Federal Criminal Defense Attorneys

Officers Flock To Washington DC To Celebrate National Police Week

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:55:21 -0500

If you've noticed the increased presence of Police officers around the District of Columbia this week, you aren't just seeing things. National Police Memorial Day is May 15th, and every year officers and supporters from around the Country flock to Washington DC to take part in a full week of competitions, memorials, ceremonies and conferences. National Police Week began on May 13th this year and will run through the 19th.

Tuesday is National Police Memorial Day, one of only two days on the Calendar in which the government requires all U.S. flags be flown at half staff; the other of course being Memorial Day. There will be memorials held all over the Country, but many officers and supporters will meet at the National Officer Memorial in Washington on Tuesday to offer their remembrance.

You will also notice that every law enforcement officer across the Country will be wearing a one-inch black band across their shield, star or badge on Tuesday to honor those that have fallen. According to PoliceOne.com, 166 officers were killed in the line of duty in 2011, a staggering increase of almost 14% from the previous year. So far in 2012 35 officers have lost their lives.

While the events at National Police Week are designed to honor those have fallen, they are also about protecting those who continue to honor us with their service. The National Law Officers Memorial Fund will be running events and meetings all this week to instruct officers how to better stay healthy in the line of duty while also discussing new strategies that could help improve safety. You can find a complete list of the events that will be going on this week at their website.

Contact Price Benowitz LLP with any questions, or to schedule a free consultation. Please visit our Ellicott City criminal law and Alexandria criminal lawyer sites for more information on those practices.

Ken Anderson Should Be In Jail

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:49:07 -0500

David Benowitz is one of the founding partners of Price Benowitz LLP. He is a respected criminal defense attorney, who is the only DC-barred attorney who has been board certified as a criminal advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. In addition to criminal defense, Price Benowitz has a personal injury practice. For more information you can visit the law firm's Washington DC personal injury attorney website.

Last night, 60 Minutes told the story of Michael Morton. Mr. Morton served 25 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. He was exonerated by DNA testing. A Texas judge found that there was probable cause that the original prosecutor in the case, Ken Anderson, violated Texas law when he withheld police reports indicating that Mr. Morton's son had witnessed someone else commit the murder and that a neighbor had seen a strange man near Morton's home at the time of the murder.

Mr. Anderson, now a judge, obstructed justice and acted as an accessory after the fact; he aided the actual murderer in escaping arrest. The fact that he is under criminal investigation is almost unheard of. Mr. Anderson's lawyer seeks to characterize his client's actions as an unfortunate oversight. Michael Morton responded in a way that should apply to Ted Stevens's prosecutors and others who have been found to have deliberately hidden evidence that someone is innocent of the crime they're charged with, "if you or I did something like that, impeded evidence in a [homicide] investigation, we'd be in jail." That's where Ken Anderson should be.

Please contact Price Benowitz LLP if you have any questions or would like to schedule a free consultation. You can also head over to our Alexandria criminal lawyer and Prince George's criminal lawyer sites for more information about representation in Maryland and Virginia.

Any Passwords You Disclose Can and Will be Used Against You in a Court of Law

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:23:45 -0500

The 11th Circuit recently held that a suspect need not provide government prosecutors with computer passwords to help them gather evidence. At the same time, a Colorado District Court ordered a fraud defendant to unlock hers. With advancements in computer technology and encryption software, higher courts may have to settle this issue in the near future.

Just a few years ago, forensic computer analysts used special software and equipment, such as Encase Software, to "plug-in" to a suspect's hard drive while executing a search warrant and access or copy any evidence they needed. Now, advanced encryption technologies can prevent access to incriminating information by "splitting" the hard-drive and blocking forensic efforts to those segmented portions. This encryption has left prosecutors without ample evidence to proceed in some high profile cases, and courts have been asked to order the release of computer passwords.

In Florida, the 11th Circuit recently decided the issue in favor of the individual. The Court viewed compelled disclosure of passwords as forced testimony, which is protected by the Fifth Amendment's right against self-incrimination. The Court, however, limited their decision to cases where discovery of incriminating evidence was not a foregone conclusion; meaning, the rule only applies where the government cannot identify or link any incriminating data to the suspect. The rule applied in this case because there was no proof that incriminating data existed on the hard drive, or that the suspect had access to it.

