For eight years in the 1990s, Attorney Charles Ware hosted the extremely popular legal advice radio program "The Lawyer's Mailbox"; the Number One (#1)legal advice radio program in the Mid-Atlantic Region,on WEAA - 88.9 FM, Morgan State University Radio in Baltimore, Maryland.
www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Friday, May 31, 2013

CHARLES WARE'S WHISTLEBLOWER UPDATE: Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean's Disclosure

In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Washington, D.C. [see also, MacLean v. Department of Homeland Security, 543 F.3d 1145 (9th Cir. 2008); and MacLean v. Department of Homeland Security, 112 M.S.P.R. 4, 12-18 (2009) ("MacLean I"); and MacLean v. Department of Homeland Security, 116 M.S.P.R. 562 (2011) ("MacLean II")].

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled on April 26, 2013 that fired federal air marshal Robert MacLean's disclosure to the media of a plan by the Federal Air Marshal Service to temporarily suspend air marshal deployment on overnight flights in July 2003 in spite of a recent intelligence briefing [suggesting ongoing efforts by al-Qaeda to hijack a plane at that time] was not prohibited by law, and that MacLean's disclosure might also be entitled to federal whistleblower protection.

This ruling by the Court in overturning the previous Merit System Protection Board's (MSPB's) ruling in the case that upheld the Federal Air Marshal Service's termination of Robert MacLean and remanding the case back to the MSPB, effectively restores for now the ground for enforcement of the federal whistleblower Protection Act [www.whistleblower.org/"Air Marshal Whistleblower Robert MacLean"; www.fedagent.com/May 9, 2013].

Background

In late July 2003, TSA received intelligence warnings from the Saudi government, Department of State, and FBI of an imminent terrorist suicide hijacking threat for a 9/11 rerun against a series of American and European cities. It was so severe that all FAMs were mandated to attend unprecedented, one-on-one threat briefings in their field offices, regardless of their duty status. Years later, DHS and CIA Inspector General reports confirmed the plans that were subsequently foiled.

On July 28, 2003, however, MacLean, then a Federal Air Marshal, learned about a serious obstacle to U.S. government defenses against the terrorist plot. Due to a budget shortfall caused by suspect contract spending, 60 days of FAM coverage would be canceled from August 2, 2003 until the fiscal year ending September 30, 2003 for high risk, long distance flights. These flights were chosen because they required the extra cost of overnight accommodations at commercial hotels. MacLean rightfully acted on behalf of the public, and protested the shoddy plan to a supervisor and three DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) field offices, all of whom declined to act and said he should drop the issue.

When MacLean exhausted his options to blow the whistle within the agency, he anonymously disclosed the TSA text message canceling coverage to a media representative. Curiously, TSA chose to send the unmarked text message to Air Marshals' standard unsecured cellular phones instead of their multimillion dollar encrypted and password-protected smart-phone system. MacLean did not think the message was restricted, because it did not comply with anyof the objective procedures for controlled SSI (no agency experts, except those allegedly retaliating against MacLean and TSA lawyers, thought it was restricted either).

Other media quickly picked up the story, which spread and sparked bipartisan outrage and protest from Congress, as well as a Rose Garden press confrontation of President Bush by a reporter.

Less than 24 hours after the initial news story and five days before implementing its plan to eliminate coverage, the TSA canceled it, publicly explaining that its orders to every FAM in the country had been “a mistake.” Immediately, TSA management began an unauthorized investigation under the USA Patriot Act to ferret-out the “leaker.” The probe was unsuccessful at the time.

MacLean was so concerned regarding security breakdowns that he co-founded a new FLEOA chapter to blow the whistle on systemic security shortcomings that could expose the identities of undercover agents on individual flights. The identities of undercover agents are inherently SSI, regardless of SSI procedures. In September 2004, MacLean stepped up his anonymous whistleblowing on national television to challenge the institutional exposure of undercover agents.

Retaliation

After MacLean and another FAM whistleblower anonymously disclosed that the TSA was compromising national security by exposing the identity of undercover agents, TSA managers began another retaliatory investigation into that disclosure's origins. During that investigation, MacLean truthfully responded to a question and identified himself to internal affairs investigators as the source for the July 2003 whistleblowing disclosure involving the removal of FAMS from overseas flights. However, during the investigation he said that he had not violated any laws or disclosed any classified or sensitive information. Rather, he emphasized that he was trying to lawfully stop government illegality.

MacLean later discovered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that he and Frank Terreri, another FAM whistleblower, were the subjects of a 182-page investigative report by then-FAMS Director Thomas Quinn requesting the DHS Inspector General conduct a criminal investigation. However, Congress confirmed validity of MacLean and other FLEOA members’ dissent, Mr. Quinn was forced to resign, and professional security practices were restored.

Despite FAMS (Federal Air Marshal Service) management having knowledge of all MacLean’s disclosures, for several months he was clear to fly armed air marshal missions. Then in September 2005, supervisor Frank Donzanti placed MacLean on administrative leave pending an “Unauthorized Disclosure of Sensitive Security Information” charge, and two other public disclosure charges that were not sustained. While MacLean waited for his termination notice, FAMS management continued to communicate with MacLean and grant him access to classified information through its secure Internet portal.

During the retaliatory investigation, Director Quinn issued an investigative referral memorandum on MacLean to the DHS OIG. MacLean’s FOIA request yielded DHS OIG’s response to Director Quinn. The OIG asserted that “no criminal activities nor serious misconduct issues are alleged; therefore these allegations are best addressed internally by the FAMS senior management.” This conclusion defies credibility for a security clearance reprisal action against MacLean; he had not engaged in activity that would trigger removal of his security clearance. However, by also advising FAMS management to take whatever “corrective program and/or employee disciplinary action” it deemed appropriate, the DHS OIG gave management a green light to continue targeted harassment against MacLean.

In April 2006, Donzanti fired MacLean on grounds that he had disclosed SSI in his disclosure made in July 2003. The TSA justified its position through an ad hoc order – issued three years after his disclosure, and four months after his termination – that retroactively labeled the text message MacLean used as evidence as SSI. Donzanti was the deciding official in MacLean’s termination. However, he did not write the proposal or final removal notices for MacLean. Maclean’s removal was authorized by the same headquarters unit that Quinn had assigned to conduct the witch hunt on MacLean. At the time of MacLean’s termination, Donzanti was under severe pressure for sexual harassment misconduct (which would later result in Donzanti’s two-grade demotion, after Mr. Quinn’s forced resignation). Notwithstanding Donzati’s misconduct, he would be the government’s sole witness in Robert MacLean v. Department of Homeland Security.

The FAMS investigation against MacLean, paired with his termination, has left him blacklisted and subsequently unemployed and on the verge of bankruptcy.

[see, Government Accountability Project ("GAP")/www.whistleblower.org/"Air Marshal Whistleblower Robert MacLean].

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com ("We fight.  You win.")

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX-TV NEWS, WHUR, WHUT, MPT, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, ABA Journal, et al.]

KEYW---ANNAPOLIS BOOK FESTIVAL, 2013, 11TH ANNUAL: Charles Jerome Ware, Author & Attorney---"Understanding the Law: A Primer"

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com
www.keyschool.org/community/annapolis-book-festival
Mark your calendars for the 12th Annual Annapolis Book Festival on Saturday, April 5th, 2014!

The 11th annual Annapolis Book Festival that took place on April 13, 2013 was a tremendous success.  More than 3,000 people gathered on a beautiful spring day to attend what has become one of the premier community events in the region.  This free community event, which celebrates the beauty, power, passion, and excitement of the written word, brings nationally renowned authors to The Key School in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss their books and the craft of writing.  The Festival also features Annapolis Town Crier Squire Frederick, children's activities, live music, a huge used book sale, and refreshments.

