Quote from the D.C. District Court on some of the evils of random, indiscriminate questioning of citizens that are a product of America's War on Drugs.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - Some thoughts on random, indiscriminate questioning of citizens.

"It seems rather incongruous at this point in the world's history ...

A disturbing new trend of random searches of passengers on public transportation had begun to appear and, to date, at least two Circuits have approved such searches, even though they were unsupported by probable cause, on the grounds that a generic consent by the owner or driver of the public ...

Here the Court held that the continued detention of an alien who was subject to a final order of deportation violated his substantive due process rights where his country of origin refused to allow his return.

In this case, Sombat Map Kay, originally from Cambodia, was convicted of armed robbery. ...

It is a rare occurrence when a court finds that entrapment occurred as a matter of law - so when such a case comes along it is worth taking notice. In this case, the Eighth Circuit held that “unrelenting” coercive tactics by a paid informer demonstrated “an improper level of ...

Here, taking a broad view of the scope of conspiratorial liability, the Court interpreted the provisions of the new Fed.R.Evid. 804(b)(6) which deals with another exception to the general prohibition against the use of hearsay evidence.

While the decision in this case may have limited application for most criminal defense ...

In this case, a divided en banc Court reversed a panel’s previous decision (reported at 173 F.3d 741 (9th Cir. 1999) (See P&J, 4/19/99) (Banuelos I), and held that significant differences in the plea bargaining and sentencing practices of the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in California do not justify a downward ...

In this case, Rafal Rogowski, a native of Poland, had pled guilty to 17 felonies. The INS took him into custody after he completed his sentence pending his deportation back to Poland. The petitioner attempted to apply for relief from deportation under former INA § 212 (c), 8 U.S.C. § ...