Conversely, the Colorado case involved mortgage fraud defendants, who were linked to the computer and evidence on it during wire-tapped phone calls. Here, the defendant was required to unlock her computer for the prosecutors; she refused to do so, and the 10th Circuit declined hearing her emergency appeal. Subsequently, the defendant's ex-husband and co-defendant provided the government with a list of possible passwords, and they were able to open the computer anyway.

So what is the law then? Can a court require a suspect to disclose his passwords and enable the government to access evidence for use against him at trial? At its core, this act seems like compelling someone to testify against themselves, whether evidence was a foregone conclusion or not. I strain to see the difference between ordering a defendant to disclose passwords or unlock a computer, and forcing them to get on the witness stand under oath and announce their passwords in open court.

Law Clerk Rosie Escobar Brown wrote this blog post. Price Benowitz LLP is a criminal defense and personal injury law firm founded by respected criminal defense lawyer David Benowitz. Please visit our Arlington County criminal lawyer or Montgomery County criminal lawyer sites for more information about our branches in Maryland and Virginia.

Federal Charges Filed Against Megaupload

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:21:29 -0500

The Department of Justice unsealed a 72-count indictment last week, charging Megaupload.com executives with numerous counts of copyright infringement, piracy, conspiracy, money laundering, and racketeering. The indictment alleges that Megaupload reaped 175 million dollars in profits at the expense of copyright holders and website subscription members.

Megaupload was a global file-sharing website, who charged members a monthly subscription fee for access to unlimited music, movies, and television downloads and streaming video. However, while members were paying Megaupload for this service, Megaupload did not pay anyone for their copyrights. The website's owners, several located in New Zealand, lived in the lap of luxury and drove Rolls Royce and Maserati cars with personalized license plates donning phrases like "Mafia Hacker" and "Guilty." DOJ estimates approximately 500 million dollars in damages resulted from Megaupload's scheme.

The franchise used web servers in Eastern Virginia, enabling the charges to be filed there in federal court.

Several commentaries have argued that recent court decisions making international securities violations that occur overseas inaccessible to U.S. prosecutors will shield Megaupload from criminal convictions. While good criminal defense attorneys will make this argument, international money laundering is still a very serious crime and will be difficult to defeat.

DOJ shut down Megaupload's various websites upon releasing the indictment and issuing arrest warrants, sparking public debate with political hacktivist group "Anonymous." The group, garbed in their trademark Guy Fawkes masks, issued retaliatory statements against internet censorship and copyright laws, and promptly shut down several government and entertainment industry websites. The DOJ and Universal Music websites were down for what seemed like an entire day. Little does Anonymous know, each time one of their members buys a Guy Fawkes mask, Time Warner collects fees on their copyright license.

The evolution of this case and the political chatter surrounding it should be entertaining to say the least.

This blog post was written by law clerk Rosie Escobar Brown. Price Benowitz LLP was founded by federal criminal lawyer David Benowitz. The firm also handles cases in both Maryland and Virginia. Please contact our Fairfax criminal lawyers or Howard County Criminal Lawyers for more information on attorneys in those states.

Computer Crimes Rising on List of White Collar Offenses

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:27:50 -0500

In 2010, Washington, D.C. ranked third on the list of cyber-crime hot spots out of 50 U.S. cities, outranked only by Boston and Seattle. White collar crime is quickly evolving from securities and mail fraud to computer and wire fraud. In this technologically charged era, most white collar offenses are facilitated through the use of interstate computers, and federal law carries particularly heavy penalties for these types of crimes.

The problem with these heavy penalties is that potential sentences coax defendants into entering plea bargains with the government, rather than taking a risk and exercising their constitutional right to a trial by jury with the help of a criminal defense lawyer. When facing 25 years in a federal penitentiary if unsuccessful at trial, defendants opt for the 3 to 5 year plea offer that is on the table instead. Federal prosecutors often "stack" charges, alleging numerous criminal violations in one indictment including computer and wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, or even stretch the gambit to press racketeering charges where it may not be warranted. This stacking technique results in exorbitantly high sentence possibilities and often leaves suspects with nothing but a Hobson's choice to determine their fate, forced to choose with no real options.

