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House Fires Responsible for Thousands of Fatalities Every Year
Home fires are responsible for more than 90 percent of fire fatalities in this country. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there were more than 1.3 million house fires in this country in 2011. More than 3,000 people were killed in those fires, and another 17,000 were injured. In addition to the loss of life, these fires caused a total of 1.7 billion dollars in damages.
The most common causes of house fires include:
- Cooking equipment;
- Heating equipment;
- Arson;
- Electrical wiring or equipment;
- Smoking materials;
- Clothes washer or dryer; and
- Candles.
More than 40 percent of home fires start in the kitchen. Sixteen percent of fire fatalities are a result of kitchen fires. Less than 10 percent of home fires begin in the bedroom, yet these fires result in 25 percent of fire fatalities. Living room fires are responsible for another 25 percent of fire deaths, however, only four percent of home fires begin here.
Basics of the Criminal Process for a Felony
If you have been charged with a felony in Wisconsin, you will find yourself in the middle of a complex criminal justice system. The better you understand what you are facing the better decisions you can make and the more help you will be to your lawyer
Investigation
Criminal cases start out with some type of investigation. The investigation may be triggered by a 911 call or by non-emergency reports of wrongdoing to law enforcement personnel. Initially, you may not even know you are being investigated. Often, law enforcement personnel will want to question you or search your property as part of their investigation. If law enforcement personnel are interested in speaking with you, it is in your best interest to speak with a lawyer first. Arrest The investigation may take a few hours, or a few weeks or months. Once law enforcement personnel believe they have probable cause that you have committed a crime, you will be arrested. Sometimes after an arrest, law enforcement personnel want to speak with you about your case. You have the right to ask for a lawyer and otherwise should remain silent. Bail Hearing Typically, the first hearing will be a bail hearing. You will be brought before a judge and the judge will set the bail amount. If you make bail and follow the conditions of your release agreement, you can remain out of custody as your case moves forward. Preliminary Hearing In a felony case, you have a right to a preliminary hearing you can waive that right if you choose. At a preliminary hearing, both the prosecutor and the defense lawyers will present part of their case to the judge. The judge must decide if there is probable cause to believe you committed the crime for the case to move forward. Arraignment After a preliminary hearing, you will be arraigned. This means that formal charges are presented and a plea of guilty or not guilty will be entered. If a plea of guilty is entered, a trial date will be set.Pretrial Hearings
Determining Who Is at Fault for a Truck Accident
Truck accidents often cause catastrophic injuries. Just like with other kinds of motor vehicle accidents, human error is often to blame for truck accidents, but understanding all the causes of a truck accident can be complicated. There may be several different people in addition to the driver who are partially responsible for a truck accident.
Understanding the Causes of the Accident
Under Wisconsin law, if you are injured because of someone else’s negligence, you have a right to be compensated for your injuries. Before you will be able to collect any compensation, you will need to prove who was at fault for the accident.
Common causes of truck accidents include:
Even a Minor Car Crash Can Trigger CRPS
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a condition which is marked by chronic pain, mild or dramatic changes in temperature and skin color, as well as swelling in a patient’s limb(s). It is estimated that anywhere from 20,000 to 200,000 people suffer with CRPS.
The cause of the syndrome is unknown. The condition is usually triggered by some kind of trauma or injury to the limb – frequently as a result of a car accident. Often, the initial injury is minor, but can quickly escalate into excruciating pain. The experience that one car crash victim experienced is common. A 45-year-old woman was driving her vehicle when it was bumped from behind by another driver. There was no damage to either vehicle and neither driver appeared injured.
However, approximately 12 hours after the accident, the woman developed severe back and neck pain. Over the next couple of months, that chronic pain spread throughout her entire body. The victim had been completely healthy before the incident, and it took months before doctors were finally able to come up with the diagnosis to her severe pain – CRPS caused by the minor fender bender she was in. The woman was eventually awarded $3 million in a personal injury lawsuit.
