PRESS RELEASE:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Shapiro & Mack

PHONE: (410) 884-6100

EMAIL: davidz@shapiroandmack.com

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

State of Maryland v. Wael G. Ali,  District Court of Maryland for Howard County

On behalf of the family of Wael and Wasel Ali, it is with extreme sorrow that this message is delivered to the community – the community that the Ali family has been a part of, and loved, for well over 20 years. In 2007, Wasel Ali’s life was brutally ended at the hands of another.  The loss of Wasel was, and still is, unbearable for the Ali family.  Wael Ali, being the identical twin brother of and best friend to Wasel, took his brother’s death the hardest.  As lifelong residents of Howard County, the familiar landscape of Columbia, Maryland was a constant reminder of times past and Wasel’s demise.   After four years of unanswered questions, unanswered prayers, and unanswered pleas for help, Wael moved to Atlanta, Georgia, along with his mother, to attend college, start a family business, and begin anew.

Dreadfully, after Wasel’s case had gone cold for years, Wael was torn from his new community in Georgia and falsely accused of the most heinous crime imaginable. The Ali family firmly stands behind Wael. The Ali family believes in Wael’s innocence; they believe in the justice system; they believe in their community; and they believe that Wael, in due time, will be completely exonerated.

It is not indicative of guilt that Wael has been denied bond. In fact, the frequent denial of bond in cases involving serious allegations is common in the United States justice system. Wael Ali stands innocent of all charges. To that effect, the legal team of Jason A. Shapiro, Paul E. Mack, and David Zwanetz has been retained to fight for justice and the liberty of Wael Ali. Mr. Shapiro, Mr. Mack, and Mr. Zwanetz wholeheartedly believe in Wael’s innocence and intend to aggressively pursue his absolute vindication.

By nature, a parent should never outlive a child. The parents of Wael Ali were forced to endure the most unnatural of circumstances in 2007 with the tragic loss of their son, Wasel Ali. They will not tolerate the loss of Wael Ali, their other son, in 2011 on false accusations or baseless allegations.

During this difficult time for the Ali family, they sincerely request that their privacy be respected and they be given time to grieve. At this time, the family is not available for additional comments or interviews. The Ali’s have requested that all inquiries into this matter be directed to Jason A. Shapiro, Paul Mack, or David Zwanetz at the Law Firm of Shapiro & Mack.

-End-

BUT IT'S 4/12 NOT 4/20...

An amended version of Maryland SB 308 has been approved by the state’s House and Senate and now goes to the desk of Governor O’Malley, whose aids have indicated he plans to sign the bill. While not as robust as the original, SB 308 still allows for qualified medical marijuana patients to present an “affirmative defense” if they are being prosecuted for possessing and consuming their medicine. Here is an excerpt from a Marijuana Policy Project email alert:

“With the passage of this bill, the General Assembly has let seriously ill patients know they are not criminals for seeking relief from their pain and suffering,” said Senator David Brinkley, the primary sponsor of the Senate bill.” It will also establish a framework to build on in moving forward with more comprehensive solutions so that some day soon patients will be able to obtain their medicine in dignity and not on street corners. I thank my colleagues in both chambers for today’s compassionate vote.”

In its current form, the bill, SB 308, allows individuals diagnosed with debilitating medical conditions, such as cancer or multiple sclerosis, to avoid conviction if charged with the non-public use or possession of one ounce or less of marijuana. An existing sentencing mitigation would remain part of the law, meaning patients who don’t qualify for the full affirmative defense would still have the opportunity to present evidence of medical necessity and have their sentence reduced to a $100 fine. In addition, a work group consisting of medical, legal, and law enforcement experts would be convened to recommend more comprehensive legislation next year. The bill represents a compromise after the Secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene objected to a more robust proposal calling for state-regulated dispensaries due to the cost of implementation.