Among attorney and author Charles Jerome Ware's best-selling books are:

(1) The Secret Science of Winning Lotteries, Sweepstakes and Contests;
http://amzn.com/1432793888
(2) Understanding the Law: A Primer;
http://amzn.com/1440111456
(3) The Immigration Paradox: 15 Tips for Winning Immigration Cases;
http://amzn.com/1440171920
(4) Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets: Avoiding Debtors' Prison in the United States; and
http://amzn.com/1462051847
(5) Quince (15) Consejos Para Ganar Casos Del Inmigracion.
http://amzn.com/1462068952

Ware's blogs and twitter include, inter alia:

http://open.salon.com/blog/charlesjware

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

[See, Amazon.com, iUniverse.com, Outskirts Press, BooksAMillion.com, Barnesandnoble.com, www.Kobobooks.com, bookstore.iuniverse.com, books.google.com, www.buscalibre.com, www.diesel-ebooks.com, www.allbookstores.com, www.ebookmail.com, www.ebay.com, www.scribd.com, www.deepdiscount.com, www.betterworldbooks.com, www.landmarkonthenet.com, www.shopping.com, www.lawbooks-online.com, newmexicoveterinaryboard.us, www.booktopia.com.au, The Immigration Paradox-NY-Times.com, the Immigration Paradox: 15 Tips for Winning Immigration Cases, www.2shared.com, www.textbooksrus.com, www.valorebooks.com, www.waterstones.com, www.getcited.org, www.fishpond.co.nz, www.bookfinder4u.com, ebookstore.sony.com, www.bookdepository.co.uk, www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15, C-SPAN2/Book TV, BookTV.org, Miami Book Fair, International Summit on Books, American Library Association (ALA) Book Fair, National Book Festival, Baltimore Book Festival, inter al]

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com ("We fight.  You win.")

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX-TV NEWS, WHUR, WHUT, MPT, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, ABA Journal, et al.]

U. OF MARYLAND vs. ACC: $52 MILLION "EXIT FEE" CASE UPDATE by Attorney and Author Charles Ware

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com (May 30, 2013)

A legal venue battle is raging between the University of Maryland and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

An alleged $52 million "exit fee" is the subject of multiple civil lawsuits between the two institutions.

In November of 2012, the University of Maryland announced it was leaving (exiting) the ACC to join the Big Ten Conference; which immediately prompted a lawsuit by the ACC for enforcement of their alleged $52 million "exit fee" for Maryland's withdrawal from the conference.

The ACC filed their lawsuit against the University of Maryland in North Carolina where the conference is headquartered.  The University of Maryland responded in kind by filing its lawsuit against the ACC in Maryland, stating that the amount of the "Exit fee" was excessive and consequently illegal.

On May 23, 2013, Judge John Paul Davey of the Prince George’s County Circuit Court in Maryland heard each party’s arguments. Counsel for the ACC asked the judge to wait until the lawsuit in North Carolina was at an end before making a determination whether or not to hear the suit in Maryland, which they argued was filed to give the University a home field advantage.

The University of Maryland argued that the two suits are different and based their main arguments primarily under the Maryland Antitrust Act, stating that the ACC’s fee was punitive in nature and would cause injury to the University, its athletics department, and its students. The University, in their complaint, accuses the ACC of aiming “to send a message of deterrence to any other member school that might consider withdrawing from the conference -- any such attempts to do so will be met with harsh penalties.” Furthermore, they claim that the ACC has illegally withheld $3 million of revenue owed to the University – money that the ACC has withheld to apply towards the exit fee.

As for the ACC, it argued, inter alia, that the University’s antitrust claims are unconstitutional because they interfere with the ACC’s ability to engage in interstate commerce and unduly burdens its activities in the other six states in which the ACC operates. The ACC also argued that the University fails to state a significant injury under the Maryland Antitrust Law since “there is nothing anti-competitive about the withdrawal payment… [i]t is merely a method of internal governance used by the ACC.” In sum, the ACC asked Judge Davey to dismiss the suit in Maryland or, alternatively, halt the proceedings in Maryland until there was first a resolution in North Carolina.

Judge Davey’s opinion is still pending. Ultimately, however, it will be just the first ruling in what many fear will be a lengthy legal battle between these two.


[The Washington Post, "No ruling in ACC’s motion for dismissal of Maryland lawsuit", May 23, 2013;  The Washington Post, "Documents from the upcoming ACC-Maryland dismissal hearing", May 20, 2013; web1.judepedia.org/index.php/courtroom weekly]

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com ("We fight.  You win.")

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX-TV NEWS, WHUR, WHUT, MPT, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, ABA Journal, et al.]

IRS SUED BY CONSERVATIVE GROUPS: TAX LAW UPDATE BY CHARLES WARE, AUTHOR AND ATTORNEY

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Three (3) new cases have been filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and officials by conservative groups over federal tax officials' targeting of them for closer review of their pleas for tax exemptions.

The 3 new cases are:
  1. Linchpins of Liberty v. United States, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Docket No. 13-777, Assigned Judge: Reggie B. Walton;
  2. True the Vote, Inc. v. United States, U.S. Dist. Ct. for D.C., Docket No. 13-734, Assigned Judge: Reggie B. Walton;
  3. Norcal Tea Party Patriots v. IRS, U.S. Dist. Ct. for Ohio Docket No. 13-241, filed as a class-action in Cincinnati, Assigned Judge: Susan J. Dlott.
If a group does not yet have tax-exempt status, it should be granted immediately, two of the lawsuits argued.  The third lawsuit involves a group that says it waited for two years and five months before it gained an exemption.  That is the group that is pursuing its claim as a class action; the case was filed in Cincinnati because that is the location of the IRS office in charges of tax-exemption rulings.

Each of the lawsuits claims violations of constitutional rights, and seek rulings not only that the IRS had acted illegally in its examination of “tea party” and “patriot” organizations, but also seek money damages from several key officials allegedly involved in the extra scrutiny — including intrusive questioning — of the conservative groups.

The Linchpins lawsuit filed Wednesday in Washington seek to reach two of President Obama’s Cabinet members – Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew — along with IRS officials.  That case is the most sweeping of the three, involving thirteen organizations that were granted exemptions but, they said, only after lengthy delays, along with ten that have applications still pending, and two that said they had given up out of frustration with the delay and the process.

All of the organizations contended that the IRS singled them out solely because of its assumptions that they were conservative organizations affiliated with the tea party movement, and thus discriminated against them on the basis of their political views.    In effect, the lawsuits claimed, the organizations were being punished because of their constitutionally protected political ideas.  They argued that there was no evidence that liberal-leaning organizations were similarly targeted for such reviews.

In the Cincinnati lawsuit, the California-based Norcal Tea Party Patriots contended that it, and other organizations in the class it seeks to represent, are small “mom and pop” organizations without the money and resources to deal with the lengthy and intrusive review process to which they said they were subjected.

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com ("We fight.  You win.")

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX-TV NEWS, WHUR, WHUT, MPT, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, ABA Journal, et al.]

[www.scotusblog.com/5-30-2013/Lyle Denniston]

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

SCOTUS CRIMINAL LAW UPDATE by Defense Attorney Charles Ware: Trevino v.Thaler (Federal Habeas Corpus Appeal), 569 U.S. ___ (2013)

TREVIN v. THALER, Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) No. 11-10189, Decided May 28, 2013, Cert to 5th Cir. US Ct. of Appeals.
______________________________________________________

SCOTUS rules for Texas inmate who didn’t raise claim of ineffective counsel on direct appeal:

The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has ruled for a Texas death-row inmate, Carlos Trevino, who claimed in his federal habeas appeal that his trial counsel failed to adequately investigate and present mitigating evidence during the penalty phase of his trial.

In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that inmate Carlos Trevino may be able to raise the mitigation issue for the first time in his federal habeas petition if his initial state habeas lawyer was ineffective [Trevino v. Thaler, 569 U.S. ___ (2013)].

Texas law permitted Trevino to claim on direct appeal that his trial lawyer was ineffective, but the claim was limited by “design and operation” of the state’s procedural system, according to the majority opinion by Justice Stephen G. Breyer.

Trevino contended in the federal habeas appeal that his trial lawyer should have presented evidence that he suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), he suffered several head injuries as a child, and he had been abused by his mother physically and emotionally.

