In news that made me think about Nicolas Cage in Raising Arizona, a Lafayette County, Mississippi grand jury has indicted an Oxford man on 11 counts of burglary related to a series of break-ins in local homes and the theft of women's panties and other undergarments.
Prosecutors told the Oxford Eagle that the grand jury indicted Joseph Paul Lillo, 32, earlier this month.
On February 11, 2011, I wrote a blog about how Medicare fraud was one of the top priorities of the federal government. On February 18, 2011, the feds announced a nationwide Medicare fraud crackdown resulting in hundreds of arrests and $225 million in fraud. Here is the story.
A Medicare fraud investigation has led to the arrest of 111 medical professionals and uncovered more than $225 million in bogus bills and claims. The investigation was brought to light on Thursday after the Medicare Strike Force announced the indictments on Thursday.
The Medicare Task Force is made up of more than 700 law enforcement agents from the FBI, U.S. Health and Human Services Office, and various state and local agencies throughout the country. Since their start in 2007, the task force has charged nearly 1,000 people with damages worth more than $2.3 billion.
The defendants in Thursday's indictments are facing charges ranging from money laundering and identity theft to conspiracy. United States Attorney General Eric Holder said on Thursday that the operation has been a success:
"Through this operation, we have identified and shut down a variety of large-scale fraud offenses. We have safeguarded precious taxpayer dollars."
"And we have helped to protect our nation's most essential health care programs--Medicare and Medicaid--which provide critical assistance to the most vulnerable among us: seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income Americans."
As an avid sports guy, I've been reading about the upcoming perjury trial of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens and it struck me how they would not even be in this position had they simply kept their mouths shut. Both have been indicted for lying under oath about using steroids. Had they simply invoked their 5th Amendment right to remain silent, neither would be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting these charges. Are you listening Lance Armstrong?
The cases of Bonds and Clemens really hit home for me. In my practice, people who are arrested and end up speaking with the police usually end up talking their way right into an indictment. They can't help it. They either admit to the crime or lie about it. If you lie to a federal agent, that is a crime in and of itself. Just ask former Hinds County Assistant Distrct Attorny and Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Bobby Delaughter.
I understand that when people get arrested, they feel pressured to talk to the police. The police may take a "nice guy" stance and say they want to help. Heck, the police may even lie about some facts of the case to get you to talk. Ironically, our Courts have condoned police lying to citizens in order to get confessions. Or perhaps you are the person who feels that you can outsmart the police like Verbal Kent did in Usual Suspects? Don't kid yourself. When you agree to speak to the police, you must understand that you are NOT on a level playing field. When you are told you have the right to speak with an attorney, excercise that right! The fact that you don't speak to the police cannot be used against you in Court. However, anything you say WILL be used against you.
Continue reading "Mississippi Criminal Defense Rule #1: You DO Have the Right to Remain Silent" »
My recollection is that the divorce rate in Mississippi is approximatley 51-52% for first marriages. It is slightly higher with second marriages. With the divorce rate that high it is no wonder the private detective and spyware business is booming. In this Bog I would like to bring some legal issues to your attention if you find yourself about to engage a detective or buy spy equipment. You should be careful you do not violate any criminal laws or commit some serious invasion of privacy.
Over 40 years ago Congress passed a wiretap act prohibiting law enforcement or anyone else from secretly recording another person's telephone calls if that person has a "reasonable expectation of privacy." The term reasonable expectation of privacy" came from a U.S. Supreme Court case and it is an important term discussed, written about, and fought over in Federal and State Courts every day across the United States. In a nutshell it means you should not record another person's phone calls if a reasonable person would expect the calls to be private. So making a call from a public phone or from a cell phone where other people can hear you talk and maybe hear the person on line with you does not give you a reasonable expectation of privacy. Using your home landline in a closed bedroom does give you a reasonable expectation of privacy with one big exception in Mississippi.
When Congress passed the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1966 there were no computers or cell phones. The law seemed clear-no recording of other's phone calls. But the various federal courts that began interpretating the Omnibus Crime Control Act did not agree on what the new terms and definitions meant. A few federal courts across the country created an exception for recording phone calls between spouses that take place in the home on a landline. This has been called by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals the domestic relations exception to the wiretap act. It simply means this: If you can pick up an extension in your house and listen to a phone call then you can record the phone call.
The opinion of the Fifth Circuit which created the domestic relations exception has been criticized because there is no domestic relations exception in the wiretap act passed by Congress. What the opinion allows is one spouse to record the phone calls of the other spouse inside the marital home on a landline. Some Interesting quesions not fully answered by the Fifth Circuit are: What if there are no extensions in the house? Can a spouse still record the other spouse's telephone conversation? What if the phone is just in the name of one spouse who pays for it completely with his/her own money? These could be questions still subject to debate and change.
The majority of the Federal Circuit Courts do not recognize any domestic relations exception. In fact over the years since the Simpson case was decided by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals the majority of the other Federal Courts that have dealt with spousal wiretapping have not held there was any spousal or domestic relations exception. When the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals was split and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals was created, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the domestic relations exception to the wiretape act.
With the development of the computer and other means of communication Congress moved to provide additional protection for wire or e mail communications as e mails travel through the internet and as e mails are stored. These Federal Laws provide privacy rights and protections against intercepting e mails while they move through the internet and while they are stored with third party repositories (ISP's). There are even laws against violating the terms of service of the internet providers. Here is a good source for identifying what may be legal and what may be illegal. If you have enough interest be sure to review the Appendix.
In addition to the Federal Laws the State of Mississippi has a law called the Interception of Wire or Oral Communications Act. (MIss. Code Ann. Section 41-29-501, et seq). This law makes it illegal and provides for civil penalties for intercepting wire or oral communications if the person who has had them intercepted had a reasonable expectation of privacy in either the calls or wire transmissions. However, in the case Wright v. Stanley, 700 So. 2d 274, (Ms. Sp Ct, 1998) the Mississppi Supreme Court held there was no prohibition against a spouse secretly recording the phone calls of another spouse or children in the marital home.
In addition to the Federal and State criminal laws that might be violated by the interception of telephone calls or e mails, the right of privacy may also be violated. The "outer limits" of the right of privacy have never been established by the Mississippi Supreme Court and this may be a new up and coming civil right. I have heard of spouses installing spyware on a joint computer or family computer. This type of spyware records every website visited, it records the passwords, and e mails sent from or received into the computer. I have heard of spouses putting spy cameras in their homes to surreptiously spy on their spouse. If a computer has a camera on it the camera can be activated from out side the home and set to record inside the home. There are also electronic tracking devices that can be placed on an automobile allowing the auto to be tracked day and night. Almost any type of tracking device or spyware is availble and for purchase these days.
In this Blog I am not stating which of these types of activities are legal and which may be illegal. Some may be very gray and by that they may be capable of appearing both legal and illegal depending on the interpretation of the relevant court. What I am suggesting is that anyone considering the use of these types of spy equipment should probably consult an attorney first! I have an opinion that sooner or later some of the actions of a spouse who uses some of this spyware or devices may find themselves charged with a crime or at the other end of a civil lawsuit charging an invasion of privacy, and included in that lawsuit is anyone who helped the spouse use the spyware.
Prosecuting health care fraud is a top priority for the federal government and it should be. Fraud and abuse of taxpayers money cannot be toloerated. News stories abound about federal government fraud enforcement activities against hospitals, clinical laboratories, durable medical equipment suppliers, hospices, and home health agencies. Based on recent legislation to enhance enforcement capabilities, there is reason to expect even more government enforcement activity in the future. While federal fraud investigations and enforcement actions against individual physicians have been isolated thus far, physicians and their practices are not immune to such government actions. Therefore, physicians and others involved in providing patient care need to know how to comply with the federal laws to guard against potential liability in fraud enforcement actions.
However, there are numerous cases which the government calls "fraud" which simply are mistakes. We recently defended a man charged with health care fraud in federal court in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The government alleged that he had been improperly billing for 4 years and charged him criminally. However, the proof at trial showed that Medicare was aware of our client's billing problems very early on but continued to allow him to submit improper bills. Instead of picking up the phone and simply advising our client of his errors, they continued to allow him to bill and be paid over $16 million in taxpayer funds! Our theory was that the Government simply wanted to build their case against our clients by allowing him to continue to bill.
Medicare, through its private insurance company "contractors, has a duty to educate providers. Medicare regulations are complex and change monthly. Medicare has set up "call in centers" which allow providers to call and ask questions concering billing, coverage, etc. However, if you use these "call in centers" take their answers with a grain of salt. A GAO study (Government Accounting Office) showed that out of 300 calls made to the "call in centers" only 4 percent were answered correctly! So what if you are a provider who calls in, gets incorrect answers, and then submits a bill to Medicare based on this information which proves to be wrong? You will have a difficult time proving the communication with the "call in center" unless you document the conversation in writing.
Continue reading "Health Care Fraud and Abuse in Mississippi" »
If you live in Mississippi and are diagnosed with mesothelioma you have a very serious form of cancer that needs immediate treatment. Mesothelioma is a cancer that can be caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers. Asbestos has been used in many industries but has been banned for years. The problem is that the cancer can show up 20-30 years after exposure. This cancer is very aggressive.
