Gun sales are booming and the National Shooting Sports Foundation point to an Obama administration as the reason for the boom. Last week President-elect Obama's Web site had posted his administration's agenda for curtailing the Second Amendment rights of law abiding Americans, thereby validating the concerns of gun owners, sportsmen and firearms enthusiasts all across the country. Curiously, the Obama-Biden gun control agenda was taken down from the Web site after just two days.

A woman who, four years ago, sawed off her infant daughter's arms with a butcher knife and sat on the sofa singing hymns while the baby bled to death was released from Rusk State Hospital to continue her treatment as an outpatient. Ms. Schlosser, brainwashed by a cultlike church, isolated in an authoritarian marriage, her reason obliterated by disease, was insane. And against all of the wishes of the people of the State, the judge did what the law requires, release her to enjoy her right to rejoin society.

The police, courts, prisons and probation services are becoming more expensive every day through no fault of the majority of people. With that in mind, we should adopt the old notion whereby the guilty are responsible for all costs related to their trial and prison time.

Even with President Elect Obama’s promise to close Guantanamo, major hurdles stand in the way of doing so, even with a clear mandate. Questions range from what to do with the detainees, which courts are capable of conducting the hearings and what should be done with the highest ranking suspected terrorists where information may threaten national security.

In reaction to a gang murder, the Irish legislative branch is debating to allow the use of information gathered covertly as evidence in criminal trials. "We need to find a balance between allowing the Garda Síochána to collect evidence in a way which will withstand legal scrutiny and, at the same time, get on with policing on a day-to-day basis so we have community support . . ..”

Lawmakers in Kentucky understand the correlation between the “three strikes” rule and exploding prison population and costs. The odds that lawmakers will change the law is slim, however as they fear being cast as being soft on crime.

A move to start using special rules for the use of opinion evidence for those accused of gangland crime has received some criticism. The courts had already held that such evidence was not conclusive and, in practice, had tended to disregard such evidence if the accused denied it on oath. The situation was even more fraught with difficulty if such evidence were to be used in ordinary courts, because of its prejudicial effect and doubts about its constitutionality.

The Iowa Supreme Court upheld a law that bars single parents from living with convicted sex offenders. The Supreme Court rejected the equal protection argument statting that married sex offenders have a greater financial stake in the children’s lives where as the unmarried sex offenders do not have the same stake in the well-being of the children.

Issue is whether 4th circuit erred when applying restrictive standard of 28 USC 2254 which is reserved for claims adjudicated on merits in state court, to evaluate a claim predicated on evidence of prejudice the state court refused to consider and received for the first time in a federal evidentiary hearing.

Bell was charged and convicted of murder of a police Sergeant and sentenced to death. Bell claims there was insufficient legal counseling regarding mitigation, namely that he had lived a tough life, and that several wives had good relationships with him, which would seemingly negate the prosecutions.

Issue is whether state forensic analyst’s laboratory report prepared for criminal prosecution is testimonial evidence and subject to demands of Confrontation Clause set forth in Crawford v. Washington, 541 US 36 (2004).

Petitioner in this case was arrested as part of a drug transaction in which he was the passenger in a car that another individual was spotted getting into, leaving, and being subsequently detained by officers who discovered several powders. These powders were sent to the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health’s State Laboratory for testing. They in turn submitted a report determining that the powder was in fact cocaine. This report did not describe qualifications of experts, measures taken in testing, or percentages of cocaine. Petitioner was tried and at trial objected to the admissibility of this document without right to confront. The trial court overruled objections. This decision was affirmed by the Appeals Ct. of Massachusetts, as well as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court, leading to this case.

Issue is whether to qualify under a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under 18 USC 921(a)(33) an offense must have as an element a domestic relationship between offender and victim. If so, 18 USC 922(g)((9) makes it a crime for any person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to possess a firearm.

Hayes was convicted in 1994 of misdeamor battery for striking wife. In 2004 Hayes got into argument with his then girlfriend, leading to police being called to the scene. After consenting to search, police found the guns and charged with a violation of 18 USC 922 (g)(9) which makes it a felony for anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to possess a firearm.

Hayes argues in this case that a 1994 battery conviction was not a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under the W.V. Statute because the statute does not have as an element a domestic relationship between offender and victim, even though the victim was in fact his wife. The 4th Circuit agreed with this argument, holding that the statute did not contain a domestic relationship element, leading to this appeal.

Issue is whether defendant’s failure to report for confinement falls under the violent felony definition of the Armed Career Criminal Act 18 USC 924(e), which would require the involvement of conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.

