Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

On Friday a Nevada Judge denied O.J. Simpson’s defense counsel’s request for a new trial.

The former football star was found guilty in early October on all 12 charges, including conspiracy and assault with a deadly weapon during his gun point robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in Las Vegas. Judge Jackie Glass said the issues raised by the lawyers for Simpson were insufficient grounds for a retrial as well as the defendants request for bail pending their sentencing. Simpson’s sentencing is set for December 5th where he faces a mandatory prison sentence up to life. Although Simpson was acquitted in the infamous murder of his wife and Ronald Goldman, he was found liable in the civil case that followed which ordered him to pay 33.5 million dollars. Simpson, however, has repeatedly said he will not pay the settlement. Following the most publicized trial of the century it’s hard to imagine an impartial jury even fourteen years later. Then again when you publicly get away with murder you probably shouldn’t hold people at gunpoint over a Heisman trophy.

Last Thursday a story broke involving 20-year old Ashley Todd who claimed that she was robbed at an ATM in Pittsburg. What made this story so intriguing was that she was an avid John McCain supporter/volunteer and that she alleged that the assailant recognized her John McCain bumper sticker and campaign button after which the man carved a “B” into her face with a knife before fleeing.

She described the robber as a 6-4 black male wearing a black shirt and dark jeans. When I first heard this story I felt very sorry for the poor woman who would be forced to deal with not only emotional scars from this traumatic event but also physical ones. Of course coming less than two weeks before a historic election and occurring in the “battleground” state of Pennsylvania, once the word broke the McCain camp and media jumped all over this story. In fact both Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin even called the victim to offer their condolences.
Then Friday the truth came out. Following a lie detector test and many inconsistencies about the alleged incident, Ashley Todd confessed she made the whole thing up. “She just opened up and said she wanted to tell the truth,” Pittsburgh police Assistant Chief Maurita Bryant said. Minutes later, she told detectives, she was driving around and “came up with a plan” to manufacture a story about being attacked at a Bloomfield ATM by a black man who was enraged by her John McCain bumper sticker. It’s not yet clear whether Todd’s face was mutilated by her, or if she had somebody else do it. However, given that the “B” on her face is backwards it seems likely it was self-inflicted. She has been arrested and charged with filing a false police report.

This week the United States finally dismissed the chargers of five detainees being held at the naval base in Guantanamo, Cuba. The most well-known of the five men is Binyam Mohamed, a former British resident accused in the “dirty bomb” case. Culminating the problems faced by the Bush Administration involving the largely publicized base, systemic problems with the fairness of the military prosecutions led to the dropping of the charges. The moves appeared to be fresh indications of a long pattern of the administration’s making sharp changes in its legal strategy as it encounters resistance to its detention policies.

Although the dismissal of the charges might seem like a victory for the constitutional rights of those imprisoned at military bases such as Guantanamo, critics are not so quick to declare victory since these men have yet to be released. “Every time they get near a court they try and figure out a way to avoid court review or evade a decision that has come down,” said Michael Ratner, the president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has coordinated detainees’ cases.
Chief military prosecutor, Col. Lawrence J. Morris, portrayed the dismissals as unexceptional. Colonel Morris said he had asked for the dismissals so the files of the former prosecutor, Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, could be reviewed. The real question in this case seems to be whether forcing the government to look at the evidence against each detainee will bring about any change at all. “We have plenty of evidence to convict all of them,” Colonel Morris said, which would indicate he would refile charges. In the wake of another election, one must wonder if even a change in administration will make a difference to the treatment of these individuals.

It was recently reported in Los Angeles that at least 7,000 sexual assault test kits were as of yet unopened. In at least 217 of those cases — nobody is sure of the precise number — the kits have been left to sit for so long that the 10-year statute of limitations has expired, so those assailants cannot be prosecuted. With statistics showing that repeat offenders are often likely, it seems like dropping the ball on this issue will allow hundreds of sexual predators to remain on the streets. “Every unopened rape kit means there may be a dangerous offender loose on the street,” said Gail Abarbanel who directs the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica UCLA Medical. “Three new victims came in here yesterday, and you have to wonder whether any of them would have been raped if all those kits had been opened.” Critics contend that the mayor of Los Angeles, as well as city council members is to blame for their failure to a lot funds to the issue. The failures come not only in the lack of money given to this issue by the city but also the LA Police Departments’ unwillingness to demand more. These are not simply issues of justice but of basic decency. Our social contract contains an implicit pledge that we will do what we can to keep one another safe and, when that’s impossible, to do what we must to make the injured whole. Hopefully the recent media attention will bring quick results to a situation in dire need of fixing. A similar problem occurred in the early 1990’s in New York City when they discovered over 17,000 kits untested. A quick response in funding and man power helped to solve the problem in the Big Apple in only three years. There seems to be no reason in my mind why the same type of response isn’t possible here.

