Phoenix, AZ —Okay I’m jaded.   I have investigated so many high profile cases over the decades and have learned one sad thing about them.   Integrity among witnesses, cops and prosecutors quickly vanishes. Being a criminal defense investigator is not like what most people think or understand.   While investigating these cases  I soon found myself trapped in a world of lies.   If I can e xpose the lies my client often goes free! Because of bizarre dynamics, this is anything but an easy task. Let’s begin with a personal statistic I’ve established about my fellow humans.   A full one-third or more of people routinely lie.   As we know most people in fact can’t seem to tell the truth about something as simple why they’re late for work.   If this percentage of people can achieve the same result by lying as telling the truth they will choose to deceive.   It’s best described as a form of narcissism or self-empowerment.   In high pro...

Los Angeles, CA —It was in 2011 at the Goethe Institute across from the offices of the Screen Actor’s Guild where I learned about the generous film funding offered by the German government. A panel of leaders in German film and government funding spoke to American filmmakers explaining the process.  This was as filmmakers were given little choice but to flee the extortionate taxation of California’s politicians that have squeezed this important industry virtually to death.  Hollywood’s loss is certainly Germany’s gain.  Germany has learned that funding films creates production, jobs, and wealth as it promotes art in a big way.  In the end the German government realized tax revenue by simply priming the pump.  Whether it’s a Liam Neeson thriller, or one of the many edgy Quentin Tarantino films and so many in between, they’ve been funded in part by Germany.  The catch is they agreed to simply producing a percentage or the entire film in Ger...

Phoenix, AZ —The defense in the Jodi Arias case has filed a Poison Pill Motion that will end the prosecution of Arias.  She will be set free without as much as a jaywalking conviction! According to the motion the computer belonging to Travis Alexander , while in police custody was tampered with.   Thousands of pornographic files were deleted in a very serious case of evidence tampering. Arias claimed under oath during her trial that she discovered Alexander masturbating while looking at porn images of little boys.  Prosecutor Juan Martinez had repeatedly ridiculed Arias in arguments as a liar saying she made that up.  This is bad as prosecutorial misconduct can get .  There is no other legal remedy now but to send Arias home. I don’t anticipate Arias being held in custody beyond a week or two under the cataclysmic circumstances. What remains are the federal and local investigations into the evidence tampering, violation ...

Los Angeles, CA —When there is a personal injury or fatal accident on any one of our highways it must be investigated. Police respond, care for the injured until the arrival of EMT’s, arrange for towing of disabled vehicles and prepare accurate diagrams of the scene for their reports. They also need to photograph the vehicles, skid marks and debris.  This takes time and keeps the freeway closed until they’re finished. The diagrams are used by the courts and insurance companies to fix responsibility for these mishaps.  In some cases people are charged with serious crimes such as Murder and Manslaughter.  Defense lawyers can be counted upon argue that the diagrams are inaccurate or misleading in order to win freedom for their clients. Skid marks and tire scuff is forensic evidence that’s used by investigators to reconstruct accidents.  Speed is routinely determined by measurement of these marks on the pavement that all too quickly disappears from vie...

Phantom 2 with a GoPro HD camera targeted by LA politicians Los Angeles, CA —City Council Members Tom LaBonge , and Mitchell Englander have moved forward with a request for recommendations from the LAPD and other agencies on restricting or otherwise banning civilian drones. This is only the first step.   We will have to wait and see what develops and deal with any ordinance/s that they propose.   Once they have a proposed ordinance it must negotiate the legislative process that includes public comment.   We are  certainly  free to begin contacting members of the City Council now letting them know that the existing laws and FAA regulations are more than adequate to deal with any issues of public safety and privacy.  We need to let them know that any knee jerk reaction to media hype may seriously infringe on 1 st Amendment rights. News organizations, videographers, photographers, filmmakers have a right to gather and display their images. ...

Los Angeles, CA —After spending decades inside courtrooms first as a Chicago cop, later as a criminal defense investigator and journalist in Arizona and California, I’ve been redundantly disappointed the cast of characters I’ve met. The judges for the most part are a bunch of pompous tyrants on a power trip. Prosecutors are a bunch of smug bastards that routinely hide evidence and put their thumbs on the scales of justice at every opportunity.  The beleaguered defense lawyers must hold their noses while they simply watch their hapless clients get convicted 80% of the time. Occasionally there are unexpected surprises and dramas but the reality is most of the cases settle without trial in plea agreements.  Accordingly, I have authored a somewhat cynical motto,  “If justice ever happens it’s usually by accident and for all the wrong reasons.” What do I think about most court or police themed entertainment programs?  They all suck in a very big way. ...

Judge Sherry Stephens and Prosecutor Juan Martinez  Phoenix, AZ —Let me begin by saying I’m not now nor have I ever been retained as the defense investigator for  Jodi Arias .   I’m not her friend or one of her supporters.   I have however been greatly alarmed by the conduct involved with her journey through the Arizona criminal justice system. How the Arias case became such a high profile circus defies all logic. This was a no more than passionate event of one lover killing another.   This is not really unusual as homicides go.    How this became a Capital First Degree Murder Case makes no sense to me at all.   Had there been financial gain involved I may have supported a murder charge. Arias has already been behind bars for over six years and has served adequate time for a more realistic crime such as Manslaughter.   She’s been convicted of Capital Murder and now a second jury is going to be wangling with her punis...

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Los Angeles, CA —The redundancy of reported drone news fables claiming privacy invasion and endangerment are getting very tiresome.   Okay, I agree that these stories are still somewhat novel and interesting.   Claims that the little camera drones are nearly colliding with conventional helicopter and other aircraft are nearly always patently bogus.   Careful examination by a journalist would expose the reality from fantasy. Police and news helicopter pilots see their career days being numbered by the threat of drones eliminating their jobs.   Helicopters cost $1,500 to $2,500 per hour to keep in the air.   The drones cost nearly nothing! Are the motives of helicopter pilots really pure when they disparage, denounce or otherwise criticize camera drones and their operators?    Can a little camera drone bring down a helicopter or airplane?   I won’t say it’s impossible but it is incredibly unlikely.   There are thousands of collision...