What is an Alford plea? It’s named after a famous U.S. Supreme Court case, but what exactly does it mean? A recent case shows how Alford pleas are used in practice. A South Carolina couple was sentenced to 20 years in prison this week for extreme child abuse. The sentence was handed down after the pair entered Alford pleas – often dubbed the “guilty yet innocent” plea. Here’s how an Alford plea works:...
Knock knock. Who’s there? It’s the police and they’d like to do a search of your home. Wait, that’s not a joke and it’s certainly not funny. Dealing with cops at the door is something most everyone wants to avoid. But once the cops have shown up at your house, is there anything you can do about it? There’s always something you can do when it comes to police interaction, even if it’s just remembering what happens in order to tell your lawyer later....
The first item on any good summer safety checklist is usually sunscreen. But rather than opting for the old-fashioned rub-on varieties of sunscreen, both sun worshipers and parents alike are relying more and more on the convenience of spray sunscreens to help guard against the danger of over-exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. But while they may be convenient, consumer watchdogs are now being joined by the Food and Drug Administration in asking: Are spray sunscreens safe?...
Your home is secure and everyone knows it. You’ve got that sign in your yard that advertises your security system, and it deters crime. Or does it? Home security system scams are not new but they are on the rise. The targets of these scams are almost asking for it. Or, more precisely, they are advertising their vulnerability. Find out how you can avoid doing the same and keep your home safe....
Bank of America has reached a tentative $17 billion settlement deal with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve allegations that it fraudulently marketed mortgage-backed securities. The terms of the mortgage settlement were reached last week during a phone conversation between Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Attorney General Eric Holder, reports USA Today. If approved, the settlement would be the largest ever between the government and a financial institution in the ongoing string of disputes involving mortgage servicing and mortgage-backed securities....
In response to the recent sentencing in the Brock Turner case, or lack thereof, the California legislature has passed new laws relating to the crimes of rape and sexual assault. The new laws not only redefine rape and require mandatory minimum sentencing for sexual assault crimes involving an incapacitated victim, they also eliminate the statute of limitations for a prosecutor to bring criminal charges. Removing the statute of limitations on rape and crimes such as sexual abuse of a minor takes into account the reality that victims are sometimes too traumatized to go through the court process immediately after being victimized....
We all make mistakes during our foolish and misspent youths, but some mistakes are more permanent than others. No, we’re not talking about unfortunate tattoos or poor piercing choices. We mean activities that result in a criminal record. At least if you were a young criminal, it’s easier to cover up your sordid past. Removing a tattoo is much more expensive and painful than expunging or clearing your juvenile record....
Damon Dash lost custody of his children, and he wasn’t even there to hear the judgment. Like a few other famous fathers, former Jay-Z manager, Damon Dash, was in a bitter custody battle with ex-wife Rachel Roy. Both wanted sole legal and physical custody of their two daughters. According to reports, Dash accused Roy of driving drunk and threatening him with a knife. Roy reportedly accused Dash of smoking weed around the kids....
Facebook is serious stuff. At least to some people. When Maurice Davenport refused to show his girlfriend Shemicka McVey his profile on Facebook, things got ugly. By the time police arrived, they found Davenport with a knife wound on his left bicep, according to an Indianapolis Police report. According to McVey, the Facebook stabbing came after the Indiana couple began arguing about Facebook. Davenport went downstairs and McVey followed him. They continued to argue over Facebook as their two-year-old child was left upstairs by itself....
A 25-year-old Maine man indicted on federal charges for selling a stolen tractor on eBay appears to have been busy while free on bail. Instead of “doing time,” perhaps Matthew Theriault was thinking about someone else doo-doo’ing time while he was getting preparing to defend his upcoming tractor scam trial. U.S. Marshalls took Theriault back into custody last week after new allegations surfaced (see below) that – while out on bail – he allegedly threw poo-poo into the SUV of one of his father’s tenants....
