Giancola-Durkin, P.A.

January 2019 Archives

Prosecutors increasingly choosing not to focus on marijuana crimes

This week, the local prosecutor in Baltimore announced that her office would no longer prosecute cases of marijuana possession, regardless of the quantity involved or the defendant's criminal record. Moreover, her office will attempt to vacate nearly 5,000 previous marijuana convictions.

Engaging with violent offenders to reduce mass incarceration

We live in a world where the criminal justice system has focused on putting away as many criminals as possible for as long as possible. While being "tough on crime" may be popular, it has resulted in real problems. For one, many people have been subjected to harsh, mandatory minimum sentences that are often far out of proportion with the underlying crime. And, long sentences have contributed to our current mass incarceration crisis.

State senate moves to recriminalize groping of clothed buttocks


Is marijuana legalization on the horizon for Minnesota?

Recent years have seen a lot of flux throughout the country when it comes to marijuana laws. Where does Minnesota currently stand in this regard? Well, it is among the states that have legalized medical marijuana. It is also among the states that have, to some extent, decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Gov. Walz pledges support for statewide veterans courts

When military vets come home from deployment, they often find their service has taken a mental toll. That can mean diagnosable PTSD or simply unregulated emotions that can prompt the vet to strike out or engage in anti-social behavior.

US Supreme Court defines snatching a necklace as a violent felony

The federal Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) acts pretty much like a three-strikes law, although it counts any violent felony or serious drug conviction as a strike, whether it resulted in a federal or state conviction. Federal law generally prohibits felons from possessing firearms, but the ACCA goes further. For people who have been convicted of three qualifying felonies, a gun conviction results a mandatory 15-year sentence in federal prison.

Police using DNA dragnet to identify care patient's assailant


Ballistic database being shared with police despite scientific issues

A recent story by NPR highlighted some issues with the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN), a huge ballistics database operated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It contains high-resolution images of the marks left on bullets and shell casings fired by specific firearms. The idea is to allow users to match those bullets and casings to each other and, sometimes, to match them to a specific gun.

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