Some who are suspected of cyber-crime did not intend to commit a crime at all, but merely used their tech-savvy skills to access a particular network. All it takes is affecting 10 or more computers or more than $5,000 in system repairs for this act to become a felony, and ISP tracing methods make it easy for the feds to locate the person responsible.

Similarly, some executive white collar defendants are charged with crimes that they were unaware of. Most executives trust that their employees will discover and alert them of fiscal anomalies and avoid inappropriate transactions. While the employees may not uncover mix-ups, the federal authorities certainly will and computer networks make it easy to do so.

Mail fraud in the traditional sense rarely occurs anymore. Gone are the days of affixing a stamp to an envelope. Instead, people are using the internet to communicate and mail fraud is quickly being replaced with wire fraud. Where computers are involved in the commission of an offense, inflated federal penalties will accompany criminal charges.

Admittedly, uncountable crimes have occurred when computer hackers both intended to do harm and retrieved data for unscrupulous use. Most recently, the internet retail shoe giant Zappo's experienced a security breach, where a hacker accessed the database and retrieved private information about 24 million consumers. Even in this case, however, the authorities have not located the hacker. As a die-hard optimist, I imagine some brilliant college student testing out new skills and haphazardly accessing this information only to exit the network without saving or using any of the data. Unfortunately, in the eyes of federal law even this act would constitute a felony regardless of an absence of criminal intent, as Zappo's is spending huge amounts of money re-securing their system and addressing the backlash from consumers. In the eyes of the law, the intent to cause damage need not be present, only the intent to access information does.

Computers facilitate so many crimes that a majority of Americans have a legitimate fear of identity theft. In an effort to educate Americans on how to protect themselves, Google launched a nationwide campaign on how to keep internet activity and identity information secure on the web. With more than four billion computers connected to the web, it is no surprise that computer crimes of all shapes and sizes have arisen as a new white collar trend. Likewise, it is no surprise that the feds would institute weighty sentences and strict liability laws to deter such crimes from occurring.

This blog post was written by Rosie Escobar Brown, a law clerk at the law firm Price Benowitz LLP. Founded by DC criminal defense attorney David Benowitz, the firm handles criminal, personal injury, and immigration cases. We also have attorneys in Maryland and Virginia, so please contact our Falls Church criminal lawyers and Baltimore criminal lawyers for more information on those offices.

Prosecutorial Misconduct Slammed by the Supreme Court

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:22:33 -0500

Withholding information favorable to the defendant and their criminal defense lawyer was seemingly a long-standing practice in one New Orleans prosecutor's office. The Supreme Court handed down a decision last week overturning a murder conviction because the prosecution never handed over prior statements of the government's one eyewitness.

Juan Smith was convicted of first-degree murder based on the eyewitness testimony of one single person. There was no other evidence at all connecting Smith to the crime. In an unethical attempt to secure the conviction, prosecutors held back prior statements made by this witness indicating that he could not see who committed the crime as he did not have a good view and there was poor lighting. This kind of information was very valuable to the defense for its potential to discredit the eyewitness, and the foundational case Brady v. Maryland requires that any favorable information be turned over by prosecutors.

Eyewitness testimony has been largely discredited in recent years amid studies showing that memories can be molded to believe just about anything. A once uncertain eyewitness can tentatively identify a suspect and, after affirmation by observing law enforcement that they "picked the right guy," can then become one-hundred percent certain. Another method of faulty identification can come from the tendency to choose the best option out of a certain selection. Even if the true suspect is not present, the witness will choose the one who most closely fits their memory's image.

This was not the first time the New Orleans prosecutors under former District Attorney Harry Connick Sr. had a decision overturned; a similar conviction was likewise overturned by the justices only a year prior.

Smith's case highlights many of the prevalent flaws with the American criminal justice system: (1) Prosecutorial misconduct DOES happen; (2) there is little to no disciplinary action or systematic checks available to remedy it; and (3) single eyewitness accounts, faulty and error-prone as they may be, are still being used to convict people of serious crimes when no other evidence exists. While the inaccuracy of the human memory is understood among legal professionals, prosecutors still persist in pressing charges and consuming state resources when not a single shred of other evidence ties a person to a crime. This is how innocent people end up in prison. Unfortunately, it occurs more often than we think.