CRPS is often missed by physicians, who often think patients are exaggerating their symptoms, given no serious injury has occurred. One young victim, who developed CRPS after spraining his ankle, described the pain as feeling as if “a boa constrictor tightening around your foot while it is being stabbed with a knife from the inside and simultaneously set on fire.”
Symptoms for CRPS include:
Could Samsung’s “Transparent Safety Truck” Improve Safety on the Road?
After months of experimentation, Samsung is officially releasing its transparent “safety truck” for safety and efficacy testing in Argentina. Designed to allow drivers to see what is in front of the commercial vehicle, it gives kind of a “see through” effect to help drivers determine if it is safe to pass around. But could this technology really improve safety on the road by reducing the frequency of truck-related accidents?
About the Technology
Revealed to the public in the summer of 2015, and demonstrated at the La Plata racetrack in Buenos Aires February 2016, the technology uses two front-facing cameras that emit a live-feed onto four large panels on the back of the truck to supply one large, constant display of what is in front of the truck. It is designed to be dust-proof and waterproof, and is meant to provide a crisp, clear image in both strong sunlight, and at night.
Your Right to Remain Silent: A Good Criminal Defense Starts with You
Some people mistakenly believe that their criminal defense starts after getting arrested. However, if you understand your rights, your potential defenses will start when you first come in contact with law enforcement. One of the most important rights to understand is your right to remain silent.
The Right to Remain Silent and the Constitution
The phrase “the right to remain silent” is not in the U.S. Constitution. Instead this right comes from the aftermath of a Supreme Court case called Miranda v. Arizona. In this case the Supreme Court held that law enforcement had a duty to inform people who were under arrest about their constitutional rights. The right to remain silent refers to the right not to be compelled to incriminate yourself. The Fifth Amendment prohibits police from forcing a confession.
Lifetime GPS Monitoring of Convicted Felon Upheld in Federal Appeals Court
GPS monitoring is often used when a criminal defendant is out on bail, or when someone who has been convicted of a crime is on probation or other provisions of release require it. In Wisconsin, that law extends to convicted sex offenders, who must wear the GPS tracking devices for the rest of their lives. One man recently attempted to have this mandate overturned, but his request was denied in federal appeals court. Wisconsin’s GPS Laws on Sex Offenders In 2006, Wisconsin enacted a law that allowed any convicted sex offender who completed their prison term and finished 20 years of monitoring to apply to have their GPS tracking bracelet removed. However, those who have prison terms followed by civil commitment under the Chapter 980 law must wear the bracelet for life. Although this particular portion of the law has garnered a great deal of criticism from advocates that find it cruel, unnecessary, and excessive, the recent ruling suggests that it is unlikely to be amended any time soon. Why a Skilled Criminal Defense Attorney Is Critical for Sex Offense Crimes in Wisconsin Sexual offense charges in any state are considered especially heinous crimes and they often result in lengthy sentences and extreme measures like the lifetime GPS tracking device. Those facing charges are often stigmatized, even before they reach a courtroom. A skilled and experienced criminal defense attorney can protect your rights and ensure you receive the fair trial you deserve. Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP has been serving the Wisconsin area since 1968. Committed to providing you with the legal representation you deserve, our attorneys will work hard to help you reach the best possible outcome for your unique situation. To learn more about our award-winning services, schedule your consultation with our skilled Milwaukee criminal defense attorneys. Call 414-271-1440 today.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Endorses Seat Belts on School Buses
For years, safety advocates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have suggested that school buses were safe enough without seat belts. However, the agency recently acknowledged that this message is not only contradictory to their stance on passenger safety, but that it may also be inaccurate. Unfortunately, making the changes might prove to be especially difficult.
School Transportation Fatalities Already Rare
Motor vehicle accidents kill thousands of Americans each year, but according to a study from the NHTSA school bus fatalities account for less than one percent. If put into context, that equates to about six children per year. The remainder of all deaths (1,353 from 2003 to 2012) were of people outside of the buses – pedestrians, bicyclists, and other drivers.
