Harvey Weinstein’s convictions for sex offenses in New York were overturned today by the New York Court of Appeals. He has not been acquitted, the appellate court ruled that he is entitled to a new trial. He is not likely to get out pending the new trial, as his convictions in California still stand, and he has been sentenced to 16 years for those offenses. This is in no way an exoneration. This is a rebuke of the prosecution, and of the trial court who erred in allowing into evidence prior bad acts allegations (a.k.a. similar fact evidence) introduced by the state. In this case, the prior act ..read more

An Indiana man was arrested recently for a DUI on a Power Wheel Jeep. Power Wheels are the small motorized vehicles meant to be driven by children, and not on the roads. However, it is still a vehicle, and apparently that is sufficient to charge for a DUI in Indiana, as it is in Florida. Even non-motorized vehicles can count, from bicycles to skateboards ..read more

Joseph Zieler was scheduled to be sentenced today for his two First-Degree Murder Convictions for the 1990 killings of Robin Cornell and Lisa Story, but he decided to try to derail the proceedings. In the morning, as the court was meeting to discuss his motion for new trial, and sentencing issues, Zieler took a cheap shot at one of his attorneys, Kevin Shirley, with an elbow. Check out the video: Fortunately, Mr. Shirley was unharmed. The judge asked if he was ok, and he said, I used to box, I’ve taken a lot better shots than that.” That’s a badass thing to say. It didn’t help Mr. Zieler, The ..read more

After 27 years, authorities arrested Sheila Keen-Warren for the 1990 killing of Marlene Warren by an assailant disguised as a clown. Warren answered the door to someone dressed as a clown who handed her balloons and flowers, then pulled out a gun and shot her in the face. Marlene Warren died at the hospital 2 days later. Sheila Keen became a suspect when authorities found out she was having an affair with Marlene’s husband, Michael. She eventually married him, but no arrest was made for decades. Sheila Keen-Warren now In 2014, new DNA evidence was uncovered by modern technology that tied Sheil ..read more

A former prosecutor has revealed that the Office of the State Attorney of the Second Judicial Circuit had an explicitly racist policy published to assistant prosecutors there. The policy, which was printed in a memo and posted in the Jefferson County prosecutor’s office, explicitly directed prosecutors to seek harsher penalties when the Defendants for No Valid Driver’s License charges were “Hispanic.” It’s shocking for the office to have such a policy, and even more shocking they actually wrote it up and printed it out. The elected prosecutor likely did not know about it, this was posted in on ..read more

Wisner Desmaret Jury selection is set to start today for Wisner Desmaret, who is charged with First Degree Murder in the killing of Fort Myers Police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller in 2018. Jobbers-Miller was responding to a complaint, when he was allegedly tackled by Desmaret, who took his firearm and fatally shot him. The State is seeking the Death Penalty on the case. Desmaret fired his attorney, and will be representing himself at the trial. Desmaret has a documented mental health history — he’s had prior criminal cases in which he was found incompetent to stand trial, and subsequently receiv ..read more

A recent article took a look at Florida’s Prison Releasee Reoffender statute, which mandates a maximum penalty for designated offenders. The problem with sentencing strictures that take discretion away, is that imbalanced sentences can follow. The man discussed in this article, Steve Brana, was sentenced to life for robbery, except the robber with the gun got less time. Brana’s only prior offenses were juvenile burglaries. It’s appropriate to take a violent offender off the streets for a time to ensure the safety of the community, but life in prison for an accomplice (or principle) who has no ..read more

Some chucklehead needs to read the Constitution. A Florida State Senator, Jason Brodeur, wants bloggers who write about Florida officials, and he includes himself and the legislature under this umbrella, to register with the state or potentially face fines. This is patently unconstitutional. The First Amendment prohibits any law that would abridge the freedom of speech, or of the press. This law is so offensive to the freedoms granted, I can’t believe the idea made it far enough for the bill to be filed. The registration requirements, and potential penalties, create what’s called a “chilling e ..read more

New Mexico prosecutors announced today that they are filing charges against actor Alec Baldwin, as well as weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez Reed, for the tragic October, 2021 accident on the set of the movie ‘Rust’. The production failed to ensure several safety precautions that should never had allowed live ammunition on the set, much less in a gun handed to an actor. Baldwin denies that he pulled the trigger. While it’s possible the gun malfunctioned, the FBI said their tests showed the gun functioned properly, meaning that the trigger would need to be pulled for it to discharge. His stateme ..read more

An Ohio man was stopped for suspicion of DUI the other day, and he tried a unique way to show the officers that he was not impaired. 27-year-old Tanner Watson was pulled over in Broadview Heights for speeding, but officers suspected a possible OVI (Ohio’s version of DUI). He admitted a having a few beers, but to show that he wasn’t drunk, he did a backflip for the officers on the side of the road. Not only that, he landed it. Based on his performance on the other exercises, officers still felt that he was impaired and arrested him. But, he’s got an argument to the jury that his acrobatics wou ..read more