Mississippi Lawyer Blog

Using an employer's computer in the City of Jackson, The City of Madison, The City of Ridgeland or Clinton and in Hinds, Rankin, and Madison Counties may be a crime if you exceed the authorized use or access the computer without authorization for what you want to do. It could be a crime all across Mississippi, but that is not true all across the United States.

Did you know that some prosecutors wanted to call you a criminal and convict you if you used your work computer to look at a sports score? But what if you accessed your company's computer to obtain the names and addresses of customers and then you left with those customers to start a competing business? Is that a crime? The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has said in a 9-2 opinion that the latter case was not a crime. U.S. v. Nosal.

This criminal prosecution arose out of a 1984 federal law called the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. According to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this law is an anti-hacking law, not a law to "make criminals of anyone who violates employer computer policies or a website's terms of service." The turning point in this case seemed to be that the employee had authority to access the company computer and database, though he did not have authority to take customers' names for his own use. But the fact the employee had authority seems to have saved him from prosecution. Certainly the employee could have civil liability and other legal issues if he signed a "covenant not to compete" with his employer.

The dissenting judges in the Ninth Circuit case did not agree with the majority. Judge Silverman wrote that what happened was a crime because the employee "accessed the computer without authorization or exceed his authorized used." It is certainly easy to understand the position of Judge Silverman.

But you cannot feel too comfortable because the 9th Circuit does not represent the opinion all over the United States. In United States v. John, 597 F.3d 263 (5th Cir.2010) the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which governs Mississippi, held that is was a crime when an employee accessed confidential information in a way not authorized by the employer. And the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held it was a crime when an employee of the Social Security Administration exceeded his authorization and obtained information on former girlfriends and potential paramours. United States v. Rodriguez, 628 F.3d 1258, 1263 (11th Cir.2010).

I think the bottom line may be something like this: You should follow the rules set by your employer for use of computers and computer information. If you check sports score or access your Google Account, I don't think it will be considered a crime. But if you steal information, access and use information for your own benefit or to the detriment of your employer, you may be committing a crime. The best way is the safe way. Better safe than sorry.

Continue reading "IS A CRIME TO USE YOUR EMPLOYER'S COMPUTER?" »

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."

Continue reading "Prediction Accomplished: Huge Nationwide Medicare Fraud Bust. Is Mississippi next?" »

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" »

An arrest is a traumatic time for anyone. Wether you have the misfortune of being arrested or a family member is arrested, the fear can be excrutiating. An arrest in Ridgeland or the City of Madison, Madison County, Mississippi, will generally lead to some time in the Madison County Detention Facility. The Madison Detention Facility is a jail operated by the Madison County Sheriff's Office. It is an efficient and very tough facility.

If you are arrested you can expect to spend some time in jail. If you are arrested for a misdemeanor by one of the cities in the county of Madison, Mississippi, the City Judge may permit you to be released on bail. Bail is the term used to signify some guarantee that you will show up in Court for your hearing or trial. You might be allowed to post a cash bond or pay a bonding company money and the company will post a surety bond. Generally, unless you have adequate cash on hand when you are arrested, you may have to post a surety bond. You post a surety bond by paying a bondsman ten (10%) percent of the amount of the bail set by the Court. For example, if you are arrested for a misdemeanor and your bail is set at $1,000.00 dollars, then you would pay a bondsman approximately $100.00 to secure your release. There is also a small processing fee.

If you post a cash bond then you have to give the Court Clerk's Office the total amount of the bond. In the example above that would be $1,000.00. There are problems with a cash bond. If you get arrested and the Clerk's Office is closed then you cannot post a cash bond until the Clerk's Office is open. Most people use a bondsman. A bondsman usually gets you out the quickest. There is also a bond called a personal recognizance bond. This is where the Court allows you to leave based on your oral promise to show up in Court. I do not see this type of bond used very often.

There are also some instances when the officer can issue a field release. This is simply a ticket that tells you when to come to Court. I wish more officers used field releases, but officers seem to like to arrest people and the require them to post a surety bond. If you are arrested for a felony charge, then you may not be allowed out of jail until you see a Judge. The law requires that anyone arrested be taken before a Judge within 48 hours after their arrest, but weekends are excluded from the computation. If you are arrested on a Saturday, it could be Wednesday before you see a Judge.

