Advocate: "Untold Riches" In $1.7 Billion Medical Pot Market ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The medical marijuana industry is beginning to show its age, McClatchy Newspapers report. After humble California beginnings in 1996, 15 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana use for ill patients who have a doctor's recommendation. Nearly 25 million Americans are medically eligible to buy marijuana. Sales are expected to hit $1.7 billion this year. Last week, the San Francisco-based ArcView Group, formed the industry's first investment network to link cannabis entrepreneurs to qualified investors with "seed" money. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that this industry is growing and that there are untold riches to be made here," said ArcView's Troy Dayton. In coming months, Arizona, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia will join eight states where medical marijuana is sold legally. Some law enforcement officials have expressed concern that medical marijuana could be obtained by relatively healthy people who could lie or overstate their pain. |
Public Smartphone Thefts Highlighted by Chicago Rider Death ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The exploding popularity of smartphones that command high prices on the black market is making them targets of thieves on Chicago public transit, says the Chicago Tribune. This week, a fleeing phone robber knocked a 68-year-old woman down the "L" train steps, killing her. Smartphones can be an easy and lucrative target for thieves, as commuters are often distracted by listening to music or checking email or the Web. Some smartphones with a contract that sell for less than $100 in stores can be sold on the street for $200 because they're activated. Investigators are able to track and arrest criminals by tracing calls made with a stolen phone or using a phone's GPS to locate the device. Undercover officers riding city trains and buses look for thieves trying to steal smartphones. Users should enable features that allow all data on a stolen or lost phone to be deleted remotely, said Nikki Junker, social media coordinator and victim adviser at the Identity Theft Resource Center. |
How Neighborhood Watch Group Operates on Facebook ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some community groups are turning to online crime-tracking tools or creating neighborhood watch groups on the Internet that give them instant access to crimes reported in their neighborhoods and suspicious activity, says the Sacramento Bee. Susanne Burns of Carmichael, Ca., took action after her home was burglarized last May while her family slept. Burns set up a Neighborhood Watch group of homes in her gated community. "We started emailing and this list grew basically out of control," she said. "It started with me emailing the 22 homes in our little community. It just mushroomed, and I think that's when it hit me." Now she has created the Carmichael Watchgroup, a Facebook page with 342 members that notifies residents of community meetings with the Sheriff's Department, crime-tracking website, and criminal reports. News about stolen bikes, garage break-ins and other crimes are posted regularly. At Christmas, video from one home's security cameras was posted showing a burglar breaking into a house and leaving on a bicycle with stolen property. |
Lawyers Mining Social Media Sites to Find Juror Biases ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When jurors were chosen for the perjury trial of Barry Bonds this month, they were barred from using social media in regards to the case. There's no such ban on lawyers, who mine the social-networking profiles of jurors to unearth a bias that might hurt - or help - their side, Bloomberg News reports. Facebook, Twitter and other services have become a major resource for both prosecutors and defense attorneys, allowing them to glean more insight than they can get from jury questionnaires, said Joseph Rice of Jury Research Institute. "Social media has given us an incredible tool, because it's something jurors voluntarily engage in, and they post information about their activities or affiliations or hobbies," Rice said. That reveals "their life experience or attitude that may have an impact on how they view the facts of the case." A West Virginia juror didn't disclose that she was MySpace friends with the defendant, a police officer being tried on criminal charges. After the relationship came to light, a state appeals court threw out the defendant's conviction and ordered a new trial. |
Christie Moves to End NJ Early Inmate Release Program ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has accelerated the repeal of a controversial early release program for prison inmates while also seeking to broaden the Parole Board's discretion to review cases, reports the Newark Star-Ledger. If the state senate accepts the changes Christie made to a Democratic bill yesterday, the state would no longer release some inmates six months before their sentences are scheduled to end. n addition, the Parole Board would not have to hold hearings for inmates at regular intervals. The recommendations could roll back two critical pieces of a law signed by Gov. Jon Corzine on his last day in office. The early release program in particular has drawn a firestorm of controversy after two inmates who were allowed out of prison months early were accused of murder. "Whatever original policy or principle motivated passage of this law, it failed to adequately consider the safety of the public," Christie said. |
Seattle Report Urges Police To Focus On Crime Hot Spots ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Based on 14 years worth of data that shows half of Seattle's crimes take place on 4.5 percent of its streets, the city auditor's office is recommending that police focus their energies on a handful of high-crime areas, reports KOMO-TV. "These 'powerful few' hot spots are responsible for many of the disorder problems in Seattle," said the report. The report says it would be more effective to focus on the 1,500 hot spots responsible for half the city's crime than to attempt to focus on the equivalent 6,108 offenders responsible for the same amount of crime each year. Hot spot approaches to policing have been successful in Minneapolis, Kansas City, Jersey City, Oakland, and elsewhere, the auditor said |