For now, the Supreme-9 have slapped the hands of these prosecutors once again, and perhaps set the bar for other prosecutors around the nation. Their wise message: Prosecute in good faith, or we'll utter the phrase that prosecutors loathe..."REVERSED."

Rosana Escobar Brown wrote this blog post. She is a law clerk at Price Benowitz LLP and in her final year of law school. Price Benowitz LLP is a DC law firm founded by criminal defense lawyer David Benowitz. We also have attorneys in Maryland and Virginia, so please visit our Fredericksburg County criminal lawyer or our Anne Arundel criminal lawyer sites for more information on those offices.

Vote for the ABA Journal's Best Blawg of 2011

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:59:27 -0500

We are proud to announce that one of our attorneys and two friends of the firm have had their blogs nominated by the ABA Journal for Criminal Justice Blawg of the year: Mirriam Seddiq, who is of counsel with our firm and who writes the blog not Guilty No Way, Matt Kaiser, who blogs about federal appeals cases, and Jamison Koehler, author of the Koehler Law Blog.

This is the fifth year that the ABA Journal has sponsored a contest to find the best blawgs out there. This year it received over 1300 nominations and has narrowed the field to 100 blawgs covering the following categories: News, Trial Practice, LPM, Niche, For Fun, Opinion, IP Law, Labor and Employment, Criminal Justice, Business Law, Torts, and Legal Technology. We are very excited for our three attorney friends whose blawgs have made it this far in the process!

Mirriam Seddiq is of counsel with Price Benowitz LLP and the writer of the blog Not Guilty No Way. In 2010 her blog was voted the Criminal Justice Blawg of the year by the ABA Journal, and she has been nominated for the award again this year. Not only does she offer great legal representation to her clients, but she calls it like she sees it and holds nothing back. The result is a blog that is funny, irreverent, and uncensored. We are thrilled that she is part of our team.

Matt Kaiser is an experienced federal defense attorney in Washington, DC and has a blog dedicated to federal appeals cases, especially those where the criminal defendant wins. A former federal public defender, Matt's blog brings a very particular and practiced knowledge to an underserved area of law. He represents people accused of serious federal crimes and who are appealing federal convictions or sentences. His ample experience on the subject of federal appeals shines through his writing, rendering his blog both smart and informative.

Jamison Koehler is a well-respected practitioner in Washington, DC and author of the Koehler Law Blog. His blog offers more than great writing; it has become the go-to destination for readers seeking news and information about the DC criminal justice system. Koehler's blog covers a wide variety of topics related to criminal defense that appeal to lawyers, people charged with a crime, and laymen who have no connection to the law but who can appreciate a blog that is well-written and insightful.

These three attorneys and bloggers have truly raised the bar for law bloggers everywhere, and we are thrilled to hold them as the examples to which our white color blog can aspire. Please visit the ABA Journal's 2011 Blawg Contest and vote for our friends Mirriam Seddiq, Matt Kaiser, and Jamison Koehler.

Please contact Price Benowitz LLP if you would like to schedule a free consultation. We also have offices in Maryland and Virginia, so head over to our Loudon criminal lawyer and Caroline criminal lawyer sites for more information on our offices in those states.

No More Cell Phones in Court

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:11:02 -0500

Waiting for a court hearing can be about as entertaining as watching paint dry. Take it from me, a law clerk who has spent many hours of downtime in the courtroom. But now we can't play a game of "Angry Birds" anymore to pass the time. As of Wednesday, November 9th, the D.C. Superior Court has adopted a new regulation prohibiting the use of cell phones, laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices in the courtroom.

Administrative Order 11-17 comes from concerns that advancing technologies enable video or audio recording and photography on small, undetectable devices. Cameras and video equipment were already forbidden from the courtroom for some time.

The rule exempts certain people including members of the D.C. Bar, law enforcement, and other officers in court on official business; people who are representing themselves in court and members of the media may apply for exemption with the presiding judge. If you are not exempt from this rule, you will be made to turn off your device and store it someplace where it is not visible before you can enter the courtroom.

Please contact Price Benowitz LLP for a free consultation. We also have offices in maryland and Virginia, so please visit our Manassas criminal lawyer and Wicomico criminal lawyer sites for information on our offices in those States.

