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Taking The Law Seriously

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has so many policies I can hardly keep them straight. I suspect that few deputy county attorneys even know all of them, as I hear there’s a manual they consult when in doubt. If a defendant files a motion to remand for a new determination of probable case, the policy is apparently to not offer a plea. For certain types of charges, no matter how unique the facts of the case, the offer apparently must involve a prison sentence. Aggravated DUI cases involve a plea to a complicated duo of charges that, quite frankly, makes no sense at all, and repeat offenders get similarly bizarre offers based on a complex and largely arbitrary set of considerations. Most notable, for the purpose of … Read entire article »

Filed under: Government Rants, Legislation, Police, Prosecutors

Reacting to Tragedy

Last Friday marked the start of Arizona Bike Week. Tragically, before the second day of events had ended, the local motorcycling community lost one of its shining stars. Kimmy Chapman, founder of a national publication for bikers and by all accounts a great person, was killed by a 22-year-old in an SUV who claimed he didn’t see the bike she was on when he failed to yield the right of way. ABATE, one of Arizona’s motorcycle rights organizations, issued the following official statement in response to the tragedy: ABATE of Arizona, Inc. 7509 N. 12th St, #200 Phoenix, AZ 85020 ABATE OF ARIZONA STRONGLY CHALLENGES THE DECISION OF ARIZONA LAW ENFORCEMENT IN RIGHT OF WAY COLLISION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 28, 2011 Contact: Ross Rutherford, President, ABATE of Arizona, Inc. president@abateofaz.org (928) 925-4204 On Saturday, March 26, … Read entire article »

Filed under: Bikers' Rights, Legislation

Better Ban Spice

According to the Arizona Republic, the Drug Enforcement Administration is giving head shops until Christmas Eve to get rid of all their “Spice.” Spice is a synthetic drug intended to mimic the effects of marijuana. Because its effects are so unpredictable and it is so readily available, the DEA has decided to ban the drug for a year to conduct tests. I didn’t know much about spice before today, but I learned a lot reading the article. Spice is apparently produced by taking chemical compounds from overseas manufacturers and spraying those compounds onto dried herbs. The chemicals bind to the same receptor in a human brain as the active ingredient in marijuana, but it’s more powerful than marijuana. It’s made with a chemical compound more potent … Read entire article »

Filed under: Government Rants, Legislation, News

Another Fumble by Congress, An Awesome Act of Defiance by Malcolm Smith

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 bans items for children that contain a certain amount of lead. It’s a seemingly great idea to protect kids, but unsurprisingly, the way Congress wrote it causes ridiculous effects. The Act makes it illegal to sell ATVs and motorcycles to children under 12 because the children might eat the battery terminals, the frame, or tear apart the brakes and lick enough lead to kill or harm them. I’m not sure why kids are incapable of eating Mom’s car battery, which in almost all cases would be easier to get to than a bike or ATV battery, but no one asked me. Lead, while obviously a poor meal, is instrumental as an alloy in the manufacturing of certain materials. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Bikers' Rights, Government Rants, Legislation

The Myrtle Beach Dilemma

There’s been a good bit of news lately about Myrtle Beach trying to rid itself of bikers. I expected to hear a lot about it from bikers (here’s an account from a biker who engaged in a bit of civil disobedience), but I was pleasantly surprised to see at least one member of the blawgosphere pick up on the story as well (check out posts from Bobby G. Frederick here and here). Anyone who knows me or has had a look around my firm’s website realizes that both Adrian and I are avid bikers. I donate a lot of my time to fellow bikers and bikers’ rights organizations, so this Myrtle Beach business is right up my alley. Strangely, I don’t know what I’d recommend. On one … Read entire article »

Filed under: Bikers' Rights, Government Rants, Legislation

Some Terrifying New Legislation (Maybe)

One thing Bennett Kalafut mentioned in passing in this post over at Goldwater State caught my attention. Is it really possible that Arizona may soon have a law declaring undocumented aliens to be trespassing? Curious, I had a look at the text of the resolution. Here it is. If that ever became law, it would have pretty much everything any frothing-at-the-mouth anti-illegal-immigration-type could ever want. It would make it so that aliens in this country in violation of the federal improper entry statute would be committing criminal trespass simply by virtue of being in Arizona. It wouldn’t matter whether they’re on public or private land. The first time, it would be a misdemeanor, but after that, it would be a class 4 felony. That’s … Read entire article »

Filed under: Arizona Statutes, immigration, Legislation

We're Already Ridiculous

For the second time in less than a week, I’ve been inspired to write by a post over at the DUI Blog. I guess that Kentucky, my home state, might pass a law allowing a driver who tests positive for traces of marijuana to be convicted of DUI even if he or she is unimpaired. The DUI Blog puts that in the this-is-getting-ridiculous department. Well, here in Arizona, we’ve been ridiculous for a while. Arizona’s DUI law says, “[i]t is unlawful for a person to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle in this state . . . [w]hile there is any drug defined in section 13-3401 or its metabolite in the person’s body.” Impairment doesn’t matter, as it’s a strict liability crime. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Arizona Cases, Arizona Statutes, DUI, Government Rants, Legislation

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