Lawyer: “How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?”

Lawyer: “Were you alone or by yourself?”

Witness: “He was about medium height and had a beard.”
Lawyer: “Was this a male or a female?”

MTV cast of the Jersey Shore Show

I am sure most people regardless of your demographics or geographics has heard of the new controversial MTV show called “Jersey Shore.” For those unfamiliar with the show it is a MTV reality twist of a group of tri-state area 20 year olds spending a wild summer in a shore house in Seaside, NJ.

The show highlights many of the Jerseys finest qualities such as binge drinking, partying and of course fighting. The Jersey Shore seems to attract a crowd always looking for a fight. On the MTV series there are multiple fights that occur.

Guys fighting Guys

Girls fighting Girls

Guys fighting Girls

and Girls fighting Guys …

In the end the meaningless fight usually ends up in an arrest.  As seen on the show many individuals will find that one night down at the Jersey Shore can permanently mess up your criminal record.

In the end the best advice I can give is to walk away or if you are indeed assaulted by someone you should prosecute and press charges against that person.  The Jersey Shore can be scary to think that you might find yourself in a beat down, but with the legal system on your side you should be safe.

134 Days until Memorial Day Weekend the official start of Summer!

As luck would have it, he was back in court today in L.A. – for his divorce from Kelis – and if custody of their newborn becomes contentious, a DUI could be in play.

According to sources – Nas himself – he was driving under the influence of weed when he was busted for DUI. He just acknowledged as much in an L.A. courtroom.

The police report on the Nas (Nasir Jones) incident says: “Mr. Jones had a green tongue with raised taste buds and his pulse was raised to 116 beats per minute.”

The arresting officer says he observed “eyelid tremors in both eyes and body tremors.” Cops say the car driven by the Illmatic rapper smelled of “raw marijuana.”

Nas told officers he had been smoking weed at his friend’s house before he was busted. He flunked a field sobriety tests by taking the wrong number of steps.

That’s pretty much it.

- Story Credit The Hollywood Gossip.com

NBC Show Law & Order

For those unfamiliar with the show Law & Order is actually the longest running legal-crime show and is current tied for longest running show in prime time television ever. In its 20^th season on NBC Law & Order is a drama series that takes a realist look at the criminal and legal perspectives on one of the toughest cities, New York City.

In the first half-hour of the show viewers that a look at the investigative crimes and apprehend suspects. While in the second half-hour the shows focus shifts to the criminal courts work within a complicated justice system to prosecute the accused.

Some of the cases are simple, but most are multi-faceted. The investigations are challenging, prosecutions are complicated, and decisions about legal procedures and plea-bargaining are difficult. This is what makes the show great for many viewers especially those interested in the legal system.

All in all Law & Order has also become one of entertainment businesses preeminent brands, with its successful spinoffs like “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

Let me know if you watch the show … love it or hate it?

Do the Hustle!

Susan Finkelstein offered sex as an exchange for a World Series ticket. Photo Source: CBS News.

With this in mind I figured I would share a breaking news story that I had heard about a “desperate” (in my mind appalling) Philadelphia Phillies Fan.

Allegedly Susan Finkelstein, a 43 year old Philadelphia Phillies Fan was arrested for trying to offer sex as an exchange for a ticket to the World Series game to see the Phillies play.  She had posted advertisements for the tickets on craigslist stating she needed 2 tickets for Monday nights Game 4 of the World Series taking place at the Philadelphia Stadium. Headlines of her ad post said “DESPERARE BLODE NEEDS WS TIX!” then went on to say “Diehard Phillies fan – gorgeous tall buxom blonde – in desperate need of two World Series Tickets … negotiable price, I’m Creative!”

Someone had taken noticed the ad and the post was quickly brought to the attention of Bucks County Public Safety to further investigate the severity of the case. After meeting up with the woman at a bar two under cover policemen negotiated the fake tickets for sex acts.  When the offer was made clear of an exchange of tickets for sex the criminal offense was made and she could be prosecuted for a misdemeanor charge of prostitution. Which she was!

Just thought I would share this news. Any thoughts?

Depending on specific state regulations generally a misdemeanor is punishable by a fine, but can also receive jail time (max time is one year and served in a local jail), probation, community service, and loss of license.

Criminal Laws are considered white collar crimes, violent crimes, grim felonies, internet crimes, drug cases, driving while intoxicated (or DUI) and misdemeanors.

White collar crimes are things such as fraud, embezzlement, extortion, forgery and identity theft. A great sociologist by the name of Edwin Sutherland explained it my calling this “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation” (1949).  Additionally after September 11, 2001 issues surrounding identity theft has become a major issue. For youngsters trying to use a fake id may seem harmless, but in reality it is a major criminal offense.

A violent crime, grim felony and internet crime seems to a bit more obvious that an individual is breaking the law.  Violent crimes include murder, robbery, rape, sexual assault, abuse and assault.  Grim felonies are crimes like burglary, grand larceny, gambling offenses, firearms offenses, and hate crimes. Then furthermore Internet crimes are things such as Internet pornography, Internet predator crimes, and computer sex crimes. Each of these situations is seen on different levels and the severity can vary greatly between court cases.

Finally to drug cases, driving while intoxicated, and misdemeanors are some of the most common criminal defense laws, especially in a younger age frame. Drug crimes involve cultivation, distribution, possession, selling of, and trafficking of any type of illegal drug. There are numerous different types of drugs but an individual can be prosecuted for, basically anything without a prescription.  Driving while intoxicated, which is also known as a DUI is a nationwide criminal law that can be enforced even after have one drink.  This is a serious offense and depending on the court case even for minor accounts individual can loss their driving license. Lastly, a misdemeanor is a criminal offense such as shoplifting, criminal mischief, prostitution, trespassing, and vandalism.

Many of you can probably think back to a time when you were faced with situations like these or came close to being in one.  None the less having any of these criminal defense crimes on your record can be cause major issues later in life, so it is important to understand criminal justice.