People likely to have exposure to asbestos include shipyard workers, railway workers, people who worked around boilers or other large, heated machines using insulation, brake pad, and many other products. Asbestos litigation has been going on for years. Many of the companies that producted or used asbestos have good into bankruptcy. If you are diagnosed with mesotheliona see and follow your doctor's advice. There are a number of specialized cancer centers and you may be sent to one. Afterwards seek advice on your legal rights. Identifying the products that may have caused or contributed to your illness is typically the first challenge facing an attorney helping someone with mesothelioma.
Over the past thirty (30) years of practicing law in Jackson, HInds County, Ridgeland, The Ciry of Madison, Clinton, and all over the State of Mississippi I have watched the legal system go from one that focused on rehabilitation to a system focused on punishment. Since the 1990's in my opinion the criminal justice system has been primarily concerned with punishment. Punishment is a necessary part of the criminal justice system, but a system without a heart is nothing less then cruel.
Another bad trend in the 1990's was private business getting into the criminal justice/correction system. I ask you what on earth do we need private corporations involved in corrections when we all know that private corrections/jails just want to make money. There is nothing wrong with making money but private businesses do not need to do it from the criminal justice system. The rush to throw people in jail without first using alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders has resulted in almost every state having financial problems. And once you develop a huge corrections business then you get the prison lobby involved and they pressure Congress and States for more business-which means more people in jail! It is absurd.
There are other problelms with private jails and correction facilities. I believe there is less accountability in these facilities, and like nursing homes, they make more profit by having less staff. There was a radio program on Public Radio this morning talking about this very issue. Private prisons can also lead to other problems as evidenced from this article.
I am not arguing against the criminal justice system or punishment. I am saying that as a society we need to use as many alternatives to incarceration as we can before we put a man, woman, or child in jail. I make exception with violent crimes, sex crimes, and crimes against children, but I stick to my opinion for many nonviolent crimes.
At Coxwell & Associates we are currently reviewing up to 20 cases for people who have been harmed in the private prison system. Some of these harms were totally preventable and unexcusable.
Continue reading "THE COST OF JAILS-INCARCERATED IN MADISON COUNTY, MS" »
This past Monday I was required to be in Port Gibson, MS at the Claiborne County Circuit Court for a case we appealed on behalf of one of our clients. Usually, when a judge asks us to come back to court for something, there could potentially be a problem with the case.
In this case there was a problem, but the problem was in the judge's sentencing, and not because of anything my client had done.
The Mississippi Supreme Court decided in Donovan Foreman v. State of Mississippi, that three convictions for aggravated assault were to be vacated, and the case was reversed and remanded for sentencing.
This case was very unique for me in that I was the first attorney Donovan's family called after he was arrested, and I stayed with the case through bond hearing, trial, and then finally his appeal.
Our firm does as much as we can for every client. If you need help with any criminal charge, let me know so that Coxwell & Associates can begin working for you.
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On Thursday, February 03, 2011 the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the Jackson, Hinds County murder conviction of Harvey "Smokie" Williams. Mr. Williams had been convicted of murder arising from a shooting outside a Jackson nightclub in 2007. Mr. Williams had previously filed armed robbery charges against Calvin Younger who was the brother of his girlfriend. Mr. Younger was known to be dangerous even before he armed robbed Harvey.
One evening Harvey was going out to a nightclub when he heard someone yell at him something like this,"what you going to do now M-F." Harvey testified that Calvin Younger approached him and reached to pull a weapon. Harvey shot and then fled the scene. Harvey fled because Calvin Younger had two of his "partners" with him and Harvey feared for his safety. There were hundreds of people on the scene. When the police arrived they did not find a gun on the body of Calvin Younger.Younger's two partners said Calvin Younger did not have a gun, he had a cell phone. But no cell phone was found either. Where did the gun go? Who took it and why? Did a gun even exist? The State claimed it did not.
None of the attorneys at Coxwell & Associates participated in Harvey Williams' trial. We were hired to help make sure Harvey obtained the very best counsel he could for his appeal. When we got involved another lawyer had been working on the case. She had done a great job analyzing the issues. The appeal had about five (5) very good issues and the one we focused on was the trial court's refusal to allow the guard at the night club to testify that 15 minutes before Harvey arrived, Calvin Younger was denied entrance to the club because he had a gun! You can imagine how important this testimony would have been at trial.
The Mississippi Supreme Court agreed with our issues on appeal. The Court ruled that the testimony of the security guard was admissible and the trial court made an error by refusing to allow the testimony. Mr. Williams will now receive a new trial.
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April 17, 2012 Forensic Sciences or Forensic Fraud? For over thirty two (32) years I have been practicing intense criminal defense and...
April 12, 2012 IS A CRIME TO USE YOUR EMPLOYER'S COMPUTER? Using an employer's computer in the City of Jackson, The City of Madison, The...
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March 30, 2012 Do We Want Vigilante "Justice"? I'm sure that you have heard about the tragic death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford...