Trickery, Baiting, Suggestibility and Lies – Interrogation Tactics Described in the Netflix Series “Making A Murderer” Are Not Uncommon
Since the airing of the 10-episode Netflix documentary, “Making a Murderer” began in January 2016, the cases of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey have drawn a considerable amount of attention from the public and the media around the United States. Many are both surprised and outraged by the details of Avery’s original wrongful conviction, and some believe there may be evidence that Avery was again wrongfully accused and convicted of a horrendous crime.
Although less discussed, Mr. Dassey’s related case has also drawn scrutiny from the public, particularly for the way he was interrogated by police. But what many people may not realize is that these practices – lying, baiting, suggestibility and trickery - are actually quite common during police interrogations. Moreover, courts often give their approval or a wink-wink to these kinds of tactics, deeming the confessions obtained through deception admissible as evidence.
Deception and Trickery During Interrogation Can Be Permissible
Practices such as strategic deception (lying to push for a confession or information), trickery, baiting (telling suspects they have evidence they do not have), “good cop, bad cop” routines, suggesting that there is forensic evidence or another person’s confession that clearly implicates the suspect undergoing questioning, along with other forms of deception are not only permitted during police interrogations, they are often considered “harmless error” even if it leads to a confession that seals the prosecution’s case. Atty. Ray Dall’Osto provided further comment on the import of this for Mr. Dassey’s case in a January 2016 newspaper interview, which can be found at this link.
Of course, there have been times that law enforcement officers’ tactics in obtaining confessions have been held to have gone too far, but the instances are rare. This is due, in part, to the murky line between coercion and “acceptable” deception. There is no bright line rule that says how far is “too far.” That is why it is essential to have experienced criminal defense counsel who can effectively challenge the admissibility of confessions and suppress them as evidence.
Did Investigators Go Too Far?
If no hard line exists, it becomes the court’s discretion as to whether or not a suspect’s rights have been violated; and that can create a very slippery slope. Take, for example, Brendan Dassey’s interrogation which is addressed in the Netflix series. Law enforcement officers are allowed to interrogate a minor without parental consent, but concerns exist about the ability of the minor, young person or person with special needs to understand and properly waive their important constitutional rights to remain silent and to an attorney.
Mr. Dassey’s low IQ, the way police misled him in their questioning and the way he seemed to be guessing at the answers calls the reliability of the interrogation into question. Yet that evidence (which was the chief piece of evidence to actually tie Dassey to the murder) was found admissible. In light of the Netflix series, there has arisen a public concern that this should not have been and that, at the very least, Mr. Dassey deserves a new trial.
Causes of Wrongful Convictions
The National Innocence Project has put together the chart below on the principle contributing causes of wrongful convictions, based on actual cases handled and exoneratons obtained.
Why Are Homicide Rates up in Milwaukee?
In 2015, 160 people were killed in the city of Milwaukee, this is the highest number of homicides since the early nineties. This number is alarming to city and state officials, especially after there were only 86 homicide victims in Milwaukee in 2014, the lowest number the city had seen in years. This 69 percent increase in homicides is a larger increase than cities like St. Louis, Washington D.C., and Baltimore, which all received media attention due to homicide rates. Now, city and state officials are wondering what has caused the increase.
Why the Increase in Homicides?
“That is the million-dollar question,” says a leader of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission, an organization that studies homicides and incidents of gun violence in Milwaukee. Many trends in the city have remained constant. A majority of the victims were African-American men. Most of the victims were shot to death. Some victims were related. What exactly caused the dramatic increase in homicide this past year remains somewhat of a mystery. There are many different theories that have been discussed. Some Milwaukee residents say the problem stems from poverty. Some say segregation is the issue. Other reasons cited are easily accessible firearms, too much policing, or police are not doing enough.
