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Jun 9th, 2011 by TeraniLawFirm
Many people are addicted to video games and computer games. Sometimes people will sit down for hours and hours playing their favorite computer game non-stop. That’s not the case anymore for a 25 year old woman living in New Mexico. In November of 2009, Rebecca Colleen Christine was charged with second degree murder and child abandonment. Rebecca Colleen Christine will serve 25 years in prison for the death of her daughter. Christine was a great fan of the highly popular computer game World of War Craft. She was so addicted to the computer game that she failed to take care and feed her 3 year old child. Her child died from malnutrition and dehydration. Prosecutors mentioned that her child only gained one pound in the last year of her life. Christine had no excuse for not attending to her child’s needs but a great criminal defense lawyer could have negotiated a deal with prosecution to reduce her sentence. A criminal defense attorney may be able to have the defendant evaluated for mental disorders and determine if she was in the right state of mind.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/06/03/new-mexico-mom-gets-25-years-for-starving-daughter/
Posted in Child Abuse, Child Neglect | Comments Off
Jun 9th, 2011 by TeraniLawFirm
Parents take their child to school daily to receive knowledge. It’s pretty much the same routine day by day, week by week. A child goes to school, attends classes, has a recess and gets backs to studying. It’s common for teachers to ask their student to do something and for the student to obey. That was not the case in Adelanto, California. A teacher was attacked at a community day school and her attacker was her own student. The boy, who is 11 years old, is accused of punching his fifth grade teacher in the nose, causing it to break. Currently, the boy is in juvenile hall and is under investigation for assault. A criminal defense attorney could be present as the boy is being questioned for the assault on his teacher. There is no excuse for assaulting a teacher but the fact that the boy is only 11 years old must be taken into consideration. A criminal defense attorney is aware that these accusations can be taken out of context without explanation. Criminal defense lawyers will be an efficient partner for the 11 year old boy. It is clear that the juvenile harmed his teacher and maybe it would be in the defenses best interest to negotiate a plea with the prosecution.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/06/03/calif-boy-11-punches-teacher-in-nose-in-class/
Posted in Assault, Juvenile Defense Lawyer, Juvenile Offenses | Comments Off
Jun 9th, 2011 by TeraniLawFirm
Imagine pushing a trash can down the street, then being investigated and arrested for what’s inside the trash can. In Ontario, California a woman was arrested because she was pushing a trash can down a street that contained remains of a human body. 51 year old Carmen Montenegro was pushing a trash can that smelled so terrible, it caused people to call the authorities. When authorities looked inside the trash can they discovered the remains of a man. Investigators are looking into who the remains are, what happened, and how it happened. Montenegro is in need of a great criminal defense attorney before charges are filed. If she hires a criminal defense lawyer right away, she will have strong partners who will defend and fight for her. She is in the Pre-file investigation stage of the criminal process. Millions of people throw out garbage everyday and it could have been anyone who placed the remains in that specific trash can. The first intent is to think that the trash can is filled with trash and not human remains. A criminal defense attorney is aware that these accusations can be taken out of context without explanation. That is why a criminal lawyer is necessary to show her side of the story in order to prevent charges from being filed. Criminal defense lawyers will come together and think of a game plan that will prevent charges from being filed.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/31/calif-woman-seen-pushing-body-parts-trash/
Posted in Pre-File, Violence, Violent Crimes | Comments Off
Jun 9th, 2011 by TeraniLawFirm
I wonder how an oil and vinegar cocktail would taste? Parents are more than likely to give a bottle of milk to their 2 year old son to drink rather than a concoction of olive oil and vinegar. That was not the case in Fort Wayne, Texas where a mother gave her son oil and vinegar to drink because she thought it would exorcise a demon from him. Now her son is dead and she is facing criminal charges of murder. Lawson’s actions have her facing 45 years in prison. She truly believed her son’s appearance was physically changing and he was acting out because a demon was possessed inside of him. She’s in need of a criminal defense attorney to help her defend her side of the story and obtain her the lightest sentence possible. A criminal defense lawyer can argue Lawsons sanity. Prosecution argues that there is no evidence that proves Lawson didn’t think her actions were wrong. A criminal defense attorney is needed to prove that Lawson is delusional which makes her incapable of knowing right and wrong. Lawson insists that she didn’t mean to harm her 2 year old son and a criminal defense attorney is necessary to help prove that she did not purposely want to murder her child.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/31/indiana-mother-convicted-murder-killing-son-exorcism/
