Author: Joe from MassPrivateI

AL.com – by Kent Faulk

Alabama Circuit Court Judge Marvin Wiggins has been suspended with pay from the bench after the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission filed charges against him that he threatened to throw defendants in jail who had no money to pay their fines unless they donated blood.

The charges were brought to the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, which could reprimand, suspend, or remove Wiggins from the bench.  The commission brought the charges Jan. 8, but they were not made public until Friday.   Continue reading “Judge who demanded blood from defendants charged, suspended”

USA Today – by Jess Aloe

BARRE CITY, Vt. – On a cold, sunny Thursday afternoon, Deputy Jean Miguel Bariteau of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department spots the driver of a red hatchback using his cell phone. When Bariteau pulls him over, it’s a straightforward call to write a ticket. He saw the driver use his phone, and the young man behind the wheel admits it.

If the man behind the wheel had denied violating Vermont’s distracted driver law, checking the phone records would have helped the deputy make his case. But a search like that requires a warrant.   Continue reading “Proposed law would allow warrantless cell-phone searches”

New York Post – by Julia Marsh

Facebook users, beware: That tag you’re about to ­apply to a post may be used against you in court.

A New York woman faces a year in jail for violating an order of protection involving her former sister-in-law — because the violator linked the woman in a Facebook post that called her “stupid.”   Continue reading “Woman faces year in jail for tagging former in-law on Facebook”

MassPrivateI

Epic Games barred an American professor from playing its online game Paragon because someone who has the same name as him is on a US gov’t blacklist.

Muhammad Zakir Khan, an assistant professor at Florida’s Broward College, had tried to sign up for the beta of first-person shooter Paragon.   Continue reading “Gaming companies work with the Feds to ban Americans from playing online games”

MassPrivateI

Community-Oriented Policing (COP) is being used with the help of religious groups, businesses, schools etc., to spy on everyone.

Community oriented policing research began in the 1970’s but wasn’t officially implemented until1994, which means police have been spying on Americans for TWENTY TWO YEARS! The Center for Problem Oriented Policing website is a great resource to find out more about COP.   Continue reading “Police use ‘Community Oriented Policing’ to create entire communities of spies!”

ABC News

A former Las Vegas police officer seen via body-camera video in a bloody confrontation while arresting a woman last year has now been indicted on federal charges, accused of a civil rights violation and lying about his use of force.

The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday said that a federal grand jury in Nevada indicted Richard Thomas Scavone on charges that he violated the woman’s civil rights by using excessive force and for obstruction of justice for falsifying the police report where he claimed she was resisting arrest.   Continue reading “Federal Charges for Vegas Police Officer in Body-Camera Case”

The Triplicate – by David Grieder

Prosecutors are hoping to exclude video footage of an officer allegedly stealing cash from the defendant during a drug raid, concerned that it will compromise the outcome of their case.

Crescent City resident James Banuelos is scheduled for a Jan. 25 jury trial on charges including methamphetamine possession and operating a drug house.   Continue reading “Prosecutors move to exclude video of drug raid”

Washington Post – by Tom Jackman

The criminal justice system in Virginia appeared to be on the verge of radical change, at last. In a state where defendants are not entitled to the police reports in their case, the witness statements against them or even a witness list, a prominent committee issued a detailed report late last year proposing to carefully change all that, and more.

“Where trial by ambush has been the norm,” committee chair and retired Loudoun Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Horne wrote, “there is now clarity and transparency.”   Continue reading “Va. decides not to change rules that withhold documents from defense”

Courthouse News Service – by NICHOLAS IOVINO 

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – The city of Oakland has settled a wrongful death suit accusing five police officers of killing a man wrongly suspected of invading his own home.

Hernan Jaramillo, 51, died from asphyxiation under the weight of five police officers attempting to subdue him in front of his house on the 2300 block of 21st Street in Oakland on July 8, 2013.   Continue reading “Oakland Settles Family’s Wrongful Death Suit”

Washington Examiner – by PETE KASPEROWICZ

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration inappropriately paid an Amtrak employee more than $850,000 over 20 years to provide information on passengers who may be smuggling drugs, according a report from the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General.

The OIG also released a separate report saying the DEA arranged to pay a government airport screener to act as a confidential source. The screener, however, never provided information of any value to the DEA.   Continue reading “Watchdog: Feds paid Amtrak worker to spy on passengers”

The Guardian – by Ryan Felton

Naked, agitated and restrained in a chair, Jack Marden pleaded with officers to remove a “spit hood” covering his face, to let him breathe.

The clash on 11 February began when the 56-year-old, locked up in Midland County jail on assault charges, became combative with sheriff’s deputies following brief questioning by a pair of healthcare workers.   Continue reading “Lawsuit over Michigan man’s death in jail focuses on officers’ use of ‘spit hood’”

Eric Peter’s Autos

Radar detectors, like bulletproof vests, don’t make you invulnerable. They improve yours odds. And like a bulletproof vest, the more you know about your radar detector’s capabilities – and vulnerabilities – the better off you’ll be. Here are some things worth knowing:

* Radar detectors usually can’t pick up “instant on” radar… until it’s too late –   Continue reading “Things To Know About Radar Detectors … and Police Radar”

Infowars – by Mikael Thalen

An investigative summary released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Thursday reveals that Drug Enforcement Agnecy (DEA) paid a Security Screener with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to alert them to travelers carrying large sums of cash.

The report, released by the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), summarizes whether the DEA acted accordingly in registering a TSA employee as a paid Confidential Source (CS).   Continue reading “DEA Hired TSA Informant to Confiscate Travelers’ Cash”

The Hill – by Mark Hensch and Jonathan Easley

A woman who publicly accused former President Clinton of raping her in 1978 is resurrecting her claims on social media.

“I was 35 years old when Bill Clinton, Ark. Attorney General raped me,” Juanita Broaddrick tweeted Wednesday.    Continue reading “Bill Clinton rape accuser: Hillary ‘tried to silence’ me”

Associated Press – by Bob Christie

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona lawmaker wants to bar the public from videotaping law enforcement officers from close-range, saying groups that rush in to film police interactions are routinely endangering officers by distracting them while they’re engaged with suspects.

Republican state Sen. John Kavanagh’s bill would bar videotaping police from 20 feet or closer. The proposed legislation filed for consideration in the session that begins Monday would make it a petty offense to violate the law, or a misdemeanor if the person keeps taping after being warned or has a previous conviction.   Continue reading “Bill would make videotaping police a crime if too close”

AmmoLand – by Jeff Knox

Buckeye, AZ -(AmmoLand.com)- Are you a terrorist? A potential terrorist? A suspected terrorist? A suspected potential terrorist? Or potentially a suspected terrorist?

As Jeff Foxworthy might say: If you believe in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or the rule of law … you might be a terrorist. 

Prohibiting people listed on the government’s secret terrorist watchlist and its secret subsidiary, the federal no-fly list, from buying guns is again on the table.   Continue reading “You Might be a Terrorist If…”