Breyer said Trevino’s case was governed by the principle established in the 2012 case Martinez v. Ryan, 132 S.Ct. 1309 (2012), in which an inmate claimed ineffective assistance by his trial lawyer and also by the lawyer who represented him in the state collateral appeal. In that case, the Supreme Court said ineffective assistance by the appellate lawyer could excuse Martinez’s failure to raise the ineffective assistance claim, allowing a federal court to consider the issue.

In the Martinez case, state law barred inmates from raising the issue of ineffectiveness at trial on direct appeal. The difference in Texas law, which allowed the ineffectiveness issue on direct appeal, is “a distinction without a difference,” Breyer said.

Trevino’s case illustrates the difficulties of raising the ineffective assistance claim on direct appeal in Texas, Breyer wrote. “The trial court appointed new counsel for Trevino eight days after sentencing. Counsel thus had 22 days to decide whether, and on what grounds, to make a motion for a new trial. She then may have had an additional 45 days to provide support for the motion but without the help of a transcript (which did not become available until much later—seven months after the trial). It would have been difficult, perhaps impossible, within that time frame to investigate Trevino’s background, determine whether trial counsel had adequately done so, and then develop evidence about additional mitigating background circumstances.”

Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote a dissent joined by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., and Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a dissent joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. Roberts said the majority opinion is an “invitation to litigation” that will lead to “years of procedural wrangling” in states over inmates’ ability to press ineffectiveness claims on direct appeal.

[see, SCOTUSBLOG/Trevino v. Thaler; www.abajournal.com/news/article/5/29/2013]

"RUNNY-EGG RULE" UPHELD BY 5TH CIRCUIT: Federal Update By Charles Ware, Attorney & Author

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com ("We fight.  You win.")

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX-TV NEWS, WHUR, WHUT, MPT, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, ABA Journal, et al.]

5TH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS DISSECTS "RUNNY EGG RULE", ISSUES SUNNY-SIDE-UP DECISION FOR TEXAS NURSING HOME:

A Texas nursing home red-hot and sizzling over severe penalties imposed after a state inspection found two residents had been served unpasteurized eggs that were inadequately cooked has presumably simmered down to a low-boil after the latest chapter in the "runny-egg" saga.

Reversing an administrative law judge and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Appeals Board, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that Elgin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in fact, did not violate an egg-cooking rule in a Medicare and Medicaid operations manual, Courthouse News reports [5/28/2013].

At issue, explains Chief Judge Jerry Smith in an opinion earlier this month, is whether two provisions of the "runny-egg  rule", one based on temperature and the other (2) on the extent to which the egg has congealed, apply simultaneously to the same egg.

The 5th Circuit panel found the two provisions operated independently of each other. Therefore, satisfying either the temperature prong or the 'congealing' prong of the "runny-egg rule" was sufficient, and the nursing home was out of the frying pan, and not in the fire, as far an the already-reduced $5,000 fine for noncompliance was concerned.

HHS "may not issue ambiguous interpretive documents and then interpret those in enforcement actions—we will not defer to that level of agency interpretation," Chief Judge Smith wrote.

[www.abajournal.com/news/article/5-28-2013]

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND GRAND JURY 101: Attorney and Author Charles Jerome Ware

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com ("We fight.  You win.")

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX-TV NEWS, WHUR, WHUT, MPT, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, ABA Journal, et al.]

Generally Rule 6, inter alia, of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure governs federal grand juries.  And generally again, Maryland Code, Criminal Procedure, §15-411, inter alia, address Maryland state grand juries.

Even though it is essentially controlled and run by the prosecution, the Grand Jury is also frequently referred to as the "People's Panel" because the ultimate decision to charge ("indict") someone is made by vote of the members of the grand jury, who are presumably selected from the community where the alleged offense(s) occurred.

BACKGROUND


The origin of the grand jury dates back to 12th century England. King John recognized it in the Magna Carta ‑‑ at the demand of the people.
The grand jury was originally a body of twelve, and later twenty-three men that served as accusers who presented indictments at the request of not only the prosecutor of the king, but also at the request of individual citizens. In 1681 the grand jury rule of secrecy was adopted. This allowed the grand jury to meet in secret, especially out of the sight of the king’s prosecutors who might interfere. This secrecy provided the grand jury great power as an independent body with oversight over the government.
The grand jury was brought from England to the American colonies. Grand juries provided a means for citizens to protest abuses by the king’s agents. When the Royal Governor of New York sought to have newspaper editor John Zenger indicted for seditious libel, the grand jury twice refused to issue indictments.
The U.S. Constitution mentions the grand jury in Article Five of the Bill of Rights:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or an indictment of a grand jury…
The grand jury served the public in two ways. First, it limited the power of government to prosecute citizens by permitting the grand jury to vote for or against an indictment and second, it had the power to make a presentment. A presentment was a public report of the grand jury’s activity. Through a presentment, the grand jury could make criminal activity known to the public, including criminal conduct committed by government officials, judges, or prosecutors.
It is significant that the grand jury is not part of any of the three branches of the U.S. government—it is a pre-constitutional institution.
 
Representing the Maryland State and Federal Grand Jury Witness
 
Representing grand jury witnesses presents unique problems.
 
The procedures are without parallel to any other aspect of criminal practice. Time is often so short that counsel may first meet the client in the morning only to be arguing against civil contempt by the afternoon.  Counsel and witness may know nothing about the grand jury's ultimate target. The
witness—whether or not she is represented—cannot take counsel with her into the grand jury
room.

The nervous witness must face the prosecutor and a room full (16-23 citizens) of people alone.
 
Like any legal problem, however, preparation is the key to handling the typical grand jury case.
 
The more important preparation is to become fluent with grand jury procedures. Since time is usually short and knowledge regarding the United States Attorney's purposes is scant,mistakes are easily made in the opening round. The first days or, in some instances, hours on the case are not the time to make your first acquaintance with the grand jury's procedures.

I will be presenting much more helpful information on this subject of "Maryland Grand Jury Basics" in coming blogs.  So, stay tuned.

[www.justice.gov/atr/public/guidelines/Chapter 2: Grand Jury manual (DoJ); www.lawserver.com/Maryland Code, Criminal Procedure 15-411, 15-414; law.justia.com/codes/Maryland/2010/Section 4-103]

LIVING IN GLASS HOUSES? BEWARE PHOTOGS: PRIVACY LAW Update by Charles Ware, Attorney and Author

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com ("We fight.  You win.")

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX-TV NEWS, WHUR, WHUT, MPT, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, ABA Journal, et al.]

New York Family Living In Glass House Sues Photographer Who Took Pictures With Zoom Lens For Art Exhibit:

After news that a Manhattan photographer used a telephoto zoom lens to take surreptitiously pictures for an art exhibit of his across-the-street neighbors in an upscale high-rise with floor-to-ceiling windows, at least one family has sued.

Others at the Zinc Building are purchasing window coverings, according to Courthouse News and the New York Observer [Courthouse News Service/Friday, May 24, 2013/www.courthousenews/5-24-2013; New York Observer, observer.com/5-2013].

Kravetz says she recognized herself in two of the photos on display at Svenson's Chelsea art exhibit.
“What does he have that we haven’t seen? He probably took thousands or more," Kravetz told the Post. "I have a young daughter. It’s more than me. Does he have any of her? That’s my biggest concern.”

Similar concerns were expressed by Martha and Matthew Foster, who said in a Manhattan Supreme Court suit that they were "deeply distressed" to find that their two young children are identifiable in photos that shows the tots wearing a diaper and a swimsuit.

In addition to potentially "compromising their safety and security," Svenson's zoom-lens photography, now that they know about it, is forcing them to keep their window blinds drawn whenever they are home, the couple alleges.

Their suit seeks an injunction to prevent dissemination of the photos, which are reportedly for sale, and compensatory and punitive damages. In addition to asserting a claim against Svenson for intentional infliction of emotional distress, it appears from the Courthouse News article that the family may also be asserting a right to publicity.