Posted in Child Abuse | Comments Off
Jun 9th, 2011 by TeraniLawFirm
One of the best gifts in life is being blessed with a child. It’s common to see a mother walking her child in a stroller, feeding her child, and doing anything she can to provide an easy going life style for her child. Our jobs as parents are to protect and cherish our children forever. Sometimes a part of parenting is discipline. Sometimes it may even involve physically harming your child, such as spanking. Some people believe in this, others don’t. A woman criminal charged in Ohio took it too fat recently. She was charged with murdering her baby daughter by placing her in a microwave oven. A criminal defense lawyer was needed to help prove the defendant never intended to kill her child. Prosecution was determined to get 31 year old China Arnold sentenced with the harshest penalty possible; death. Prosecution argues that Arnold intentionally put her baby daughter in the microwave to kill her. A great criminal defense lawyer will prove the intent behind China Arnolds actions. The intent may have been disciplinary related. Or the defendant may, have serious mental problems as this is a very unique situation. Prosecutors are trying to convince jurors that Arnold engaged in these actions purposely. Arnold needs a good criminal defense attorney to obtain her the lightest sentence possible. A good criminal defense attorney will argue that Arnold was not purposely trying to kill her baby and that she was not in the right state of mind. Seems like there are some good defenses related to insanity or mental instability. Just thinking about placing any living thing in a microwave sounds insane! Either way, a criminal lawyer will have a hard time with this one.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/20/ohio-mom-gets-life-term-babys-microwave-death/
Posted in Child Abuse | Comments Off
Jun 7th, 2010 by TeraniLawFirm
America is the land of the rich and plenty. Anything we need is just a click away as an online purchase is available to buy just down the street at the local supermarket or mall. Six-year-olds walk around texting on cell phones and a single family will own up to one car per household member. Not all of the world lives this way or has access to so many resources and material goods. Over half of the world’s population lives on less than $2.50 per day. When a person emigrates from a third world country to the United States it must be a great shock to accustom oneself to the extravagance of the American standard of living. This appears to be the case with Sherrine and Phillip Mathieu who were charged with 863 counts of child neglect for allegedly forcing their daughter to sleep, eat, and use the bathroom outside for over eight years. The mother and father, who are immigrants from Haiti and the Bahamas, also allegedly lived in a car with their daughter outside of the house. This is an extreme amount of charges for child neglect, and the Mathieu’s are going to be penalized by serious consequences unless a skilled criminal defense attorney takes their case and mitigates the 863 counts of child neglect that the couple is facing.
There appears to be more assumptions than evidence supporting the allegations of child neglect against the Mathieu’s that a criminal attorney could uncover in order to reduce the criminal charges of child abuse. Law enforcement is twisting the circumstances of the alleged child neglect in order to incriminate the couple to the greatest degree possible. The charges against the Mathieu’s make it sound as if they were torturing their child by not allowing her to live in the house. However, the Mathieu’s were not forcing their daughter to sleep outside while they lived luxuriously in the house, the whole family resided outdoors. A criminal defense lawyer could show that living outdoors or in an unconventional dwelling does not warrant child abuse charges. The family was legally living on their own property and at the most they could have been violating a city ordinance for sanitation. However, the Mathieu’s will most likely not be able to avoid all criminal charges. It is reported that their daughter has not been attending school and chronic truancy is a charge that can be punished by up to one year in jail or a fine in most states.
The Mathieu’s may need an evaluation in order to determine their fitness as parents and to assess the validity of the child neglect allegations that their daughter is making against them. Their daughter has allegedly fought with her mother on multiple occasions regarding their living conditions and the parents have allegedly told officials coming to inspect the house that their daughter sleeps inside on a bed. It is possible that these allegations are nothing more than the words of a fitful teenager and that once a criminal attorney evaluates the evidence it will be found that the Mathieu’s cannot be charged with child neglect. A criminal defense attorney is aware that many accusations of child abuse taken out of context or without explanation can appear horrendous. That is why a criminal lawyer is necessary to show your side of the story in order to reduce or dismiss charges of child neglect or child abuse.
