Due process

A competent United States Attorney should easily win any federal drug case. The elements of federal drug crimes are easy to prove, easy to explain, and easy for juries to comprehend. Why then does the government need members of law enforcement to testify as experts in federal drug prosecutions? The answer: they do not. Yet district courts routinely admit (and appellate courts uphold) expert agent and officer testimony on a wide array of drug topics – including when officers testify both as expert and lay witnesses. Were the examples of law enforcement expert testimony few, perhaps no problem would arise. But this problem is pervasive.

By frequently allowing members of law enforcement to testify in easily proven drug cases, federal district courts neglect their “gatekeeper” role to admit only reliable expert testimony. More problematically, officers’ expert testimony may implicitly comment on defendant’s mens rea, thereby reducing the prosecution’s burden to prove all elements of a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Yet, the fix is startlingly easy: the federal judiciary should disallow members of law enforcement from testifying as both an expert and lay witness in federal drug prosecutions. And, before admitting officer expert testimony, district courts must vigilantly guard against proposed officer testimony that is either empirically invalid, or could inappropriately comment on defendant’s mens rea.

Doing so would allow federal courts to meaningfully resume their roles as gatekeepers while simultaneously enabling the jury to perform its duty as fact-finder.

The Florida Bar's review of attorney ethics is a joke.

A letter to  Chief Justice Jorge Labarga of the Florida Supreme Court

A letter to the Chief Judge of the Florida Supreme Court asking questions about the Florida Bar complaint procedures against lawyers who appear to act improperly.
    Like many other states, Florida appears to have procedures in place that protect lawyers and judges who have acted improperly.  Damn the Public? 
    The Complaint against an Attorney was included in the letter than was sent to the Chief Justice.  I wonder how many letters actually explain what is required to be successful when filing a complaint? 

      Because so few prosecutors are sanctioned, they lie, omit evidence, and violate rules without any consequences. 
This is a complaint against a lawyer who works for one of the Florida Supreme Court Agencies. (The Florida Board of Bar Examiners)  The Bar refused to investigate even though I requested they review the first request.  They also denied the second request. 
    In my opinion, there were violations of Florida Rules by this lawyer but since he is higher up on the legal profession - he is a protected person.  It is a little like the MAFIA - lawyers may become made men.
  Robert Blythe violate several rules of Professional conduct and the Florida Bar and Florida Supreme Court did nothing.  Ask the Chief Justice, Jorge Labarga why he allowed this to happen on his watch. 
  The Florida Board lost papers and then accused me of not submitting them.  They allowed non-lawyers to make discovery decisions;  Non-lawyers signed papers with legal determinations; lawyers either lacked due diligence, ethics, or purposely omitted papers.  Charges were submitted that were contradicted by a transcript - and instead, the Florida Board used a false certification by a New Jersey judge. (Thomas Zampino)

Contract procurement processes have a lot of challenges in the construction industry. These challenges are evident in procedures used for selection of contractors and consequent, performance of projects. This study explores the challenges of Due Process Policy Model (DPPM) procedures for the selection of contractors for public projects between 2002 and 2008 in Nigeria. The procedures mandate certain categories of the
procurement of public construction contracts to undergo a sequence of activities. Such procedures include advertisement, prequalification, short-listing, invitation, tender action and project execution. Observations are made on procedures of selection of contractors for 47 projects using DPPM. Moreover, interviews were conducted to seek clarifications on some of the challenges identified in DPPM processes. Arguably, DPPM is gaining more popularity in Africa. Thus, observations made on the challenges of DPPM will improve its capacity for adoption within and outside Africa; motivate innovative procurement
processes, with significant impact on international contract procurement policy makers and contract procurement officers. International contractors willing to explore the growing capacity of the construction market in Africa will discover significant and appropriate understanding of the basic requirements of DPPM.

"General Principles of Law and International Due Process: Principles and Norms Applicable in Transnational Disputes" by Charles T. Kotuby and Luke A. Sobota is timely and a go-to-resource on general principles of law, as codified in Article 38, paragraph 1(c) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice ("ICJ Statute"), in the context of international arbitration. Kotuby's and Sobota's study provides a much-needed update on a range of general principles that have already been identified by Bin Cheng in his seminal 1953 work General Principles of Law recognized by Civilized Nations as Applied by International Courts and Tribunals.  By referring to recent awards and case-law in the field of international arbitration, Kotuby and Sobota outline the changing content and functions of this source of international law since the publication of Bin Cheng's work.  Their contribution to the topic of general principles provides a significant step towards the international community's fuller understanding of the basic building blocks that construct international law.

