Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Judge Orders Adopted Woman to Be Deported to Mexico

A 58-year-old woman, who was adopted by American parents, has been ordered to be deported to Mexico. The woman, Tara Ammona Cohen, has been in detention in Tacoma, Washington since July 2009. The deportation order from the judge relates to a drug conviction she has on her record.

Cohen was adopted from a Mexican orphanage when she was only 5 months old. She was raised and has lived as an American. She married a US citizen and has American children. Unfortunately, her parents never had her naturalized after her adoption. She began to look at the process of gaining US citizenship. However, by that time, she had already been convicted of a crime. She was arrested in 2008 on charges of drug trafficking and theft. She pleaded guilty to theft and trafficking, and served three months of a one-year-and-a-day sentence. When she was released from prison, she was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Because her citizenship process was not complete, and she did not have legal residency status, she was marked for deportation after her criminal conviction. Cohen has appealed. The federal Bureau of Immigration Appeals will consider her appeal.

Her immigration lawyers insist that she will be persecuted in Mexico. According to her lawyers, the fact that she does not speak the language, or have a method of earning a living in Mexico, would make life as an immigrant in Mexico simply unbearable. She also claims she would likely be subjected to abuse and violence. Further, she suffers from bipolar disorder, and has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She believes that her disorders make her a candidate for persecution in Mexico. Besides, she has no friends or relatives in Mexico, having lived in the US all of her life.

Issues relating to deportation are some of the most complex that end up before a California immigration lawyer, and immigration laws can be harsh. Conviction of a crime before naturalization is just one way a potential citizen can face deportation.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Burning of George Jakubec Escondido Home Goes As Planned

It took barely an hour to complete a “controlled burn” of the Escondido rental property that has been linked to an explosives-and-bomb scandal. The house had been rented by George Jakubec, who is currently under arrest on a number of charges. According to San Diego criminal defense attorney Michael Berg, who is representing George Jakubec, there was no need to rush ahead with the burning of the property, considering that Jakubec, his wife and their daughter had lived there for four years without any major explosion.

Before the controlled burn, bomb squad members went back into the house to collect personal documents, including Jakubec’s passport as well as his wife's immigration documents. However, according to Berg, when he requested that the bomb squad members also retrieve some papers that were very relevant to the case, his request was denied. These papers would have provided evidence in the case. Jakubec’s criminal defense lawyer is now preparing to file a motion because of the destroyed evidence.

Jakubec was arrested on November 18th. He was jailed on a $5.1 million bond. He was initially charged by local prosecutors, but state charges were dismissed after a federal grand jury indictment against him. He faces eight charges, including those related to bank robbery, attempted bank holdup, possessing explosive devices, brandishing a firearm during a robbery and illegal manufacture of explosives. He has entered a not guilty plea to each of the charges.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Slow Initial Response to Parenting Classes for Gang Parents

A new California law that allows judges to send parents of gang members to parenting classes when their children are convicted of gang crimes for the first time, has seen a slow initial response.

The Parent Accountability Act is the first state law that allows judges to require that parents of young gang members undergo special parenting classes to help deal with the teenagers. According to the promoters of the law, the slow response has been mainly due to judges who may be ignorant of the law. Besides, it can be difficult to get parents of gang members, many of whom struggle with two jobs, to make the time to attend these classes. In other cases, it has been a result of parental apathy towards their children.

In fact, the initial response to the program has been so low, that several classes had to be canceled because of the low turnout. However, a class held last month saw six parents attending, and San Diego criminal defense lawyers believe that as parents of young gang members convicted of crimes take part in these programs and are able to gain the parenting skills necessary to prevent such behavior by their children, the program will receive a better response.

During the program, parents receive exposure to drug paraphernalia, and are also alerted to the signs of drug addiction. Parents are exposed to the images of drug addicts before and after the addiction, and signs of drug crimes in their own children. They are also exposed to possible signs of gang involvement, including sudden emergence of tattoos, changes in musical tastes and the use of secret gang hand signals.

The fee for the classes which is about $20, is currently being waived in order to coax more parents to attend. If parents continue to fail to attend, they may be held in contempt by the court.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Verdict Awaited in Concorde Plane Crash


California plane crash attorneys are expecting a verdict on the devastating Concorde Air France plane crash in France in 2000 soon. Continental Airlines Inc. and five individuals have been charged with manslaughter in the crash that killed 113 people.

The crash, which occurred in July 2000, set into motion a chain of events which finally ended with the termination of Concord services in 2003. On July 21, 2000, the Air France jet was on its way from Charles De Gaulle International Airport in Paris to JFK Airport in New York. Investigators later found that a Continental Airlines plane had lost a titanium part when it took off from Charles de Gaulle airport. Later, when the Concorde made its takeoff on the same runway, this titanium piece, which was still lying on the runway, ruptured the tire of the Concord, causing it to burst. That set off a series of adverse events, and finally led to the rupture of the fuel tank which burst into flames. Soon, a large plume of fire was trailing the Concorde, even as it took off. The pilots were unable to maintain control of the plane, and it crashed into a nearby hotel.

The investigation into the crash has also been dogged by controversy. In France, a plane crash must be followed by a separate civil and criminal investigation. Patient safety experts believe that these dual investigations have caused immense delays in the Concorde investigation. The criminal trial began about 10 years after the crash. According to several plane safety experts, there is no need for two investigations, because investigators often get in each other's way. This often causes conflicts, and it does little for the speed of the investigation. Besides, there's also lots of pressure on witnesses, who may be under threat of prosecution. It's hard to get witnesses to come out and testify when they have even the slightest doubt that they will be prosecuted.

However, the legal system in France does not afford their aviation accident attorneys the means or the resources to conduct their own investigations, unlike California plane crash lawyers, who will almost certainly conduct their own probe into a crash.
 
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