MVB1837

My grandmother has life alert! I felt weird giving it to her as a gift, but she says it gives her a profound sense of security when my parents aren't around.

(She's 87. She lives with my parents and is still very spry and sharp as a tack, but accidents can still happen.)

Do you think there's a way to reach out to theft offenders and perhaps prevent them from reoffending? As in, what is their justification for the thefts?

I know it's not quite the same but I'm a prosecutor in Georgia and my county has a bit of a problem with shoplifting, repeat offenders in particular. I'm convinced there's a psychological component that I don't quite have a handle on; society owes them something and they don't see it as "bad" or "criminal," something like that.

Evaluating if theft classes or something could nip the problem in the bud on a first offense. I hate it when folks come back on a second or third offense and get wrecked by the mandatory sentences over what I view as a silly crime.

Fourth shoplifting is an automatic felony. My current case along those lines is a $1.00 theft from the dollar store. She clearly did it and the priors speak for themselves, but I hate that she put herself in this situation. Maybe if something different was tried before this wouldn't have happened.

I wrote a seminar paper on Civil Forfeiture for law school and ended up looking into IJ reports quite a bit as a source (that, and histories of Deodands and the British Navigation Acts). You guys do great work.

My question -- how'd you end up working for these folks?

Also, my conclusion was very critical of the practice -- and I mentioned Albuquerque, actually -- but how do we get around what seems to be a successful use of asset forfeiture against cartels?

Roger that! Thanks for the reply.

I just graduated and am working (tentatively pending bar results) as a prosecutor. Did clerk for my state supreme court for a bit. I miss the research element.

Working for the IJ seems like a dream.

I have a question — as District Attorney, do you not exclusively handle felony (and therefore not “low-level”) drug crimes?

In Georgia any misdemeanor drug crime gets funneled to the Solicitor General. I’m wondering if the rules are different in California and, if not, how you define a “low level” drug crime.