“Today’s vote is a move toward compassion for those who might benefit from this drug,” said Delegate Dan Morhaim, the bill’s House sponsor and the General Assembly’s only licensed physician. “A growing body of evidence suggests marijuana is helpful in treating certain conditions, and seriously ill people who use marijuana to treat such conditions on the advice of their physician should not be considered criminals.”

“Under current law, patients using medical marijuana in Maryland face criminal arrest, prosecution and conviction,” said Sen. Jamie Raskin, one of the sponsors in the Senate. “Although judges can reduce the penalty to $100 in these cases, we heard testimony from patients who said they have lost their jobs and were haunted for life by being branded as criminals. This legislation declares that severely ill people using medical marijuana are not criminals and will have the opportunity to establish medical necessity as a defense to a possession charge. The removal of this threat and the creation of a work group to develop a Maryland model for a comprehensive medical marijuana regime moves us closer to the broader goal of giving patients in Maryland a legal way to obtain doctor-recommended medicine.”

Advocates appear to be  encouraged by the compromise. “This isn’t a permanent solution, and it’s not everything that patients need, but it allows people suffering from debilitating conditions to sleep a little easier tonight while they wait for full protections,” said Dan Riffle, a legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project.

Maryland could very well becomes the 16th state to remove criminal penalties for medical marijuana patients and next year maybe a full medical marijuana bill can be introduced and make its way through the legislature.

The legalization of medical marijuana is very interesting topic that most people have a strong opinion about. Those of us at Shapiro & Mack plan to stay on top of the news relating to this bill so that we can zealously defend our clients and pursue every conceivable defense.  We would love to hear your comments on this topic.

"Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand . . . what he learns and the way he understands it." Soren Kierkegaard

A Howard County police officer was arrested early this morning in Southeast Baltimore after police say he punched a female officer in the head then yelled, “I’m a cop!” as officers placed him in handcuffs.

According to court records, officers were attempting to disperse a crowd at Canton Square in the 2900 block of ODonnell St. at 2 a.m. when someone yelled “[Expletive] the police,” who the officer believed to be Casey Robert Lechter. Another man, Kary Williams, said he was the person who made the statement, and the officer told him to leave the area, according to records.

He refused, and the officer told him he was under arrest, officers wrote. While she was placing handcuffs on him, she said Lechter punched her in the head from behind and pushed her away. Police records say a private citizen grabbed Lechter and pinned him against a parked vehicle as additional officers arrived at the scene to help.

Police say Lechter yelled, “I’m a cop” but continued to resist arrest. Williams, meanwhile, suffered a cut to his head and was bleeding heavily, “covering both police officers in his blood,” officers wrote in court documents. Medics were called, and Willliams “continued to flail and spray his blood in the area,” records show.

Electronic court records indicate neither Lechter nor Williams had not been charged as 2 p.m. Sunday, though the police report said both were taken to a hospital and would be charged after they were released.

According to the Howard County police web site, Lechter served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and was deployed for a tour of duty in Afghanistan. His unit recovered thousands of pounds of heroin, and days later some of the unit’s soldiers were injured or killed in a bombing.

Sunday morning’s fight, which officials say happened outside Coburn’s Tavern, was originally put out by the city firefighters union over Twitter as a stabbing, due to the large amount of blood from Williams. Police say no one was stabbed during the altercation.

This news update is brought to you by the Howard County’s Premier Boutique Criminal Defense & Personal Injury firm SHAPIRO & MACK

WASHINGTON (WUSA) — The four Metropolitan Police Department officers charged with corruption last weekend may never be able to testify in cases they have prepared against other suspected criminals, potentially allowing those criminal defendants to go free.

“Obviously, every case involving these officers will be looked at, and ate those cases in jeopardy? They absolutely are,” said Chief Cathy Lanier.

“How many?” asked reporters.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“Prosecutors will not be able to call these officers as witnesses in each case where these officers charged anybody,” predicted veteran Maryland defense attorney Paul Mack.

“These officers’ credibility is an issue in every case,” Mack told 9 NEWS NOW.