Svenson did not immediately respond to a request by Courthouse News for comment, and the news agency, citing an unidentified lawyer specializing in media law, said case decisions in New York allow photographs to be taken from public property but may not permit shooting through windows with a zoom lens.

The Associated Press earlier reported that attorney Norman Siegel indicated that the right of the photographer to artistic expression would have to be balanced against the privacy rights of those depicted. He also suggested that individuals who are not identifiable in Svenson's photos might have a tough time prevailing in court [www.abajournal.com/news/article/5-29-2013].

Svenson himself suggested that his across-the-street neighbors in the the Zinc Building essentially agreed to be photographed, because they live in units with floor-to-ceiling windows, USA Today reported earlier.

An article in The New Yorker about the exhibit includes a slide show of some of Svenson's photos of the residents of the building [The New Yorker/www.newyorker.com/5-20-2013].

MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT JUDGE INCARCERATED: Follow-up Report By Charles Ware, Attorney & Author

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Michigan state supreme court justice Diane Marie Hathaway, age 59 and now retired, has been sentenced to one year and one day imprisonment in federal prison after pleading guilty to one county of felony bank fraud earlier this year [May 27, 2013, Tuesday, www.abajournal.com/news; and see Blogs and Tweets of Charles Jerome Ware on May 27, 2013].

Federal prosecutors in the Ann Arbor case had sought a year to 18 months for Judge Diane Marie Hathaway, who reportedly illegally transferred ownership of a Florida home to relatives so she could qualify for a short sale in Michigan that erased nearly $600,000 in mortgage debt on her $1.5 million Grosse Point Park home on Lakeview Court in the Detroit area.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

OVERZEALOUS AND UNETHICAL TENNESSEE JUDGE: Judicial Update By Charles Ware, Author and Attorney

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

A Shelby County, Tennessee judge is facing a legal ethics case for allegedly making a personal fact-gathering visit in February 2012 to a party's home before ruling in a post-divorce child-custody case.

Circuit Judge Kay Spalding Robilio, who sits in Shelby County in the 30th Judicial District, is accused by the Tennessee State Board of Judicial Conduct of making an independent investigation of the case in February 2012, reports WMC-TV [www.wmctv.com/story/5-27-2013].

"A judge shall not initiate, permit ... or consider other communications made to the judge outside of the presence of the parties concerning a pending or impeding proceeding," states the board's complaint against Robilio.

A WREG story includes a copy of the complaint. It accuses Robilio of violating canons of ethics that require a judge to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary, avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety and perform judicial duties impartially and diligently [wreg.com/5-27-2013].

[www.abajournal.com/news/article/May 28, 2013/Family Law/ "Judge faces ethics case, is accused of making independent investigation before ruling"]

MICHIGAN JUDGE TO BE SENTENCED FOR FRAUD: Judicial Update by Charles Jerome Ware, Attorney and Author

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Tuesday, May 27, 2013.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A defense lawyer has asked a federal judge to avoid sending former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway to jail at her sentencing Tuesday for bank fraud.

Hathaway's lawyer made the request in a May 20 sentencing memorandum to Federal Judge John Corbett O'Meara. She pleaded guilty in January to misleading her bank during a short sale of her Grosse Pointe, Mich., home.

"Her fall from the pinnacle of professional success has been swift, sudden, and tragic," her lawyer wrote in the memo under consideration by O'Meara for Tuesday's sentencing in the southern division of U.S. District Court's Eastern District.

Judge Hathaway, who also held a real estate license, retired Jan. 21 amid the scandal involving the sale of her home.

Hathaway was charged with and pleaded guilty in January to one count of bank fraud after investigators said she moved ownership of property in Florida to relatives so she could qualify for the short sale.

Short sales are when a bank allows a sale for a home for less than is owed by the mortgage holder, typically when property values fall.

Hathaway's short sale in Michigan erased nearly $600,000 in mortgage debt on the $1.5 million Grosse Pointe Park home on Lakeview Court, which eventually sold for $850,000. The debt-free Windermere, Fla., home then went back into Hathaway's name.

The plea deal set Hathaway's possible jail time at either 8 to 14 months or 12 to 18 months, depending on how much money the court decides was at stake. Hathaway also agreed as part of her guilty plea not to appeal her punishment.

[www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/5-28-2013; Detroit Free Press, May 28, 2013/ "Sentencing Set For Disgraced Ex-Michigan Judge]

AUTHOR & ATTORNEY CHARLES WARE'S BOOK, "UNDERSTANDING THE LAW: A PRIMER" FEATURED IN NEW YORK

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com
PLACE:  New York City Bar Association
                New York, New York
                C-SPAN 2
                BOOKTV
                booktv.org

Availability:  amazon.com, iuniverse.com, and all other major book outlets.

UNDERSTANDING THE LAW:
A PRIMER
 
COLUMBIA, MARYLAND - Wouldn't it be nice if everyone had a lawyer friend they could call in a pinch, someone who could answer a quick question or offer insight?  That's sort of the idea behind Understanding the Law: A Primer (published by iUniverse), by Charles Jerome Ware.  This legal self-help book is designed as a resource where readers can turn to better understand the ins and outs of our legal system.
 
As you would expect from any good lawyer, Ware makes it clear from the outset that his book is not designed to replace the advice of a lawyer.  Rather, the author's goal here is to provide a way for readers to learn more about laws in our society and how they are implemented.  While acknowledging that the legal system is no laughing matter, Ware points out that the topic can actually be quite humorous.
 
Rather than diving right in with legalese 101, Ware treats readers to a few funny examples of actual state laws.  In New York, jumping off a building is an offense punishable by death.  Alabama law prohibits the playing of dominoes on Sunday, and in Kansas, it's illegal to shoot rabbits from a motorboat.  Throughout the book, Ware's inclusion of topics such as the most overrated crime and O.J.'s trial make this an interesting read.
 
Ware's Understanding the Law is a useful book that will take readers through the basics of criminal law, street law, surviving a lawsuit, and more.  Written with humor and clarity, this book will educate and empower readers to better understand the laws that govern our society.  When it comes to the law, Ware is MENSA-smart.
 
About the Author
Attorney Charles Ware is a principal in the national law firm of Charles Jerome Ware, P.A.  In addition to his work as a trial lawyer, where he has served several celebrity clients and cases to his credit, Ware is a popular speaker.  He has been featured on his own No. 1 legal advice radio program and numerous other radio and television programs.

MARYLAND GRAND JURY BASICS: Attorney and Author Charles Jerome Ware

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com ("We fight.  You win.")

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX-TV NEWS, WHUR, WHUT, MPT, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, ABA Journal, et al.]

Generally Rule 6, inter alia, of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure governs federal grand juries.  And generally again, Maryland Code, Criminal Procedure, §15-411, inter alia, address Maryland state grand juries.

Even though it is essentially controlled and run by the prosecution, the Grand Jury is also frequently referred to as the "People's Panel" because the ultimate decision to charge ("indict") someone is made by vote of the members of the grand jury, who are presumably selected from the community where the alleged offense(s) occurred.

BACKGROUND


The origin of the grand jury dates back to 12th century England. King John recognized it in the Magna Carta ‑‑ at the demand of the people.

The grand jury was originally a body of twelve, and later twenty-three men that served as accusers who presented indictments at the request of not only the prosecutor of the king, but also at the request of individual citizens. In 1681 the grand jury rule of secrecy was adopted. This allowed the grand jury to meet in secret, especially out of the sight of the king’s prosecutors who might interfere. This secrecy provided the grand jury great power as an independent body with oversight over the government.

The grand jury was brought from England to the American colonies. Grand juries provided a means for citizens to protest abuses by the king’s agents. When the Royal Governor of New York sought to have newspaper editor John Zenger indicted for seditious libel, the grand jury twice refused to issue indictments.

The U.S. Constitution mentions the grand jury in Article Five of the Bill of Rights:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or an indictment of a grand jury…

The grand jury served the public in two ways. First, it limited the power of government to prosecute citizens by permitting the grand jury to vote for or against an indictment and second, it had the power to make a presentment. A presentment was a public report of the grand jury’s activity. Through a presentment, the grand jury could make criminal activity known to the public, including criminal conduct committed by government officials, judges, or prosecutors.