Felony charges typically require higher bail and cost the accused more money. I can say from experience that bonds are used by police officers far too often as a form of punishment because a person did not adequately cooperate in the opinion of the officer during the arrest. This is an improper use of bail. Bail is for one thing: It is to secure the appearance of the accused before the Court to face the charges. When you have a felony charge sometimes you have a bond hearing before you can get released from jail. The length and complexity of the bond hearing depends on the seriousness of the charge.

During a bail or bond hearing the Court looks at such factors as your reputation, length of time in the community, did you have a job, do you have family members in the community, are other people supportative of you, and do you have a prior criminal record, ect. There are some serious crimes that permit the Court to deny bond and if you commit a crime while on bond the Court and revoke your first bond. If arrested you definitely want to get out on bond. It is easier to work on your defense and work with your lawyer, not to mention that you cannot work or see your family with ease while in jail.

Every jail is different but the Madison County, Mississippi jail is tough. The jailers do not tolerate any foolisheness. The conditions are hard. The food is not good and your freedom is severely restricted. You get limited access to a phone system that is expensive. If you get arrested the best thing to do is be polite and cooperative with the intake information but do not discuss your case or the facts of your arrest. You can ask for a phone call but the jailers do not always give you a call immediately.

When a person is rude or difficult during an arrest or booking it just makes it harder to get out of jail. You don't have to discuss your arrest or the facts of your case but you should be polite. The jailers have a job to do and far too many people arrested are rude and this makes the jailers rude. Remember, the goal is to get out of jail quickly, not be a smart-ass to the jailers. The best thing to do if you are arrested is to call someone you can trust and explain where you are and why your are arrested. The person you call can then work on getting you out of jail.

If you have any specific questions that this Blog Post has not answered just leave me a comment and I will answer you questions. The majority of people are able to make bail, but in these difficult economic times I am seeing more and more people in jail due to financial hardship.

Continue reading "What to do if you are arrested in Madison, Mississippi" »

Identity theft takes place when a person steals some form of identity that belongs to another person and uses it to commit an unlawful act. An example of stealing some one's identity would be taking their social security number, tax identification number,or any other form of identity. I am observing more and more identity theft prosecutions in Federal Court. There is also something called Aggravated Identity Theft.

Aggravated Identity theft takes place when a person steals some form of identity and then commits another crime. The United States Code list the types of crime that make the offense Aggravated Identity Theft. Bank Fraud is one of those crimes. If a person commits bank fraud while stealing an other's identity then they would be subject to prosecution as Aggravated Identity Theft. The punishment for Aggravated Identity theft is a mandatory two (2) year sentence that must run consecutive to any other sentence. So, if a person commits a bank fraud, wire or mail fraud and identity theft, it becomes Aggravated and after being sentenced for the first crime they have to do two (2) additional years.

Congress was serious about imposing a harsh sentence for identity theft. Identity theft and computer theft are more common now with the Internet. I suspect that identity theft and hacking are just going to her worse. If you have been charged with a crime call Coxwell & Associates for a free consultation.

The possession or sale of illegal drugs sends so many people to prison each year. America incarcerates more people than any other Western Nation. In fact, I think the statistics show that our incarceration rate in America is equal to that of countries like China, Libya, and Saudi Arabia. For a hundred years America has been fighting the drug problem. Since the 1980's the United States Government declared war on the drug problem and by that declared war on its own people. The Great War on Drugs has been a failure. There needs to be a new approach that places more focus drug treatment.

In many of the Court Districts across Mississippi they already use drug courts. I believe the statistics prove they are working. Every District needs a drug court and people charged with possession should be diverted through the program instead of being sentenced to prison. I would go so far as to say that there are many people who sell small amounts of drugs should also be sent through the drug court program. Many of the men and women who sell small amount of drugs are also heavy users and need the help. Even if you disagree, think about this from an economic standpoint. The cost of drug treatment for small sellers is going to be less over the long run than the 20-30 year sentences that I often see given to small sellers.

I am not advocating the legalization of drugs. I am suggesting the decriminalization of our laws with a focus on the health care side of the drug problem. There still needs to be law enforcement actively working in the field, but their focus needs to be entirely different. Our goal as a society should be to help people develop and focus their lives back in a socially acceptable manner. Prison is a poor alternative to the development of good behavior. Until we change our focus this country is going to lead the Western Civilized nations in failure.

