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Civil rights and criminal defense efforts are being challenged in states where warrantless cell phone searches are allowed. Over the last few years, warrantless cell phone searches have expanded in a number of states as cell phones have been recognized as a treasure trove of personal data.
Two weeks ago a federal jury in Manhattan convicted Raj Rajaratnam, the founder of Galleon Group, ofwhite collar crime. The hedge fund founder faces sentencing for 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy and faces millions of dollars in fines as well. Rajaratnam in 2009 was worth $1.3 billion and is expected to remain a wealthy individual after the payment of legal defense fees and criminal penalties.
Minnesota’s elected and appointed officials are typically subjected to heightened scrutiny in their day to day lives. As a result, any arrest of a public official usually ends up as a widely reported story. Washington County Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek’s recent arrest is no different.
An Indiana appeals court has ruled that, when faced with an illegal arrest, citizens have no right to resist arrest in their homes by the police. The court over-ruled English-American common-law precedent dating back to 1215, the date of the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta was the first basis charter of human rights and civil liberties in English constitutional history. It formed the basis for the Bill of Rights of our U.S. Constitution, including the principle that police may not violate your rights and affect an Illegal Arrest if they do not have a Search Warrant or certainly narrow exceptions to the Warrant Requirement.
Lawmakers in Minnesota are reviewing a proposed law that would treat children trafficked for sex as victims instead of criminal offenders. The purpose of the bill is to help children caught up in the illicit sex trade get out and find treatment and safety. Currently, some cities in Minnesota already treat children involved in sex crimes as victims. The proposed law would bring uniformity to municipalities across the state.
Police are probably used to bystanders who watch them as they perform their duty, but the widespread use of cell phones with video-recorders is changing the observation game. More and more people are using the video-recording technology of their phone to capture police on duty, but some folks who thought they were passively making a video end up being put in police custody for the creation of the video.
The owners of a Minnesota home health care business based in Brooklyn Park were charged with multiple counts of theft last Wednesday. The criminal complaint alleges the two owners of the business, who are sisters, fraudulently billed the state of Minnesota almost $400,000 for personal care services that were never provided. The industry of personal health care services has rapidly expanded over the last few years and the Office of Minnesota Attorney General has been tasked with fighting fraud cases that come from the industry.
A Nevada judge has ruled that a woman held in prison for 17 years after being falsely convicted of murder should be freed now that she has been exonerated. Utah recently passed a law in 2008 allowing for people to prove they are factually innocent of a crime for which they have been wrongfully convicted. The law allows an unspecified amount of restitution to people who have been wrongfully convicted, imprisoned for years, and then exonerated or proven to be innocent.
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