Put Up or Shut Up

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:44:14 -0500

Yesterday, the Supreme Court took the New Orleans prosecutor's office to task during an oral argument in Smith v. Cain for what one justice said was a long history of accusations that the office has blatantly ignored the right of defendants to be provided with exculpatory evidence before trial pursuant to the landmark ruling in Brady v. Maryland, which has been on the books since 1963.

The problem is that the Court is not willing to do anything beyond scold. Just last term, in Connick v. Thompson, the Court reversed a $14 million civil rights judgment against the same office for doing the same thing in a different case. The justices don't seem to get that at this point there are no true consequences for failure to turn over exculpatory evidence.

Here's how the system currently works. Someone is charged with a crime. The government withholds evidence that shows that the person didn't do it.

Unrestricted Power

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:08:51 -0500

Over the weekend, an Alabama law went into effect that requires law enforcement to try to verify the immigration status of anyone involved in a routine traffic stop or arrest if a "reasonable suspicion" exists that the person is in the country illegally. The law criminalizes the "willful failure" of a person in the country illegally to carry federal immigration papers. It requires public schools to ask about the legal status of children born in foreign countries and that of their parents. Contracts knowingly entered into with illegal immigrants will be considered invalid, and illegal immigrants will not be allowed to enter into "business transactions" with the state, including applying for driver's or business licenses.

The reasonable suspicion "standard" gives police unlimited power to investigate anyone's immigration status because there is no penalty to a police officer who gets it wrong. In a normal traffic stop, if a police officer searches a car or a person in it without reasonable suspicion, the fruits of that search will be suppressed.

This blog post is presented by Benowitz LLP. Founded by DC criminal defense attorney David Benowitz, the firm handles criminal, personal injury, and immigration cases. For more information about the firm's personal injury practice, you can visit the Washington DC Personal Injury Attorneys website.

Safe Surrender Days in DC for Outstanding Warrants

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:13:35 -0500

On three Saturdays this month, the DC Superior Court will be holding "Safe Surrender" days. This means that if you have outstanding warrants in DC, by going to the Moultrie Courthouse this August 13th, 20th, or 27th before 4:30 p.m. you can turn yourself in, have a hearing, and possibly go home that day.

Typically, turning yourself in for an outstanding warrant involves having to be at the courthouse before 10:00 a.m. and spending hours in handcuffs or shackles until a judge finds time for your arraignment. Instead, if you use the program you can resolve your warrant in a quiet and civilized way, without the risk of being hunted down by law enforcement at your home or job, or arrested during a traffic stop and having your car impounded as a result. The 2007 program let about 500 people turn themselves in and resolve their outstanding warrants safely and quietly, and all but 10 of those people went home that same day.

Keep in mind though, that not all warrants are eligible for the program. If you have bench warrants in pending cases or warrants in DC for criminal charges, parole or probation violations, or for having failed to appear in court, Safe Surrender may work for you. But, it is limited to cases involving non-violent felonies and misdemeanors or traffic violations. If you have warrants based on a crime of violence, domestic violence, juvenile matters, child neglect, or child support, then you are not eligible for the program. Remember, this program only applies to District of Columbia warrants and will not shield you from answering warrants in another jurisdiction or state, or in any other court than DC Superior.

To see if you are eligible for Safe Surrender, go to www.dcsafesurrender.org and click "Bench Warrants" in the left-side panel for a complete listing.

The goal of the "Safe Surrender" program is to offer people an opportunity to answer their warrants safely, without law enforcement storming into their homes or jobs with their families, friends, or co-workers as witnesses. It gives you the rare chance to gain some peace of mind and stop wondering "when will they catch me?" Lastly, if you are eligible and turn yourself in on one of these days not only will you likely go home without spending a night in jail, but an experienced defense attorney could use your surrender to negotiate a favorable outcome in your case.

While you could go to Safe Surrender without legal representation, you should consult with an experienced DC defense attorney first. Being represented by qualified counsel before turning yourself in would benefit you in having a consistent advocate by your side throughout your case who understands the criminal justice system.
If you would like to turn yourself in during this program simply go to:

DC Superior Court
Moultrie Courthouse
500 Indiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

On one of three Saturdays offering the program:
August 13th, August 20th, or August 27th between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

This blog post was written by Rosie Escobar. Rosie is a law clerk at Price Benowitz LLP and goes to Fordham University School of Law. Please contact Price Benowitz LLP for a free consultation. We also have attorneys in both Maryland and Virginia, so please visit our Falls Church criminal lawyer and Talbot criminal lawyer sites for more information on those offices.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn: A Victim of Rush to Judgement?

