Category Archives: Criminal Lawyer

Chinese Dissident Chen Guangcheng’s Fate Remains Uncertain

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For more coverage, visit the PBS NewsHour website: to.pbs.org “The government officials came into my home, wanted to beat my family to death,” Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng said Thursday, indicating he now wants to leave China. Ray Suarez discussed the fast-moving saga of the blind activist with the AP’s Charles Hutzler, the ChinaAid Association’s Bob Fu and professor Susan Shirk.

In December 2003, Kamala Harris was elected as the first woman District Attorney in San Francisco’s history, and as the first African American woman and South Asian American woman in California to hold the office. She was overwhelmingly reelected to a second term in November 2007. As San Francisco DA, Harris – who has been a prosecutor for nearly twenty years – has focused intensively on fighting violent crime. She has increased conviction rates for serious and violent offenses, expanded services to victims of crime and their families, created new prosecution divisions focused on child assault, public integrity and environmental crimes, and launched innovative re-entry initiatives to prevent re-offending. To combat one of San Francisco’s biggest challenges, gun violence, she created a gun specialist team and implemented tough gun charging policies. This work is paying off — the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has more than doubled its trial conviction rate for gun felonies to 90 percent. Under her leadership, the office has sent 50 percent more serious and violent offenders to State Prison, has put more than 220 gang members behind bars and convicted more than 1200 domestic violence offenders. According to the San Francisco Superior Court, the office’s overall felony conviction rate is at its highest point in nearly 15 years. Harris has brought much-needed consistency and innovation to the handling of narcotics and quality-of-life crimes. Her office has tripled …

Young Teacher Fired, Arrested and Assaulted for Being Gay

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Case documented in this YouTube video: www.youtube.com The worst nightmare for a queer person became reality for Prof. Agustín Estrada on May 7th, 2009. He was arrested and beaten by the police in Mexico, and then taken to the federal maximum security prison where he was sexually abused. His story began two years ago, when as the director of a school for children with disabilities, he was invited by a local human rights group to the International Day Against Homophobia celebration. He wore a red dress, emulating a character from the movie The Birdcage, walking along with his mother during the parade. The image appeared in local papers, which prompted some teachers to denounce Estrada Negrete as a dangerous person for the children he taught at the CAM. A few days later, the undersecretary of Elementary Education in the State of Mexico, offered Estrada Negrete a one-year-leave. During that year, parents and students organized 17 rallies asking the authorities to reinstate Agustín Estrada Negrete as director of the CAM. As a result of the protests, the Deputy Secretary General of State scheduled a meeting to resolve the issue. Estrada Negrete arrived, followed by his lawyer Jaime López Vela, a LGBT activist, as well as parents and students that support the professor. At the same time, police corps arrived in order to stop any attempt of the group to talk to the governor in front of the TV cameras that were already placed in front of the municipal building. Entrance was …

Quicksand: Mickey Rooney, Peter Lorre, Jeanne Cagney, Barbara Bates (1950 Movie)

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thefilmarchive.org DVD: www.amazon.com Quicksand (1950) is a United Artists film noir starring Mickey Rooney and Peter Lorre in a story about a garage mechanic’s descent into crime. The film has been described as “film noir in a teacup… a pretty nifty little picture” in which Rooney “cast himself against his Andy Hardy goody goody image.” Young auto mechanic Dan Brady (Mickey Rooney) takes from a cash register at work to go on a date with blonde femme fatale Vera Novak (Jeanne Cagney). Brady intends to put the money back before it is missed, but the garage’s bookkeeper shows up earlier than scheduled. As Brady scrambles to cover evidence of his petty theft, he fast finds himself drawn into an ever worsening “quicksand” of crime, each of his misdeeds more serious than the last. His descent is sped along by his heartless and morally lacking boss Oren Mackay (Art Smith), and the seedy owner of a pinball arcade on Santa Monica Pier, Nick Dramoshag (Peter Lorre). Brady and Vera split when Vera purchases a mink coat with money Brady has stolen. Brady’s still-loyal but unappreciated former girlfriend Helen (Barbara Bates) then reenters the scene and tries to woo him back. Later fleeing what he believes will be a murder charge, Brady carjacks a sedan which happens to be driven by a sympathetic lawyer (Taylor Holmes). By movie’s end Brady is back with his faithful girlfriend, who promises to wait for him while he spends the next few years of his life in prison. Cast includes …

Prop 8 Trial Re-enactment, Day 2 Chapter 3

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Day 2 Chapter 3 of the Proposition 8 Trial Re-enactment presented by MarriageTrial.com. Produced by John Ainsworth & John Ireland. Edited by Michael Legge. THE JUDGE Vaughn Walker, Chief Judge, US District Court portrayed by Ted Heyck THE PLAINTIFFS Paul Katami portrayed by Woody Schultz Jeffrey Zarrillo portrayed by Bryan Cuprill Kristin Perry portrayed by Kitty Swink Sandy Stier portrayed by Tess Harper THE PLAINTIFF ATTORNEYS David Boies portrayed by Jack Laufer Theodore Olson portrayed by Clyde FT Small Theodore Boutrous portrayed by Peter Cassone Christopher Dusseault portrayed by Jon Keel Matthew McGill portrayed by Mark Doerr Ethan Dettmer portrayed by Shawn Ryan THE PLAINTIFF-INTERVENOR ATTORNEYS Dennis Herrera, SF City Attorney portrayed by Matt Pittenger Therese Stewart, SF Deputy City Attorney portrayed by Sarah Gaboury Christine Van Aken, SF City Attorney Portayed by Kate McNeil Danny Chou, SF City Attorney portrayed by Peter James Smith SF City Attorney Ronald Flynn portrayed by Todd Waring THE DEFENDANTS Arnold Schwarzenegger, California Governor Does not appear at trial. Edmund G. Brown, California Attorney General Does not appear at trial. Linette Scott, Deputy Director of Health & Strategic Planning for the California Department of Public Health Does not appear at trial. Patrick OConnell, Clerk-Recorder County of Alameda Does not appear at trial. Dean Logan, Clerk-Recorder County of Los Angeles Does not appear at trial. THE DEFENDANT ATTORNEY Tamar …

In the United States, approximately 1 in 5 children have experienced some form of maltreatment, including physical and sexual abuse and the often overlooked danger of neglect. Child maltreatment results in over 1700 deaths each year; however, the negative health effects reach well beyond these fatalities. In addition to physical injuries, maltreatment causes stress that can disrupt brain development. Thus, children who are maltreated are at higher risk for adult health problems such as alcoholism, smoking, depression, drug abuse, obesity, high-risk sexual behaviors, suicide, and certain chronic diseases. This session of Public Health Grand Rounds focused on the epidemiology and costs of child maltreatment, the need for partnerships, and the potential for policy interventions to combat this urgent public health issue. Comments on this video are allowed in accordance with our comment policy: www.cdc.gov This video can also be viewed at www.cdc.gov