“I would think they are going to have to throw out a fair amount of cases, probably most cases that these officers were involved with,” Mack said.

The police officers, all assigned to the department’s Fourth Police District, were each targeted in an Internal Affairs sting. Three believed they were, while on duty, buying stolen electronic equipment. A fourth believed she was receiving cash from a residential burglary.

The four officers face a misdemeanor charge, the maximum penalty for which is a thousand dollar fine and six months behind bars.

This breaking news is brought to you my Maryland’s Premier Criminal Defense Firm, Shapiro & Mack.  “fighting hard in all arenas!”

You better get a screen lock! The ipad will completely erase after 10 bad attempts to put in password

The California Supreme Court made a controversial 5-2 ruling yesterday allowing police to search arrestees’ cell phones without a warrant. This finding is said to be in line with decisions made in the 1970s that items on an arrestee’s person during an arrest, such as cigarettes or a wallet, can be seized and later examined without a warrant.

The two dissenting judges argue that smart phones are uncharted territory, as they contain information that isn’t exactly part of the arrestee’s person. The judges also bring up the point that the seized property could easily be searched after obtaining a warrant. Additionally, this ruling likely violates the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment.

Back in 2007, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of San Francisco ruled that police had violated drug defendants’ rights by searching their cell phones after their arrests. The Ohio Supreme Court reached a similar conclusion in December 2009. This will hopefully prompt the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the matter.

This 4th Amendment Update is brought to you by Shapiro & Mack.  Maryland’s premier Criminal Defense & Personal Injury boutique law firm.

Watch (video courtsey of ABC News):

An uproar over a cell phone video that shows a Seattle police officer punching a 17-year-old girl after his attempt to cite her for jaywalking is just one of several recent incidents where low-quality video footage shot by members of the public has incriminated public officials.

The video, which you can watch here (warning: disturbing content), shows a young woman resisting Officer Ian P. Walsh, who was citing the woman and a friend Monday for jaywalking. Her friend attempts to intervene, inserting herself between the officer and her friend and grabbing the officer’s arm. That’s the moment when the officer punches her in the face.

OUCH!

Seattle community leaders are in an uproar, saying the use of force was excessive. Officials with the Seattle Police Department say they have “questions” about the officer’s tactics and are investigating the incident. But Seattle Police Officers Guild President Rich O’Neil says the officer’s use of force was appropriate. The Seattle department announced Wednesday that Walsh has been reassigned pending further inquiries.

The Walsh footage is the latest in a series of incidents catching public figures in questionable — and at times legally suspect — conduct. In one of the more formal such encounters this week, Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge apologized after video surfaced of the North Carolina lawmaker reacting angrily to questions from two young men holding a camera. He hit the camera down, roughly grabbed one of the men by the arm and neck, and demanded again and again to know his questioner’s name.

WOW! I HAVE NOW SEEN IT ALL!

DON'T LET EM BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS!

By: David Zwanetz, Esq.

First off, it is imperative to know that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution secures the “right of all people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” and mandates that that right “shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or thing to be seized.” 

That being said, one must understand that there are a number of exceptions to the warrant requirement that allow police to search and seize people and items without a written warrant.  To that effect, many courts, including the Supreme, have held that the sniff of a trained police dog dog not even constitute a search under the Fourth Amendment.

The purpose of this article is to discuss some of the more important aspects of search and seizure law as it specifically relates to police dogs.  Logic flows that if a police dog sniff is not a search than police would bring dogs to the scene of any suspicious stop to check for drugs, even if they otherwise have no probable cause for a warrant to search.  This is exactly what the Howard County police have begun to do.  The question is, is this legal/Constitutional?  The short answer is, as it usually is, that it depends.  The point of this article is to give a brief overview of the legality of the k-9 search, enough so that the average person can be at least slightly informed of his or her rights.  After all, our lives in this country are guided by the US Constitutional and its Amendments.  However, very few people, outside of the legal community, have a grasp on any of its provisions. As a Howard County criminal lawyer, it is my goal to change that.