Petitioner plead guilty to robbery and aggravated assault and to a drug possession charge, and was sentenced to periodic confinement for 11 years. After failing to report for confinement he was convicted of the crime of escape. He was not sentenced to any additional time at this point, but later was involved in an altercation involving the discharge of a firearm, which lead to being charged with felon in possession. Prosecution sought to add an enhancement to sentence, which required them to prove three prior convictions for a violent felony or serious drug offense, which requires that the escape be listed as a felony. Petitioner was sentenced was enhanced by more than 5 years by the district court citing prior case law. The 7th Circuit affirmed, leading to the present appeal.

Golstein was convicted of a murder he did not commit as a result of the false testimony of a jail house informant, who falsely swore that the DA office promised nothing to him in return for testimony. The trial deputy in this case did not know and could not disclose that this was a lie, as the chief administrators of the DA office had not established any system for tracking information about the benefits handlers were granting informants in return for testimony. As a result he seeks damages from Petitioners.

The issue here is that Petitioners enjoy qualified immunity, which would shield them from liability unless they either were plainly incompetent or knowingly violated the law. This case raises the question of whether officials are absolutely immune from civil suit for decision even if it can be proven that Petitioners purposely fostered information vacuum with specific intent to prevent line prosecutors from learning this information, and thus be required to disclose.

Issue is Immigration and Naturalization Act, which confers Attorney General discretion to grant asylum to refugees, but prohibits discretion for any person ordering inciting assisting or otherwise participating in persecution of others on basis of race, religion nationality membership in particular social group. Issue is whether this applies to alien whose involvement was involuntary due to fear of death or serious bodily harm.

Individual in this case was involved in Ethiopian-Eritrean War. At the age of 18 he was detained and forced to work in a salt mine and later was forced to undergo military training. After later refusing to serve in the military he was imprisoned and later forced to work as a prison guard. It was during this time that he was instructed to on occasion punish prisoners, which he claims to have refused to do. In spite of this the Immigration judge determined b/c he helped keep prisoners this was enough to refuse asylum. The Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed Petitioners appeal, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeals, which claimed motive for persecution was not relevant.

Issue in this case is whether a defendant who has been previously found by the court to have lost his right to direct appeal because of a 6th Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel, and reinstates appeal, does the 1 year period to seek federal habeas review run from the conclusion of reinstated proceedings
Facts: Petitioner Jimenez pleaded guilty to felony burglary and was placed on deferred adjudicated probation for five years. This was later revoked and he was sentenced to 43 years in prison. Following this Jimenez filed a pro se habeas petition in state court, arguing that legal counsel’s failure to notify of a motion to withdraw himself as counsel deprived him of right to appeal. The court agreed that he was denied right to counsel and granted a reinstated appeal. After these appeals were denied at the state level Jimenez moved to appeal to federal court. In response state argued petition was barred under 28 USC 2244(d)(1)(A) which established one year limitation to file, accruing on the date on which judgment became final by the conclusion of direct review or the expiration of the time for seeking such review. Petitioner argues no time barring because time period should start from conclusion of direct appeal as reinstated.

Police and business owners have begun preparing for an annual tradition: holiday crime surges. In this story, police in southwest Florida have engaged local business owners in workshops aimed at discussing strategies that can be employed to prevent loss and proactively identify suspicious individuals. Police have also engaged in partnerships with larger retailers to increase store surveillance and to improve communication.

A recent study has shown that crime by the elderly in Japan has increased significantly in the past five years. The study, which analyzed crime statistics for those aged 65 and older, showed that crime has increased five-fold for this demographic while the raw number of elderly has only doubled. The study's authors attribute this rise to a number of factors, including low income, decreasing health, and a sense of isolation.

California voters have passed Proposition 9, a "victims' rights" measure aimed at strengthening the rights already afforded to victims by adding them to the State Constitution. Among other changes, the measure provides victims with a right to restitution from those convicted of crimes against them, while also preventing early release for criminals who may pose a danger to victims. Critics of the proposal argued that it would pose a significant economic risk to the state by preventing already-overcrowded facilities from releasing criminals prior to their scheduled date of release.

As federal investigators continue to look into potential criminal wrongdoing by executives at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, it has been discovered that the government also –likely unwittingly- has assumed the duty to defend these same executives in any prosecutions resulting from the investigations. The contracts for many of these individuals includes a stipulation that the companies, now controlled by the federal government as a result of their recent buyouts, will defend the executives in any proceedings arising out of their employment with the company. While the government likely had leverage to re-negotiate these terms prior to their buyout, it appears that any such leverage has now evaporated and a refusal to honor the 'duty to defend' term would likely result in a breach of contract claim being brought against the government.

