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February 15th, 2010 Filed Under Uncategorized
An excellent review of the situation revolving around Kathy Parkins and some well drafted public disclosure requests has been posted on Horseass.org.
Rather than delve into this matter myself, I will leave it in the able hands of Lee. You can read the full article here.
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New Washington State Criminal Law Blog
January 30th, 2010 Filed Under Uncategorized
I wanted to take a moment today and give a plug to Graham Law Blog. This is a fantastic example of what legal blogging is all about. Steve Graham follows not only the hot legal topics in Washington State but also the cases and topics in and around Eastern Washington (often ignored by the West side lawyers). Steve is a Spokane Criminal Defense Lawyer, but he practices throughout Washington State. I am not sure if Steve was gifted with two extra arms or he is just passionate about Criminal Defense. Either way, it is a great blog. Take a moment to swing by and visit.
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Washington State Patrol ordered to return 9 ounces of MMJ
December 22nd, 2009 Filed Under Uncategorized
From the CDC:
Last Tuesday, a King County judge ordered the Washington State Patrol to
return 9 ounces of medical marijuana to authorized patient Scott Verner.
During a routine traffic stop, a state trooper smelled and seized Mr.
Verner’s cannabis, even though he showed his medical marijuana paperwork
to the officer as required by law. The trooper told Mr. Verner that he was
allowed to use medical marijuana, but not to transport it via automobile.Congratulations to Aaron Pelley, the attorney on the Verner
case. Aaron made the news last September after winning the return of over
eleven pounds of medical marijuana from the Kent Police.Undereducated and misinformed law enforcement routinely offer erroneous
legal analyses when arresting medical marijuana patients. Hearing cops say
“I know the law” then proceed to egregiously misquote the law serves only
to increase the sense of fear and helplessness felt by Washington State
medical marijuana patients. The night (or more) in jail only adds to that.Verner v. King County is the first case in the CDC’s Medical Marijuana
Reclamation Project to be argued in court. Our goal with this project is
to correctly inform errant law enforcement agencies about Washington’s
voter-approved medical marijuana law. If you know of a medical marijuana
patient whose medical marijuana was falsely seized, have them contact us
at info@cdc.coop or 888-208-5332.
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Services to Residents Without Citizenship Protected
November 11th, 2009 Filed Under Uncategorized
King County codified a new ordinance to protect against racial profiling of those people without citizenship seeking public services. The decision was inspired by a policy in the King County Sheriff’s Department. Congratulations to Council members Gossett, Dow Constantine, Bob Ferguson, Julia Patterson and Larry Phillips for standing up for the right thing. You can read more from Seattle PI here.
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Lynnwood DUI Lawyer
October 1st, 2009 Filed Under Uncategorized
Jonathan Dichter is the Managing Partner at Dichter Law firm and he is one of the brightest and talented lawyers in Snohomish County. I have had the honor to know him for a number of years as a fellow lawyer and relied on his advice for several matters. He is a charismatic and eloquent trial lawyer – with exceptional skill and knowledge. If you need Lynnwood DUI Lawyer that is dedicated to the advancement of tenacious defense strategies you can end your search with him.
Mr Dichter also helms the SnoCo DUI Blog. Mr. Dichter draws from a wide range of legal topics that include recent changes in DUI law. I encourage you to drop by his blog and say hello.
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Collateral Consequences
September 29th, 2009 Filed Under Uncategorized
One of the things you should consider when you are dealing with a DUI case is the collateral consequence of a plea. Many times DUI lawyers will discuss the licensing, insurance and financial matters. However, it is important that you also consider the travel consequences. Recently the PI explored the issues surrounding traveling to Canada:
In Washington state, driving under the influence is a gross misdemeanor. It’s a felony in the Great White North. Under its laws, Canada can bar visitors if they’ve been involved in criminal activity. And it does…There are three ways to get admitted into Canada once you’ve been convicted of a DUI. But you have to be prepared for lots of hassles, paperwork, fees and months of waiting for the Canadian bureaucracy to process your application.
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Breaks on Old Tickets?
May 10th, 2009 Filed Under Uncategorized
Seattle Times posted this article saying the city was giving breaks on outstanding tickets and court fines.
