Practically, what does this mean? It means that I can be very accurate in determining what your federal sentence is going to be if you are convicted in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi. As I have stated before, federal court is different than state court. In federal court, the sentencing battle is [...]
Read MoreApril 2010
Statutory rape is sexual intercourse with a person who is not of age. Statutory rape laws exist because children are not mature enough to understand the consequences of their actions. They also ostensibly protect young children from being exploited by adults. The child’s consent to the sex DOESN’T MATTER. The fact that you thought she was old [...]
Read MoreMortgage fraud investigations have increased dramatically over the past five years, for obvious reasons. Mortgage fraud contributed significantly to the collapse of the housing loan market several years ago, which touched off the tailspin our economy has been in since then. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has increased its investigations into this area, and has [...]
Read MoreTechnically, there is no such thing as a “hate crime,” by definition, in Mississippi. Instead, Mississippi treats all crimes, felonies or misdemeanors, as ”hate crimes,” if the prosecution can prove that the crime was committed “because of the actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, national origin or gender of the victim.” Miss. Code. Ann [...]
Read MoreIf you type “Don’t Talk to the Police” into google you will very quickly get 95,900,000 results in 0.10 seconds. I’m not kidding. Try it. And now you will get 95,900,001, because here is another take on it. Prolific Jackson-based blogger Kingfish of the Jackson Jambalaya blog has this post entitled Excellent Advice, which features a [...]
Read MoreExtortion is the gaining of property or money by almost any kind of force, including threats of violence, property damage, harm to reputation, or unfavorable government action. It is also sometimes referred to as “blackmail,” with a few minor distinctions. It can be charged in either state or federal court, but this post is concerned with the [...]
Read MoreLook at this. Last night I posted here about Mississippi’s Castle Doctrine. Today the Clarion Ledger is reporting that a Jackson resident was awakened by 5:00 a.m. this morning and saw the silouette of a man standing in his bedroom. Pretty scary. Not how you want to get up in the morning. The CL is reporting [...]
Read MoreCastle Doctrine laws, or “castle laws,” are based on very old English common law, which recognized that someone’s home is a place where they should be free from illegal trespassing or violent attacks. As such, the laws gave citizens the right to defend their home (their “castle”), from violent attacks or intrusions, to the extent of using deadly force [...]
Read MoreThe time to get an appellate lawyer involved in your case is IMMEDIATELY. I frequently get calls from people who have been convicted of a crime, only to find that jail doesn’t suit them. They want to appeal their case, but many times I have to tell them it is too late, at least for a direct appeal. The [...]
Read MoreOn April 13, 2010, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual by deleting §4A1.1(e) (recency points). This paragraph of the Manual increased the number of “points” in determining a defendant’s criminal history category by 2 if the defendant committed the instant offense less than two years from release from imprisonment or on [...]
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