Really?
I could make a very long list of idiotic misconceptions police officers have about drugs, but my favorite by far is the legendary marijuana green-tongue. Believe it or not, police officers are actually trained to look for a green tongue as an indicator of marijuana use. In fact, the dreaded green-tongue even made it on the NHTSA’s website. I couldn’t make this stuff up. I seriously doubt there is any real scientific research supporting that theory. Sure, the NHTSA claims it’s true and cites plenty of studies, but I’m not about to read every single resource they cite to see how exactly they came to the conclusion that a green-tongue means recent marijuana use. Can anyone point me to the specific study? If there is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
"Expunging"
People often call me to see if I can “expunge” an old criminal conviction for them. In Arizona, it’s called “setting aside” a conviction, and it’s a fairly simple process in most cases. Interestingly, it’s usually more difficult to seal a record of an arrest than it is to set aside a conviction. The only statutory provision on point merely permits a court to enter on the record that the person has been cleared and order that law enforcement agencies and courts no longer release the record. It seems a little strange to me that it takes more work to to seal a wrongful arrest than it does to set aside a rightful conviction. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Statutes
The Court's Mistakes
Imagine a case where the prosecution and defense reach an agreement by the first pretrial conference. At that pretrial, the defendant enters a change of plea in front of a judge who sets the matter for sentencing. The defendant, who is in custody, will be released at sentencing if things go according to plan, and all of the parties involved are extremely satisfied with the result. At sentencing, the judge can’t find the plea in the file. The court, on its own, continues the matter for a brief period of time. However, at the next sentencing, the court still has not found the plea. Another brief continuance. At the next sentencing, when the defense attorney tries to take issue with parts of the probation officer’s … Read entire article »
Filed under: Practice in General
Juror Questions
Every once in a while I come across a ruling that’s so unfair I can hardly believe what I’m reading. State v. Detrich, a 1997 Arizona Supreme Court case, contains one of those rulings. The defendant argued that the trial court erred in refusing to use his proposed jury questionnaire, which included questions about jurors’ racial attitudes, biases, and prejudices. The Court ruled against the defendant because he did not show that the trial judge’s failure to submit his questionnaire to the jury “resulted in a biased jury or rendered his trial fundamentally unfair.” The Court claimed the defendant offered no evidence of bias or prejudice of the jurors. Although the defendant argued there was no way of knowing whether they might have had some kind of racial animus … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Cases
Internet Research
Sometimes, doing research on Lexis, Westlaw, or in a law library can be needlessly time-consuming. Treatises, handbooks, and encyclopedias are helpful, but they aren’t always organized intuitively or updated often enough to provide guidance when I’m dealing with a rapidly-evolving issue. Although it’s essential to verify everything and ultimately base any argument or advice on proper sources, occasionally I’ll use a simple internet search to get an overview of an issue. This is one of my favorite legal websites. It’s very interesting and seems to turn up frequently with Google search terms relevant to the confrontation clause. The sixth amendment is a fairly tricky area of law, and new cases tend to pop up relatively often. It’s nice to know that I can keep abreast of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Practice in General
Photo Radar
I regularly receive calls from people who want to fight their photo radar tickets. They are generally furious about the situation, calling the cameras “the devil’s work,” “big brother watching us,” and other far more colorful things I won’t mention here. Although people caught by the cameras hate them, I’ve found that most people I meet think the cameras are great. If you’ve read this blog much, I’m sure you can guess what I think. A lot of people justify photo radar because they think it will prevent speeding and free up law enforcement personnel to deal with more serious offenses. In general, I doubt photo radar will really do what its proponents claim, but I’d rather save that argument for a later post. Honestly, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
Roving Packs of Pit Bulls, Drunk Drivers
I had a discussion a month or two ago with someone who really embraced the idea of outlawing pit bulls. His concern was that if people weren’t limited in what kind of dog they could own, some people would breed and train extremely powerful, vicious dogs who’d eventually wreak havoc on society. There would be roving packs of pit bulls bred and trained to kill. I hear a similar argument every time I criticize DUI laws. When I suggest lesser penalties (and especially when I suggest eliminating DUI laws altogether), people say that if there weren’t strict DUI laws, everyone would drive drunk. In essence, there would be roving packs of drunk drivers liquored up and ready to kill. Sure, eliminating DUI laws might result in an increase … Read entire article »
Filed under: DUI
Terrible Policies
I won’t name names here, but there is one prosecutor’s office in Arizona that has particularly rigid and often ridiculous office policies regarding plea bargains and a number of other important things that, in my opinion, should be left to the sound judgment of individual prosecutors. Some of the office’s policies are so draconian and inflexible that they are known by pretty much anyone who is even minimally involved with Arizona’s criminal justice system. I imagine 99% of people reading this post instantly knew which office I meant after reading the first sentence. Anyway, in two cases this year where I wrote the assigned prosecutors letters presenting overwhelming exculpatory evidence and requesting the cases be dismissed, I had conversations like this: Me: Have you looked over what I gave you? Them: … Read entire article »
Filed under: Practice in General, Professionalism, Prosecutors
Precluding the State's Objections to a Motion
Rule 16 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure governs Pretrial Motion Practice. Rule 16.1, which is entitled “General Provisions,” includes the time periods in which motions and responses must be filed. The rule provides in relevant part that “[a]ll motions shall be made no later than 20 days prior to trial” and “[t]he opposing party shall have 10 days within which to file a response.” As a remedy for untimely filing, the rule provides that “[a]ny motion, defense, objection, or request not timely raised . . . shall be precluded, unless the basis therefor was not then known, and by the exercise of reasonable diligence could not then have been known, and the party raises it promptly upon learning of it.” It seems clear enough. If … Read entire article »
Filed under: Procedural Rules, Prosecutors
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