DUI Attorney Matthews Bark of Oveido - Cameron wants crackdown on 'spurious' military legal claims

Source    : BBC News UK
By           : Press Release
Category :  DUI Attorney Matthews Bark of Oveido

The prime minister has ordered a clampdown on "spurious" legal claims against UK military personnel. David Cameron has asked ministers to draw up plans to end the claims, including measures to curb the use of "no win, no fee" arrangements. A Number 10 source said Mr Cameron and wanted to stop the "torment" felt by members of the armed forces who faced such cases. Lawyers have argued that no-one should be above the law.

Troops' 'torment'

A Number 10 source said: "The prime minister is deeply concerned at the large number of spurious claims being made against members of our armed forces. "He is absolutely clear that action needs to be taken and has asked the National Security Council to produce a clear, detailed plan on how we stop former troops facing this torment." Other plans being considered by the government's National Security Council include speeding up a planned residence for legal aid cases that will require claimants to have lived in the UK for 12 months. The government's new proposals also include taking action against companies found to have abused the system in the past to pursue fabricated claims. There could also be penalties for those lawyers who are found to have abused the process. The BBC's legal affairs correspondent, Clive Coleman, said lawyers stress the government has agreed financial settlements in hundreds of claims brought against soldiers, and that few cases are legally-aided.

'Deliberate lies'

A spokesman for law firm Leigh Day said Mr Cameron should not challenge the principle that "no-one is above the law". He said: "Over the last 12 years many cases of abuse made against the MoD during the course of the occupation of Iraq have come to light and been accepted by the government. "They include the appalling torture and murder of Baha Mousa in 2003. In addition, the government has paid compensation for over 300 other cases relating to abuse and unlawful detention of Iraqis. He added: "The vast majority of serving Army soldiers do a first class job in protecting this country but the evidence shows that this is by no means the case for all." Leigh Day has been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to answer complaints about its handling of legal challenges brought by Iraqi detainees against the Ministry of Defence. It follows the findings of the 2014 Al-Sweady inquiry, which concluded that the most serious claims against British soldiers had been "deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility". The firm has strongly denied allegations of wrongdoing and said it would "vigorously" defend itself. The Legal Aid Agency has also been asked to review all contracts to establish whether legal aid should be restricted on an interim basis in relation to any firm under investigation for misconduct, and whether such contracts should be scrapped entirely after disciplinary proceedings have been completed. The proposals come days after Mr Fallon told MPs he was concerned about the "industrial scale" of claims against serving personnel and veterans.

Read more : bbc.com/news/uk-35378985

Attorney Matthews Bark of Oviedo | Using Loophole, Attorneys Target Old Drunk Driving Cases

Source    : Vineyard Gazette
By        : Sara Brown and Julia Wells
Category  : Attorney Matthews Bark of Orlando, Attorney Matthews Bark of Oviedo

Attorneys in the Edgartown district court have found a loophole for challenging old drunken driving cases, all because a procedure to advise defendants of their rights may not have been followed by a former judge.

Judge Brian Rowe, who presided over the district court for 20 years, has been retired since 2005.

But a handful of defense attorneys who practice in the court have been successful in having old cases of operating under the influence (OUI) dismissed on behalf of their clients, amid claims that Judge Rowe did not properly carry out a procedure called colloquy. In at least two of those cases, the effect was to reduce criminal charges from a subsequent offense, which carries a harsher penalty, to a first offense. Although prosecutors have the option of bringing the cases again, in most cases the evidence has gone cold.

By definition a serious discussion, a colloquy in law is an exchange that is supposed to take place between a judge and a defendant when a guilty plea is entered. Among other things, the judge advises the defendant of his or her right to a trial and asks if the decision to enter a plea is being made with full knowledge of the consequences. The elements of colloquy are spelled out in the state’s rules of criminal procedure, and a box is checked on the docket to indicate that the colloquy occurred.

At least nine OUI cases have been or are in the process of being reexamined on the basis of Judge Rowe not administering the colloquy.

In one recent case, Vineyard defense attorney Jennifer Marcus filed a motion on behalf of her client asking that a 2002 drunken driving case be reopened because of a lack of colloquy. A motion for a new trial was granted in August of this year. Last month the case was dismissed by the commonwealth which was “unable to proceed,” according to court documents. As a result, Mrs. Marcus’s client had a drunken driving charge from June of this year amended from second to first offense.

The motion to reopen that case was accompanied by affidavits from Richard J. Piazza, a former prosecuting attorney with the Cape and Islands district attorney’s office who later did work as a defense attorney, and John Boyle, a longtime Edgartown attorney who handles criminal cases. Both said in sworn affidavits that they had never seen Judge Rowe conduct a proper colloquy.