It is significant that the grand jury is not part of any of the three branches of the U.S. government—it is a pre-constitutional institution.
 
Representing the Maryland State and Federal Grand Jury Witness
 
Representing grand jury witnesses presents unique problems.
 
The procedures are without parallel to any other aspect of criminal practice. Time is often so short that counsel may first meet the client in the morning only to be arguing against civil contempt by the afternoon.  Counsel and witness may know nothing about the grand jury's ultimate target. The
witness—whether or not she is represented—cannot take counsel with her into the grand jury
room.

The nervous witness must face the prosecutor and a room full (16-23 citizens) of people alone.
 
Like any legal problem, however, preparation is the key to handling the typical grand jury case.
 
The more important preparation is to become fluent with grand jury procedures. Since time is usually short and knowledge regarding the United States Attorney's purposes is scant,mistakes are easily made in the opening round. The first days or, in some instances, hours on the case are not the time to make your first acquaintance with the grand jury's procedures.

I will be presenting much more helpful information on this subject of "Maryland Grand Jury Basics" in coming blogs.  So, stay tuned.

[www.justice.gov/atr/public/guidelines/Chapter 2: Grand Jury manual (DoJ); www.lawserver.com/Maryland Code, Criminal Procedure 15-411, 15-414; law.justia.com/codes/Maryland/2010/Section 4-103]

JUDGES DIES OF COCAINE OVERDOSE --- FELLOW JUDGE ARRESTED: Judiciary Update by Charles Ware, Attorney & Author

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

A St. Clair, Illinois drug court judge, Michael Cook, has been taken into custody and is under federal investigation following the death earlier this year of another judge, Joe Christ, in what a sheriff says was an apparent cocaine drug overdose.

Little is being said officially about why Circuit Court Judge Michael Cook, 43, who sits in St. Clair County, has been taken into custody. Court documents say his home and his family's rural hunting cabin were searched as part of the investigation. The hunting cabin is where associate judge Joseph D. Christ, 49, was found dead by Cook on March 10, according to KSDK and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch [www.ksdk.com/5-23-2013; www.stltoday.com/5-24-2013]..

"The deceased came back with cocaine levels in his blood and the cause of death preliminarily is a cocaine toxicity," Pike County Sheriff Paul Petty told the station.

The Belleville newspaper says the state's attorney filed more than 500 motions Thursday morning seeking a substitution of judge in cases that had been before Cook stating that his office has "actively assisted in and advanced a federal investigation of Cook," resulting in federal search warrants for the judge's person, his house in Belleville and the Pike County hunting cabin [www.bnd.com/5-24-2013].

Chief Circuit Judge John Baricevic said the court is cooperating with the federal investigation, which he declined to discuss, reports the News-Democrat. He said Cook's office has been secured and that he expects it to be searched at some point.

[www.abajournal.com/news/article/5-23-2012]

Friday, May 24, 2013

TEXAS "JUDGE GONE WILD" --- "JUDGE DREAD": Judicial Update by Author and Attorney Charles Ware

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com ("We fight.  You win.")


A Galveston Texas judge has been criminally charged by the Texas Attorney General's Office on 8 counts after allegedly misusing his official powers against lawyers.

In an action-packed day on Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013, a civil lawsuit was initially filed by a local lawyer, Greg Hughes, accusing Galveston County-Court-at-Law Judge Christopher Dupuy of incompetence and oppression and petitioning for his removal from office, reports the Houston Chronicle [www.chron.com/news/5-22-2013].

Then within hours the state attorney general's office presented indictments against Dupuy.  Additionally, the judge's ex-wife sought an emergency protective order on Wednesday after an affidavit was taken earlier in the week from the judge's former fiance claiming that he planned to kill his ex-wife, Adrienne Viterna, and flee with their children to New Zealand.

Judge Dupuy, who was arrested at 3 p.m. and posted bail of $19,000 within hours, couldn't be reached by the newspaper for comment. Dupuy was indicted on two counts of obstruction or retaliation, both felonies, and a total of six misdemeanor counts of official oppression and abuse of official capacity.

"He has ruined dozens of lives over the last two years with ridiculous, horrible rulings he has made," said attorney Greg Hughes, who filed the removal petition against Dupuy. It is going to be handled by the attorney general's office, the Chronicle says.

The indictment does not provide many details, but accuses the judge of criminal conduct concerning three attorneys (none of them is Hughes). One, Lori Laird, whom Dupuy allegedly used his office to oppress, represents Viterna in a child-custody case against Dupuy. After she tried to record his deposition testimony, the judge "held me in criminal contempt and gave me 120 days in jail," she told the Chronicle.

The contempt order was overturned on appeal.

The judge was arrested at the Galveston County Courthouse, where he and his ex-wife Adrienne Viterna were about to take part in an emergency custody hearing.

Attorney George Parnham represents Dupuy and told the station only "We are awaiting our day in court."

A show-cause hearing is scheduled on June 7, at which the judge can present arguments against his removal.

If Dupuy is convicted on any of the criminal counts, he will automatically be removed from office as a judge, the newspaper says.

[www.abajournal.com/news/May 23, 2013]

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, et al.]

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

JURY "RETARDED" SAYS "GIRLS GONE WILD" FOUNDER JOE FRANCIS: Celebrity Case Update By Attorney Charles Ware

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com  ("We fight.  You win.")

Celebrity Case:  "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis says jury that convicted him of false imprisonment should be "lined up and shot".

After being convicted of false imprisonment, in Los Angeles, California, Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis told the Hollywood Reporter that his jury was “retarded,” and should be killed.

"I want that jury to know that each and every one of you are mentally f--ing retarded and you should be euthanized because, as Darwin said, you have naturally selected yourself," he said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "You are the weakest members of the herd. Goodbye! And if that jury wants to convict me because I didn't show up, which is the only reason why they did, then, you know, they should all be lined up and shot!"

Francis on May 6, 2013 was convicted of three counts of false imprisonment, one count of assault likely to cause great bodily injury and one count of dissuading a witness. The allegations involve three women Francis met at a Hollywood nightclub, who were celebrating a college graduation.

According to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, the women got in Francis’ limo thinking he was giving them a ride to their car, but he instead took them to his home. A fight broke out, prosecutors said, and Francis assaulted one of the women.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to file charges after investigating the allegations, and referred the matter to the city attorney’s office, the Associated Press reports. Francis’ convictions in this matter are misdemeanors.

The jury was jealous of him, Francis also told the Hollywood Reporter. According to the article, Francis, his girlfriend and the reporter on the story drank multiple bottles of his “Double Diamond Bomber X cabernet" during the interview.

"The problem with the jury system is that anyone who's not smart enough to come with an excuse to get out of jury duty doesn't get out," Francis said. "Only the stupidest of the stupidest people end up on juries, you know? I've never met a smart person who's done jury duty."

According to the Wall Street Journal’s Bankruptcy Beat blog, Francis could be sentenced to serve five years, and has other legal issues as well. GGW Brands LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. R. Todd Neilson, the bankruptcy trustee, in April claimed that Francis threatened employees. The bankruptcy court issued a temporary restraining order against Francis, banning him from the company’s headquarters.

The company sought bankruptcy protection after Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn got a $7.5 million defamation judgment against Francis, the Wall Street Journal reported in April. Francis falsely accused Wynn of deceiving customers, the article states, when Wynn attempted to collect a $2 million gambling debt Francis reportedly ran up during a 2007 casino visit.

Wynn’s lawyers dispute GGW’s assertion that Francis distanced himself from the business, the Wall Street Journal reports, and say that he uses the company to hide his assets from creditors.

[www.abajournal.com/news/article/ "Girls Gone Wild Founder says jury that convicted him should be 'lined up and shot'"]

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

The national criminal defense, wrongful death and serious injury law firm of Charles Jerome Ware P.A., Attorneys and Counsellors, is regarded as a leader in the areas of automobile death, criminal defense, personal injury, survivorship, and wrongful death actions in the mid-Atlantic region --- including Maryland, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia.

