My last post talked about how judges work with each other’s decisions. Today, I’d like to take a bird’s eye look at the relationship between the judiciary and Parliament. Unelected judges handle laws passed by elected legislatures such as Parliament of Canada or provincial parliaments. How they do it helps understand why it’s ok for [...]
The main source of contention in most punitive damages awards are the first two factors- the nature of the defendant’s conduct, and the ratio of punitive vs. compensatory damages. 
Opponents may argue that one has a reasonable expectation of privacy in their own car. Sure, I can see that point. However, our individual car is on a public road when the red light citation is issued.
Via Urban Demographics: addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fglobalsociology.com%2F2011%2F08%2F29%2Fthe-visual-du-jour-more-planet-of-slums%2F'; addthis_title = 'The+Visual+Du+Jour+%26%238211%3B+More+Planet+of+Slums'; addthis_pub = '';
Here’s a podcast with sociologist Megan Comfort on her book, Doing Time Together: Love and Family in the Shadow of Prison (UChicago Press, 2007). Here’s what the book’s about: Megan Comfort spent years getting to know women visiting men at San Quentin State Prison, observing how their romantic relationships drew them into contact with the [...]Judges are powerful people. Sometimes, misconceptions about their power lead to calls for an elected judiciary or some other form of outside intervention in our courts. These are all bad ideas. Our judiciary must be independent from all potential litigants (including the state). It is also sufficiently self-regulated yet flexible. The most important principle of [...]
, , , Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney Blog Published by Boston , Massachusetts Criminal Defense , Attorney Stephen Neyman , . P.C Home Firm Website Practice Areas Contact Us Previous Home Five Arrested In Rockland Massachusetts Raid , Charged With Possession Of Cocaine , Heroin , Distribution And Conspiracy August 24, 2011 Posted In : Drug Crimes By Stephen Neyman , . P.C on August 24, 2011 5:40 PM Permalink In July police started surveilling a home in Rockland , Massachusetts after receiving a report from a confidential informant that a woman and her daughter were selling Cocaine , Oxycodone and Crack Cocaine from the residence . The surveillance lasted over two months during which controlled buys were conducted and several hand to hand transactions were observed . As a result of
The trial of the West Memphis Three showed that jurors are sometimes susceptible to prosecutorial arguments based on emotion, as well as sensational allegations (such as satanic cults).
This very resource-rich blog both in English and French: So, update your bookmarks, RSS, blogrolls and follow on Twitter. addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fglobalsociology.com%2F2011%2F08%2F23%2Fglobal-sociology-blogroll-update-bilingual-edition%2F'; addthis_title = 'Global+Sociology+Blogroll+Update+%26%238211%3B+Bilingual+Edition'; addthis_pub = '';I know this… … is supposed to be good news. But this concerns me: “Moreover, the report describes “several notable mismatches between the fields of interest of graduate students and the fields in which departmental searches are most common.” For example, the sociology of culture and scholarship of race, class, and gender ranked much higher [...]
If the California bill is passed, offenders who were juveniles when they committed the crimes for which they were sentenced to life must be made eligible for parole after they have served 15 years of their sentence. From this interesting article in which Malcolm James explains how law enforcement polices public spaces against youth pre-crime: “Even before the riots, the streets were dangerous places for young people to be. Young people at Leeside talked of community support officers and police prowling the streets, assuming they were up to no good. The community [...]
Via Mark Thoma, these enlightening series of graphs for all who worry about the ginormous amounts of money we supposedly spend on welfare: Fewer and fewer people receiving TANF: And TANF is not very responsive to higher unemployment: addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fglobalsociology.com%2F2011%2F08%2F22%2Fthe-visual-du-jour-what-safety-net%2F'; addthis_title = 'The+Visual+Du+Jour+%26%238211%3B+What+Safety+Net%3F'; addthis_pub = '';Via Al-Jazeera’s excellent series, People and Power: addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fglobalsociology.com%2F2011%2F08%2F21%2Fmore-nigerian-connections%2F'; addthis_title = 'More+Nigerian+Connections'; addthis_pub = '';
It looks like California is going to become one of the first states to make a serious effort to close this gap, by clarifying the rules governing technology and courtroom decorum, and that there are still places in the modern world where tweeting, texting, and posting on Facebook are simply not acceptable. 
, , Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney Blog Published by Boston , Massachusetts Criminal Defense , Attorney Stephen Neyman , . P.C Home Firm Website Practice Areas Contact Us Previous Home Framingham Massachusetts Police Officers Smell Marijuana , Stop And Search Car , Driver Charged With Possession With Intent To Distribute August 15, 2011 Posted In : Drug Crimes By Stephen Neyman , . P.C on August 15, 2011 2:25 PM Permalink Just last week while Robert Smith was driving his Cadillac in Framingham , Massachusetts he had the misfortune of driving in front of a police car . The officer observed some civil motor vehicle infractions and also smelled a strong odor of fresh marijuana coming from the car . The officer stopped the car and continued to smell the marijuana . Smith actedRecently, I consulted a client who was in a conflict with a few co-workers. Let’s call him Jack. My client told me they did not like him. Jack received emails accusing him of poor communication skills and mistakes in the performance of his work duties. Jack convinced me that the accusations were groundless. He believed [...]Check out the website, My Fellow American.
Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney Blog Published by Boston , Massachusetts Criminal Defense , Attorney Stephen Neyman , . P.C Home Firm Website Practice Areas Contact Us Previous Home Malden Massachusetts Man Indicted For Possession With Intent To Distribute Class B Substance In Salem Superior Court August 8, 2011 Posted In : Drug Crimes By Stephen Neyman , . P.C on August 8, 2011 4:36 PM Permalink This past May Peabody Police Detectives were conducting surveillance in the parking lot of the North Shore Mall near the Barnes and Nobles Bookstore . A gray Honda in which David Ledbury of Malden , Massachusetts was a passenger was stopped for an alleged routine motor vehicle violation . Ledbury was observed making a furtive movement towards the lower part of the vehicle as the police