While Penn State's October 25 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes resulted in great joy for many Nittany Lion supporters, the night proved a bit too joyous for a small number of fans. Fourteen PSU supporters have been charged with various crimes, including rioting and a number of other misdemeanors. State College police have enlisted the help of the public, requesting any video or photographs people may have taken during the post-game celebrations in an effort to identify those involved. A police spokesman indicated that more charges may be yet to come.

Updating a previous entry, Oregonians have voted to approve Measure 57 and have defeated Measure 61. Measure 57, which imposes harsher penalties for those convicted of repeat offenses involving drugs and property theft, has been supported in theory, though has also been criticized by many for the strain it is predicted to cause to the state budget. The measure is estimated to allocate over $700 million while providing no funding mechanism, a figure which may cause particular budgetary problems at a time when Oregon has endured economic turbulence.

Police in St. Paul, Minnesota have begun combing through thousands of hours of surveillance footage from September's Republican National Convention in order to determine the identity of assault victims and to look into allegations of police misconduct. The convention, which drew thousands of protestors, was marred by looting and alleged police brutality, particularly during its opening days. Police are encouraging anyone with information as to specific incidents or the identity of any parties to said incidents to come forward and assist in their efforts.

Federal prosecutors have decided not to pursue charges against former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer for his participation in an international prostitution ring. Spitzer, who initially drew the attention of authorities due to suspicious wire transfers from his bank account, was initially implicated in the ring in March, prompting his resignation. The U.S. Attorney's Office had considered charges against Spitzer for money laundering.

A 16-year-old Michigan girl who poisoned her grandmother with morphine has been sentenced to life in prison with a chance for parole in 20 years. Kristina Adkins cried as she apologized for the slaying during Friday's sentencing. Adkins was only 13 in 2006, when 53-year-old Virginia Bentley was poisoned. Probate Judge Margaret Noe chose an adult sentence for Adkins. She could have placed her in a juvenile facility until age 21.

Police in Florida closed the book Friday on the suicide of the so-called "D.C. Madam," confirming that she hanged herself with a nylon rope instead of facing prison time for running an elite prostitution ring. The handwriting in two suicide notes left by her bed matched the writing in her personal daybooks. A note to her mother was dated April 25, nearly a week before she killed herself.

Five California governors came together Thursday in rare bipartisan opposition to a ballot initiative they fear would harm public safety by easing punishment for drug offenders. Proposition 5 would divert tens of thousands of drug offenders annually from prisons or jails into treatment programs. It expands on a similar initiative approved by voters in 2000.

About 1,200 violent or child sex offenders on probation or parole in Maryland have been ordered to hang signs reading "No candy" at their residences. Maryland is one of a growing number of states that are expanding restrictions on sex offenders for Halloween, including required signage and curfews. Other states, such as Indiana and Missouri, also require some registered sex offenders to hang signs on Halloween.

Two men have been arrested in connection with an effigy of Sen. Barack Obama that was hung from a tree outside a campus building at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Police said they arrested Joe Fischer, 22, a senior at the university, and Hunter Bush, 21, a former student at Bluegrass Community and Technical College. They were arrested on disorderly conduct and other charges.

The Nevada Pardons Board has decided to look at an idea that could get large numbers of inmates out of the state’s prisons. Overcrowding is forcing the state to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on prison construction. The prison population is at more than 13,000 currently. The program would potentially release large numbers of inmates either to deportation or alternative programs.

Hit with allegations of corruption and greed, state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson is at the center of a maze of malfeasance and an ever-widening public corruption investigation. Wilkerson, 54, a Roxbury Democrat, was arrested Tuesday on corruption charges accusing her of pocketing eight bribes totaling $23,500 from undercover operatives in exchange for her help obtaining a liquor license for a proposed nightclub and transferring public land to a fed posing as a private developer. It’s a distinct possibility that the U.S. Attorney’s Office may try and flip her to name alleged co-conspirators with a plea deal as bait.

Chicago police on Wednesday found a handgun near where the body of Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found dead in an SUV on Monday morning. Aerial footage of the scene taken by Chicago TV station WLS showed an investigator putting a pistol in a box. A police spokesman said testing was needed to confirm whether the weapon was connected to the Hudson case. All three victims died from multiple gunshot wounds, including Julian King, authorities said.