Monthly Archives: September 2008

September 28, 2008
7:30 pm
by: Bobby G. Frederick

Trial to begin this week in Highway Patrol case

The civil rights trial of trooper Steve Garren is set to begin this week. He is charged with violating the civil rights of a man he struck with his patrol car, a federal crime that carries up to 10 years, … Continue reading →

Posted in Police Misconduct

September 28, 2008
6:36 pm
by: Bobby G. Frederick

Sentence reduction as a remedy for prosecutorial misconduct

Doug Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy last week highlighted an Iowa district court opinion in which U.S. District Court Judge Mark Bennett reduced a defendant’s sentence by 17 months as a remedy for prosecutorial misconduct. The prosecution had entered … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics

September 27, 2008
11:47 pm
by: Bobby G. Frederick

Buzzed driving is not drunk driving

Driving down the road today in Myrtle Beach I noticed another billboard proclaiming “Buzzed driving is drunk driving.” More state dollars spent on marketing to the potential jury pool with mis-truths about our state’s DUI laws. Buzzed driving is not … Continue reading →

Posted in DUI DWI Driving Under the Influence

September 26, 2008
7:23 pm
by: Bobby G. Frederick

For nine years, lawyer kept client’s secret regarding murder case

This story highlights some of the damnable ethical dilemmas that attorneys, in particular criminal defense lawyers, often face. In 1999, Florida lawyer Jay Hebert’s client told him that she had helped to bury the body of a missing real estate … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics

September 23, 2008
9:55 pm
by: Bobby G. Frederick

Veteran’s treatment courts

A client of mine who is also a distinguished combat veteran brought to my attention a bill pending in Congress that would establish a grant program to create veteran treatment courts based on the drug court model. “These treatment courts … Continue reading →

Posted in Legislation

September 20, 2008
8:01 pm
by: Bobby G. Frederick

Marijuana arrests increased in 2007

The FBI’s yearly report on crime data was released this week, and shows that a record number of Americans were arrested for marijuana possession in 2007: 872,721 Americans were arrested for marijuana in 2007, and of those arrests, 89% or … Continue reading →

Posted in Prison nation, War on drugs

September 20, 2008
7:11 pm
by: Bobby G. Frederick

Hood’s execution stayed

From Grits for Breakfast: On September 9, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed the execution of death row inmate Charles Hood, saying that it will reconsider the propriety of jury instructions in a claim that the Court had rejected … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics

September 18, 2008
10:40 pm
by: Bobby G. Frederick

Myrtle Beach continues efforts to shut down the May bike rally

For some time now, the city of Myrtle Beach has been working on plans to end the Memorial Day Harley Davidson rally and “black bike week” the week after the Harley rally. In June of this year, the city passed … Continue reading →

Posted in Local

September 6, 2008
12:07 am
by: Bobby G. Frederick

Copy and paste DUI reports

Lawrence Taylor expounds on the practice of police officers using pre-written arrest reports in drunk driving cases – writing out “driving symptoms, slurred speech, failed sobriety tests, and admissions of drinking – and then just filling in the names, dates, … Continue reading →

Posted in DUI DWI Driving Under the Influence

September 5, 2008
9:44 pm
by: Bobby G. Frederick

Criminal defense lawyer’s office searched in New Jersey

In the third search of a criminal defense lawyer’s office since spring, a federal judge in New Jersey is allowing prosecutors to review computer records seized from a criminal defense lawyer’s office, including the files of clients who were not … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics