Daniel Brannon fought back tears as he spoke of going from childhood addiction to recovery in his 40s. He recounted those along the way who never gave up on him through countless stints of rehabilitation, homelessness, imprisonment and failed attempts at sobriety.

Now sober for nearly five years, Brannon, 48, graduated from Anne Arundel Community College in May with an associate’s degree in applied science focused on addiction counseling; he now works at Right Turn of Maryland in Owings Mills. Brannon’s triumphs have made him a finalist for the Pearson Prize for Higher Education, a national award honoring college students who serve their communities.

We tip our hats to Mr. Danny Brannon for all that he has achieved – despite having many road blocks in his path. He is living proof that with hard work, persistence, and dedication one can get over any hurdle. Mr. Brannon works out for Right Turn of Maryland in Owings Mills and has assisted the legal team at Shapiro & Mack with many cases. We simply wanted to take a moment to recognize his achievements as he dedicates his life to recognizing the achievements of others. For more information on Right Turn or Mr. Brannon’s services, feel free to contact Shapiro & Mack at 410-884-6100 or email at info@shapiroandmack.com.

STEP OFF!!!

HEADNOTE: Hannah v. State, No. 151, September Term, 2009

EVIDENCE; CROSS-EXAMINATION; IMPEACHMENT OF A CRIMINAL
DEFENDANT WITH “RAP” LYRICS WRITTEN BY THE DEFENDANT THAT
DESCRIBE ACTS OF VIOLENCE:

The trial court does not have discretion to permit cross-examination that is harassing, unfairly prejudicial, confusing, or unduly repetitive. In the case at bar, the Circuit Court abused its discretion by permitting the State to cross examine Petitioner about each and every one of ten violent “rap” lyrics that Petitioner hadwritten. As the ten “Your lyrics?” questions served no purpose other than the purpose ofshowing that Petitioner has a propensity for violence, he is entitled to a new trial.

THE TEACHER BECOMES THE STUDENT....HOW POETIC!

The newspaper headline read: “Tow-truck operators … make pay-offs to officers who arrange business from crash victims.”

It could easily describe the criminal charges filed Wednesday against 17 Baltimore police officers in an alleged kickback scheme. But the story is from 1965. And it is nearly identical to another case from 1956.

Allegations of corruption involving police, towing companies and car repair shops have long been a staple of city politics, and have led to grand jury probes, criminal investigations, commissions and repeated changes in how the business is regulated.

Still, authorities say, the problem appears to have resurfaced.

The kickbacks described a half-century ago are small compared to this week’s allegations — a cop got $5 for each car steered to a certain garage in 1956, according to the testimony of one tow truck driver in federal court — but the principle was the same.

Cops had their own side deals with garages and directed victims of car accidents to those places. In 1965, cops got $10 a car. Today, prosecutors said the graft has risen to as much as $300 a car, with one officer accused in the criminal complaint of taking in $14,500 over two years.

In 1998, a Baltimore Sun investigation revealed that the city’s licensed tow companies had violated rules requiring them to stay within certain geographic boundaries. The story noted that one company received $1.5 million from the city in a single year.

“Towing is a $12 million industry in this town,” City Councilman Robert W. Curran said Wednesday, saying that more than 60,000 cars are towed in the city annually, including those taken from private lots, parking ticket scofflaws, illegal parkers and cars involved in accidents. “There are going to be people trying to take advantage of the system.”

Curran closely follows towing issues and has successfully sponsored several bills to protect residents from unfair towing practices. A 2008 bill by Curran increased fines for “predatory towers” who speed to accidents before police officers arrive and haul away damaged vehicles although they are not licensed by the city.

While the medallion towers must charge a set rate between $130 and $140, the predatory towers bilk insurance companies for as much as $1,000 per tow, Curran said. “I was trying to stop an insurance scam.”

This update is brought to you by Howard County’s Premier Criminal Defense & Howard County’s Premier Personal Injury boutique law firm – Shapiro & Mack. Jason Shapiro, Paul Mack, and David Zwanetz are always looking out!

"HONEY....I'M GOING TO BE LATE FOR DINNER!"

Seventeen Baltimore police officers are accused of receiving $300 for each vehicle they steered to a repair shop not authorized to tow vehicles from accident scenes, authorities said Wednesday.

The shop’s two owners, also charged, allegedly paid officers to arrange for their company, rather than a city-authorized firm, to tow damaged vehicles to their shop, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Baltimore.