This paper explores the origins of the anomalous development of substantive due process in the Indian Supreme Court in the area of personal liberty and preventive detention cases, given that the framers of the Indian Constitution deliberately chose to omit a due process clause to preclude substantive due process jurisrpudence. It proceeds to examine the important role of judicial "borrowing" in this process, in which justices relied on foreign precedent and legal scholarship, as well as international legal norms, to help overcome constitutional constraints. The paper analyzes personal liberty and preventive detention cases in order to gain a better understanding of the processes by which judges employ borrowing to advance "universalist" (versus particularist) legal norms, and then seeks to generalize from the Indian case by proposing a theoretical approach for understanding how judicial borrowing can be understood as a dynamic process that changes over time in new developing constitutional systems.

A look at the history and legacy of the Magna Carta elucidates the many ways in which it shaped American jurisprudence and the law of Texas.  The Magna Carta is held in high regard because the unknown drafters understood the importance of legal principles, fair procedures, proportional punishment, official accountability, and respect for human dignity.  Its unquestionable commitment to the primacy of legal principles and anticipation of the development of judicial ethics significantly influenced and contributed to the construction and content of the Texas Constitution, Bill of Rights, and many Texas cities’ ethics codes.  Although it was intensely focused on the issues of feudal England, the Great Charter set the high expectations that have inspired lawyers and reformers for 800 years.

When testimony about the religiosity of a victim is elicited, a jury will likely become aware of the religious affiliation of the victim.  Any revelation to a jury of the religiosity of a victim can be an aid to the jury in assessing the punishment to be given to the defendant, since being religious and talking with people about religion is deemed a communal good.  However, prescribing a harsher punishment to a defendant because of the religious affiliation of a victim is a form of religious discrimination which is unconstitutional.  In light of this inherent difficulty of evidence of religion, it is unclear whether the legal system will resort to a formal neutrality which attempts to separate religion by categorically barring its admissibility. 

Courts faced with unusual problems of law and religion typically resort to a formal neutrality and separation in part because they are unable to articulate any alternative approach.  The legal system is unable to talk about religion any other way, and it is unlikely that this will change.  Beginning such a change would require a reevaluation of liberty of conscience and the permissibility of “exercising” one’s faith in both a secular and religiously pluralistic society, but American society lacks an understanding which would provide it with the capability of acknowledging religion without immediately returning to religious discrimination.  The longer American society lacks this ability to bridge the gap between the secular and the religious, the wider the chasm grows.

.On December 4, 2001, federal agents raided the offices of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, arrested the organization’s officers, and froze $5 million worth of assets. Ten days later on December 14, 2001, the Global Relief Fund suffered the same fate when its assets were seized, and its co-founder Rabih Haddad was arrested. That same day Benevolence International’s assets were also frozen, and its U.S. citizen president, Enaam Arnaout, was arrested and taken into custody on charges of providing material support to terrorism. Prior to their effective closure, the three organizations were the largest Islamic charities in the United States. Although each charitable organization had been operating for more than a decade, all three were systematically raided and shut down soon after the federal government’s post-9/11 official declaration of its war on terrorism - a war that includes prosecuting anyone who provides material support to designated terrorist organizations. By February 2003, the Department of Justice proudly announced its completion of 70 similar investigations into terrorism financing, designating 36 entities as terrorist organizations, and freezing over $113 million in financial assets of 62 organizations allegedly supporting terrorism. The fact that almost every criminal terrorism case filed after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks has included a charge of providing material support to a terrorist organization reveals the significance of material support laws as the linchpin of the ongoing war on terrorism.