Just when you thought the Duke Lacrosse story was over, a new lawsuit begins to take shape. The family of one of the accused Duke Lacrosse players has told the alleged victim that if she publishes her memoire about the 2006 lacrosse team party, where she had been hired to perform as a stripper, that they will bring charges for libel and slander. The woman, Crystal Mangum, who appeared publicly for the first time since making the accusations more than two years ago, says in her book that she is not “looking forward to opening old wounds” but that she had to defend herself. “I want to assert, without equivocation, that I was assaulted,” she writes in “The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story.” After a disastrous local prosecution that led to the downfall of the district attorney, the state attorney general’s office concluded there was no credible evidence an attack occurred. But regardless of the criminal prosecution, do you think Ms. Mangum should be allowed to publish her memoire without facing civil penalties or should her voice be silenced?

Several nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit last week saying a Florida law prohibits their right to free speech.

The state’s electioneering communications law requires groups to register with the state before they voice support for a candidate or constitutional amendment up for a vote. Critics contend that by forcing these small community groups to follow the same types of regulations as professional and political committees it keeps these smaller organizations from participating in elections. “Florida’s law is part of a growing trend of shutting up and shutting out anyone but political pros from politics,” said Bert Gall, an IJ senior attorney. Fines for failing to register under the new code which boasts an upward of 100 possible violations can be as much as $1,000. This regulation on the fundamental right to free speech is mostly justified by the problems with election financing. However, this law ends up hurting the problems it means to fix. Freezing the voices of ordinary citizens and educational non-profits doesn’t seem to be the most efficient way to solve the problems with election finance. Given the small nature of these organizations and the broad implication of the regulations, almost all non-profits will be forced to avoid talking politics or face hundreds of hours of paperwork by attorneys that they simply cannot afford. It seems clear that the legislature is unremorseful about disregarding the voices of thousands. These individuals should be able to have their voices heard without looking over their shoulders first to see if the proper paperwork has been filled out.

A year after the tragic death of two daughters found dead in the back seat of their father’s taxi cab, the FBI is now for the first time labeling this an “honor killing.” The two daughters were brutally killed on New Year’s Day leading to questions about whether their father — the prime suspect and the subject of a nationwide manhunt — may have targeted them because of a perceived slight upon his honor. Although not common in the Muslim world, honor killings occur about 5,000 times a year according to the United Nations. In fact, some countries have laws which that protect men who murder female relatives they believe have engaged in inappropriate activity. Labeling this an honor killing will not bring back 17 year old Sarah or her sister Amina, 18, but hopefully some good will come from this tragedy. Society must begin to recognize warning signs, which seem to have been apparent in this case, so that future honor crimes can be prevented. However, it is also important not to stigmatize the Muslim community as condoning such heinous acts. This is a fine line that must not become blurred. On one hand family and friends of those potentially involved must be watchful for warning signs such as abuse and threats of violence, where on the other hand they must not mistake every person of Islamic faith as capable of such terrible acts.

According to a study released recently, Houston police officers have used Tasers more on black suspects than any other group of individuals.

A Houston city audit found that police officers used Tasers more often on black suspects than on other suspects. Of 1,417 Taser deployments by officers between December 2004 and June 2007, nearly 67 percent were used on black suspects, according to an audit conducted for the city by a team of criminology, statistics and mathematics experts. About 25 percent of Houston’s population is black.

Houston police said their use of Tasers was not tied to race, but to a person’s behavior. “It’s not a racial issue. A Taser device is no different from a radar gun. It’s race neutral,” Executive Assistant Police Chief Charles McClelland said after the Houston City Council meeting during which the report was released. The study found that black officers were less likely than white or Hispanic officers to use Tasers on a black suspect.

According to his lawyer, a convicted sex offender facing execution for raping and strangling a Clemson University student feels so guilty for his crimes that life in prison would be harder on him. This argument was made in a South Carolina court recently.

Jerry Buck Inman, 37, faces the death penalty for the murder of a Clemson University student.

Buck Inman pleaded guilty last month to murdering 20-year-old engineering student Tiffany Marie Souers in May 2006 in her apartment about three miles from the South Carolina college’s campus.

Manuel Castillo expected to drive his truck filled with onions through Alabama back home to California without incident. Unfortunately, he was stopped by a trooper and given a $500 ticket for something he didn’t think he was doing: speaking English poorly.

Castillo was aware of a federal law that requires him to be able to converse in English with an officer but he thought his language skills were good enough to avoid a ticket.

Still, Castillo said he plans to pay the maximum fine of $500 rather than return to Alabama to fight the ticket.