Porous borders and the ease of international travel can create a legal nightmare for even the most innocent of travelers. For example, a Swiss citizen traveling in the United States and renting an automobile can have a traffic ticket in any of a number of States and run afoul of…
One of the least understood but most powerful constitutional rights, the Due Process Clause, is the escape route for those as yet un-charged in the ongoing Scott Rothstein prosecutions. The Due Process dismissal defense, widely used outside of Florida, is dis-favored by most Florida criminal defense lawyers. The motion is…
On the same day that the news reported a shooting at a high school in Reynolds, Oregon, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision on gun control. In this case, which came out of Tennessee, a gun owner with a conviction for misdemeanor domestic violence had to surrender…
The World Justice Project defines itself in terms of its mission: “To increase public awareness about the foundational importance of the rule of law, stimulate government reforms, and develop practical programs at the community level.” The 2014 index rankings are as follow: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland scored as the…
Wars consume warriors unless a community declares war on itself. In the United States, we are coming off a long run of enhanced penalties, minimum mandatory prison sentences, incarcerating addicts, and life-terming fully one in nine of those in custody. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers issued a thorough…
Fort Lauderdale police agencies have technology to read license plates. Once read, the plates are matched against outstanding traffic tickets. In addition, the owner’s name is matched against outstanding criminal warrants. At what point does constitutional rights run up against and, in effect, trump technologies that enhance surveillance? When does…
The History Channel‘s broadcast of “Weather Warfare” focused international interest in The State of the Nation’s demand that the International Criminal Court begin a criminal investigation into what I have dubbed “The ChemtrailGate Conspiracy.” The allegations are that ChemtrailGate conspirators are spraying sulfuric acid and aluminum compounds into the upper…
Asset forfeiture is a civil process, not a criminal punishment. By that legal fiction, prosecutors can strip assets from anyone who is arrested. The arresting agency can seize property with the objective of taking title from its owner. The lead case on forfeiture statutes, Bennis v. Michigan, came from the…
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the total amount of money laundered worldwide in one year is $2 trillion U.S. Dollars. That is 3% of the world’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in U.S. dollars. To put that in perspective: it is an amount equal to the…
Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the United States Civil War. Japanese Americans were interred during World War II. There are always good reasons to side step the 4th Amendment when we perceive real threats to our way of life. This topic is again in U.S. Federal Courts and it…