To many unsuspecting Americans, these events represent success stories on the part of the United States government with respect to the legitimate goal of terrorism prevention. To others, they raise red flags concerning fundamental constitutional rights. Although critics of anti-terrorism laws generally accept the objective of terrorism prevention, the means currently utilized by the federal government in pursuing these legitimate ends are highly questionable from a legal as well as a normative perspective. For example, are these laws imposing guilt by association on individuals that support legitimate humanitarian aid projects? Do these laws provide adequate opportunity for defendants to face their accusers, the United States government in this case, and provide evidence in defense of their proclaimed innocence? Are these laws being used as a smoke screen to persecute politically unpopular individuals and groups affiliated with Islam and/or the Middle East rather than to eliminate bona fide criminal activity?

This Paper attempts to answer these questions by illustrating how the current laws on designating foreign terrorist organizations and providing material support to terrorist organizations may violate organizations’ and individuals’ constitutional Due Process and First Amendment rights. Two specific fact patterns are the focus of this Paper with respect to the constitutional analysis.
First, individuals in the United States who have knowingly donated large sums of money to the three Islamic charities previously mentioned are finding themselves under investigation for providing material support to terrorist organization. These investigations are taking place despite the individuals’ original intent for their money to be spent on humanitarian projects in the Middle East or Central Asia. These donors not only lacked any specific intent to support terrorism, but they may have considered their donations to be a form of political expression and association. The donations, for instance, may have represented their belief in the rights of the children in war-torn areas, such as the West Bank and Gaza, to receive food, shelter, and clothing despite the prevalent acts of violence committed against their communities as well as by members of their communities. In the context of pre-war, Saddam-run Iraq, U.S. donors may have donated their money to Global Relief Fund to sponsor an Iraqi orphan as a form of political protest against the United States’ sanctions on Iraq and against Saddam’s starvation of his people through the misallocation of state funds.

The second fact pattern is similar to the first, but relates to the charitable activities of U.S.-based philanthropic organizations. These Islamic charities openly advertised their participation in humanitarian projects in the Middle East and Central Asia through their monetary donations to orphanages, medical clinics, hospitals and schools. Due to the reality of the situation in these war-torn, impoverished areas, some of the orphanages, clinics, and schools may receive money from a variety of sources, including from multi-purpose organizations, such as Hamas (also known as the Islamic Resistance Movement), in order to stay open. Although these civil institutions are not affiliated with the military branches of the local multi-purpose organizations, the U.S. government is treating them as linked with terrorism for purposes of laws on providing material support to terrorism. Therefore, if an orphanage, school, hospital, or medical clinic receives even $1 from the non-militant, social welfare branch of a local multi-purpose organization, then no U.S. organization or donor may knowingly contribute any funds to these local institutions directly or via a U.S.-based charitable organization. Ultimately, innocent, impoverished individuals such as children, pregnant women, the sick, the elderly, and orphans that have nothing to do with terrorism (and in fact bear the brunt of the ongoing violent conflict) are collectively punished for their condition. The U.S.-based charities as well as U.S. donors, including those who support the war on terrorism, may reasonably disagree on political grounds with the U.S. government’s reasoning. Moreover, donors may believe that at the very least they should retain their due process rights with respect to having their First Amendment rights constrained.

Accordingly, this Paper begins by describing the legal framework in which such designations occur, the various ways in which an organization can be designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), the limits of judicial review, and the relationship between the designation process and the criminal provisions and criminal prosecutions on providing material support to designated organizations. Part II explains the comprehensive implications, for individuals and organizations, of designating an organization as an FTO, paying particular attention to criminal sanctions. Part III challenges the reasoning applied in existing case law in regard to procedural and substantive Due Process implications of FTO designation and providing material support to FTOs. Part IV challenges the courts’ reasoning in providing material support cases with respect to First Amendment freedom of expression and association rights. Part IV emphasizes the past and ongoing targeting of Arab and Muslim individuals and organizations with respect to the enforcement of laws related to terrorism. Finally, Part V concludes with some recommendations on how to improve the existing FTO designation process and the criminal provisions for providing material support to FTOs or terrorist activities to minimize the risk of violating the Due Process Clause and First Amendment and avoid erroneous results.