Police dogs are a valuable asset for today’s law enforcement agencies.  Recent efforts to combat narcotics in growing rural areas like Howard County have led to an even greater role for the police dog.  Generally, courts have embraced the use of police dogs. As mentioned above, the Supreme Court has held that a dog sniff is not a search that requires probable cause.  In determining that the canine sniff is not a search under the Fourth Amendment, the Court relied upon the extremely limited nature of the intrusion and the fact that there is no expectation of privacy in the air or in an odor.  Courts have also noted that there is no actual physical intrusion in the area or article sniffed.  Nontneless, minimal physical contact between the dog and the article will not escalate the sniff to a Fourth Amendment “seizure.”

“A CANINE SNIFF IS NOT A SEARCH OR SEIZURE UNDER THE FOURTH AMENDMENT”

The principal that a police dog may sniff an area or article without a search warrant is considered analogous to the plain-view doctrine (which is essentially the idea that if the police see contraband in plain view they can seize it without a warrant) and has become known as the “plain-smell doctrine.”  The use of a dog’s keener sense of smell to detect odors is comparable to the use of an officer’s flashlight to enhance the officer’s perception of that which is already in plain view.

However, and most importantly, in order to utilize this plain-smell doctrine, the police must legitimately be at the location where the sniff occurs or legitimately detaining the article sniffed.  This brings me back to the idea of an officer calling a k-9 unit when he or she senses something suspicions during a routine traffic stop.  In order for the police to be considered “legally where they are,” during a traffic stop they must not hold a suspect during that traffic stop any longer than it would take an ordinary prudent officer to issue a citation for the underlying traffic offense.  Think of it this way.  The Fourth Amendment veil is like an iron curtain that opens only when probable cause or a warrant exists.  During a traffic stop the curtain opens so that the officer can issue a citation for whatever offense was committed (i.e., speeding, tail light out, running a stop sign, etc.). However, the curtain closes immediately upon the issuance of the citation or at the time when the citation should have been issued. 

Thus, if an officer is able to have a k-9 unit do a perimeter search of one’s car during the small amount of time that it takes to issue a citation, the Fourth Amendment has been complied with. However, if an officer calls a k-9 unit upon suspicion and holds a suspect even one minute longer than the ordinary time to issue a citation waiting for that k-9 unit to arrive, the Fourth Amendment has been violated.  A violation of the Fourth Amendment will not stop an arrest from taking place, but it can and should lead to the suppression of evidence in court.  Additionally, there is nothing at all wrong with a suspect being issued a traffic citation refusing to wait for a  k-9 officer to arrive and do a random search – believe it or not that happens all the time.  This is essentially a person volunteering to wait to have his or her rights violated. 

If your have been the subject of a K-9 search and you feel your rights have been violated, call the Howard County Criminal Attorneys at the law firm Shapiro & Mack for a free and immediate consultation. 

This article was written by David Zwanetz, Esq. David Z., also trains and competes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Baltimore MMA school, Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Feel free to ask specific questions related to this topic in the comments section below and David Zwanetz, Esq. will respond personally.

"BOOK'ER DANNO!!!!"

As Howard County Lawyers, the attorneys at Shapiro & Mack handle countless cases where individuals are arrested for possession of narcotics and other illegal contraband.  Many found substances, which are unidentifiable to the naked eye, are field-tested by police using a KN chemical reagent test.  If the color coding indicateds an illegal substance than they are seized and the possessor is arrested.  However, it has recently been brought to our attention that possession of chocolate, yes CHOCOLATE, could get one arrested and cost them thousands in legal expenses.  So can basil, thyme, and oregano and a slew of other harmless and completely legal food, drug, and cosmetic items.  Some people have and will find this out the hard way! 

