Blog Posts in September, 2011
Posted on Sep 29, 2011 By Brad Koffel
I just finished representing a wonderful woman who was drug through the court system based upon the unethical and illegal conduct of her doctor. In Ohio, it is a felony to engage in "Deception to ...
Continue reading ""Doctor Shopping" & Naive Detectives" »
Posted on Sep 28, 2011 By Brad Koffel
The death penalty needs to die. Forever. No clemency for it. No resurrection like 35 years ago when the US Supreme Court reinstituted it. By the way, it was struck down in 1972 because it was not ...
Continue reading "Death Penalty Needs Executed" »
Posted on Sep 27, 2011 By Brad Koffel
I just finished reading an excellent article by Columbus, Ohio Psychologist, David Lowenstein, Ph.D., titled "Creating a Strong, Supportive Family". As a father of 4 young children, this ...
Continue reading "The Modern Family: Drugs, Alcohol & Poor Emotional Health" »
Posted on Sep 26, 2011 By Brad Koffel
Every year we represent people who commit crimes that are naturally newsworthy. Many times I read about the case in the morning paper and get a call later that day. We try to get those clients into ...
Continue reading "When the News Comes Knockin': Your Case is Going Public" »
Posted on Sep 25, 2011 By Brad Koffel
I am a proponent of a texting ban in Ohio. As a civil libertarian, I tend to be against laws that tell us how to live our daily lives; however, texting while driving is just one of those activities ...
Continue reading "H.B. 99: Texting Ban in Ohio is Coming" »
Posted on Sep 24, 2011 By Brad Koffel
Ohio was the first state in the country to require public shaming for a non-sex offense when it passed the law for yellow DUI plates. Public humiliation was common in the "mob justice" eras ...
Continue reading "Public Humiliation: Ohio's Yellow DUI License Plates" »
Posted on Sep 13, 2011 By Brad Koffel
There is much confusion among defense lawyers, prosecutors and judges as to the laws regulating the evidence in the coutroom where a defendant wishes to try a breath test to a judge or jury. In 1984, ...
Continue reading "The Law of Defending a Breath Test at Trial in Columbus, Ohio" »
Posted on Sep 12, 2011 By Brad Koffel
HB 86 also touches (albeit briefly) on the DUI / OVI code. Ohio's jails are chockful of non-violent offenders who can be punished without sitting in a jail cell. For the first time, Ohio is ...
Continue reading "HB 86: New Jail Options for DUI / OVI Cases" »
Posted on Sep 11, 2011 By Brad Koffel
Nobody likes lawyers until they need one. This is especially true of criminal defense lawyers. I've seen the most suburban, conservative people turn into bleeding heart liberals the moment they ...
Continue reading "9/11's Legacy to Criminal Defense Lawyers" »
Posted on Sep 10, 2011 By Brad Koffel
On September 30, 2011, HB 86 becomes law. In addition to many other major improvements to Ohio's criminal sentencing provisions, HB 86 expands the eligibility for this deferred prosecution ...
Continue reading "HB 86: Intervention in Lieu of Conviction:" »
Posted on Sep 9, 2011 By Brad Koffel
We communicate frequently with clients via email. The majority of our clients use a work email address. The American Bar Association issued Formal Opinion 11-459 last month, "Duty to Protect ...
Continue reading "Emailing Your Lawyer from Your Work Computer: Bad Idea" »
Posted on Sep 9, 2011 By Brad Koffel
Yesterday I had a client in my conference room discussing his 3rd DUI arrest in less than 5 years. Under Ohio law and the circumstances of his case, he's facing a mandatory minimum 60 day jail ...
Continue reading "SCRAM in lieu of jail" »
Posted on Sep 4, 2011 By Brad Koffel
Three days ago, an Ohio appeals court tossed the conviction of David White who had been indicted in a string of home invasions with a gun. (State v. White, 9-1-2011, Fairfield App. No. 2010-CA-60). ...
Continue reading "Police GPS Tracking Devices: Creepy & un-American" »
Posted on Sep 3, 2011 By Brad Koffel
America is starting its second journey into the oligopoly of private run prisons. Nobody seems to be aware of the lessons learned from 150 years ago when cash starved states sold the rights to operate ...
Continue reading "Private Prisons--Profiting on Crime" »
Posted on Sep 3, 2011 By Brad Koffel
Let's say your son is a 19 year old sophomore in college. They are on their way back to their dorm with a few friends, all of whom have been drinking and all of whom are under 21. Campus police ...
Continue reading "A Right or a Crime: Recording Police Arrests" »