http://www.justnews.com/news/23633662/detail.html
http://cbs4.com/local/child.neglect.mathieu.2.1707753.html
Posted in Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Criminal Defense, Uncategorized | Comments Off
May 28th, 2010 by TeraniLawFirm
When Mr. Kilpatrick, the ex-mayor of Detroit, was sentenced to five years in prison for violating his probation for an original charge of obstructing justice it is reported that there was a collective “gasp” in the courtroom. The court spectators were certainly surprised at the severity of the sentence, but was his criminal defense lawyer, probably not. Why did Mr. Kilpatrick receive such a harsh sentence for a violation of probation on an original sentence of ninety-nine days in jail? It appears that the foremost reason is that he alienated and aggravated the judge and chose to speak for himself instead of letting his criminal defense lawyer defend him against probation violation charges. A criminal attorney always has your best interest in mind as well the expertise to navigate the courtroom and fight for the best outcome in your case. However, there is very little that even the finest criminal defense lawyer can do if the client is unwilling to cooperate with their lawyer and the court. Five years is a long time in prison and it sure is likely that Mr. Kilpatrick is wishing he had followed the guidance of his criminal lawyer and been a little more repentant and a little less brash.
Instead of allowing his criminal defense attorney to do his job and show the court that Kilpatrick had stayed within the terms of his probation, which included paying monthly restitution to the city of Detroit, Mr. Kilpatrick took the stand in his own defense and asked the judge to show him compassion. Mr. Kilpatrick was paying $3,000 in restitution per month and had repaid a good portion of the total million dollar restitution he owed to the city for the original charge of obstruction of justice. Mr. Kilpatrick had previously complained about the monthly fines and had argued that he could not pay more than $6 a month. Unfortunately it was found that Mr. Kilpatrick had not reported all of his assets and had obtained a very well paying job that allowed his family to move into a nice new home. A skilled criminal defense attorney could have mitigated the allegations of the probation violation and argued that Kilpatrick was already paying a hefty monthly sum and should not be forced to give up all assets; after all he does have a family to support. However, Kilpatrick’s personal twenty minute oratory only managed to convince the judge that he was a liar and had not learned his lesson from his previous sentence. The judge took Kilpatrick’s plea for compassion as a sign of Kilpatrick’s contempt for his courtroom and the justice system. The judge consequently decided to give Kilpatrick a sentence that will really teach him a lesson. It looks like for every minute that Kilpatrick tried to argue on his own behalf, the judge added another few months to his sentence. Hopefully after this debacle, Kilpatrick has learned next time to let his criminal defense attorney do his job, and not to make remarks that will hurt his case.
Don’t let egoism stand in your way if charged with any crime from obstruction of justice to embezzlement. If you think that you can best represent yourself in court, you can’t. That is the job of a criminal lawyer who has years of expertise and experience defeating allegations and negotiating with the judge and prosecutor. If you think that the charges aren’t serious, think again. Mr. Kilpatrick might have thought that his charges weren’t that serious and now he is facing a possible five years in prison. Lastly, don’t irritate the judge. A judge is likely to be more lenient and understanding if your criminal attorney shows them that you have learned from your mistake, are on your way to rehabilitation, and are willing to atone for your crime.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/us/26detroit.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1274896887-AdSQAvWbzUkCZXNWk39YCA
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37335304/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
Posted in Criminal Defense, Probation Violation, Uncategorized | Comments Off
May 25th, 2010 by TeraniLawFirm
The terrorist attack of September 11th is a defining point in American history and marked the beginning of the international, American-lead War on Terror. Terrorism crimes including terrorist threats or terrorist conspiracy are taken extremely seriously and can result in federal criminal charges and incarceration. Since 2009, more than twenty-five United States citizens have been charged with terrorism crimes and tried in a criminal court. In many cases, a criminal defense attorney has aided the alleged perpetrator in bargaining for a plea deal that has included a reduced sentence in exchange for cooperation and intelligence.
Terrorist networks are so frightening because they span international borders and do not fall under the control of any nation-state. This makes them unpredictable and difficult to pinpoint and combat. A member of a terrorist organization such as Al-Qaeda can be a hardworking, everyday citizen by day and an Al-Qaeda informant or operative by night. For example, Khalid Quazzani, a naturalized United States citizen was charged with money laundering, bank fraud charges, and sending $23,000 to Al-Qaeda. The criminal lawyer for Mr. Quazzani has negotiated a plea deal for Mr. Quazzani in exchange for statements regarding Mr. Quazzani’s involvement in the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization. Mr. Quazzani could be sentenced to sixty-five years in federal prison without parole and a fine of up to $1 million dollars. Al-Qaeda ranks on the United State’s top list of threats to National Security. As Mr. Quazzani’s sentence shows, any act of support for Al Qaeda or any other terrorist organization, financial or otherwise, is treated as a threat to our nation.