This study explored how children of lower primary school grades perceive due process in schools' disciplinary procedures. While many studies have explored how adolescents perceive school discipline, only few studies have examined the perceptions of primary school pupils, and no study has investigated lower primary school grades. The qualitative research design was based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 70 children, aged seven to ten, recruited from 19 public schools in Israel. In addition, we recruited a children's advisory group that participated in the research process. The findings revealed that while many of the study participants had internalised a formalistic approach to due process (i.e., meting out uniform punishments in similar cases, in accordance with a closed system of rules), others objected to this approach, providing various reasons for their concerns. Participants' criticisms of a formalistic due process policy included lack of compassion and lack of understanding of pupils' social, academic, or other difficulties, disregard of the pupils' voice, the complex task of discerning the truth, apprehension over a uniform punitive system, and low efficacy of punishments. We argue that the right to due process in school lays at the intersection of legal and educational narratives. Even young children are able to recognise the inherent incongruity of these narratives, as they constitute a significant part of their daily routine in school. We also argue that this incongruity engenders a distorted due process, thus imparting faulty lessons about the right to due process and its justifications.

A presente pesquisa aborda o tema da publicidade como subprincípio do devido processo legal e sua incidência no âmbito do Processo Administrativo Fiscal. Objetivando verificar se os julgamentos ocorridos nas Delegacias da Receita Federal de Julgamento são compatíveis com o texto constitucional, realizou-se uma breve síntese acerca do funcionamento do Processo Administrativo Fiscal, bem como um apanhado histórico sobre o princípio do devido processo legal. Constatou-se, pois, que o princípio do devido processo legal deve incidir e produzir efeitos no Processo Administrativo Fiscal, no qual o Poder Executivo realiza de forma atípica função jurisdicional. Como desdobramentos da noção de due process clause, o contraditório e a ampla defesa também devem ser respeitados no Processo Administrativo Fiscal, a partir do momento em que se torna litigioso e bilateral. Por fim, como corolário lógico do devido processo legal e do Estado Democrático de Direito, tem-se o subprincípio da publicidade. A publicidade possui aspecto interno e externo à relação processual e seus efeitos podem ser imediatos ou mediatos, mas ela deve ser alçada ao maior patamar possível, sobre maneira nas relações envolvendo o Estado e o cidadão, sendo mais um dos instrumentos de defesa deste em relação àquele. Palavras-chave: Processo administrativo tributário-Devido processo legal-Publicidade-Delegacia da Receita Federal de Julgamento-Estado democrático de direito.

Abstract: This research deals with the issue of publicity as sub-principle of due process and its impact under the Administrative Tax Procedure. To ascertain whether the judgments occurred in administrative tax procedures are compatible with the Constitution, was held a short summary about the operation of the Administrative Tax Procedure, as well as a historical overview on the principle of due process. As developments of due process clause, the contradictory and legal defense must also be respected in tax administrative proceedings from the moment it becomes litigious and bilateral. Finally, as a logical corollary of due process and the rule of the Democratic rule of law, the sub-principle of publicity arises. The publicity has internal aspect and external aspect of the procedural relationship, and its effects can be immediate or mediate, but it should be raised to the highest level, especially in the relations between the state and the citizen, it is another defense instrument of this in relation to that.

En este escrito se sostiene que el debido proceso no es otra cosa que el proceso concebido lógicamente y definido en su esencia como verdadero método de debate; que solo es posible en el sistema acusatorio de enjuiciamiento y que el concepto de imparcialidad comprende no solo lo propio de la persona del juez sino también todo lo que implica lo funcional de su actividad.

Abstract
In this writing is argued that due process is nothing but the process logically conceived and defined in its essence and true method of debate; which is only possible in the adversarial system of prosecution and that the concept of fairness includes not only the characteristic of the person of the judge but also everything that involves the functional activity.

The vebe test for testing fresh concrete, The apparatus used is placed on top of a vibrating table, The fresh concrete is compacted into conical slump mould. The mould is removed and a clear plastic dis is placed on the top of the concrtet. The vibrating table is started and the time taken for transparent disc to be fully in contact with the concrete (the vebe time is measured). The main advantage of this test is that it is a dynamic test and can be used on concretes that are too stiff for a slump test. COMPACTING FACTOR TEST Compacting factor of fresh concrete is done to determine the workability of fresh concrete by compacting factor test as per. The apparatus used is Compacting factor apparatus. Procedure to determine workability of fresh concrete by compacting factor test. i) The sample of concrete is placed in the upper hopper up to the brim. ii) The trap-door is opened so that the concrete falls into the lower hopper. iii) The trap-door of the lower hopper is opened and the concrete is allowed to fall into the cylinder. iv) The excess concrete remaining above the top level of the cylinder is then cut off with the help of plane blades. v) The concrete in the cylinder is weighed. This is known as weight of partially compacted concrete. vi) The cylinder is filled with a fresh sample of concrete and vibrated to obtain full compaction. The concrete in the cylinder is weighed again. This weight is known as the weight of fully compacted concrete. Compacting factor = (Weight of partially compacted concrete)/(Weight of fully compacted concrete) COMPACTING FACTOR APPARATUS

