Law Offices of Mann & Risch

06/22/2018

Big Decision by the Supreme Court: Warrant generally needed to track cell phone location data.

The Supreme Court on Friday said the government generally needs a warrant if it wants to track an individual's location through cell phone records over an extended period of time.

03/09/2017

Miami lawyer’s pants erupt in flames during arson trial in court!

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article137317553.html =cpy

Investigators are probing whether Stephen Gutierrez was trying to pull a courtroom stunt in front of jurors when smoke began billowing from his pants pocket. His client was on trial for arson.

01/20/2017

"Cameras prove cops lie, and there are more cameras out in the world today than ever before." See below for a great read from BuzzFeed about police deception! https://www.buzzfeed.com/albertsamaha/blue-lies-matter?utm_term=.kqAR0WBYG #.qtdo1AKjz

Cameras prove cops lie, and there are more cameras out in the world today than ever before. BuzzFeed News reviewed 62 incidents of video footage contradicting an officer’s statement.

11/23/2016

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Just as a reminder, today is the second busiest bar day of the year, right behind the Superbowl. While we hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday, please remember that if you do find yourself in a troubling situation, do not hesitate to contact Mann & Risch, LLC.

HAVE FUN, BE SAFE, & DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE.

11/21/2016

Late last week, judges in Maryland began significant cut backs on setting bail for defendants. With a meeting in the works to discuss changes in the state's cash-bail system, the head of the state's Office of the Public Defender, Paul DeWolfe, calls the reduced use of bail "a step in the right direction." While not everyone agrees that bail reform is appropriate, critics of the cash-bail system argue that "poor defendants should not have to remain in jail for months before trial simply because they can't make bail." Advocates for bail reform, including Tyler Mann, explain that innocent defendants "are literally held hostage until they take the plea and admit guilt." Mann holds that regardless of the approach taken, "the system as a whole needs to be overhauled."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/in-maryland-a-fight-brewing-over-cash-bail-for-poor-defendants/2016/11/17/bcc36504-ac04-11e6-8b45-f8e493f06fcd_story.html

Even before a rules committee recommends changes, judges are releasing more people without bail, bondsmen say.

07/28/2016

Yesterday, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby chose to dismiss the charges against Officer Miller, whose trial was set to begin this week. Mosby also dismissed the charges against Officer Porter and Officer White, realizing the lack of evidence in the remaining cases would not produce a conviction. Tyler Mann provided his impressions of the State's strategy: "They tried to create a narrative of the infamous ‘rough ride,’ and it just didn't come true. They thought they could present this narrative of police acting out, and that’s not just how things fell into place.” While the decision to drop the charges against the remaining three officers produced mixed feelings in the community, small reforms within the Baltimore City Police Department are already underway as a result of these cases.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/prosecutors-in-freddie-gray-cases-faced-an-uphill-battle-from-the-very-beginning/2016/07/27/f788fd28-5413-11e6-b7de-dfe509430c39_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

Marilyn Mosby and her team offered multiple theories for how the accused officers were responsible for a Baltimore man’s fatal injury, but all fell flat during the trials.

07/18/2016

Earlier today, Judge Barry Williams announced his decision in the Lt. Brian Rice case, one of the six officers charged in connection with the death of Freddie Gray. Judge Williams acquitted Rice of all charges, driving home in his decision that this verdict was based solely on the evidence presented. Legal analysts in Baltimore City did not appear surprised by the outcome, including our very own Tyler Mann, who was live on WBALTV this morning following the decision. Tyler explained that this outcome was not shocking and could have been predicted based on the way the prior cases against Officer Goodson and Officer Nero ended. Judge Williams informed the State of what he was looking for, but the evidence presented was still insufficient to meet the burden of proof.

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/verdict-expected-in-lt-brian-rice-case/40759058

01/12/2016

In this Op-Ed piece, the author brings to the light the lack of protection afforded to potentially innocent individuals, the Hartes, and the need for more oversight when raids go wrong allowing accountability by officers to fall through the cracks. Specifically, the author highlights the flaws and police misconduct that arose in carrying out a search of the Hartes’ property, which ultimately violated the Hartes’ 4th Amendment rights. More specifically, the author analyzes step-by-step the proper conduct that should have been executed to ensure that their 4th amendment rights weren’t violated.

More on the botched raid in Kansas, and a response to Orin Kerr.

08/10/2015

If arrested for DUI, we would recommend you call us, we would not recommend you take a selfie.

http://jezebel.com/20-year-old-iowa-bro-drives-stoned-invents-the-arrest-1723082056

According to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Gilbert Phelps was pulled over for speeding at around 2 a.m. last Thursday, and was taken into custody for a breath test after the officer, Ben Hektoen, noticed “an odor of ingested alcohol coming from the cabin of the vehicle.” From Hektoen’s filed police r…

08/04/2015

"McDavid’s case was one of hundreds of FBI investigations into homegrown terrorism, eco-sabotage, and Islamist extremism that grew out of a post-9/11 counterterrorism policy that critics have termed “preemptory prosecution.” These operations use paid informants to direct an individual or a group of individuals identified for their political or religious beliefs in a plot of terrorism... Many legal experts say the FBI has repeatedly crossed the line into entrapment, as McDavid claimed..."

http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-tough-questions-feds-jailed-innocent-man-nine-143248810.html?soc_src=copy

Attorney Mark Reichel has been waiting years for answers. Documents had emerged, two months earlier, that were absent at his trial, including correspondence supporting his claim that he had been entrapped by an FBI operation involving a paid informant.