March '08
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Law

  • U.S. v Allen (U.S. 6th Cir., Feb. 5, 2008) Criminal; sentencing. When does a thief 'take' something? The Court decided that under USSG, 2B3.1, these defendants did so when they when they exercised 'dominion and control' over the items, such that they completed the acts necessary to seize them.
  • Ross v Ragingwire (Calif. Supreme Ct., Jan. 24, 2008) Employment; drugs. California's highest court has ruled that an employer may fire employees who use medical marijuana, even when the employee has a doctor's note approving its use in accordance with the state's Compassionate Use Act.
  • Roe v Crawford (U.S. 8th Cir., Jan. 22, 2008) Prisons; Constitutional law. An elective, non-therapeutic abortion does not constitute a serious medical need, and a prison institution's refusal to provide an inmate with access to an elective, non-therapeutic abortion does not rise to the level of deliberate indifference to constitute an Eighth Amendment violation.

  • Articles

    'Dram Shop Laws - A Vehicle for Policy Change' Dram shop expert Major Mark Willingham examines how the U.S appears to have adopted an inconsistent public policy across the country.


    Events
    02/28/08 (NY): NY State Fire Investigators Spring Seminar Big Box Warehouse Fires - Latent Print Process on Molotov Cocktails - Report from Katrina - Fire Trace Evidence - Juvenile Fire Setting.
    03/05-07/08 (FL): 22nd Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime ABA sponsored event. Last year over 1,000 legal practitioners attended the annual gathering of the national white collar bar. As in the past, outstanding panelists will be in attendance.
    03/27-29/08 (CA): Expert Witness Summit FEWA annual event. Trial judges, attorneys, experts & jury consultants will discuss how you can improve all aspects of your practice & testimony. Also a pre-conference workshop.
    05/03-08/08 (DC): American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting APA event of the year. The theme for this year's meeting is, "Our Voice in Action: Advancing Science, Care and the Profession".

    In The News

    02/16/08 (WA): Blood Spatter Training For Police Experts. In a small room in Edmonds a pool of blood on the floor and red smears on a table appear to weave a violent tale. Crimson droplets stain a wall and a trail leads out the door.


    02/13/08 (WV): State Supreme Court Justice Speaks To Law Association In an address to the West Virginia Association For Justice, State Supreme Court Justice Joseph P Albright talked about some of the Court's significant decisions over the past term.


    02/11/08 (DC): Military Tribunals To Be Tested In Terror Trials The Pentagon has announced that six Guantanamo detainees are to be tried by a Military Commission for their alleged roles in the 9/11 attacks. Previous attempts at introducing the system have failed after the Government tried to bring two cases last summer but was thwarted by Congress and the Supreme Court.


    02/09/08 (AR): Expert On Gangs To Be Called Prosecutors in the Daniel Francis murder case are seeking to call an expert on gang related violence. The Defense have always contended otherwise and are resisting the move.


    01/29/08 (CAN): Canadian Expert Was 'Self-Taught' Pathologist An experienced expert witness has admitted that he was self-taught in Pediatric Forensics and Pathology. Dr Charles Smith, who is medically qualified, became a leading light in his field in Canada where his testimony has led to a number of wrongful convictions.


    01/26/08 (TX): Expert Grilled In Seatbelt Trial Jenny Singley died from injuries suffered in a March 2005 car wreck in Harker Heights, TX. In the resultant civil suit brought by her family, much of the plaintiffs' case relies heavily on expert testimony that a design flaw in the seatbelt of Jenny's car led to her death.


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