Mr. Boyle said he had handled hundreds of cases before the judge, many of them drunken driving cases.

“I do not recall Judge Rowe ever giving a colloquy in operating under the influence cases,” Mr. Boyle said in part in the affidavit dated May 8.

In his affidavit Mr. Piazza concurred. “Not once did I ever see him conduct a full and proper colloquy of a defendant who tendered a plea,” he said. “His colloquy in operating under the influence cases consisted of the following questions that were addressed to me as the assistant district attorney: ‘Accident? Injury? Breathalyzer?’ I would answer accordingly, and Judge Rowe would sentence the defendant. On occasion, he would look at the defendant and ask him if he was guilty, and the defendant would reply ‘yes.’ ”

Reached by telephone at his home on Cape Cod this week, Judge Rowe declined to comment.

In October of this year, Edgartown attorney Charles Morano filed motions on behalf of a client in two prior OUI cases, one from 1986 and one from 1993. Mr. Morano asked that the dispositions be struck or set aside, claiming the plea was constitutionally invalid “because the record does not reflect a knowing and intelligent waiver of his constitutional rights.” In those cases, Mr. Morano, who formerly worked as a public defender from 1988 to 2014, filed his own affidavit. “I do not recall any instance during that time that the colloquy used by Judge Rowe in an operating under the influence case included advising the defendant of their right to trial, right to confront one’s accusers, or the privilege against self-incrimination,” he wrote.

In both cases, OUI charges against the defendant were dismissed by the commonwealth. As a result, a March 2105 charge of drunken driving, third offense, was amended to a first offense for Mr. Morano’s client.

(Read More : vineyardgazette.com/news/2015/12/17/using-loophole-attorneys-target-old-drunk-driving-cases?k=vg5677cedb04dce&r=1 )

DUI attorney matthews bark of Oveido | Oviedo policy allows only council, staff to offer invocations

Source  :   Orlando sentinel
By        : Bethany Rodgers, Martin E. Comas
Category  : DUI Attorney Matthews Bark of Oveido, Attorney Matthews Bark of Orlando

Oviedo has become the latest Central Florida city to pass an invocation policy, but its approach to the hot-button issue has set it apart from neighboring cities.

While many cities are looking to broaden community participation in the ceremonial practice, Oviedo's invocations will be limited to a handful of individuals: council members and city employees.

The policy, which passed Monday night, would simply formalize and continue the city's existing custom: Oviedo has long started its city council meetings with an invocation by either its Fire Chief Lars White or City Manager Bryan Cobb.

The city has tried to reach out to religious leaders in the community to do the invocation, but no one would offer to do it, according to Cobb.

After the city recently received letters from the Central Florida Freethought Community and other non-religious groups questioning the city's invocation policy, City Attorney Lonnie Groot said Oviedo needed to establish a written policy stating that the prayer is a ceremonial event that occurs before the actual start of the meeting's "public business."

Oviedo's policy states that the City Council respects religious diversity, but Joseph Richardson, member of the Freethought Community, argues limiting invocations to public officials is anything but inclusive.

"What are they really going to do to truly reflect the religious diversity that's in Oviedo? Are they going to have employees pretend to be Muslim to offer a Muslim prayer?" Richardson asked.

Oviedo Mayor Dominic Persampiere said he doesn't view the city's invocation practice as controversial."This is extremely innocuous. It's not a homily that we're having at the beginning of the meeting," he said. "It's just a nice way to quietly reflect and give thanks for everything that we have in our community."

Cobb said the prayer is strictly voluntary and that members of the public, city staff or council members do not have to stand or take part in it.

The cities of Maitland and Apopka have recently adopted policies inviting members of the community to give the invocation. Believers and non-believers alike would be allowed to solemnize public meetings.

Attorney Cliff Shepard, who advises both cities, said legal issues intensify where government officials have a greater involvement in prayer at public meetings.

"The more you imbue the opening ceremony with the authority of government … the more problematic it potentially becomes," he said.

Holding the invocation before the meeting's official start could furnish some legal protection, but this theory has not been tested in court, Shepard added.

Richardson, whose organization pushes for the separation of church and state, said he's disappointed by Oviedo's decision to adopt the new policy. His group has scolded other cities where elected leaders pray before meetings, arguing the practice signals a religious preference.

He said he can't imagine Oviedo's new policy will remain in place for long. Members of the Freethought Community will be discussing their response to it, he said.

(Read More : orlandosentinel.com/news/seminole/os-oviedo-invocation-policy-20151208-story.html)