In another recent case Syed Hashmi has been tried for conspiracy on federal terrorism charges for conspiring to provide Al-Qaeda with “military gear” and loaning a $300 to purchase a plane ticket to transport the alleged gear to Pakistan. The “military gear” included items such as sleeping bags, ponchos, and waterproof socks destined for Al-Qaeda use in Afghanistan. Hashmi’s skilled criminal lawyer fought aggressively and negotiated a plea deal that reduced Hashmi’s sentence from a possible life sentence to fifteen years in prison. Mr. Hashmi could be released in ten years for good behavior at the soonest and has already been in custody pending trial for four years.
The most recent case of attempted terrorism is the attempted car bomb in New York’s Times Square. Faisal Shahzad, the alleged perpetrator, has become the face of domestic terrorism, receiving high media coverage due to the severity of the federal attempted terrorism charges and his unabashed demeanor regarding his actions. Shahzad was arraigned in federal court on charges of attempted murder, attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, using a destructive device with an attempted crime of violence, and transporting explosives. If convicted of attempted terrorism, Shahzad could be sentenced to life in prison. Shahzad’s federal lawyer has until the next court date in June to decide what the best course of action will be for Shahzad’s case in order to reduce the maximum jail sentence. The plea deal will likely depend on whether Shahzad is found to be an individual actor or part of a greater terrorist plot, and whether he can be and/or is willing to be an informant for uncovering a larger terrorist network.
Federal terrorism charges are some of the most serious charges that an individual can face and require a skilled federal defense attorney. The federal government is still refining how to handle terrorist crimes including terrorist threats and attempted terrorism. Some people argue that the criminal justice system is successful in managing terrorism cases while others believe that terrorism cases are best managed by the military in military court. It is very possible that the criminal justice system in the future may not only be used to try United States nationals who are charged with terrorist threats or attempted terrorism but also non-Americans who have been found to be a threat to national security such as the Guantanamo Bay detainees.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/21/pakistan.times.square.arrest/index.html
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/faisal-shahzad-to-be-arraigned/
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/nyregion/28hashmi.html?scp=1&sq=%22ex%20brooklyn%20college%20student%20admits%20conspiring%20to%20help%20al%20qaeda&st=cse
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/us/20terror.html
Posted in Criminal Defense, Federal Crime, Federal Defense Attorney, Plea Deal, Terrorism Crimes, Uncategorized, Violent Crimes | Comments Off
May 25th, 2010 by TeraniLawFirm
Criminal justice is about intent and result. If you kill a person, the punishment depends on whether the act was premeditated, spontaneous, or self-defense. If you are caught selling drugs, it matters if you are a juvenile or an adult and are perceived by the court to understand the full consequences and meanings of your actions. In our criminal justice system it is the role of the criminal defense lawyer to show the court the intention behind the crime and seek an appropriate consequence for the crime committed. It is said that many crimes are motivated by greed, jealousy, or lust. However, human motivation is not always so simple, or so malevolent. In many cases, a criminal lawyer is able to explain the mitigating circumstances such as need, addiction, or depression that causes a person to commit a crime. For example a father does not steal baby formula because he is greedy, but because he desperately needs to feed his child.
However, certain crimes are so heinous that it is difficult to conceive of any justification or imagine the motivation behind the crime. For example, what causes a person to mark a mentally disabled man with degrading symbols, drag a black man behind a truck until all remnants of life have been torn from his body, or beat a South American immigrant to death because it appeared that he was gay? Hate crimes are a special class of criminal charges differentiated by the intention behind the crime. A hate crime is a crime motivated by bias towards ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. Hate crimes are often punished by a harsher sentence than the same criminal action not motivated by these biases. Hate crime cases are extremely tough for even the best criminal defense attorneys and can carry a punishment up to life in prison or the death penalty depending on the severity of the crime.
