Category: Uncategorized

San Antonio, TX–The family of Jesse Aguirre, 37, who was killed by San Antonio police just over two years ago have filed a lawsuit against the city and eight police officers involved in his killing. Recently released dashcam footage captured the final moments of the tragic event that left a boy without his father.
Named in the suit are officers Cristina Gonzales, Roberto Mendez, Jennifer Morgan, Bettina Arredondo, Ronald Haley, Benito Juarez, Robert Encina, and SAPD spokesperson Douglas Greene.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Aguirre’s son and widow states that Aguirre’s civil rights were violated when the officers ended his life.
Aguirre …read more

CAMERON BOWMAN | YourEDM
I am a criminal defense attorney with the firm Valencia, Ippolito and Bowman in San Jose, California, I am not only a former prosecutor but a former DJ and drummer and an avid festival goer. I combine my two passions (The Law and Music) in my column, “The Festival Lawyer”.
The, “Festival Lawyer” is an ongoing column giving festival goers practical advice about their rights in any encounter with the police. The column also discusses harm reduction and other safety issues relevant to the festival community. My idea for “The Festival Lawyer explains in less than two …read more

Time magazine has this article about five women who ran for president in the past. …read more

U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro will hold a hearing on April 20, Monday, at 10 a.m., over whether the Republican National Committee should be allowed to intervene in Libertarian Party of New Hampshire v Gardner. The Libertarian Party argues that the intervention came too late, and if it is allowed, the outcome in the case will be delayed. The lawsuit was filed on July 22, 2014.
The issue is the 2013 law that makes it illegal for a group to petition for party status during an odd year. Obviously, the longer it takes to decide the case, …read more

Boston, MA — A cyclist in Boston filmed an interaction that confirms what many people already know. The duty of the police is not to protect society, but to enforce the law.
In fact, there is an oft-cited DC Court of Appeals case that legally set this precedent; cops do not protect citizens.
Warren v. District of Columbia held that police do not owe a specific duty to provide police services to citizens based on the public duty doctrine. They are to enforce the law only.
The Boston cyclist who goes by the YouTube handle, Me You, witnessed first hand, the complacent and …read more

Aldermen approved a $5 million settlement to be granted to the family of a teen shot 16 times by Chicago police last October, but insisted on keeping the dashboard camera footage of the shooting away from the public.
RT.com
This came from the autopsy of 17 y/o #LaquanMcDonald. All from one officer. Laquan was 15-20 feet away. pic.twitter.com/EpKJRKr5QZ
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) April 15, 2015

The City Council voted 47-0 on Wednesday to pre-empt a federal lawsuit by paying the family of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, shot by a Chicago police officer on October 20, 2014. Legal counsel for the city Stephen Patton told reporters …read more

The Marijuana Party, which seems to be a party organized only in Nebraska, is petitioning to get on the 2016 ballot. The party needs 5,395 valid signatures by August 1, 2016. If it completes the petition by February 1, 2016, it can have its own primary. …read more

As a nascent technology, regulation surrounding bitcoin has been a difficult issue for some regulators and policymakers. Despite these difficulties, North Carolina is a state that is promoting innovation and regulatory efficiency into its regulatory framework via the next generation of its Money Transmitters Act (“MTA”), introduced to the NC legislature last month. Reasonable states can disagree on whether regulation of certain virtual currency businesses is necessary in the first place, and if it is necessary, how to implement that regulation and with respect to whom. But to the extent states view money transmission regulation (or similar substitutes) as the …read more

The Bend Bulletin has this editorial, praising the Independent Party of Oregon for opening its primary to independent voters. Under a U.S. Supreme Court decision from 1986, Tashjian v Republican Party of Connecticut, any party entitled to a government-administered primary can at any time open its primary to independent voters, regardless of state law. The Independent Party has taken this step, as it gets ready for its first government primary in 2016. …read more

Denver, CO — An 11-year veteran of the Denver police department received a 30 day vacation for brutally shoving an innocent man down a flight of stairs.
Officer Choice Johnson was only “disciplined” after surveillance video showed that his report on the incident was completely fabricated.
The incident started during a bachelor party for the brother of Brandon Schreiber. Schreiber’s brother had a bit too much to drink and had fallen asleep at the bar. For this “crime,” Officer Johnson was arresting him.
According to 7 News Denver,
The report indicated that Johnson falsely portrayed the bar patron as taking a fighting stance toward …read more