Thief Asks $2.7 million for Injuries

   A Long Island liquor store thief filed a lawsuit against a liquor store owner he and a friend were trying to rob.



    When he went outside trying to leave with the bottles he'd grabbed, the store owner saw him and came out with his handgun. A struggle ensued as the store owner attempted to regain possession of his stolen bottles of liquor. In this struggle, the store owner shot the thief's friend as well as the thief himself. Despite not seeking medical treatment out of fear of being caught, the thief is asking for $2.7 million for his injuries.



     In this instance, while damages were clearly a result of the store owner shooting the crooks, he should not be forced to pay because they put themselves in harm's way by committing a crime and continuing a struggle and trying to leave after the store owner pulled out a gun.  In fact, the two thieves should have to pay for any damages they cause the store owner and be put in jail for trying to rob the store using the lawsuit as evidence since the thief detailed exactly what they did in his claim.

Jones vs United States

The 4 amendment of the United States Constitution is part of the bill rights. It makes the government not have access to your private life or for unreasonable searches and seizures. there have been so many cases where the cops produce with an illegal search with a warrant or probable cause and end up find a lot of data that they can use against them but when they try to use that data the judge has to decide to remove all the evidence they found during the fourth amendment.

in one of the trials that I studied was Jones vs United states where the police but a GPS locator on his vehicle without a warrant after 28 days of surveillance the officers obtained a lot of data connecting him to drug trafficking him. when it was the day of the trial the judge dropped all the charges he had because all the information they had was obtained illegally. 

The FCC Approves a new 3 digit number for the National Suicide Hotline

   Over the past decade, Suicide has become more prevalent in American society. It is now becoming an epidemic. Suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. To combat the increase in suicide the FCC or Federal Communications Commission approved a new suicide hotline. These new and improved hotline is just 3 number: 988. They are aiming to have the hotline in 18 months. They feel that if they have a shorter number that is easier to remember. This way people can receive the help they need without searching up a long number.

   This new initiative will cost a total of $570 million in the first year of the program and $170 million in the second year of the program. The costs of the program are not cheap, but the benefits of saving lives are worth the money. Along with saving lives the program will also people understand the suicide epidemic. People will be more aware and will accept those who need help. People must understand that suicide is a real concern and that mental health is just as important as any other component of personal health.

   I think that adding this new hotline is a step in the right direction. By giving a number like 911 shows the severity of suicide and the importance that society puts on helping others in need of help. I think that more people will reach out and more lives will be saved. I think that lives are worth more than any money so any investment towards creating a safer society is a good investment.

Add caption

Stracqualursi, Veronica. “FCC Moves Ahead with Proposal for New 3-Digit Number as Suicide Prevention Hotline.” CNN, Cable News Network, 12 Dec. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/12/12/politics/fcc-988-suicide-prevention-hotline/index.html.

False Rape Allegations

VanDyke Perry and Gregory Counts were only 21 and 19 when the unthinkable happened to them. The two men were falsely accused of rape and spent 11 and 26 years behind bars for a crime they did not commit. The woman that claimed to have been the victim of a gang-rape by Perry and Counts was the girlfriend of their friend. She claimed that they pulled her into a vehicle by force and repeatedly raped her along with a third individual who was never arrested. The woman later admitted to have made up the allegations and confessed that the rape never occurred.

The most striking fact about this case is that there was practically no evidence to prove the guilt of the two men. The DNA, which was the semen found in the woman's underwear, did not match that of either Perry or Counts. In addition, the car that the rape allegedly happened in was never searched, and the only word against the two men was the woman's.

This case has many similarities to the "When They See Us" documentary we reviewed and analyzed in class. The two alleged rapes were supposedly committed by African American men. They both took place in Central Park and the innocent men were sentenced to time with very little evidence to prove their guilt. The two cases also resulted in the exoneration of the men after an extended period of time. The fact that both groups of men were African American cannot be neglected either. It is unfortunate that the racial issues cause so much pain to so many innocent black men.

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/05/07/convictions-vacated-26-year-old-rape/588406002/

Oscar Alfredo Portillo

This blog is about my dear friend Oscar, I miss him so much, he left this world on Nov 26. Im still in disbelief that he's gone, he was too young to leave this world, he had a lot going on for him. Just knowing the fact that he's gone, it's still hard to process that but I know being sad isn't gonna help with anything because he would never want any of us feeling sad but be happy knowing that he's resting now. Oscar was like a little brother to me and I always looked out for him just like he did to me. Just seeing him laying down in that casket breaks my heart a lot and it felt like he was in a deep sleep and that he was gonna wake up at any moment but that was just in my head. He left a big impact on everyone that he knew, especially his family. But the times I spent with him was always fun and I will always cherish those memories within me. He had such a beautiful soul and anyone that knew him, you know it's always fun to be near him. You're always on my mind and I hope you look over me and everyone else up there, I love you brodie. I know this doesn't relate to the things we talked about in class but I just wanted to talk about it.

Jail and Prison

The difference between Jail and Prison is :

Jail: They are a local facility which is under the jurisdiction of a city which where the have official power to make legal decisions and judgements. They're short term for people who just got arrested and also for people who are waiting for their trial or sentencing.

Prison: They are institutional facilities which is under the jurisdiction of the state government where guilty people serve longer sentences. It is a place for people who break the law and are a danger to society. They keep these criminals behind bars because of the actions they did, by doing that they do time to pay for their crimes.

$54 million pants

      Washington D.C. administrative law judge Roy Pearson is claiming he is owed $54 million in damages over an $800 pair of pants he claims the dry cleaner, Custom Cleaners, lost. He said their signs, such as "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Same Day Service", were misleading given what happened. He further claimed that the loss of these pants caused him severe "mental suffering, inconvenience, and discomfort".
       So how did he get to this number? Well, he looked through his law books and cited the District of Columbia's consumer protection laws. These state that he was entitled to $1500 per violation per day (with 1200 days to account for). On top of that, he asked $500,000 in emotional damages, $542,500 in legal fees (although he represented himself), and $15,000 for 10 years worth of weekend car rentals so he could get to a competent dry cleaning.
     So what had happened? It all started in 2002 when the dry cleaners lost Pearson's first pair of pants. To compensate him, they gave him a $150 check. Three years later, when he returned with another pair of pants in 2005, the special pair he bought for his first day of work on the administrative bench also went missing. This led to lawyers and a high offer of $12,000 from the store owners, but he refused because he had gotten neither his guaranteed satisfaction nor his pants.
       This case is an excellent example of a frivolous, money grab case where someone had something very minor go wrong and they wanted to maximize how much they could profit off of it. It's a real shame people try to abuse the system like this, but I think even cases like these shouldn't be blocked from their day in court without evidence for dismissal because people need to know the system is open to them. However, it is kind of unfair to the people facing such frivolous suits to have to pay legal expenses to defend themselves from these money grabs.