For example, in a recent case three New Mexico men have been accused of kidnapping, branding a swastika, cutting a swastika into the hair, and writing degrading messages all over a mentally challenged man from the Navajo reservation. The men have been charged with kidnapping, aggravated battery, and causing great bodily harm. They are already facing felony charges, but prosecutors are also going to fight aggressively for these men to be charged with a hate crime. If convicted of a hate crime, New Mexico law mandates that one year will be added to the sentence for each charge that they are convicted of. The alleged perpetrators could receive up to thirty-five years in prison, including eighteen years of incarceration without consideration for parole. These men will need an experienced criminal attorney to repudiate the hate crime allegations or they could be spending more than a third of their life in prison.
Is this case a hate crime? The most grievous allegation against the three men is that they allegedly branded a swastika on the mentally disabled man’s arm using a heated metal clothes hanger. However, branding itself is not always a crime, much less a hate crime. A man was recently acquitted of two counts of branding his children in Washington State. Once again it is all about intent. The Washington man was acquitted of the assault charges against his children because his criminal defense attorney proved to the court that the branding was not done out of anger or cruelty but was a manner in which the family bonded and demonstrated family unity. However, given the historic symbolism of the swastika, the ethnic background, and mental disability of the victim, it is unlikely that even a skilled criminal lawyer will be able to dismiss all charges against these men. The criminal defense lawyer on this case will have a challenge to even rebuff the hate crime enhancement to the kidnapping and assault charges. During a search following the alleged incident, police found insignia associated with white supremacists, which is one of the foremost groups to be charged with hate crimes. The best course of action for these men and their criminal defense lawyer could be to negotiate a plea deal since a jury is most likely going to be very unsympathetic towards men with white supremacist sympathies that branded a Nazi associated symbol on a disabled man that could not defend himself.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37053787/ns/us_news/
Posted in Criminal Defense, Hate Crime, Plea Deal, Uncategorized, Violence, Violent Crimes | Comments Off
May 25th, 2010 by TeraniLawFirm
Sex crime allegations are some of the most dangerous accusations that you can face in your life. As a sex crimes attorney will tell you, child pornography, rape, or molestation charges can have harsher consequences than being convicted of manslaughter. Sex crimes, especially sex crimes involving children, are regarded at the level of the most sadistic crimes that can be committed. The public constantly challenges law enforcement officials and legislators to be tougher on convicted sex crime felons, stating that too many sexual predators roam our streets and endanger our children. In 2006, President Bush signed the John Walsh Act which controversially gives federal officials the power to indefinitely hold federal inmates that are considered “sexually dangerous” after their prison terms are complete. Federal criminal attorneys have challenged this act on behalf of four men convicted of sex crimes with completed prison terms for charges such as sexual abuse of a minor and child pornography. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Government is within its’ right to indefinitely detain federal inmates who pose a high risk of recidivistic behavior, or of becoming a repeat sex offender.
The power of Congress to commit “sexually dangerous” inmates was compared by Supreme Court Justice Nominee Elena Kagan to the power of Congress to indefinitely hold federal inmates whose sentences have expired but that have highly contagious or deadly diseases. Do certain inmates deserve to be incarcerated at the discretion of the Federal Government in order to protect the general public from disease or sexual attack? These acts make inmates who are convicted of sex crimes or who are extremely ill the pariahs of society and borders on inhumane incarceration.
The Supreme Court ruling in favor of the John Walsh act is extremely terrifying and harsh. If accused of a sex crime what should you do? Run away to a foreign country; resign yourself to a life in prison? NO! You should contact a criminal defense attorney immediately as soon as sex crime allegations are made or a police investigation begins against you. The best time for a criminal lawyer to become involved is during the pre-file stage, before formal charges of rape, molestation, or sexual assault are pressed and prosecution proceeds in a court of law. A molestation attorney during the pre-file can act as a buffer between you and the police investigators and fight to dismiss any child pornography or sexual assault accusation against you before they turn into formal criminal charges. If confronted with the quotidian confinement of a federal prison for the rest of your life, wouldn’t you want the best criminal defense lawyer to represent you and fight for any allegations or sex crimes charges to be dismissed as quickly as possible? The government, law enforcement, and the general public do not deal lightly with people convicted of sex crimes. A criminal defense lawyer is your only ticket to insure that your right to liberty will not be taken away.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37190594/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
Posted in Child Abuse, Child Molestation, Child Pornography, Criminal Defense, Criminal Justice, Federal Crime, Federal Defense Attorney, Pre-File, Sex Crimes, Uncategorized | Comments Off
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