The District Court Senior Judge Scullin on July 24, 2014, enjoined the District from enforcing both the handgun registration for home-use only provision as well as the statute criminalizing carrying handgun in public. Specifically the court ordered: ORDERS that Defendants, their officers, agents, servants, employees and all persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of this Memorandum- Decision and Order, are permanently enjoined from enforcing D.C. Code § 7-2502.02(a)(4) to ban registration of handguns to be carried in public for self-defense by law-abiding citizens; and Court further ORDERS that Defendants, their officers, agents, servants, employees,
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RECENT COURT OF APPEALS DECISION: STATUTORY DEFINITION, CARRYING A DANGEROUS WEAPON:
The Court of Appeals on July 31, 2014, in IN RE D.R. (No. 11-FS-1320), both reversed a conviction for insufficiently of evidence and also remanded the case to the trial court. Appellant, D.R., was convicted at trial of four criminal offenses including a conviction for Carrying a Dangerous Weapon (CDW). The Court remanded for trial finding on ineffective assistance of counsel claim, however, focused significantly on the statutory construction and language of CDW and ended revering the conviction consistent with the opinion. Factually, D.R., a fourteen year old, was found at trial to have brandished a machete/sword type knife about
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COURT OF APPEALS REVERSES ON 4TH AMENDMENT GROUNDS
In the recent Court of Appeals case: In re D.M. (11-FS—1125) decided on July 10, 2014, the Court reversed the lower court conviction for second- degree burglary, felony destruction of property, and second-degree theft based on 4th amendment violations. Essentially DM and other juveniles were indentified breaking into a property and removing items from the home. DM was seen at the scene by an eyewitness and a look out was broadcasted. Subsequently DM was located and held by the detective pending a show up by the eyewitness. The Court justified in reversing the convictions and holding that there was an
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SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE AND EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION: RECENT DECISION: DC CRIMINAL LAWYER
The DC Court of Appeals recently in IN RE L.C., (10-FS-709) vacated the conviction for carjacking and assault with intent to commit robbery and remanded the case to the trial court for determination as to the admissibility of the expert testimony. According to the proffered evidence at trial, L.C. and another companion attacked the complaining witness and attempted to steal her car. Struggled ensued and the assailants escaped on foot and based on the look out given were stopped shortly thereafter in the vicinity and indentified by the complaining witness and charged. L.C.’s defense at trial was essentially one of
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SEARCH OF THE CELL PHONE INCIDENT TO AN ARREST, PERMISSIBLE? TO BE DETERMINED: US v. WURIE:
The Supreme Court on April 29, 2014, heard oral arguments in U.S. v. Wurie, a case testing yet again the boundaries of law and technology with compelling argument on both sides. Brima Wurie was arrested in 2007 after a drug sale for distributing crack cocaine. After arrest, the officers looked through his cell phone which kept ringing and from reviewing the call log connected a number stored as “my house” to his actual house location. The officers then obtained a warrant for search of the house and confiscated substantially additional drugs and weapons form the home. The trial court did
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RETURN FOR REWARD DEFENSE IN RECEIVING STOLEN PROPERTY CASES
The DC Court of Appeals in LIHLAKHAV. U.S, issued recently on April 24, 2014, was presented for the first time with a case with a factual background to consider and analyze a “return for reward defense” in connection with a receiving stolen property conviction. The defendant here was convicted of both receiving stolen property and unlawful entry. On the stolen property — a laptop– reward was offered by the owner for the return of the property. The D.C. Code enumerates the following elements requisite to prove a stolen property conviction: A person commits the offense of receiving [1] stolen property
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RECENT COURT OF APPEALS RULING REVERSING TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS (TPR) —
In the recent opinion issued by the Court of Appeals in IN RE D.M.; T.M., (March 13, 2014), the Court once again articulated that when a biological parent is unable to care for his or her child, her choice of a fit custodian must be given a weighty articulated consideration by the trial court. T.M., the biological mother of D.M., appealed successfully her termination of parental rights by the trial court. She argued on appeal that the lower court erred by “failing to give weighty consideration to the third-party custodial arrangement” she set forth as a placement option and in
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DC MARIJUNA USE/POSSESSION LAWS AND THE PROPOSED/ENACTED BILL:
Currently the criminal Statute in the District penalizes simple possession of marijuana and the imposed penalties are maximum 180 days/$1000 fine, specifically: “It is unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to possess a controlled substance unless the substance was obtained directly from, or pursuant to, a valid prescription or order of a practitioner while acting in the course of his or her professional practice … any person who violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor…” Incidentally the possession with intent to distribute marijuana on the first offense carries the same penalty as long as the amount is less
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De Facto Parent/Third Party Custody Actions: Legal Principles and Recent Relevant Court of Appeals Case:
In the District, the child custody statute extends rights upon third party and de factor parent custodians. That is, if an individual can establish by clear and convincing evidence that he/she is either a de facto parent or a third party custodian of a child – then the Statute allows for filing and litigating the custody action against the parent seeking order for grant of physical/legal custody to the third party custodian or to the de factor parent. Specifically, de facto parent is defined as an individual who has either: (i) Lived with the child in the same household at
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RECENT COURT OF APPEALS REVERSAL ON INSUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE
The Court of Appeals in a recent decision issued on December 19, 2013, James M. Schools v. US (12-CM-1448) reversed the conviction for unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition. Specifically, the jury had convicted the appellant Schools of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of an unregistered firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition. Factually, the defendant was found in the back room of a two bedroom apartment during a search warrant. The apartment was occupied by other individuals, and although the defendant was found in control and possession of the narcotics found, the weapon and ammunition was
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