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, et al.]

The national law firm of Charles Jerome Ware, P.A., Attorneys and Counsellors, is a premier Civil litigation and Criminal Defense firm headquartered in Maryland and Washington, D.C. We are: "Still working. Still committed. Still here to make a difference."

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

CHINA'S WHITE-COLLAR CRIME DEATH PENALTIES (Women no exception)

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Unlike in America, committing fraud, Ponzi schemes, investment schemes and other white-collar crimes in China can earn the defendant the death penalty.  And, women are no exception

Just recently a Chinese court sentenced a businesswoman to death after prosecutors accused her of running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of about $70 million, shining a light on potential abuses in China's underground banking system and the severe penalties they can draw.

According to a statement posted this week on the court website of the city of Wenzhou—known for its thriving private sector and informal banking networks—39-year old Lin Haiyan started soliciting funds in 2007, promising investors high returns at low risk. The scheme unraveled in October 2011, with Ms. Lin owing her private backers 428 million yuan, it said.

Some other notable examples of death sentences for fraud in China include:

- Wu Ying, Nicknamed 'Rich Sister,' she was sentenced in 2009 for swindling 11 investors out of 380 million yuan. In April 2012, her sentence was stayed.  A woman.

- Du Yimin, Executed in August 2009 after her conviction for illegally raising more than 700 million yuan for investments ranging from beauty parlors to cosmetics to real estate.  Another woman.

- Wang Caiping, Sentenced in April 2012 after she completes two years in prison for borrowing more than 100 million yuan ($16 million) from victims along with her brother.  Another woman.

- Wang Zhendong, The general manager of an ant-breeding project was executed in November 2008 after being convicted for stealing three billion yuan from investors.  Another woman.

Informal sources of credit have long been the lifeblood of China's small private firms that typically can't access loans or other forms of finances from the country's formal financial institutions. But gathering funds to invest without regulatory approval is a legal gray area, and authorities sometimes crack down hard when investors lose money.

Analysts say a flood of cash that entered the economy following a massive stimulus push in 2009—China's response to the global financial crisis—exacerbated the potential for loans to go wrong in the informal lending sector as private financiers looked for places to put the additional cash. Such stumbles have put the underground lending sector under scrutiny, prompting calls from top Chinese leaders to bring it out in the open and for banks to broaden lending efforts to small businesses.

As of the end of April, 1,449 people had been "seriously punished"–a designation that includes the death penalty and more than five years imprisonment—for illegal fundraising since 2011, said Miao Youshui, a senior judge on the People's Supreme Court, China's highest judicial body, at a recent news conference. In total, 4,170 people were convicted over the same period for similar economic crimes, he said.

"I'm not optimistic" about controlling the spread of illegal fundraising, said Du Jinfu, the head of discipline inspection at China's banking regulator, and a member of a task force set up to tackle economic crimes. "One factor is the high frequency of cases. Also, the scope is broadening, with cases appearing in most cities…It affects the employed and retired, the rich and the poor."

According to a statement from the task force, illegal fundraising refers to soliciting funds publicly from private savers by offering a high return without regulatory approval to operate. But groups that oppose China's use of the death penalty in economic cases say the definition is fuzzy enough to encompass the informal lending that many businesses depend upon.

"The distinction between illegal fundraising and private lending still remains unclear," the Dui Hua Foundation, a San Francisco-based human-rights group said February in a statement on its Web site.

China doesn't publicly report execution figures, but Dui Hua estimates that 4,000 prisoners were executed in 2011. China's death-penalty rates are higher than any other country in the world, according to Dui Hua figures. Amnesty International no longer reports execution data from China, but believes the yearly figure is "in the thousands."

According to the Wenzhou court's statement, Ms. Lin formally started her own investment company in May 2008, collecting funds from friends, colleagues, old classmates relatives, neighbors and others. The statement said she told investors that the funds were being invested in initial public offerings and share placements and even bank deposits, but instead she was speculating on futures and stocks, and using money raised by new investors to pay older clients their promised return.

Even as the investments turned sour, Ms. Lin continued to solicit new funds, the statement said. By October 2011 Ms. Lin could no longer cover up the extent of her cash-flow problems, it said.

[The Wall Street Journal, Saturday-Sunday, May 18-19, 2013, www.WSJ.com/"Investor Scheme Leads to Death Sentence"]

Monday, May 20, 2013

THE IMMIGRATION "BIBLE" --- Charles Ware & The South Carolina (S.C.) Book Festival


Exclusion and removal (deportation) proceedings, along with asylum hearings, are major staples for the United States Immigration Judge and the EOIR of the Department of Justice.

Generally speaking, all aliens to the United States must satisfy State Department consular officers abroad and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Bureau of Customs and Border Protection inspectors upon entry to the U.S. that they (the aliens) are not ineligible for visas or admission under the so-called “grounds of inadmissibility” of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Officially, the nine (9) INA “grounds of inadmissibility” are:

(1)        health-related grounds

(2)        criminal history;

(3)        national security and terrorist concerns;

(4)        public charge (e.g., indigence);

(5)        seeking to work without proper labor certification;

(6)        illegal entrants and immigration law violations;

(7)        lacking proper documents;

(8)        ineligible for citizenship; and, of course,

(9)        aliens previously removed.
 
[Pages 89-90, Chapter 15, "Fundamentals of Immigration and Naturalization Law," THE IMMIGRATION PARADOX, by Attorney Charles Jerome Ware http://amzn.com/B007PLY6WA]

Among attorney and author Charles Jerome Ware's best-selling books are:

(1) The Secret Science of Winning Lotteries, Sweepstakes and Contests;
http://amzn.com/1432793888
(2) Understanding the Law: A Primer;
http://amzn.com/1440111456
(3) The Immigration Paradox: 15 Tips for Winning Immigration Cases;
http://amzn.com/1440171920
(4) Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets: Avoiding Debtors' Prison in the United States; and
http://amzn.com/1462051847
(5) Quince (15) Consejos Para Ganar Casos Del Inmigracion.
http://amzn.com/1462068952

Ware's blogs and twitter include, inter alia:

S.C. Book Festival 2013: "CONSUMER SECRETS AND TIPS"

www.Amazon.com/LegalConsumerTipsAndSecrets
www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets: Avoiding Debtors' Prison in the United States [Hardcover]
Charles Jerome Ware (Author)


Book Description

September 20, 2011
If you owe too much money, you can go to prison even though you have not committed a crime. You can also be kicked out of your home and face a myriad of other negative consequences. Even so, the largest religion in the United States continues to be "consumerism"-the deeply held belief that buying goods and services makes us better and happier. Attorney Charles Jerome Ware explores how you can keep spending, maintain your freedom, and stand up for yourself. He shares ways to prevent foreclosure, discourage identity theft and other forms of fraud, avoid debt settlement scams, and rebuild your credit. This insider's guide reveals hundreds of facts to educate and inform the faithful American consumer. Don't be bullied into living like a pauper when you can take reasonable steps to improve your financial position. Changing your life and avoiding pitfalls starts with learning Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is a principal in the national law firm of Charles Jerome Ware, Attorneys and Counselors. He has served as the special legal counsel to the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, as a federal administrative law judge, and as a senior trial attorney in both the Antitrust Division and the Criminal Division of the US Justice Department. He lives with his family in Columbia, Maryland. --This text refers to the Paperback edition

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 236 pages
  • Publisher: iUniverse.com (September 20, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1462051847
  • ISBN-13: 978-1462051847
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces

POWERBALL WINNERS Read, Study and Follow Charles Ware's Best-Selling Book

The Book: THE SECRET OF WINNING LOTTERIES, SWEEPSTAKES AND CONTESTS: LAWS, STRATEGIES, FORMULAS AND STATISTICS
by Charles Jerome Ware (Paperback)