Recently, Americans have been engaged in an effort to properly commemorate the bicentennial of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights.  If one is serious about that endeavor, it may be profitable to focus on the other bicentennial being celebrated this year in France.  The early days of the French and American republics were intertwined, and it would be erroneous to think that the developments which then took place in the two countries can now fully be understood in isolation.

A number of legal aspects of the French Revolution are especially relevant to the American experience, therefore worth consideration.  Among these are the terms of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens, the American contributions toward its enactment, the failure of the French to enforce the Declaration’s guarantees through an independent judiciary, and the abuses of legal procedure and governmental power which occurred during the Reign of Terror.  In reflecting on the Declaration of Rights’ origin and content on the occasion of the French bicentennial, Americans can pay tribute to the struggles of the great nation and honor a small part of their own history as well.

Breve análisis de la Ley de disciplina militar aprobada por la Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela en diciembre de 2015, y en la que a pesar de mejoras formales como el cumplimiento del principio de reserva de ley en materia de limitación de derechos constitucionales, se mantienen conceptos superados en el derecho militar comparado, como el de la obediencia debida, entre otras deficiencias

This satire uses the unfamiliar analogy of tenancy to cover many points, some of which are made rarely, if ever, by abortion opponents. Above all, it highlights the key but rarely stated point that abortion rights violate the basic legal principle of nemo iudex in causa sua ("no one should be judge in one’s own case").


Abortion opponents generally focus only on the facts of life and on the idea that life trumps choice. But this little satire points out that religious motivation does not undercut the struggle for justice and that a choice has often been made to get pregnant, while also making the more frequent arguments that abortion is sometimes discriminatory and painful, and that abortion is violence.

Above all, it highlights the key but rarely stated points that abortion rights violate the basic legal principle of nemo iudex in causa sua ("no one should be judge in one’s own case") and the fundamental social justice idea of community intervention to ensure fairness to the weaker and more vulnerable party.

Child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has become an international problem of truly global proportions and while much has been written on this topic much remains to be understood. This article describes and discusses the orientation and methodology adopted in undertaking a study of Irish Catholic clergy who had sexually abused minors. Whilst much of the literature on sexually offending clergy comes through third party analysis and interpretations, the study discussed in this article is based on first-person narratives and a collaborative approach to the research process. The study is taken as a point of departure for discussion of a number of ethical considerations when undertaking research with participants who are clients of a therapy service and who are therefore seen as members of a vulnerable group. Some of the complexities involved in conceptualizing men who have abused minors as a vulnerable group are considered. This article considers one aspect of a larger research project on sexual abuse and the Catholic Church and focuses in particular on research undertaken with Roman Catholic clergy who had sexually abused minors. In many jurisdictions this is a sensitive issue of public importance that calls out for in-depth scholarship and analysis. Social workers and psychotherapists who are involved in providing treatment for men who have perpetrated sexual offences, including clergy, are well placed to

The Magna Carta has an impressive legacy in modern legal thought. The Magna Carta illuminated the importance of legal principles, fair procedures, proportional punishment, official accountability, and respect for human dignity that shaped the development of the law in England and America for centuries. While only four of the original sixty-three provisions in the 1215 Magna Carta are still good law in the United Kingdom, analysis shows that at least thirty of these reflect concerns that are still central today.  Though it did not provide for full equality, as it maintained many of the medieval restrictions on the freedoms of women and serfs, the Magna Carta moved legal institutions across the globe closer to the ideal of equal justice under law.  The Magna Carta set high expectations for the development of Anglo-American law that continue to inspire the reform and administration of justice.