Articles Posted in Crime News

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In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, courts are dealing with many novel legal issues. One of those issues is how to conduct Arizona criminal trials in a time of social distancing. Thus far, there is no consensus on how to effectively hold a trial while protecting a defendant’s constitutional rights, however, some courts are considering allowing witnesses to testify through the use of two-way video calls.

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right…to be confronted with the witnesses against him.” This is referred to as the Confrontation Clause. Over the years, the United States Supreme Court has issued several important opinions discussing a defendant’s right to confront their accusers. However, this issue seems more salient than ever, and will likely come before the Court again.

Recently, a state appellate court issued a written opinion in a case that, while not dealing specifically with the complications presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, illustrates the issue quite clearly. In that case, a defendant faced sexual assault charges stemming from an incident in 1996. At the time, a rape kit was performed, however, it was not analyzed until 2015. The results of the testing tied the defendant to the crime.

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On November 20, 2015, the Supreme Court of Arizona decided Dobson v. McClennen (P.3d, 2015 WL 7353847, Arizona Supreme Court 2015). The decision has important implications for individuals that use medical marijuana and might have THC or its metabolite in their system but drive at a time when they are not impaired. Jokingly called the “Driving While a Habitual User of Marijuana,” these prosecutions are no joke.

Although the responsible use of cannabis for medical purposes has largely been decriminalized in Arizona, prior to this decision the DUI laws effectively made it a crime to drive as a medical marijuana patient (even after the impairing effects faded and disappeared). In other words, using medical marijuana should not automatically be a DUI when there was no actual impairment at the time of driving.

The decision in Dobson v. McClennen didn’t make either side happy. The defense wanted a ruling that Medical Marijuana Patients were immune from the “per se” version of DUI under § 28–1381(A)(3). On the other hand, the prosecution wanted a ruling that a positive blood test meant an automatic “per se” DUI conviction under § 28–1381(A)(3). The Court rejected both positions and came up with a middle ground that leaves many of the complicated issues surrounding driving after consuming medical marijuana unresolved.

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Ongoing Efforts by States and Federal Officials to ban synthetic drugs; Trends; Dangers of synthetic drugs; Arizona imitation drug laws, penalties and consequences.

“Molly” isn’t the new kid on the block. She’s been reigning terror on high school, college campuses, nightclubs, concerts, streets and the social scene for decades.  “Molly” is simply “Ecstasy” in disguise and more dangerous.  She can be deadly even in her purest form.  But with the age of new synthetic drugs and their combinations, she has become more lethal than ever before.

Recently, we learned of 11 people that required hospitalization at a Northwest college for an overdose of synthetic drug “Molly,” a more refined version of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine).

So far there have been four arrests of other students on campus, for synthetic drug possession and intent to sell, by police as authorities attempt to find the source of the drugs in this incident.

The hospitalizations and medical incidents resulting from use of “Molly” were reportedly not first of their kind this year. Health officials reported last fall, a campus-wide email was sent to students alerting them that other students had recently been hospitalized as a result of synthetic drug use.

Article Overview

In this article we will discuss important topics related to imitation drugs; their dangers, drugs; state and federal efforts to ban synthetic drugs; trends; other injuries caused as a result of their use; and Arizona synthetic drug laws, penalties, and other consequences.

One such consequence is the need for criminal defense. A majority of this article has been dedicated to raising awareness, providing education and resources particularly with regard to the deadly health dangers of “Molly”, “bath salts”, imitation Marijuana and other synthetic drugs. In addition to the health dangers of synthetic drugs, is the high risk of criminal liability that exists as a result of using them. Continue reading →

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Putting Statistics into Perspective; Arizona Felony Assault laws; Overview of City, State and Country-wide violent crime trends

On New Year’s Day two “Good Samaritans” stopped their vehicle in Arizona to help a victim being assaulted, after they reported it to the police. The Good Samaritan told the dispatcher that help could not wait. He jumped out of his vehicle to aid the victim of the assault. As soon as he did, the aggressor attacked him as well. The passenger of the Good Samaritan’s vehicle also got out. But during the attack, the assailant got behind the wheel of the Good Samaritan’s car; and used the vehicle as a deadly weapon to hit all three people. The initial victim being assaulted died at the scene. Both of the Good Samaritans were rushed to the hospital. One remains in critical condition with life threatening injuries.

I read of the events surrounding this tragic and disturbing incident, moments before I heard the good news about violent crimes statistics being down in Mesa AZ. I was still jarred by the first events, while I read the Mesa AZ media release. Suddenly I felt compelled to share it as illustration that even in light of lower crime rates, violence continues to exist and should “remain cause for vigilance” no matter where we live.

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“State of Arizona v. Hon. Jane A. Butler and Tyler B” Decision: The Impact of the AZ Supreme Court’s Ruling on Arizona Drivers.

In an unprecedented ruling, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected the Prosecution’s holding that all motorists who drive in Arizona, give their absolute voluntary consent to DUI breath or chemical testing, solely due to the existence of the “Implied Consent” traffic law A.R.S. 28-1321; and that the voluntary consent by a juvenile is not absolute.

This case involved a 16-year-old student who was accused of driving to school under the influence of Marijuana. The student was detained when after school security reported a strong odor of Marijuana in the vehicle, and drug paraphernalia in plain view inside the vehicle. The Court records revealed that the student agreed to have A DUI blood test, only after being handcuffed by police, informed of the existence of the Implied Consent Law, and then instructed that he was required to submit to the DUI chemical test.

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Police may soon be able to conduct roadside testing for impaired driving due to Marijuana and numerous other drugs.

Currently, drug and Marijuana DUI can only be detected in a driver’s blood stream through chemical testing such as DUI blood or urine tests. These methods are intrusive, and sometimes take weeks for the results to be processed.

The new hand-held drug DUI detection device was designed by scientists in Sweden and known as “SensAbues”. It works much like an alcohol breath test which requires the subject to breath into a mouthpiece to enable the filtration and entrapment of certain particles to be examined by police.

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Tempe Crime News

Tempe Police Officers recently used new technology to arrest robbery suspect.

Witnesses of an armed robbery reported seeing vehicle and driver fleeing from the crime. They described the vehicle and license plates to police following the incident. Police were unable to find or detain the suspect immediately.

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