Merrida Coxwell is an attorney with 29 years of legal experience helping people who are charged with crimes and who have been involved in serious accident and injury cases. Merrida has handles hundreds of criminal cases ranging from misdemeanor to serious, complex felonies.

A fundamentally fair trial and the notion that an innocent person should never go to prison are the hallmarks of our legal system. But the United States Federal Prosecutors don't want to provide full disclosure. There is a maelstrom brewing in the Federal System. It has been that way since the prosecution of Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens. If you don't remember Senator Stevens was convicted of a Federal Crime. After the trial it was revealed that the Federal prosecutors had intentionally failed to turn over to the defense lawyers information that was favorable to Senator Stevens. This evidence could have been used to show that he was not guilty of the crime charged. Senator Stevens' conviction was set aside when this new information was disclosed. The new U.S. Attorney who took over the case declined to prosecute Senator Stevens when this new information was revealed. Sadly for Senator Stevens and the Justice System, the information had been in the custody of the prosecutor. The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down decisions years ago requiring that prosecutors turn over favorable information to the accused. The case of Senator Stevens highlights the problems with the system: justice is administered by people who often feel that winning is more important that justice and fairness.

The Judicial Conference of the United States is considering adopting a measure that would make prosecutors turn over favorable information to the defense. This measure should be adopted without anymore delay. The United States Attorney is attempting to prevent the adoption of this measure. I think this should cause all of us to stop and ask why? Why should a government attorney who has an ethical duty to see that justice is done, oppose the release of evidence favorable to the defense. Why should the prosecutors be in the position to decide what information is favorable. The person in the best position to determine what is favorable is the person accused of a crime and his attorney. Leaving this decision in the hands of any prosecutor is like leaving the fox in charge of the chickens!

At least one Federal Judge has written the Judicial conference and asked for the rules to be changed so prosecutors have to turn over "all exculpatory" information to the accused. It is amazing that we should even have to discuss this issue. The Rule should already require that all favorable information be turned over to the accused. Judge Sullivan wrote that the Stevens' case presents "a real opportunity to bring attention to a problem that I believe is widespread, but often unreported or under reported." Wrongful convictions should not occur. Never. The reality is that wrongful convictions will occur no matter what we do, but we as a country should do everything we can to prevent wrongful convictions. Judge Sullivan is absolutely correct and the U.S. Attorney is absolutely wrong. The discovery rules in Federal Court must be amended to make U.S. Attorneys across the country provide to the accused any and all favorable evidence. There should be no more delay. Mistakes may happen, but we should not forget about the Senator Ted Stevens case. It was no mistake.

Coxwell & Associates is a Jackson, MS law firm with the main offices in the Capital city. The attorneys travel all over Mississippi and into other states representing people charged with criminal offenses and representing people who are been seriously injured in accidents.

Approximately seven (7) people have been charged with Medicare Fraud by the United States Government in an Indictment filed in United States District Court in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Indictment filed by the U.S. Government is only one side of the legal story. The men charged have were not given the opportunity to present any evidence to the Federal Grand Jury. According to the Indictment the individuals were operating clinics that provided physical medical services to Medicare patients. There is no indication from the article or Indictment how much money the men are accused of improperly billing or charging Medicare.

Our Coxwell & Associates Blog has posted an article before on white collar crime. The crime charged in this Indictment is exactly what we were describing when we wrote about white collar offenses. The Obama Administration has made medical fraud against the United States Government a high priority of the Administration. According to a recent report, Mississippi leads the nation in Hospice fraud. We may see significant federal resources devoted to medical fraud cases in the future. At Coxwell & Associates we have represent doctors and other medical providers in these types of cases. The billing codes in the medical industry can be extremely confusing and complex. It is easy to understand how mistakes could be made. In many instances the billing definitions can also be vague.

We have also had a post on this Blog before on whistle Blower Lawsuits. A Whistle Blower lawsuit is when someone with insider information of wrong-doing or fraud against the government files a special lawsuit to recover the money for the government. The Federal Government is given the right to join in the case and if it is successful and money recovered, the person who brought the lawsuit can be award a percentage of the money recovered. The national average of the money awarded is about 16%. This could have been a whistle blower lawsuit if the men have in fact been doing anything improper or illegal.

