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Federal grand jury indicts Missouri man over threatening voicemail to Arizona election official

JURIST

A federal grand jury in the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri indicted Walter Lee Hoornstra Wednesday for threatening an Arizona election official. Both counts are felony charges, and Hoornstra could face up to seven years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.

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Public Defender Shortages Reaching Critical Levels: Report

The Crime Report

Reporting on the latest data, OPB details that Oregon’s public defense system’s stress has had long-lasting implications, as it has one-third of the attorneys the state news to “adequately represent criminal defendants.”. Those standards are expected to be released in May, replacing metrics that have been in place for decades.

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Illinois Scores Top Rank in Reintegrating Ex-Incarcerees, Alaska is Lowest

The Crime Report

Pardon Attorney, in the introduction to the report. Take Alaska , for example, which the report ranks as the lowest-performing state in terms of nearly every law category analyzed — receiving “F” grades for pardoning, felony relief, misdemeanor relief, certificates of relief, employment, and occupational licensing laws.

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St. Louis Can Banish People From Entire Neighborhoods – Police Can Arrest Them if They Come Back

The Crime Report

The ACLU of Missouri said that it had explored a lawsuit to challenge the practice a decade ago but eventually did not because the organization did not have enough information and did not have consistent contact with a potential plaintiff. They say the orders fail to address the underlying problems contributing to their behavior.

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How Duke Law Researchers Pried Open the ‘Black Box’ of Plea Bargaining

The Crime Report

Criminal justice today is for the most part a system of pleas, not a system of trials,” the Court said in Missouri v Frye. In 442 of the 559 felony cases reviewed in the study, there was just one plea before the offer was accepted. a fact summed up starkly by the U.S. Supreme Court during a 2012 ruling. percent).

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Missouri Court: Mark McCloskey Pardoned But Still Guilty

JonathanTurley

I was highly skeptical of the charges brought by Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who was later removed from the case due to ethical concerns. The Missouri Court of Appeals has now prevented that return of the weapons by denying a motion for replevin. banc 2016), Hill pleaded guilty to and was convicted of felony forgery.

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“Like A Needle Pulling A Thread”: Kim Gardner Kicked Off McCloskey Case

JonathanTurley

I have been skeptical in the past of the charges brought against Mark and Patricia McCloskey by Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner given the countervailing rights of gun possession and home protection in Missouri. Republican Missouri Gov. YouTube Screenshot. The entire case seems to be now equal measures of law and politics.