In the weeks following the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, President George W. Bush and authorities at the Pentagon developed new legal procedures to deal with captured individuals associated with the international Al-Qaeda terrorist network. One of the most interesting test cases for these new rules involved a man named Ali Saleh Kahlah…
Read moreMonth: March 2021
Federal Identity Theft
Precedent Setting Case Regarding Identity Theft Heard Before the Supreme Court On October 20, 2008, the Supreme Court granted to hear the case of Flores-Figueroa vs. the United States to decide a point of law that might yield profound ramifications for Federal identity theft law. In the original case, the defendant had been accused of stealing…
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Bankruptcy Case Holds Implications for Thousands Injured by Asbestos Poisoning On Friday, December 12, 2008, the United States Supreme Court heard the case of Travelers Indemnity Company vs. Bailey et al, a complicated bankruptcy case that was originally decided in federal bankruptcy court. The case involves an asbestos company, Johns Manville, that had been implicated…
Read moreFourth Amendment
The constitutionality of a traffic stop usually hinges on interpretations of the Fourth Amendment. Previously, the court has had to grapple with how to treat drivers stopped for long periods, drivers found with suspicious items and drivers in possession of weapons or firearms in compartments. Although the court has over the years tried to elucidate clear and…
Read moreFederal Drug Crime
Federal Drug Crime Defendants Receive 20 Years Imprisonment On November 4, 2008, the United States District Court sentenced two Modesto, CA residents, Luke Anthony Scarmazzo and Ricardo Ruiz Montes, to two decades in jail on federal drug crime charges for their participation in a massive criminal marijuana manufacturing and distribution enterprise. According to the prosecution, the defendants…
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Cocaine Distribution and Conspiracy Charges in Narcotic Trafficking Ring Montgomery Cocaine Ring Busted; 16 Individuals Charged with Conspiracy According to a July 10, 2008, federal grand jury indictment, 16 Montgomery, Alabama men and women were charged with a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute powder and crack cocaine throughout the region. The federal drug crime and conspiracy charges…
Read moreRobbery Charges
Atlanta Robbery Charges for Four Man Crew On November 8, 2008, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that an unnerving upward violent street crime trend in DeKalb is continuing this year. Two murders have occurred on Peachtree Industrial Blvd. in the last four months. Donaciano Cayon 40, and Alejandro Perez-Morales 37, were both approached by at least one assailant…
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Federal Criminal Charges for Janet Jackson Super Bowl Case Reaches Supreme Court On November 20, 2008, the United States Solicitor General’s Office filed a motion in a matter familiar to the vast majority of American sports fans. During the Super Bowl 2004 half-time show, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson, two internationally renowned pop stars, were…
Read moreDrug Felony Convictions
Drug Felony Convictions Lands Illegal Aliens in Prison for Life A U.S. District judge sentenced defendant Olivar Martinez-Blanco to life in prison without parole on December 9, 2008, on Federal drug felony charges stemming from his role in a massive cocaine distribution conspiracy. Martinez-Blanco is an illegal alien who had been deported twice from the United States…
Read moreMarijuana Trafficking
Federal Felony Drug Charges Filed After Massive Marijuana Trafficking Ring Uncovered A DMV employee and nine others were indicted on charges of marijuana trafficking and corruption. On December 2, 2008, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unsealed an indictment of federal drug crime charges against 10 men and women involved in a massive interstate conspiracy to distribute and…
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