Tracie Hunter to Avoid Jail for Now

The Ohio Supreme Court has granted former judge Tracie Hunter’s request to stay imposition of her sentence

Some good cop news from FMPD

It’s nice to share some good news. Here’s a story about FMPD officer Kelly Witt, who saved  a life with some quick reaction last week.

Via nbc2: http://www.nbc-2.com/story/27704562/man-meets-fmpd-officer-who-saved-his-life

Elf Arrested for DUI

Buddy, say it ain’t so!

Elf on a Selfie

New Jersey officers were called out to a suspicious vehicle in a Target parking lot. They found a man passed out inside, and he was dressed like the Elf on the Shelf. 23 year-old Brian Chellis performed poorly on Field Sobriety Exercises, and was arrested for DUI.

Reminds me of a client I represented a few years ago who played Santa Claus. The cop who arrested him admitted under oath that he was a “jolly” fellow. Somebody is getting a lump of coal this year.

Full story: http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2014/12/cedar_grove_man_dressed_as_elf_arrested_for_dwi.html

Myths About Traffic Tickets

Blogger Steve Lehto, who I have linked to in the past, is an attorney who write about car-related legal issues. He did a post this week about traffic tickets, and it’s pretty spot on, so I’m sharing it here. One caveat, many times we can get a ticket dismissed in some counties if the cop doesn’t show up- the policies about that are really localized. All the more reason to talk to an experienced attorney if you get a ticket!

http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/five-myths-about-traffic-tickets-1668682719

Supreme Court Decision on Law Enforcement Error

The Supreme Court has ruled this week that a reasonable error of law by law enforcement does not require suppression of the evidence improperly obtained. I will have more on this when I get a chance to read the decision in full, but wanted to go ahead and note it in a post as it is an important search and seizure precedent, that was just released a couple of days ago. I don’t think the stop would still stand in Florida, as our law does not appear to be as ambiguous as the North Carolina law, but I guarantee this case will be used to try to forgive law enforcement errors.

 

DUI Checkpoint this Weekend in Lee County

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is doing a DUI checkpoint this weekend at an undisclosed location. As always, don’t drink and drive, and be safe out there.

http://www.sheriffleefl.org/main/index.php?r=news/index&id=13022

Do Not Speed in Virginia – Professional Baseball Player Learned the Hard Way

Jayson Werth, of the Washington Nationals, apparently does not read my blog. If he had read my earlier article, he would have known that Virginia does not take kindly to speeders. If they’ll lock up a car writer on a test drive, you know they will be happy to send a message to a rich ballplayer driving his Porsche 50 miles over: 105 in a 55. It also may not have helped that he told the cop he was “pressing his luck”, according to the officer’s testimony.

Now, I have major reservations about the court’s findings in this case. Apparently the testimony alleged that the cop accelerated to 105 MPH, and that Werth was still pulling away. “Still pulling away” are frequently used by cops to bolster their case when they don’t actually pace someone for an appreciable amount of time. Apparently this all happened within six tenths of a mile. It’s strains credulity that the cop gunned it up to 105, and that Werth was still pulling away, yet still saw the officer’s lights and pulled over, in that short of a period of time. Theoretically possible, but I doubt the cop was also driving a Porsche. Werth admitted going way to fast, but testified he could’ve been doing 90, but not much more.

That kind of speed is considered reckless driving in Virginia, and it’s not unusual for judges there to give out jail time for first time offenders. Werth was sentenced to 10 days in jail, with another 170 suspended. He will probably serve only 5 days, and only if he is unsuccessful on his appeal. It’s not a good idea to speed anywhere, but for the love of dog, don’t speed in Virginia!

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Nationals-Right-Fielder-Jayson-Werth-Found-Guilty-of-Reckless-Driving-in-Virginia-284892741.html

Former Judge Tracie Hunter Going to Jail

Judge Tracie Hunter

Judge Norbert Nadel has sentenced former Juvenile Court Judge Tracie Hunter to 6 months of incarceration for her felony conviction. According to Cincinnati.com’s Kimball Perry, she can serve in the detention center so she doesn’t have to go to prison, and she can turn herself in after Christmas. Her attorney has asked to stay the sentence pending the outcome of the appeal. That’s not an unreasonable request, as there are certainly some major issues to be dealt with on appeal, such as the jurors trying to go back on their verdicts. That motion will be heard at a later time. Nadel felt that incarceration was appropriate, even as a first time offense, due to the position of trust as an elected official.

via: https://twitter.com/kimballperry

Teen Drug Dealer OWNS her “Cute” Mugshot

It’s a problem for people who get in trouble that mugshots are public record. A mistake, often by a young offender, can be Googled and follow them for the rest of their life. Google actually re-jiggered their search criteria to combat the issue, though even then that doesn’t always do the trick. Even if the official record gets expunged, there mug shot websites still try to ransom people to take their pictures down.

Or, you can take a different tack if you get arrested. Own the mug shot. Heck, people are gonna talk about it anyway, so why not get in front of the story. 18-year-old Alyssa Bathrick of Raleigh, North Carolina, who was arrested for possessing drugs with intent to sell. She told the haters not to hate! Per Alyssa’s Twitter: “Surrendered myself at 7 a.m., got released at 11:30 a.m. Fuck what you heard. And my mugshot’s cute.” Way to own it, I guess… (via Gawker)

Alyssa Bathrick’s Cute Mug Shot

Florida Supreme Court Examines Stand Your Ground Procedure

The Florida Supreme Court heard a case on Tuesday that takes a novel look at the Stand Your Ground Law. The current status of the law is that a defendant can file a motion for immunity, and will be entitled to a hearing on it. At that hearing, the burden is on the Defendant to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he was justified and therefore immune from prosecution. It’s an evidentiary hearing, with witnesses subject to cross examination, evidence, and argument. It very much resembles a trial without a jury.

The law currently places the burden on the Defendant to demonstrate his immunity. Jared Bretherick’s attorneys argued this week that the burden should not be on the Defendant, rather it should be up to the state to demonstrate that the Defendant is not immune from prosecution. It’s an interesting procedural argument. For comparison, when a Defendant raises a motion to suppress based on an illegal sesarch or seizure, the burden is on the state to prove that there was legal justification for the intrusion. However, the current procedure has been in effect for a few years now, and the court may choose not to disturb it. It may be several weeks before the court issues a ruling. Bretherick faces prison for the Aggravated Assault charge, but still has a right to fight the case at trial if the appeal is unsuccessful. Ironically, it appears the alleged victim has previously served a prison sentence for a road rage incident.

The lower, District Court ruling can be found here: http://www.5dca.org/Opinions/Opin2013/102813/5D12-3840.op.pdf