Book Description
Publication Date: July 26, 2012
There is a science of winning lotteries, sweepstakes and contests! When it comes to lotteries, sweepstakes and contests, there are ways to improve your odds or probability of winning. They are discussed in this book, with a lot of detail and some humor. Blind reliance on luck or chance is not necessary to win lotteries, sweepstakes and contests. The "4Ps" of persistence, preparation, poise and a positive mental attitude are necessary to win on a consistent or regular basis. Therefore, just about anyone is capable of winning. Charles Jerome Ware is a noted author and attorney, microeconomist, lotterician, sweepstaker and contester. He is a principal in the national law firm of Charles Jerome Ware, Attorneys and Counselors. Dr. Ware is a highly successful and life-long sweepstaker and contester. He is also a successful lotterician who, for several years, has investigated, monitored and researched lotteries throughout the United States and several foreign countries. Dr. Ware is the recipient of numerous awards for his accomplishments in law and other areas. He lives in Columbia, Maryland.

http://amzn.com/1432793888

Among attorney and author Charles Jerome Ware's best-selling books are:

(1) The Secret Science of Winning Lotteries, Sweepstakes and Contests;
http://amzn.com/1432793888
(2) Understanding the Law: A Primer;
http://amzn.com/1440111456
(3) The Immigration Paradox: 15 Tips for Winning Immigration Cases;
http://amzn.com/1440171920
(4) Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets: Avoiding Debtors' Prison in the United States; and
http://amzn.com/1462051847
(5) Quince (15) Consejos Para Ganar Casos Del Inmigracion.
http://amzn.com/1462068952

Ware's blogs and twitter include, inter alia:

http://open.salon.com/blog/charlesjware

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

[See, Amazon.com, iUniverse.com, Outskirts Press, BooksAMillion.com, Barnesandnoble.com, www.Kobobooks.com, bookstore.iuniverse.com, books.google.com, www.buscalibre.com, www.diesel-ebooks.com, www.allbookstores.com, www.ebookmail.com, www.ebay.com, www.scribd.com, www.deepdiscount.com, www.betterworldbooks.com, www.landmarkonthenet.com, www.shopping.com, www.lawbooks-online.com, newmexicoveterinaryboard.us, www.booktopia.com.au, The Immigration Paradox-NY-Times.com, the Immigration Paradox: 15 Tips for Winning Immigration Cases, www.2shared.com, www.textbooksrus.com, www.valorebooks.com, www.waterstones.com, www.getcited.org, www.fishpond.co.nz, www.bookfinder4u.com, ebookstore.sony.com, www.bookdepository.co.uk, www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15, C-SPAN2/Book TV, BookTV.org, Miami Book Fair, International Summit on Books, American Library Association (ALA) Book Fair, National Book Festival, Baltimore Book Festival, inter al]

SOUTH CAROLINA (S.C.) BOOK FESTIVAL: Author and Attorney Charles Jerome Ware

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

EVENT:  The South Carolina (S.C.) Book Festival, 17th Annual Edition
DATES:  Saturday-Sunday, May 18th-19th, 2013.
LOCATION:  Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Convention Center

www.scbookfestival.org

Among attorney and author Charles Jerome Ware's best-selling books are:

(1) The Secret Science of Winning Lotteries, Sweepstakes and Contests;
http://amzn.com/1432793888
(2) Understanding the Law: A Primer;
http://amzn.com/1440111456
(3) The Immigration Paradox: 15 Tips for Winning Immigration Cases;
http://amzn.com/1440171920
(4) Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets: Avoiding Debtors' Prison in the United States; and
http://amzn.com/1462051847
(5) Quince (15) Consejos Para Ganar Casos Del Inmigracion.
http://amzn.com/1462068952

Ware's blogs and twitter include, inter alia:

http://open.salon.com/blog/charlesjware

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

[See, Amazon.com, iUniverse.com, Outskirts Press, BooksAMillion.com, Barnesandnoble.com, www.Kobobooks.com, bookstore.iuniverse.com, books.google.com, www.buscalibre.com, www.diesel-ebooks.com, www.allbookstores.com, www.ebookmail.com, www.ebay.com, www.scribd.com, www.deepdiscount.com, www.betterworldbooks.com, www.landmarkonthenet.com, www.shopping.com, www.lawbooks-online.com, newmexicoveterinaryboard.us, www.booktopia.com.au, The Immigration Paradox-NY-Times.com, the Immigration Paradox: 15 Tips for Winning Immigration Cases, www.2shared.com, www.textbooksrus.com, www.valorebooks.com, www.waterstones.com, www.getcited.org, www.fishpond.co.nz, www.bookfinder4u.com, ebookstore.sony.com, www.bookdepository.co.uk, www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15, C-SPAN2/Book TV, BookTV.org, Miami Book Fair, International Summit on Books, American Library Association (ALA) Book Fair, National Book Festival, Baltimore Book Festival, inter al]

TOP LAWYERS IN AMERICA: Attorney Charles Jerome Ware

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com
"Peer and client-selected"
Charles Jerome Ware, P.A., is a national law firm.

The national criminal defense, wrongful death and serious injury law firm of Charles Jerome Ware P.A., Attorneys and Counsellors, is regarded as a leader in the areas of automobile death, criminal defense, personal injury, survivorship, and wrongful death actions in the mid-Atlantic region --- including Maryland, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia.

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, et al.]

The national law firm of Charles Jerome Ware, P.A., Attorneys and Counsellors, is a premier Civil litigation and Criminal Defense firm headquartered in Maryland and Washington, D.C. We are: "Still working. Still committed. Still here to make a difference."

Friday, May 17, 2013

NFL & NBA Players among 58 Victims of $18 MILLION Fraudulent Sales of Promissory Notes by D.C. SECURITIES FIRM

FINRA Department of Enforcement v. Success Trade Securities, Inc.
CRD Nos. 2404244 and 46027, Proceeding No.2012034211301, 4/11/2013

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Summary:

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has filed a Temporary Cease-and-Desist Order (TCDO) to halt further fraudulent activities by Washington, D.C.-based Success Trade Securities, Inc. and its CEO & President, Fuad Ahmed, as well as the misuse of investors’ funds and assets.

FINRA also issued a complaint against Success Trade Securities and Ahmed charging fraud in the sales of promissory notes issued by the firm’s parent company, Success Trade, Inc., in which Ahmed holds a majority ownership interest. FINRA filed the TCDO, to which Ahmed and the company agreed, thus immediately freezing their activities, based on the belief that ongoing customer harm and depletion of investor assets are likely to continue before a formal disciplinary proceeding against Success Trade Securities and Ahmed will be completed.

Success Trade Securities is an online broker-dealer that operates through Just2Trade and LowTrades. In its complaint, FINRA alleges that Success Trade Securities, Ahmed and other registered representatives at the firm sold more than $18 million in Success Trade promissory notes to 58 investors, many of whom are current or former NFL and NBA players, while misrepresenting or omitting material facts.

Specifically, FINRA’s complaint alleges that Ahmed and Success Trade Securities misrepresented that they were raising $5 million through the sale of promissory notes and continued to make this representation, even as the sales exceeded the original offering by more than 300 percent.

Most of the notes promised to pay an annual interest rate of 12.5 percent on a monthly basis over three years, with some notes promising to pay interest as high as 26 percent.

FINRA also alleges that Ahmed and Success Trade Securities failed to disclose the amount of the company’s existing debt to investors and that it was unable to make future interest payments without raising money from new investors. In addition, FINRA charges that Ahmed and Success Trade Securities misrepresented how the proceeds would be used, instead improperly using the funds to make unsecured loans to Ahmed and to make interest payments to existing noteholders. FINRA further alleges that Ahmed and Success Trade Securities misrepresented the rate of return and exempt status of the private placement offering through which the notes were sold.

Under FINRA rules, the individuals and firms named in a complaint can file a response and request a hearing before a FINRA disciplinary panel. Possible sanctions include a fine, an order to pay restitution, censure, suspension or bar from the securities industry.

The issuance of a disciplinary complaint represents the initiation of a formal proceeding by FINRA, in which findings as to the allegations in the complaint have not been made, and does not represent a decision as to any of the allegations contained in the complaint.

