Two recent events in Texas reinforce what the evidence shows: Texas has a market for hate. The most recent event is the outrageous comments by pro-gun rights advocate and former rocker Ted Nugent calling the President of the United States,…
Category: Federal Criminal Law
2014
The facts in the Charles Dunn case in Florida are pretty straightforward, and for the most part undisputed. The 47-year-old Dunn, a software developer, pulled into a Jacksonville gas station on November 23, 2012. A Dodge Durango with four teenagers…
2014
As the “scandals” continue to mount around New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, there are a lot of he said/she said allegations flying about. There has been more than one challenge issued by opposing parties for state employees to undergo polygraph…
2014
Category: Federal Criminal Law
An Alford plea is a plea of “no contest” or “nolo contendere” to a criminal charge. In such situations the defendant does not plead guilty to the elements of the offense, but rather enters a plea that he will not…
2014
Category: Federal Criminal Law
The facts in the Steven Staley are not in serious dispute. He and two other men entered a Steak and Ale restaurant in Fort Worth in 1989. They rounded up 30 customers and 6 restaurant’s employees, including its manager Robert…
2014
Category: Federal Criminal Law | Sex Crimes
The U.S. Justice Department has studied, and found, that a majority of the nation’s incarcerated offenders have experienced some type of physical or sexual abuse and/or neglect. This was certainly the case with Byron Neil Antone.
The now 41-year-old Antone…
2014
Category: Federal Criminal Law
The National Registry of Exonerations reported on February 4, 2014 that last year was a “record-breaking year for exonerations (87) in the United States.”
It is hard to say whether that is a good thing or a bad thing.…
2014
Category: Federal Criminal Law
Law is a matter of interpretation. Courts are the venue of interpretation. Law is defined when judicial interpretations circuitously traverse the legal landscape to reach a common conclusion.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals did just that in a…
2014
Category: Federal Criminal Law | Terrorism Criminology
Pratheepan Thavaraja is a Sri Lankan native. He was the principal procurement officer for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (“LTTE”)—a group founded in 1976 dedicated to establishing an independent state for the island’s Tamil minority.
LTTE was labeled a…
2014
Category: Federal Criminal Law | Sex Crimes
Are Federal Sentencing Guideline Substantively Unreasonable in Child Pornography Cases?
In July 2011, Thomas King was indicted by a Federal grand jury in Maine for possessing a computer storing child pornography—a criminal violation under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A (a)…