In the case the men charged are presumed innocent and we need to afford them that right. Billing is complicated in the medical field. Mistakes can be made easily. The case will go through the system like every other case. At Coxwell & Associates we represent individuals and companies charged with white collar offenses. Every person is entitled to a lawyer who zealously defends them, the same as every one should be entitled to excellent medical care. It make no difference what the charge is or who the person is that gets charged, at Coxwell & Associates if we take the case we will do nothing less than our best.

Coxwell & Associates is a law firm focusing on serious accident and injury cases, criminal cases and financial fraud. The attorneys are experienced and stay current in legal issues. If you have a legal problem call for a free consultation at 601-948-1600.

White Collar Crimes is a name used to refer to crimes that do not involve violence and typically have money at the center of the offense. Today in the Clarion Ledger there was an article about 6 people arrested for insider trading. Insider trading is a crime. It takes place when a person has knowledge about a business that should be kept private yet the person gives that information to his friends so they can buy or sell the stock and gain an advantage over the rest of us who have to rely on public announcements. In other words a crime takes place when someone used private information to make a profit. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies called the crime the "largest ever related to hedge funds." The people charged were secretly recorded on wire talking about their criminal schemes. One of those arrested was a billionaire. I guess it goes to show no matter how much money you have, you never think it is enough. These men and women are going to require good attorneys. The article in the paper was very specific and damaging but we owe everyone a presumption of innocence until they either plead guilty or are found guilty in open Court.

Financial fraud crimes are a type of white collar crime that we have written about previously. The F.B.I. and the Secret Service both have special divisions that investigate financial crimes. The Security & Exchange Commission has a division that investigates financial crimes in addition to the Attorney Generals for the U.S. and State Governments. These types of crimes are often pyramid schemes, insider trading, mortgages frauds, identity theft, and others. The punishment for these crimes at least in Federal Court is heavily dependent on the amount of money taken.

Corporations and other organizations can also be charged with crimes. Over the past 20 years we have witnessed numerous corporations charged with violating environmental laws, stock trading laws, and other similar offenses. If employees of a corporation and the corporation are both charged together in the same criminal offense they cannot use the same lawyer. This could lead to a conflict of interest for the lawyer. Who would he protect first, the person or the corporation.

Sometimes employees witness crimes being committed by corporations. If the employee does not report the crimes they could be charged with accessory to the crime or misprison of a felony. When the person does report a crime they may be entitled to payment of money under the Whistleblower Laws. We have written about these lawyers in other blogs.

Our attorneys have experience handling Whistleblower cases and we have defended hundreds of people charged with crimes. If you have a problem, call lawyers who are experienced and who care for their clients. Call 601-948-1600.

The term "white collar" crimes refers to crimes that do not involve an act of violence. In the past the words referred to crimes committed by wealthy, highly respected individuals, but nowadays there are so many different crimes the words generally refer to a non-violent crime. Examples of these crimes would be bank embezzlement, Wall Street crimes, mail fraud, bribery, kickbacks, money laundering,Internal Revenue crimes, bad check crimes, and many others. According to the United States Government the economy suffers losses in the amount of 300 billion each year due to white collar offenses.

White collar crimes can be charged by either the Federal Government or a State Government. Coxwell & Associates have represented citizens in many hundreds of white collar offenses. Each case is individual and must be investigated thoroughly. In many instances a white collar investigation will begin long before an arrest occurs. White collar crimes sometimes required extensive investigation. Before an Indictment is returned the prosecuting authorities may issue dozens of Subpoena Duces Tecums and send out many agents. In one case in Michigan the F.B.I. sent out over 70 agents in one night to question witnesses.

Our best advice is based on the rights guaranteed to you by the U.S. Constitution and the Miss. Constitution. If you are approached by law enforcement officers of any type who wants to talk with you, call us for legal advice. Both the U.S. Government and the States have laws that allow them to charge someone for making a false statement to law enforcement officers. A person could answer a question not fully understanding what was being asked or not remembering some of the facts due to the passage of time. The government could then charge the person with making a false statement even if they never charge the person for the original crime under investigation.

Coxwell & Associates is a experienced law firm handling state and federal crimes, including appeals. The firm also handles serious injury cases. Frank Coxwell is the only attorney in the firm who handles consumer bankruptcy and other debtor issues.