» Entries tagged with "immigration"
The Enemy Is All Of Us
You’d probably think that Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s moral compass is tried and true. It certainly should be, as he leads one of the nation’s largest public prosecutorial agencies. His office chooses who to charge, what to charge, and what pleas to offer in this gigantic county of ours, and for most of the individuals his deputies prosecute, he might as well be omnipotent. Unfortunately, his ability to distinguish right and wrong, and accordingly the good guys from the bad guys, seems deeply flawed. In a recent debate with my friend (and awesome criminal defense attorney) Marc Victor, he called a US military veteran an “enemy” for smoking marijuana. The New Times described the exchange, which occurred during a question and answer session at the end … Read entire article »
Filed under: Prosecutors
The Story Of A Real Victim
This will be the third time I’ve written about the beloved local law enforcement technique of tricking men who are seeking escorts of legal age into making deals with undercover cops pretending to be underage prostitutes. First, I described the process generally, from the state’s shaky cases to the brutal mandatory minimums that universally secure guilty pleas with ease. Then, I explored my creative side with a little poem. I didn’t talk much about the poor people who get caught up in all of this, though, the only real victims in these cases. One victim stands out more than any other. I got a call one Friday night from a distressed friend of a man who’d been taken into custody that afternoon on what the friend said … Read entire article »
Filed under: immigration, Prosecutors, Sex Crimes
The Border: A Pictorial
With Obama trying his best to turn our country into North Mexico and the steadfast Republicans and their judge in Texas doing all they can to protect our way of life by suddenly pretending to care about the constitution, I thought I’d share some hiking photos and prove to you once and for all that we must secure the border. Somewhere out there, Mexico starts: Somewhere out here too: The mountain in the back is definitely in Mexico: Here it is again: As you can see, Mexico is very different. And scary. That’s probably a little Mexican town at the base. Americans like drugs too much, so it is probably a dangerous town. Police there are probably corrupt too. A cop might stop you a demand $20 on the spot so he and his family can … Read entire article »
Filed under: immigration
A Suggested Policy Improvement
When dealing with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, it’s important to understand that there’s pretty much a policy for everything. Like the “show no mercy” policy of a schoolyard bully or street thug, however, each of their policies is only enforceable to the extent they have an unfair advantage and the resultant negotiating leverage to demand the absurd from their victims. Strong cases produce harsh pleas. So do mandatory minimums, and luckily for prosecutors here, there’s almost always one. For the most part, what the policies do is ensure that only the most dangerous criminals, men and women who do not fear the system or have gone to somewhat successful lengths to avoid prosecution, get great plea deals. The ones with consciences, and especially the innocent, would … Read entire article »
Filed under: immigration, Prosecutors
Senate Bill 1070
Everyone has an opinion about Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably love it or hate it. You may have a strong opinion about it even if you have no clue what it says. If so, you aren’t alone. S. B. 1070 makes it so the government can’t create a policy limiting the enforcement of federal immigration laws. If any part of the government does make a policy restricting enforcement of federal immigration laws, citizens have standing to sue. If they win, they get court costs and attorney fees. This doesn’t mean an officer will be sued just for not arresting a particular person or group of people. There will have to be a policy, not just one officer failing … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Statutes, immigration
What's the Solution?
When Fourthamendment.com calls Maricopa County “a banana republic where the Sheriff can intimidate any official he wants,” it’s a good sign we’ve reached a low point. I don’t disagree with the sentiment, though the sheriff’s willingness to intimidate isn’t limited to officials. It’s depressing. Nobody here is safe, and this should be getting a lot more press. The mainstream, national media seems to be ignoring Maricopa County altogether. I’m still seeing more traffic going to posts about David DeCosta and smoking bans than goes to posts about what could be the breakdown of constitutional government as we know it. It seems no one is listening. Scott Greenfield even started losing interest, but Mark Bennett argued Maricopa matters. That prompted another post from Scott about what power, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
And The Machine Keeps on Running…
Adrian likes to call Maricopa County Superior Court “an enormous machine of injustice.” I think that’s a perfect description. To some extent, every Arizona court hurriedly shuffles criminal defendants through one after another, but Maricopa County is especially cold and impersonal. Each person being prosecuted is one little thousandth of a percent added or subtracted from some number Andrew Thomas hopes to brag about come next election. Unavailable deputy county attorneys and a crowded master calendar serve to ensure that no defendant’s voice gets heard prior to trial, if at all. More than anyone else, illegal immigrants find themselves on the conveyor belt heading straight into the machine. When sheriff’s deputies pick up a van full of illegals driving through the county, the wheels of the machine begin … Read entire article »
Filed under: Courts, immigration
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
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
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