Illinois Still Seeks Inmate "Good Time" Replacement Program ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Illinois faces serious challenges with its prisons' budget and population, which clocked a record 48,739 inmates this month, says the Bloomington (Il.) Pantagraph in the third of a series. The higher census started last year after Gov. Pat Quinn halted the Meritorious Good Time (MGT) and MGT-Push programs that gave inmates up to 180 days' credit for good conduct. and removed a requirement that inmates serve a minimum of 60 days even if their anticipated stay in prison was below that mark. The Illinois Department of Corrections has made it a high priority to create a replacement for MGT. Across the U.S., states are trying to strike a balance between policies that ultimately reduce prison population and a perception that such policies can threaten public safety. Sometimes, it's a matter of how the decisions are phrased: public word of MGT-Push came through news reports that termed it a "secret early release program." In fact, it was essentially a tweak to an administrative rule already in place. |
Texas Seen Unlikely To Rush Into Privatizing Prison Health Care ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Texas legislative leaders gave an initial cold shoulder to the idea of hiring private contractors to take over parts or all of Texas' cash-strapped health care system for convicted felons, reports the Austin American-Statesman. Their concern is that there's no proof such a plan would save money, and time is too short to explore such an extensive overhaul of a complicated and costly system. Leaders appeared intent to move ahead with a funding plan relying primarily on two state universities - the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Texas Tech University - to provide most medical services for Texas' 154,000 convicted criminals. "The concern is that private vendors would come in and cherry-pick the best parts of the system, and leave everything else because that's not where the money is," said Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire |
Indiana Prosecutors Didn't Disclose Problems With Crime Lab ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leaders of Indiana's prosecuting attorneys association and other prosecutors were told more than two years ago about concerns regarding Indiana State Department of Toxicology test results, which are used as evidence in criminal cases, reports the Indianapolis Star. Legal experts and defense attorneys say it's troubling that the prosecutors kept that information to themselves. Instead of informing defense attorneys or pushing for an investigation of the lab's work, prosecutors continued to use the results -- often critical to winning convictions or leveraging plea agreements. Not sharing the information, defense attorneys contend, smacks of a cover-up. They see it as an attempt to quickly and quietly move on without calling into question the work of the lab. Besides raising the likelihood of wrongful convictions, the situation raises the possibility that someone who committed a crime might have been cleared by an incorrect test result. |
Senate Confirmations May End for Justice Department Jobs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Five top jobs in the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs no longer would require Senate confirmation under a bipartisan Senate leadership agreement announced yesterday and reported by MainJustice.com. They include the directorships of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Bureau of Justice Assistance, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and Office for Victims of Crime. The agreement, which still must be approved by Congress, includes the main Justice Department's legislative affairs director and 200 other government jobs. Only two of the five offices--the Bureau of Justice Statistics and National Institute of Justice--have Senate-confirmed directors in the two-year-old Obama administration, and those confirmations occurred only last June. The other agencies are being run by acting directors. Nominations for the agency positions often must compete with judicial nominations for time slots at the Senate Judiciary Committee. |
GA Judge Profile Illustrates Pros, Cons Of Drug Court Approach ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chicago Public Radio's "This American Life" profiles the Glynn County, Ga., drug court. The program contends that drug courts generally save "lots of money because fewer people are incarcerated, and, studies show, it actually helps people, gets them off drugs. Which means fewer repeat offenders." Critics, including the Justice Policy Institute and Drug Policy Alliance, say the radio program "illustrates the harm that can arise from drug court programs, highlighting a Georgia drug court which handed down excessively long sentences and prison terms to people who would have otherwise received minimal or no sentences. West Huddleston of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals says on the program that, "Any drug court that relies primarily on jail, or punishment generally, is operating way outside our philosophy and just does not understand addiction." |
Departing Prison Chief Lappin Had Drunk-Driving Arrest ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Federal prison director Harley Lappin, who announced his retirement last week effective May 7, was arrested on charges of drunken driving in February near his home in Annapolis, Md., and again for speeding last week, reports MainJustice.com. A spokeswoman for Lappin says the driving incidents are not related to his departure. Lappin told his staff Tuesday, according to the Daily Caller in Washington, that he drunk driving case was a "lapse in my judgment [ ] giving rise to potential embarrassment to the agency, the Department of Justice, and my position as Director." Lappin noted that "our affiliation with the Bureau of Prisons remains with us regardless of where we are or what we are doing." |
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
31 March 2011
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