http://www.blawgrepublic.com/cat/Criminal-Law/ CRIMINAL LAW NEWS Condesa Inc. Blawg Republic http://federalism.typepad.com/crime_federalism/2009/07/how-shady-are-bank-overdraft-fees.html Clusterstock is a finance news site with a very pro-capitalist readership.  Read the comments if you want to see the anti-banking sentiment.  When a bunch of capitalists agree that ba http://www.uslaw.com/pop/michael-jacksons-law-will-testament/?p=190 Hightlights: Executed in Los Angeles, CA on July 7, 2002. Stipulates that assets be placed in family trust and that his mother Katherine, or Diana Ross if his mother was unable or unwilling, be appointed guardian of his three children. Lists three executors: lawyer John Branc http://federalism.typepad.com/crime_federalism/2009/07/lessons-from-bernie-madoff-robert-allen-stanford-and-marc-rich.html Bernie Madoff surrended himself to authorities.  He cooperated fully.  He put up no fight.  He got 150 years in prison - a death sentence.J. Allen Stanford, who has not yet been convicted, returned from a foreign country to fight the criminal charges aga http://crimlaw.blogspot.com/2009/07/changes-general-assembly-should-make.html Here are my suggested changes to Virginia's demand statute:§ 19.2-187.1. Right to examine person performing analysis or involved in chain of custody. The accused in any hearing or trial in which a certificate of analysis is http://federalism.typepad.com/crime_federalism/2009/06/jury-selection-and-the-big-5-personality-factors.html Snoop (here) focuses on the Big 5 personality factors.  Why care?  Because it seems that the Big 5 are http://www.duiblog.com/2009/06/29/fast-food-dragnet-fails/ A few days ago I posted about the latest police tactic: stationing cops in fast-food drive-thrus and nabbing drivers if they appeared to have DUI symptoms.  See Burger With Fries…and Field http://federalism.typepad.com/crime_federalism/2009/06/western-centric-bias-pascals-wager-and-muslim-freedom.html An ignorant 19-year-old from a farming community, I found Pascal's Wager reasonable.  "Pascal's Wager (or Pascal's Gambit) is a suggestion posed by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal that even though the existence of God cannot be determined through reason, a person should wager as t http://federalism.typepad.com/crime_federalism/2009/06/have-you-heard.html Michael Jackson died, Bernie Madoff got 150 years, and the United States Supreme Court sided with the white firefighters.  Life would be unintesting if everyone stopped talking about the same things as everyone else.  And if everyone else decided to stop being interested in the same t http://crimlaw.blogspot.com/2009/06/and-beat-goes-on-magruder-now-briscoe.html So, now the US Supreme Court has decided to take a second opportunity to look at Notice/Demand statutes and the confrontation clause. http://federalism.typepad.com/crime_federalism/2009/06/the-private-lives-of-jurors.html In the most recent Los Angeles Lawyer is an article exploring the legal and ethical issues of having a private investigator, investigate jurors.  (It's here.)  It's written by two associates f http://crimlaw.blogspot.com/2009/06/melendez-diaz-magruder-virginia.html Having watched the continuing angst over Melendez-Diaz, I started asking around as to why everyone is so worried in light of Virginia's Magruder decision. The answer I got back from several people was "because Magruder is before the Supreme Court too." Of course, nobody seemed t http://crimlaw.blogspot.com/2009/06/does-virginia-notice-demand-scheme.html The whole crimlaw world seems to be going mad in Virginia as people have read Melendez-Diaz and reacted with either glee or panic. No one seems to realize that the entire question has already been settled and the Virginia appellate courts have already found the Virginia notice-demand scheme t http://www.nyfederalcriminalpractice.com/2009/04/second-circuit-issues-notable-11.html The tragic tale of Peter Polizzi has now generated another notable decision on the power of a district court to instruct a jury about mandatory minimum sentences.  The Second Circuit has just issued its decision on the appeal and cross-appeal from Judge Weinsteins huge decision, previously b http://www.nyfederalcriminalpractice.com/2009/04/wdny-judge-denies-motion-to-se.html Guest contributor Megan Logsdon, Esq., writes: Should a judge seal portions of a defendants sentencing memorandum that paint a co-defendant as a wife-abuser?  No, WDNY Judge Larimer, holds in United States v. Roeder, 2009 WL 385448 (W.D.N.Y. February 13, 2009).  http://www.nyfederalcriminalpractice.com/2009/04/lawyers-in-the-dock-part-1-edn.html How many lawyers does it take to prosecute a lawyer?  One answer may be found in a decision by EDNY Judge Gleeson, United States v. Simels, 2008 WL 5383138 (E.D.N.Y. December 18, 2008): a team of AUSAs to prosecute, a different team of AUSAs to review privilege materials, yet anothe