easily. On October 25, a coalition of public interest and business groups, including the American Library Association, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Sun Microsystems, filed a Petition for Review with a federal court, asking the court to overturn a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruling requiring that broadband Internet and interconnected voice-over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services be designed to make government wiretapping easier....

Rapper T.I.’s back in prison after just being released from jail this past Wednesday. Why? Prison officials say that T.I.’s bus and entourage that escorted him from the Arkansas prison where he was released to a halfway house in Atlanta was not on the forms that the rapper filled out before his release. It’s required for prisoners who are in low or medium security prisons to clearly tell officials what method of transportation they will be taking after getting released, according to TMZ....

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that broadens the federal government’s wiretap and surveillance powers, and effectively gives some telecommunications companies legal immunity for cooperating in government investigations related to terrorism. The Senate approved the overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by a 69 to 28 vote. Calling Wednesday’s vote the “biggest revamping of federal surveillance law in 30 years,” the New York Times reports that the measure “gives the executive branch broader latitude in eavesdropping on people abroad and at home who it believes are tied to terrorism, and it reduces the role of a secret intelligence court in overseeing some operations....

Opponents of Texas’ abortion ultrasound law may need to go all the way to the Supreme Court. In August, District Court Judge Sam Sparks issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law, which requires physicians to show women a picture of their fetus and explain its current stage of development. He said the provisions improperly mandate speech. But then the 5th Circuit stepped in last month, vacating Judge Sparks’ order. The appeals court left the Judge little choice but to allow Texas’ abortion ultrasound law to go into effect....

Silicon Valley ag-tech company Zest Labs claims Walmart stole its proprietary “freshness management” technology used for reducing food waste. And if you know how much fresh food goes to waste, you know that the figures involved in the lawsuit are huge. Zest claims a total of $85 billion worth of fresh food is wasted every year in the United States, and Walmart loses nearly $3 billion a year to “fresh food shrink....

The term ‘chain of custody’ refers to the protocol for handling physical proof that will be introduced in a courtroom, ensuring evidence complies with the rules of criminal procedure. Basically, there are rules for managing different types of evidence and keeping it reliable, and this is the set that applies to the admissibility of material things. Cases are proven using evidence, and chain of custody dictates how the proofs are collected, stored, and displayed in court....

Gun violence, and the laws intended to curb it, has increasingly become the central focus of politicians, legislators, citizens, and courts. And judging from recent laws and rulings, that won’t change any time soon. One of those new laws is California’s “gun violence restraining order,” which allows police to seize and destroy firearms possessed by mentally ill people. How does this law permit legal gun seizures, and under what other circumstances may police legally seize guns?...

A bizarre, grisly murder was discovered when swimsuit designer Sylvie Cachay was found dead in a New York hotel room on Dec. 9. Cachay checked into the celebrity haunt Soho House in Manhattan with boyfriend Nick Brooks and that was the last time she was seen alive. Cachay told Soho House employees she and Brooks were checking in because he accidentally set fire to her apartment, reports the New York Post....

Justin Bieber has a legion of frenzied fans, but one fan took it to another level when she was arrested for breaking into the pop star’s rented mansion in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Qianying Zhao, 23, was arrested and charged with criminal trespass after police found her sleeping inside one of Bieber’s bedrooms, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Zhao allegedly entered the mansion without permission, so would a burglary charge also be appropriate?...

If you’re a fan of Yummy brand chicken nuggets, it’s time to find a new snack. The Canadian frozen chicken product, manufactured by Maxi Canada, Inc. and sold in the US, is being recalled in both countries after Canadian authorities shared some scary news. The company’s chicken nuggets may contain some not-so-yummy metal pieces. The initial complaint about foreign objects in the chicken nuggets actually come from an American consumer, reports Food Safety News....

Expert testimony about cries for help on a 911 call will not be heard at George Zimmerman’s murder trial, after the judge ruled Saturday that the testimony was based on unreliable methods. Although prosecutors and the defense are welcome to have family or other non-expert witnesses testify about the tape, the prosecution won’t be allowed to have their forensic voice analysts testify about the identity of the voice heard screaming for help on the tape, reports NBC News....

Though her new accessory may not be very fashionable, a judge has ordered Lindsay Lohan to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet. Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan lost a bid to ease restrictions on drug and alcohol testing, so that she could attend a film shoot in Texas, the Associated Press reports. Lohan appeared in court with her attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, recently to request that the restrictions on the drug testing in Los Angeles be eased as the actress is scheduled to begin filming a movie in Texas....