[http://www.lawupdates.com/print/5093/April 22, 2013/NFL & NBA Players Among 58 Victims]

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, et al.]

Thursday, May 16, 2013

CHARLES WARE'S MED MAL UPDATE: BABY "SEX-ASSIGNING" SURGERY

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com ("We fight.  You win.")

South Carolina Adoptive Parents Allege "Sex-Reassignment" Surgery Of Baby Born With Male and Female Genitalia Violated Constitutional Rights And Was Medically Negligent.

The adoptive parents of a baby born with both male and female genitalia claim the state of South Carolina violated their child’s constitutional rights by subjecting the child to sex-reassignment surgery.

The child, identified as “M.C.,” was 16 months old when surgeons removed the toddler’s male genitals before the adoption, report the Raw Story, U.S. News & World Report, the New York Times and the Southern Poverty Law Center website. The child is now 8 years old and identifies as a boy.

DUE PROCESS LAWSUIT

The complaint (PDF) filed in federal court in Charleston claims the surgery violated the M.C.’s 14th Amendment due process rights to “bodily integrity, procreation, privacy, and liberty.”

“Defendants usurped these intimate and profound decisions from M.C. when he was barely older than an infant, knowing that surgically misassigning M.C.’s sex would lead to disastrous results,” the suit says. “Unfortunately, medical technology has not devised a way to replace what M.C. has lost.” The current standard of care is to raise an intersex child as either a boy or a girl, without surgery, until a gender identity emerges, according to the suit.

[see, M.C., by and through his parents Pamela Crawford and John Crawford v. Aaronson, Amrehein, Yawappiagyei-Dankah, et al., U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina-Charleston Division, Civil Action No. 2:13-cv-01303-DCN; www.abajournal.com/news/articles/May 15, 2013/"Sex-Reassignment Surgery of Infant in State's Care Violated Due Process, Adoptive Parents Allege"; www.nytimes.com/2013-05-15/US/ "South Carolina: Sex Surgery Unnecessary, Lawsuit Alleges"; www.usnews.com/news/newsgram/articles/2013-05-14/ "Parents of Intersex Child Sue Over 'Unnecessary' Surgery"; www.splcenter.org/get-informed/case-docket/05-14-2013/ "M.C.V. Aaronson"]

Medical Malpractice (Med Mal) Lawsuit
 
In addition to the 14th Amendment due process rights lawsuit filed in this matter, supra, plaintiff M.C. and his adoptive parents have also filed a medical malpractice case against the Medical University of South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Social Services, and the Greenville Hospital System, saying:

"This lawsuit challenges the decision by doctors to perform an irreversible, painful, and medically unnecessary sex assignment surgery on a sixteen-month-old child in state custody, and the failure of the South Carolina Department of Social Services to protect him from this surgery. Doctors, acting as agents and servants of Defendant hospitals, performed this surgery for the purpose of 'assigning' the child the female gender despite their own conclusion that he 'was a true hermaphrodite but that there was no compelling reason that she should either be male or female."

[see, Pamela and John Mark Crawford, as Parents of M.C., a minor, vs. Medical University of South Carolina, et al., Court of Common Pleas, County of Richland, South Carolina, Civil Case No. 2013CP 4002877 (May 14, 2013)]

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, et al.]

Monday, May 13, 2013

THE BALTIMORE LEAD PAINT POISONING PROBLEM: Update by Charles Jerome Ware

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Professional, Thorough and Noted ("PTN") Attorneys. Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, et al.]

Childhood Lead-Paint Poisoning (CLPP) cases are an epidemic in the Baltimore City metropolitan area. In fact, so many of these lead paint cases are filed by plaintiffs' attorneys in Baltimore City, particularly, every year that a special "lead paint case" docket exists within the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.

Further, to compound the problems for the defense in these cases, numerous judges as well as commentators suggest that in certain circumstances lead paint poisoning cases are "indefensible".

To be sure, especially in Baltimore City, a lead paint case defendant must retain a good lead paint defense attorney for legal representation in these cases.

Lead poisoning claims can, however, be defended on a number of grounds, including challenging the CDC's assertion that a low blood-lead level (10 to 25 micrograms per deciliter) can result in decreased IQ, learning disabilities, and psychological, neurological, and behavioral injuries.

From the insurer's perspective, the best defense to lead poisoning claims begins with educating and monitoring their insureds.

It is essential that property owners take an active role in preventing lead poisoning claims, rather than simply reacting to complaints of lead paint violations.

TRENDS

There are some trends in the arena of lead paint poisoning in Baltimore (as well as nationwide) that should be of enormous concern to property owners:
  1. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has repeatedly lowered acceptable blood-lead levels to the point where hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of children are now legally classified as "lead poisoned." Many of those newly classified children will go on to become plaintiffs in lead-based paint poisoning lawsuits.
  2. Various state health departments have consistently lowered the amount of lead permissible in residential paint to the extent that millions of apartment units nationwide may suddenly be in violation of local ordinances and regulations.
  3. Multimillion-dollar verdicts and six-figure settlements are increasingly common in lead-based paint poisoning civil lawsuits. Juries in Baltimore and across the country seem receptive to arguments that children have suffered irreversible neurological impairment as a result of their alleged ingestion of lead paint chips and dust. This alleged impairment - depicted as manifesting itself in loss on intellectual capacity with resultant medical care, loss of earnings, and pain and suffering - if often the basis for exorbitant jury awards rendered against property owners.
Property owners, insurers and property managers are encouraged to contact us directly for further information concerning Baltimore, Maryland lead paint defense at:

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Renowned and respected for his extensive trial experiences and legal counselling of thousands of individual and organizational clients, Attorney Charles Ware is also noted for being a prolific author of several best-selling books, numerous information blogs, and hundreds of articles.

Ware is a widely acclaimed expert legal commentator who, for eight years in the 1990s hosted the extremely popular legal advice radio program "The Lawyer's Mailbox": the Number One (#1) legal advice radio program in the Mid-Atlantic States, on WEAA-88.9 FM, Morgan State University Radio in Baltimore, Maryland.

Among attorney and author Charles Jerome Ware's best-selling books are:

(1) The Secret Science of Winning Lotteries, Sweepstakes and Contests;
http://amzn.com/1432793888

(2) Understanding the Law: A Primer;
http://amzn.com/1440111456

(3) The Immigration Paradox: 15 Tips for Winning Immigration Cases;
http://amzn.com/1440171920

(4) Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets: Avoiding Debtors' Prison in the United States; and
http://amzn.com/1462051847

(5) Quince (15) Consejos Para Ganar Casos Del Inmigracion.
http://amzn.com/1462068952

Ware's blogs and twitter include, inter alia:

UNITED STATES (U.S.) CONSUMER SECRETS AND TIPS

www.Amazon.com/LegalConsumerTipsAndSecrets
www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets: Avoiding Debtors' Prison in the United States [Hardcover]
Charles Jerome Ware (Author)


Book Description

September 20, 2011
If you owe too much money, you can go to prison even though you have not committed a crime. You can also be kicked out of your home and face a myriad of other negative consequences. Even so, the largest religion in the United States continues to be "consumerism"-the deeply held belief that buying goods and services makes us better and happier. Attorney Charles Jerome Ware explores how you can keep spending, maintain your freedom, and stand up for yourself. He shares ways to prevent foreclosure, discourage identity theft and other forms of fraud, avoid debt settlement scams, and rebuild your credit. This insider's guide reveals hundreds of facts to educate and inform the faithful American consumer. Don't be bullied into living like a pauper when you can take reasonable steps to improve your financial position. Changing your life and avoiding pitfalls starts with learning Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is a principal in the national law firm of Charles Jerome Ware, Attorneys and Counselors. He has served as the special legal counsel to the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, as a federal administrative law judge, and as a senior trial attorney in both the Antitrust Division and the Criminal Division of the US Justice Department. He lives with his family in Columbia, Maryland. --This text refers to the Paperback edition

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 236 pages
  • Publisher: iUniverse.com (September 20, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1462051847
  • ISBN-13: 978-1462051847
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces