TSA To Search Public Transportation Without Warrants

The LA Times has reported that the MBTA transit police have declared that all public transport users will be stopped and searched at “Transit Watch” checkpoints and that anyone declining a search will be ordered to leave the station.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are now increasingly conducting searches and screenings at train stations, subways, ferry terminals and other mass transit locations around the US.

Chaninat & Leeds are specialist attorneys in Thailand Criminal Law

“We are not the Airport Security Administration,” TSA air marshal Ray Dineen said to the L.A. Times. “We take that transportation part seriously.” However, in response, Fred H. Cate, a professor at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, who writes on privacy and security says "It's a great way to make the public think you are doing something. It's a little like saying, 'If we start throwing things up in the air, will they hit terrorists?' ''

The move comes at a time when the American government is actively encouraging its citizens to use public transport rather than personal vehicles, a move that is being copied by governments around the world: for example Hamburg, Germany is planning on banning cars in its city center over the next coming years.

Read the full article here

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Study Of The US Sex Industry

A new study entitled "Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex Economy in Eight Major US Cities" investigated the sex trade in eight big American cities has been published. A detailed investigation into the industry in Miami, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Denver, Kansas City, San Diego, and Seattle found that Hispanic prostitutes and pimps are a growing part of the sex trade. 

Aside from brothels, the human sex trade in large American cities also includes internet-based trafficking and erotic massage parlors in addition to street-based prostitution. Street-based prostitution, which has the lowest prices, was found to be in decline as girls increasingly ply their trade in strip clubs and massage parlors or the internet, which are all safer compared to the streets. 

However, the study also found that the overall national demand for sex work has decreased, and that prostitution is no longer so common and as well paid.

Prostitution under Thailand criminal law is illegal – section 286 of the Penal Code states: “Any person, being over sixteen years of age, subsists on the earning of a prostitute, even if it is some part of her incomes, shall be punished with imprisonment of seven to twenty years and fined of fourteen thousand to forty thousand Baht, or imprisonment for life.” 

Read the full study here

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Flickr photo credit: Blemished Paradise

Judge Removed After Sex With Woman involved in Case

The Detroit Free Press reported that the Michigan Supreme Court has removed Wayne County Circuit Judge Wade McCree from office after it was discovered on Wednesday 26 March that he was having an affair with a woman who had a case before him.

Text messages and other evidence show McCree was aware of his conflict of interest in the 2012 child-support case and mentioned it to the woman he was having the affair with, Geniene LaShay Mott, on the day she had a hearing before him.

Thailand Criminal Law : Attorneys at  Chaninat & Leeds are experts in Thai Criminal Law and Extradition Proceedings 

The Court indeed stated in its ruling that McCree's conduct was one of the most egregious examples of judicial misconduct that they have encountered. 

 

Text messages and other evidence revealed that  McCree  was having the affair with Geniene LaShay, who was involved in a child support case that was being heard by McCree. Evidence also revealed that McCree was aware of his conflict of interest in the 2012 child-support case and mentioned it to the woman he on the day she had a hearing before him.

McCree is also up for re-election. The Court also warned that if he is reelected he will be suspended for the entire six year term.  

Read the full article here

Photo Credit: Lee J Haywood

Con Attorney Fails To Show In Court

Brian Goudie, from Scotland, pretended to be a lawyer and convinced a mother to pay him £180,000 to defend her son who had been accused of child sex offences reports The Daily Record before disappearing seemingly without a trace.

He failed to show in Court yesterday suggesting he has now gone on the run as a means of avoiding charges.

There are many con men impersonating lawyers, some with impressive websites and fancy names. Please always ensure you consult a licensed Thailand law firm. 

Under Thailand criminal law  a person impersonating an attorney is considered

 theft by deception and if someone is found guilty they can be sentenced between 3 years to 7 years in prison.

Read the full story here 

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