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 09:00:00 -0500

This morning, the New York Times reported that the case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is collapsing as investigators have uncovered evidence that his accuser, a 32-year old housekeeper at the Sofitel Hotel, has huge credibility problems. It appears that within a day of making the accusation, she had a recorded jail conversation with someone charged with possessing 400 pounds of marijuana about the benefits of pursuing the charges against Strauss-Kahn. That person, along with others, has deposited about $100,000 into her bank account over the past two years. She also has five cell phone accounts. As well, she claimed that she'd been previously raped and that she'd disclosed that in an asylum application; this was not supported by the application.

Prosecutors had originally sought to hold Mr. Strauss-Kahn without bail, relying in part upon the credibility of the accuser, saying that her story was "compelling and unwavering." The only reason he was released was because he was able to put up an extraordinary amount of bail and had the means to pay $250,000 per month for a security staff to guard him on house arrest. Mr. Strauss-Kahn was forced to resign from his post as the head of the IMF as a result of his arrest.

According to the Times, although defense attorneys had been making noise about the housekeeper's credibility from the start, Manhattan DA investigators discovered much of this damning evidence.

The problem is that the DA's office indicted Mr. Strauss-Kahn quickly, before investigating the credibility of their only witness to the alleged event. It's cost him his reputation, his freedom, and a ton of money. Were he not such a high profile figure, he'd most likely be locked up at Rikers Island, and the DA's office would certainly not be devoting the resources to fully investigate their only witness. He would've been screwed. Patience and discretion could have prevented this fiasco.

David Benowitz is a Washington DC defense attorney and founding partner of Price Benowitz LLP. Please contact Price Benowitz LLP for a free consultation. We also have attorneys in Maryland and Virginia, so please visit our Hampton criminal lawyer and Washington criminal lawyer sites for more information on those offices.

John Edwards - A Hypocrite But Not a Felon

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:14:53 -0500

This post was written by founding partner of Price Benowitz LLP, Washington DC criminal defense attorney, David Benowitz. He received an L.L.M. in Trial Advocacy from Temple University and earned his J.D.from The George Washington University School of Law. David is a Board Certified Criminal Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

John Edwards was recently indicted on six counts of campaign fraud. The government alleges that Edwards' friends provided money, not declared as campaign contributions, that was used to cover up the existence of the child he fathered with his mistress while his wife was dying of cancer. According to the government, these were "campaign contributions" that aided his run for president by heading off negative publicity that would've detracted from his family values theme.

In fact the indictment states:

A centerpiece of EDWARDS' candidacy was his public image as a devoted family man. The communication strategy developed by EDWARDS' campaign stressed the importance of publicizing, among other things, "that [EDWARDS'] family comes first.

Here's the problem, or problems, with the government's case. There is no doubt that Edwards' conduct is morally indefensible. But you already have Scott Thomas, former head of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) with thirty years of experience at the agency. Mr. Thomas presumably knows what he's talking about; he says that Edwards' actions shouldn't even result in civil liability, much less criminal. Now, he's been retained as an expert witness by Edwards, but he's also putting his reputation on the line in an extremely public way.

Let's assume for the sake of argument that the government's allegations are true - Edwards' wealthy patrons provided him with money never declared as campaign funds. But suppose Edwards used them to obtain non-FDA approved cancer treatment for his ailing wife. Arguably, this would promote the family values campaign platform. Would this be unlawful?

Seems like the calculus used to decide whether to prosecute is skewed. You can't prosecute someone for being a hypocritical scumbag.

Please contact Price Benowitz LLP for a free consultation. We also have attorneys in Maryland and Virginia, so please visit our Prince William criminal lawyer and Somerset criminal lawyers for more information on those offices.