“The criminal complaint alleges that the officers were secretly working for a private auto repair business when they were supposed to be working for the police department and the citizens of Baltimore,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein in a statement. “Police officers cross a bright line when they take payments from private citizens in connection with their official duties.”

The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit extortion, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Hernan Alexis Moreno Mejia, 30, and his brother, Edwin Javier Mejia, 27, operate Majestic Auto Repair Shop LLC, which, according to the statement, was not authorized to tow vehicles in the city.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, the police officers received about $300 for each vehicle they steered to Majestic. According to the affidavit, during the two-year scheme, officers received payments totaling from $300 to more than $14,400.

Federal investigators were arresting Baltimore officers Wednesday, said Special Agent Rich Wolf, a spokesman for the FBI.

Rosenstein, the FBI and Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III were planning a press conference later Wednesday.

WHO YOU ASK????

Eddy Arias, 39, of Catonsville;
Eric Ivan Ayala Olivera, 35, of Edgewood;
Rodney Cintron, 31, of Middle River;
Jhonn S. Corona, 32, of Rosedale;
Michael Lee Cross, 28, of Reisterstown;
Jerry Edward Diggs, Jr., 24, of Baltimore;
Rafael Concepcion Feliciano Jr., 30, of Baltimore;
Jaime Luis Lugo Rivera, 35, of Aberdeen;
Kelvin Quade Manrich, 41, of Gwynn Oak;
Luis Nunez, 33, of Baltimore;
Samuel Ocasio, 35, of Edgewood;
David Reeping, 41, of Baltimore;
Jermaine Rice, 28, of Owings Mills;
Leonel Rodriguez Torres, 31, of Edgewood;
Marcos Fernando Urena, 33, of Baltimore;
Osvaldo Valentine, 38, of Edgewood;
Henry Yambo, 28, of Reisterstown.

Should be a fun evening for this bunch.

WATCH THE BAR ADMISSIONS CEREMONY ON LIVE STREAM!!

The Honorable Judge Robert M. Bell appoints Jason A. Shapiro to give one of the induction speeches at this year’s Bar Admission Ceremony. This great ceremony is branded into the brains of each and every member of the United State’s Bar and Jason A. Shapiro has crafted an amazing speech to impress upon the candidates the importance of this great day.

WATCH THE LIVE STREAM OR READ JASON’S SPEECH BELOW.

“May it please the Court, Chief Judge Bell, distinguished members of the Maryland Court of Appeals, successful candidates to the Bar of the Great State of Maryland, their families, friends and guests, my name is Jason Shapiro. I am a partner with the Law Firm of Shapiro and Mack, located in Columbia, Maryland, and I am the current President of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney’s Association.  As the product of Maryland public schools, college at the University of Maryland and postgraduate education spent at the University of Baltimore School of Law, as the product of a government employee and a homemaker, and the grandson of four immigrants who came to America with essentially only the clothes on their back, I am extremely humbled and honored that I have been chosen to appear before you today to move the admission of these successful candidates to the Maryland State Bar.

Chief Judge Bell, with your permission, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the members of the Maryland Court of Appeals to the assembled candidates and their guests.  From our left to right, sits the Honorable Judge Sally Adkins of Wicomico County; the Honorable Judge Clayton Greene, Jr. of Anne Arundel County; the Honorable Judge Glenn Harrell, Jr. of Prince George’s County; our Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals, the Honorable Robert Bell from Baltimore City; the Honorable Judge Lynn Battaglia, my fellow resident from Howard County; the Honorable Judge Joseph Murphy, Jr. from Baltimore County; and the Honorable Judge Mary Ellen Barbera of Montgomery County.

To the candidates and soon my brothers and sisters of the bar, today marks the culmination of more than 20 years of school attendance, research papers, final exams and of course, the bar exam. Although it seems that today marks the end of an era, it actually marks the beginning  –  the beginning of a new career and a new life.

The practice of law is a privilege that just a small segment of our society gets to experience.  However, it is the practice of law and the administration of justice that is the focal point of the many in our society. It is through the practice of law that you have the unique ability to honor the biblical commandment found in Deuteronomy: Justice, justice you shall pursue.

It is through this pursuit of justice in the court rooms that our schools and other public institutions have become desegregated; that the disenfranchised earned the right to vote; the concept of privacy, although not specifically enunciated in our Constitution, was defined and enforced; and the rights of the individual over the unlawful and unwarranted intrusion of the government has been sustained.

