Florida will have a few new laws go into effect on July 1st and may affect you! Graduation requirements, School Prayer, Horse Meat, Bong Sales just to name a few. Check out the article on the OrandoSentinel.com website here.

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The United States Supreme Court favors Florida's authority to pump new sand onto shoreline of resident's beachfront property. Erosion of property rights? Read the Courts findings here: Supreme Court Ruling

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Ongoing Erosion of the Rights of the Criminally Accused Under Miranda

The United Supreme Court has issued its second opinion this session that has limited the protections afforded by the 1966 landmark decision of Miranda v. Arizona.  That decision, examining police interrogation practices of a criminal defendant, Ernesto Miranda, in a rape and kidnapping investigation, created the so-called “Miranda Rights” that criminal suspects have since enjoyed. The decision gives accused persons the right to be advised of the right to remain silent during police questioning, and to have a lawyer present during questioning, even if they cannot afford one.

Earlier this year, the High Court placed a time limit on an accused’s Miranda Rights, in effect permitting law enforcement officers to re-engage a criminal suspect who has previously invoked protections against self-incrimination and right to counsel.  That opinion, Maryland v. Shatzer, ruled that a defendant’s invocation of his right to remain silent and request for a lawyer expired 14 days after a “break in custody” resulting from a release from police custody.

In this week’s ruling, in Berghuis v. Thompkins, the majority of the Supreme Court held that a suspect who talks to the police, after have been informed of his right to remain silent, must break his silence to tell the police that he is going to remain silent in order to stop an interrogation.  Legal experts believe that the decision gives the police the power to continue to fire questions at a suspect who refuses to talk, in the hope that he will crack under questioning and give them useful information to use against him.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that “Thompkins did not say that he wanted to remain silent or that he did not want to talk to police.  Had he made either of these simple, unambiguous statements, he would have invoked his ‘right to cut off questioning.’ Here he did neither, so he did not invoke his right to remain silent.”

This opinion seems to have the result of removing protections previously guaranteed to the criminally accused from those who need it most: the criminally naïve and those who are perhaps most likely to be free of criminal wrongdoing, in favor of those who need the protection least: truly criminally responsible individuals, or those with previous experience with the criminal process, who most likely understand how to “game the system.”

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According to the USA Today, Toyota Motor Company Could Face Criminal Charges Related To Safety Recalls

Recent complaints against Toyota Motor Corporation which have triggered a federal probe into reporting of acceleration defects, a congressional investigation and a growing number of civil lawsuits may have also created the possibility of criminal charges being brought against Toyota.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating the timeliness of Toyota's reporting of its sudden-acceleration complaints and repairs, and the Transportation Department has disclosed that it will seek the maximum civil fine of $16.4 million from Toyota.

The Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act, created following the rollover recalls in 2000 involving Ford Explorers and Firestone tires, subjects individuals who intentionally mislead federal regulators about safety defects to possible criminal fines and/or prison.

Toyota has revealed that a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York has issued subpoenas for documents relating to sudden acceleration in various Toyota vehicles and braking issues in the Prius.. The grand jury subpoenas indicate that the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York has initiated a criminal investigation.

Tags: Law | Auto | toyota | NHTSA | TRED | Prius

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Once again, the Michigan State Spartans Men’s basketball team has surprised many bracket followers by making the Sweet Sixteen.  The over-achieving Spartans, under the leadership of coach Tom Izzo, face Northern Iowa in the next round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.   MSU must feel relieved not to be facing the overall number one seeded Kansas Jayhawks, who were sent home early by Northern Iowa, but is it better to face Goliath, or the team that slayed Goliath?   Also of concern is starting point guard Kalen Lucas’ injury to his Achilles tendon, which will in all likelihood make him unavailable to play in the rest of the tournament. But without Lucas, MSU is deep, so long as other players step up like they did on Sunday.

Sparty is looking forward to getting past the Panthers for a chance to play Big Ten Co-Champion Ohio State, if they are successful in their next round game against Tennessee.

Michigan State is the last remaining team from last year’s Final Four, with Villanova’s loss to St. Marys, and UConn and North Carolina missing the tournament entirely.  All in all, a great season for the Spartans.  GO STATE!

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