DC Criminal Defense Attorney's Thoughts on Weekend Arrests of Protesters by US Park Police

Tue, 31 May 2011 14:21:41 -0500

I just read an article in The Washington Post titled "Park Police probes conduct of officers in arrests of dancing protesters at Jefferson Memorial." USPP officers are being investigated for using excessive force (here's a YouTube video) in arresting people for dancing at the Jefferson Memorial in protest of a recent appeals court decision banning dancing, even without music, inside a memorial. According to the article, which appears to be supported by the video, one officer grabbed a protester by the throat. Perhaps the protester was dance fighting. A bigger question is why would a federal appeals court uphold a ban on dancing at a memorial?

I've had several experiences with Park Police officers, both professional and personal. I represented an eighteen-year-old man who had the misfortune of supposedly cutting off a USPP cruiser on his ten-speed. An officer drew his assault rifle in response.

I was running with a group of friends in Rock Creek Park on a Saturday morning, at about 10:30 am. Three officers on horseback rode through. One ordered another person who had his dog , a smallish poodle, off of a leash, to leash his dog. The exchange went something like this:

Officer: You better get a leash on that dog.
Citizen: Sorry officer, I'll go get it. It's just up the trail a bit.
Officer: You are sorry. You will get that leash.
Citizen: Yes sir, I'll get the leash.
Officer: You will get that leash.
Citizen: I will.
Officer: You will.

Now, the dog should have been on a leash. But did this require the attention of three mounted police officers, who were all riding together? On second thought, based upon the above exchange, perhaps all three officers need to stick together for problem-solving purposes.

I did a little research on the USPP; it was founded in 1791 by George Washington, and has been protecting our parks for over 200 years. Hopefully officers haven't been spending all that time focused on the enforcement of dancing bans, and leash laws.

In all of these incidents, it's clear that the USPP has an utter lack of perspective and lack of focus on priorities, i.e. protecting all of us from violence. Luckily there is video of this incident, otherwise there is no way that anyone would further investigate the memorial incident. What's scary is that I've seen hundreds of cases like this during my years as a criminal defense attorney, only without the video to upload to YouTube. This is one of the reasons I do what I do.

This post was written by David Benowitz. He is a founding partner of Price Benowitz LLP and a Washington DC criminal defense attorney. He received an LL.M in Trial Advocacy from Temple University, is a member of the National College for DUI Defense, and is a Board Certified Criminal Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Price Benowtiz LLP is a Washington, DC based law firm with offices in the District, Maryland, Virginia, and New York. For more information, please visit the firm's Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer website.

What Does Alberto Gonzales Teach?

Thu, 26 May 2011 17:04:00 -0500

On May 24, 2011, BLT: The Blog of Legal Times reported that former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said for the first time that "I am disappointed that I didn't do things differently" to stop the politicization of the system of hiring career Justice Department attorneys during his time in office. Gonzales admitted this while being deposed in a lawsuit filed by applicants denied positions because of the distorted hiring process. This is the kicker, Gonzales is now teaching in the Political Science Department at Texas Tech University. His school bio says that "Judge Gonzales teaches courses on issues for homeland security and immigration for public administrators."

The press release issued when Judge G. was hired is scary. In part:

He will help Texas Tech and ASU prepare our students for success and to be future leaders in the State of Texas and beyond." Lawrence Schovanec, interim dean of Texas Tech's College of Arts and Sciences, said, "Judge Gonzales brings a unique experience to our classroom. His career in law, government and public service will provide our political science students a rich perspective of the executive branch and issues and challenges facing our nation. "

Interesting. My guess is that he is either unable to get a law school teaching position or that he realizes the unending scrutiny he'd face from (gasp) liberal students with a spine.

I can imagine a Socratic exchange with a first-year law student on the first day of class:

A.G.: What's the holding in Pennoyer v. Neff?
Student: Please defend your position on torture in light of the Geneva Convention.
A.G.: .......

What does he teach his students? What's his "rich perspective?" A how-to on firing nine U.S. Attorneys? How to dumb down the Department of Justice by hiring political hacks? The fact that it took a deposition for Gonzales to exhibit disappointment in himself is astounding.

Thanks for the memories.

David Benowitz is a criminal defense lawyer in Washington DC and founding partner of Price Benowtiz LLP. Please contact Price Benowitz LLP for a free consultation. We also have offices in Virginia and Maryland, so please visit our Norfolk criminal lawyer and Kent criminal lawyers sites for more information on those offices.