Defense Attorney: “I am moving to suppress the officer’s testimony.” Prosecution: “Why? We disclosed the evidence as soon as we got it.” -Flashback 12 hours- It is the night before trial and your email shows a new message. It is from the attorney you will be in trial with – tomorrow morning. He writes, “We just realized that there is some evidence we intend use tomorrow that you are unaware of.” It turns out the officer who arrested your client
From The New York Times: “To Judge Sleep Aids, U.S. Looks at Drowsy Driving in the Morning.” The Food and Drug Administration is considering the residual drowsiness that can persist the day after taking prescription sleep aids, and whether users can drive safely upon waking. Click here to read the story: http://nyti.ms/16JxvIK
Here is an update of the Massachusetts Crime Lab Scandal: • In June, 2011, allegations of misconduct at the William A. Hinton State Laboratory Institute in Jamaica Plain (Hinton drug lab) surfaced regarding work performed by Annie Dookhan, a chemist who had been employed in the forensic drug laboratory since November 2003. • Following an internal review, the Department of Public Health launched a formal investigation of the matter in December, 2011. The investigation concluded that “Dookhan failed to follow
This month the Arizona Court of Appeals rejected the argument that a judge does not have the discretion to hold a pretrial hearing on the reliability of scientific evidence. Since January 1, 2012 when Arizona adopted the Federal Daubert standard for safeguarding against junk science, several prosecutorial agencies have tried to persuade trial courts that things were “business as usual” despite the new rules of evidence. However, the February 5, 2013 ruling from Division One of the Arizona Court of
Daubert is the name of an United States Supreme Court case regarding the admissibility of scientific evidence: Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. While the case was decided in 1993, it’s holdings are new to Arizona. Despite some arguments to the contrary by a few luddites, Arizona adopted it on January 1, 2012. Arizona’s change to a Daubert standard for challenging scientific evidence may be the most significant event our court have ever encountered. Currently, there are 31 other states that have adopted
With the recent passage of Proposition 203, voters made Arizona the 15th state (along with the District of Columbia) to legalize medical marijuana. The vote was a close one, with just 841,346 in favor and 837,005 opposed, just passing the 50% mark. The count from vote on election day, Nov. 2, was so close that the result wasn’t declared until nearly 2 weeks later. Of course, Proposition 203 does not give free rein to hopeful or would-be marijuana users in
Just in case there was any doubt, the Arizona Court of Appeals made it official that your religious beliefs are not a legal defense to the crime of Possession of Marijuana. In the case of State v. Hardesty, Mr. Hardesty was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. After a routine traffic stop, drugs were found in Mr. Hardesty car. He claimed that the drugs were part of his religion, and tried to assert a defense under
Drug sniffing dogs – you see them at the airport, the bus station, and on television. They serve an important purpose for law enforcement and the public. That is, they smell drugs when humans cannot. Moreover, the dogs do it in a manner that is not invasive to the people being search. However, there are some rules, like the 4th Amendment to constitution, that restrict how these dogs can be used. For example, law enforcement can’t just bust down your
When being stopped by an officer there are many things that go through a driver’s head. “Was I speeding?” “Is there a taillight out?” “Did I swerve?” On the other hand, most people don’t usually think “did I use my blinker appropriately.” However, the issue of the appropriate use of a blinker, was one of the primary questions decided by the recent Arizona Court of Appeals Case: Arizona v. Douglas Dean Starr. In the Starr case, a DPS officer was
Drug use seems to be a never-ending problem in Arizona. As a result, we have a never ending amount of people becoming criminals. If you were sitting in one of Arizona’s courts devoted solely to the resolution of drugs cases, the lines would resemble those at Costco or Sam’s club. It is common for an Arizona court to handle over 100 drugs cases in a day. In practical terms, people are being made into felons for drug charges at an
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