If you’re facing a DUI case you may be wondering when they’re going to bring in your public defender. Well you might have to keep waiting, depending on the circumstances. It’s true that for many crimes, the accused is entitled to a public defender. But contrary to popular belief, every suspect doesn’t get a public defender automatically. Even if the crime you’re charged with might qualify, you personally might not....
Before the midterm elections, you probably heard a lot about the “migrant caravan” – a group fleeing violence in Central America and potentially seeking asylum in the U.S. (Since the midterms? Not so much.) President Donald Trump sent troops to the southern border with Mexico in anticipation, and also attempted to limit the eligibility of asylum seekers crossing that border. A group of those migrants sued the Trump administration, challenging the president’s stance on detaining asylees as well as ICE and the Department of Homeland Security’s practice of separating immigrant families in detention....
Like many federal judges before him, United States District Judge William H. Orrick of California’s Northern District has enjoined the federal government from enforcing one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders. Trump’s Executive Order 13768, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” has suffered the same fate as his travel ban, both the original and the revised version. So why was the latest order ruled unconstitutional? You can see Judge Orrick’s reasoning below....
Did the Supreme Court move too quickly to address whether gay and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry? Should the states instead be left to continue the gay marriage experiment for a while? Those were some of the sentiments expressed by Supreme Court Justices as California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage, was argued before the High Court. This full oral argument transcript may shed light on where the Justices stand on this issue....
By now, most of us have read horrendous details about the way Harvey Weinstein allegedly treated women over decades in the entertainment industry. Dozens of women have come forward, emboldened by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, to describe their own tragic encounters. But despite so many allegations, the movie mogul has never faced criminal charges, until now. Weinstein was finally indicted Wednesday by a grand jury in New York. Years of Alleged Crimes but No Charges The accusations against Weinstein have ranged from harassment to rape....
According to data released by the FBI last week, law enforcement agencies reported 6,121 hate crimes nationwide in 2016. That’s a five percent increase in hate crimes over 2015, and a five-year high. However, the FBI admits its Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program doesn’t count jurisdictions of agencies that do not submit reports, and some estimates put the number of hate crimes north of 200,000 per year. The FBI’s data showed that 59 percent of reported hate crimes targeted someone based on their ethnicity, race, or ancestry; 21 percent were based on religious affiliation; and 17 percent of victims were attacked because of their sexual-orientation....
A new report from the Idaho State Police paints a pretty bleak picture of the state’s efforts to prosecute rape: just four percent of reported rapes in Idaho result in the accused being convicted of a sex crime. Only 24 percent of reported sex offenses statewide resulted in an arrest (compared to 50 percent of alleged other violent crimes), and rape charges were the most likely to be amended or modified to lesser offenses....
New iPod nano: $149.00. One legal download from iTunes: $.99. Hearing your favorite song: priceless. Well, not quite. How about a cool $83,000 for your favorite ditty? That was the award amount, per song, levied against Jammie Thomas-Rasset of Brainard, Minnesota, when she was found liable for copyright infringement for her illegal downloads of 24 songs shared via the Kazaa file sharing service. Today it was announced that Minnesota federal court judge Michael Davis has cut the award amount granted by a jury to plaintiffs RIAA from $1....
A large recall of BOB jogging strollers, popular among parents who take their children running with them, has been announced due to a strangulation risk. A child was entangled in the drawstring and nearly strangled while riding in one of the BOB jogging strollers, reports Fox News. Fortunately, the attentive mother freed the child before any serious harm was caused. The jogging strollers recall centers on a defective design in the drawstring....
Rapper Lil’ Wayne has been sued for allegedly stealing the “How to Love” beat from another rapper, Rich Rick. Rick has filed suit against the rapper and producers Drummer Boyz. Rick says that he owns the rights to the beat since he bought it straight from Drummer Boyz. He says that Drummer Boyz then went behind his back and pitched the beat to Lil Wayne. Rick says that Drummer Boyz then got a 35% royalty agreement with Lil’ Wayne, while he got nothing, reports Aceshowbiz....