Ron Obadia and his partner Nadine Artemis, co-owners of Living Libations Inc., a Canadian organic products business, are not drug traffickers.  However, on August 22, 2008, they were handcuffed, searched, arrested, and interrogated for hours at the Toronto Airport after a brick-sized sample of their raw organic chocolate product field-tested positive for THC with the most widely used color reagent test.

A Royal Mounted Police officer accused the couple of attempting to smuggle hashish, which chocolate hardly resembles, into upstate New York.  They were locked in separate rooms and their one-year-old baby was taken away from them, which is standard procedure in a drug arrest. The Canadian police Obadia and Artemis they were facing life in prison and each was told the other had already confessed (also standard procedure).  Both adamantly denied their chocolate contained marijuana.

Eventually, they were released on bond and their child was released to them.  “We’re not the kind of people who have a criminal lawyer on speed-dial,” Artemis said.

Still eager to market their products in New York, the couple tried again three weeks later to enter the United States, this time by car near Buffalo.  Agents were waiting with a narcotics K-9, which alerted on a bottle of tea tree oil, an organic plant product used as a natural disinfectant.  Incredibly, the oil field tested positive, and knowing that the couple had already been branded as smugglers, ICE decided it was “hash oil.” Of the 40-odd other products in their sample cases, the chocolate again tested positive for THC.

Subsequent lab tests fund that none of the products seized contained illicit/illegal drugs.  Their two attempts to break into the U.S. marked have cost Obadia and Artemins $20,000.00 in legal fees.

WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?

To answer that all important question, Obadial and Artemis joined forensic science writer John Kelly, chemist Krishna Addanki of Claflin University and a representative of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap Company at a news conference held by the Marijuana Policy Project on March 3, 2009 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.  The event was the release of Kelly’s Report, False Positives Equal False Justice, with actual demonstrations of drug field testing on order to raise public awareness of the false-positive problem.  Kelly claims the widely marketed field test kits are worse than useless, and that even when used properly can cause great harm to innocent people.

According to Kelly’s report, thousands of common foods, over-the-counter drugs, cosmetics, and household products will falsely test positive in police drug field tests because the reagent tests themselves are not drug-specific.

The most common test for cannabis and THC, the Duquenoise-Levine Reagent test, reacts strongly to cocoa products, it ths case a Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kiss.

 For example, the 70-year-old Duquenois-Levine reagent test – the one that cause the improper arrest of Obadia and Arthemis – is used by  nearly every federal, state, and local police agency in the U.S. and the RCMP in Canada.  According to tests done by Addanki and his advisor Dr. Omar Bagasra, besides cocoa products, the D-L test also reacts positively to eucalyptus, patchouli, and cypress.  Another test, the ODV Inc. KN reagent test, not only reacts positively to cannabis products but also to  numerous aromatic herbs and essential oils, including thyme, oregano, anise, vanilla, peppermint, ginseng, and event a simple piece of an unbleached napkin (I saw this with my own eyes at the Bronner’s booth at the 2009 green festival in Washington D.C.).

“No one should be using these faulty tests that we’re experimenting with here today, and the companies producing them should probably be put out of business,” Kampia opined.  Until a confirmation test, which could take weeks, proves negative for drugs, “you’re guilty until proven innocent.”

 This problem with non-specific field tests has led to their being excluded as evidence at trial; however there have been very few successful challenges to their use in establishing probably cause to arrest and hold suspects pending trial.  More problematic is the backlog in forensic labs in general, which is the only way to get the real test result.  The common result of these bogus field tests is that citizens will be forced to pay large sums of cash bonds and attorney fees, or, even more unfortunately, suspects can be held in jail for months until lab results are returned.
 
Unfortunately, there is little that can be done about this mounting problem other than to arm yourself with the knowledge necessary to understand how an innocent situation can go awry.  If you find yourself victim of an improper search or seizure contact Shapiro & Mack immediately for our swift intervention.

By: David Zwanetz, Esq., Assicoate Attonrney @ Shapiro & Mack.  Dave Z., also trains and competes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Baltimore MMA school, Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.