“Failure to pay citations can trigger a hold on licenses and prevent them from being renewed. The state Administrative Office of the Courts says the state has 1.5 million “failure to appear” holds on record.”
Of course, this won’t prevent an arrest if you have outstanding warrants. However, if it is just a stack of old tickets that is keeping you from getting your license renewed, you might consider going in and seeing whether you can get the fines reduced or waived. Most courts are scheduling this process until the end of May.
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Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
April 14th, 2009 Filed Under Uncategorized
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Hand Gestures and Disorderly Conduct
April 7th, 2009 Filed Under Uncategorized
Legal Blog Watch reported on this case, that sets forth that flipping the bird (to an undercover cop!) is free speech. The court decided that the gesture was an expression of frustration and was neither obscene or fighting words.
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Spain investigates what America should
April 7th, 2009 Filed Under Uncategorized
A Spanish court has initiated criminal proceedings against six former officials of the Bush administration. John Yoo, Jay Bybee, David Addington, Alberto Gonzales, William Haynes and Douglas Feith may face charges in Spain for authorizing torture at Guantánamo Bay .
If arrest warrants are issued, Spain and any of the other 24 countries that are parties to European extradition conventions could arrest these six men when they travel abroad.
Does Spain have the authority to prosecute Americans for crimes that didn’t take place on Spanish soil?
The answer is yes. It’s called “universal jurisdiction. ” Universal jurisdiction is a well-established theory that countries, including the United States , have used for many years to investigate and prosecute foreign nationals for crimes that shock the conscience of the global community. It provides a critical legal tool to hold accountable those who commit crimes against the law of nations, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. Without universal jurisdiction, many of the most notorious criminals would go free. Countries that have used this as a basis to prosecute the most serious of crimes should be commended for their courage. They help to create a just world in which we all seek to live.
Israel used universal jurisdiction to prosecute, convict and execute Adolph Eichmann for his crimes during the Holocaust, even they had no direct relationship with Israel .
A federal court in Miami recently convicted Chuckie Taylor, son of the former Liberian president, of torture that occurred in Liberia . A U.S. court sentenced Taylor to 97 years in prison in January.
Universal jurisdiction complements, but doesn’t supersede, national prosecutions. So if the United States were investigating the Bush officials, other countries would refrain from doing so.
When the United States ratified the Convention Against Torture, it promised to extradite or prosecute those who commit, or are complicit in, the commission of torture.
President Obama, when asked whether he favored criminal investigations of Bush officials, replied, “My view is also that nobody’s above the law and, if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen.”
“But,” he added, “generally speaking, I’m more interested in looking forward than I am in looking backward.” Preoccupied with the economy and two wars, Obama reportedly wants to wait before considering prosecutions that would invariably anger the GOP.
Evidence that Bush officials set a policy that led to the torture of prisoners at Guantánamo continues to emerge.
According to ABC News, Gonzales met with other officials in the White House and authorized torture, including waterboarding.
The Office of Professional Responsibility, which reports to the U.S. attorney general, drafted a report that excoriates Yoo and Bybee for writing the infamous torture memos. Haynes, Addington and Feith participated in decisions that led to torture. The release of additional graphic torture memos by the U.S. Department of Justice is imminent.
It is the responsibility of the United States to investigate allegations of torture. Almost two-thirds of respondents to a USA Today/Gallup Poll favor investigations of the Bush team for torture and warrantless wiretapping. Nearly four in 10 support criminal investigations.
Former Navy General Counsel Alberto Mora told Congress, “There are serving U.S. flag-rank officers who maintain that the first and second identifiable causes of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq – as judged by their effectiveness in recruiting insurgent fighters into combat – are, respectively the symbols of Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo.” Providing impunity to those who ordered the torture will be the third recruiting tool.
If the United States refuses to investigate now, it will be more likely that some future administration will repeat this scenario. The use of torture should be purged from our system, much like we eradicated slavery.
Marjorie Cohn is a professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law and president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of ” Cowboy Republic : Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law,” and co-author of “Rules of Disengagement: The Politics and Honor of Military Dissent.”
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