This truly is a very interesting time to be an attorney. After the terrorist attacks on the United States and its citizens of September 11, 2001 and the attempted attacks since, our courts are going to need guidance from you, the leaders of the law profession in tomorrow’s world, as to what restrictions should be placed upon the government, yet at the same time allow our government to have the tools to keep us safe.

This theme, the rules and restrictions placed upon the government versus the government’s ability to catch and prosecute the bad guys, is reflected in a number of new TV shows that the networks are putting on television. For example, CBS describes the plot of the new Hawaii 5-0 series as:

“McGarrett returns to Hawaii, where he grew up, to investigate the murder of his father. He is recruited by the governor to head up a new elite federalized task force that would operate under (McGarrett’s) rules, (the Governor’s) backing and no red tape.”

In other words, no probable cause, no search warrants and no constitutional protections.

The web page for the new Tom Selleck TV series, the “Blue Bloods” about a family of police officers in New York City reads:

“the Reagans have very different ideas of how to gain justice. But they have one thing in common: they’ll stop at nothing to see justice served; because their occupation is more than just a job, it’s the family business.”

In other words, the crime fighting Reagans of the NYPD also do their job without probable cause, no search warrants and no constitutional protections.

Although we can be dismissive of these statements that they are generated by writers in Hollywood and do not reflect the true values of American society, as a criminal defense attorney I can tell you that several times a month I am representing defendants who were charged by police officers who seem to have learned about the constitutional rights of the accused, not in the police academy, but by watching one of these TV shows which are quite Machiavellian in nature: that the ends in bringing a bad guy to justice justify the means of conducting an unconstitutional investigation. However, so too do I see attorneys who learned civility, not from a proper up-bringing or from their law professors, but from TV characters in court room and crime dramas. It is these attorneys who apparently have forgotten the old axiom by Will Rodgers: “It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but you can lose it in a minute.”   Remember that building a reputation is a long process and takes much work, and once built, its maintenance also requires careful attention and concentration.

So how do the lawyers of today balance trust, civility and honesty with zealously representing their clients in adversarial proceedings? The best advice I have for you is from my father, Arthur Shapiro, may he rest in peace.

My dad was not a lawyer. He retired after 35 years with the federal government, and passed away in 2005. After my dad died, I was going through some of his personal belongings and I found a book called “The Bluejackets’ Manual of 1940.”  This book is the manual that is given to Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy and those who are participants in the United States Navy ROTC program. Of course, this book has been updated since my father’s publication 70 years ago. This book is viewed as the Bible in guiding young people to become not just naval officers, but becoming gentle people as well. My father never took this manual off the shelf to show me in black and white what it meant to be an honorable person and attorney. However, he lived these precepts every day and taught me by example exactly what I found in print shortly after his funeral.

This manual reads:

“Study these rules and practice them, for your future success will depend upon your ability to master them, whether in the naval service or later in civilian life.

Knowledge — Knowledge comes only through hard work and study. There is no “royal road to learning.” Men always respect you for what you know. It pays to know, and to know you know.  Know your own job. Know the job ahead of yours.

Fighting Spirit — Have a grit to stay with a hard job. Never say “I can’t.” Forget there is such a phrase. Don’t be a quitter. A person may be down but never out, unless he admits it.

Reliability — Do your job the best you know how. Can you be depended upon, whether alone on a job or with others? Get the reputation of seeing the job through.

Loyalty — Stick up for yourself and for your compatriots. As you show loyalty to them, they will show loyalty to you. Boost, and if you cannot boost, do not knock.

Initiative — A person with initiative takes hold of the things that need doing and does them without being told, while the others are standing idly by because no one has told them what to do. A person with initiative thinks on his feet. This person can be trusted to take care of an unexpected situation because he is always on the alert and thinking ahead of his job.

Self-control — Do not fly off the handle. It nearly always gets you into trouble and always lessons the respect that others hold for you. If you lose your self-control in little things you are sure to do so in big things. A person who cannot control himself will never develop into a person respected by others.

Energy – A lazy person never has time to do anything right or to do anything to improve himself, and he never gets far. Be peppy, show drive, and be a self starter.

Courage — Have physical and moral courage. Be fearless in the face of your duty. A courageous person admits when he is wrong and takes his medicine. He doesn’t bluff. A person of courage doesn’t have to bluff.

