Police found such a small amount of crack cocaine in James V. Taylor’s car that investigators described it as unweighable. It was enough for a 15-year prison sentence in Missouri, where the courts make an enormous distinction between crack and powder cocaine. Missouri and several other states followed the federal government’s lead in creating such disparities decades ago, but now federal law has changed and prisoner advocates say it&# ... Jump to full article >>

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A group of Yankton’s health care professionals gathered Tuesday to voice their support of a law that, if passed, would ban smoking from all restaurants, bars and casinos in South Dakota. The gathering took place at the Avera Sacred Heart Hospital Pavilion was part of a kick-off for the Yes on 12 campaign. Referred Law 12 will be on the ballot in the upcoming election. “I’m going to continue in those efforts and support the passage of a stat ... Jump to full article >>

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The Obama administration on Monday widened the scope of U.S. financial penalties against North Korea, escalating pressure on the Pyongyang regime to give up its nuclear weapons. The Treasury Department announced it is freezing the assets of several individuals, companies and organizations allegedly linked to Pyongyang’s nuclear program or to management of a vast network of illicit economic activities such as narcotics trafficking and money ... Jump to full article >>

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The law and justice are on the side of Gov. David A. Paterson’s plan to start collecting state taxes on tobacco products sold by the state’s Native American nations. That doesn’t mean the governor won’t have to be very careful in the way he follows through with that pledge. Paterson said last week that he had been warned by his own State Police that “violence and death” could be the result of any effort to go against the Seneca and On ... Jump to full article >>

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To investigate the burden which extradition places on Britain’s criminal justice system, The Sunday Telegraph spent a week in the country’s sole extradition court. Of the 100 or so extradition hearings held every week at City of Westminster magistrates’ court, some involve career criminals or accusations of major crimes. But in many cases defendants appear bemused to find themselves in court over relatively minor matters, offences they did ... Jump to full article >>

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You might think that those who appear on the state’s latest list of delinquent tax payers for non-payment of a cigarette tax own a convenience store or some other retail operation. And in some cases that’s true. In Pennsylvania, the largest tax lien issued in connection with non-payment of cigarette tax is on the Putignano Candy and Cigar Co. in Vandergrift, Westmoreland County. The state list indicates the company owes a total of $46 ... Jump to full article >>

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