Justice — Be square. Play the game hard, but play it squarely. Give a square deal to others and expect one in return. Act so that others can respect you and you respect them.

Truthfulness — The final test of a person is: In a pinch, will he lie? Many a person who told the whole truth has been let off or given light punishment, where the liar was punished for the offense and for lying as well.

Faith — Believe and trust in your self. Count on yourself to be the best you can be, and then go to it and make good.

Honor — Act so that your home folks will be proud of you and will tell others what fine things you are doing. Act so that others will want to be like you. Few people can survive dishonor. Remember that you can never disgrace or dishonor yourself without bringing dishonor on your name and your family.

Cheerfulness — Smile and the world smiles with you. Smile when things go wrong. If you cannot smile, at least try to. You can surely keep the corners of your mouth up.

Honesty — Without honesty your career is limited and you are sure to fail in the long run. Nobody wants to deal with or associate with a cheat.”

So there you have it. Words written 70 years ago used as guidance for the lawyers of today and tomorrow. Use these words as you apply your skills to seek justice in a civil and professional manner.  Put your integrity, and the integrity of the profession and the American system of justice above ego and remuneration, because integrity, yours and that of our courts, is a priceless commodity.  And finally, remember the words of American singer, songwriter, Bruce Springsteen who said when asked what motivates him:  “More than rich, and more than famous, and more than happy, I wanted to be great.”  This is a wonderful mantra to adopt.  Become a great lawyer  — great in the area of not just your craft, but a great professional who treats others in a civil and courteous manner  –  you will be happy, and respected.

Congratulations to you all.  Welcome to this great and noble profession where we serve as agents to insure that our fellow citizens continue to enjoy the fundamental and inalienable rights of Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness.”

A Howard County police officer is on administrative duty as police investigate claims made in a $4.8 million lawsuit that accuses him of pointing a gun at a man while drunk and off duty.

Han S. Yu, 41, of Ellicott City, is suing county police, Officer Christian Kim, and other officers whose names Yoo does not know. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Howard County Circuit Court, and also accuses police of covering up the April incident. The claims in the suit include assault, infliction of emotional distress — which he said spurred medical expenses and loss of income — negligence and negligent hiring, retention and supervision by the county police.

According to the suit, Yu went to the Honey Pig restaurant in the 10000 block of Baltimore National Pike at 1:45 a.m. on April 18 to meet friends. He went inside but didn’t see them, and came out to find a group of men standing together. His friend was watching what seemed to be an argument, Yu said during an interview at his lawyer’s Columbia offices Wednesday.

“I said ‘What’s going on?’” he recounted Wednesday, when suddenly “he [the officer] just popped out of nowhere and put a gun at me. I was so shocked, I couldn’t say anything.”

Yu said the man swore at him and said “I’m a cop.” Yu said he smelled “massive alcohol breath” on the man. Someone in the crowd said “call the police,” he said, and the man lowered the gun, placing it behind his back as about 10 police cars arrived.

Yu said the man seemed irrational to him, even as officers arrived. Police took the man aside for a time. After about 15 minutes, a female officer confronted Yu, he said, saying that she found no gun on the man.

“Why are you escalating the problem?” Yu said he was asked. He then refused to speak to her, he said, except to say he would file an internal affairs complaint with police.

Since the incident, he said, he is constantly fearful, has trouble sleeping, is afraid of driving, and hasn’t worked much at his taxicab company in Virginia. “I don’t feel like doing anything,” he said, and has become afraid of police cars. The 41-year-old decided to sue, he said, “because I don’t want a second victim,” and to recover lost income.

Police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said she could not comment on a lawsuit, but did say the police officer, who joined the force in January 2006, is on administrative duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Kim is credited with apprehending a multiple bank robber as a rookie officer.

The suit alleges the department knew that Kim “has developed a reputation for using excessive force” as a police officer. Yoo’s lawyer Tae H. Kim, who is not related to the officer, has requested a jury trial. He sent a letter to county officials Aug. 20, notifying them of his intent to sue.

The officer, the suit alleges, was not arrested, charged or disciplined for his behavior, and is still carrying his departmental weapon.

Tae Kim said they filed suit because “I’m not satisfied with the pace of the investigation.” He said hopes the suit will spur action, adding that police have a restaurant surveillance security tape that might show aspects of the incident.