ImClone Founder Sam Waksal began his 7 year prison term today.

He is at Schuylkill in Minersville, PA, about 75 miles from Philadelphia. It is a medium security institution with an adjacent minimum security camp. The New York Post reports he'll be at the camp. Waksal's first choice was Eglin, but we hear this won't be too bad. He spoke to reporters before going in, and said he's ready.

The Miami Vice era went out with a whimper today as Willy Falcon was sentenced to 20 years in jail and a $1 million fine for his cocaine activities in Miami in the 1980's. The sentence and fine were part of a plea bargain. Falcon paid the fine last week, but came up $270 short. Then it was discovered that $400 of bills were counterfeit. His lawyers made up the shortfall.

Falcon's partner, Sal Magluta, was sentenced to life in prison some years ago. Police say the two earned $2 billion from turning Miami into the cocaine capital of the nation. They spent $20 million on lawyers for themselves and their associates during more than a decade of legal travails.

Their story is actually a lot more interesting than the article makes it sound. Here's what we remember:

Carlton Dotson, the former roommate of Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy has been charged with murder.

According to press reports, Dotson called the police the other night and asked for help. The police came and picked him up and took him to a hospital, where he underwent a psychiatric evaluation. He called the FBI from the hospital and arranged to make a statement. The FBI says it was a voluntary, non-custodial interrogation.

It sounds to us like the FBI wants people to believe that Dotson voluntarily confessed. But Dotson denies it:

As he left the court commissioner's office Monday night, Dotson told a reporter: ''I didn't confess to anything. Call the FBI.'' Shortly after his arrest, Dotson had referred all questions to his lawyer.

Dotson's lawyer says he doesn't even know why they think Dennehy has been murdered. No body has been found.

Just goes to show, if you're under investigation for a crime, don't think you can talk your way out of it with the police. Anything you say can and will be used against you. Keep your mouth shut and get a lawyer.

Unfortunate news to report about David Boies, the lawyer who represented Al Gore in the 2000 election mess in Florida. He is facing three ethics charges in Florida, due to his having funded a lawsuit.

David Boies, a perennial on the National Law Journal's list of most influential lawyers, faces three charges of ethics violations based on his involvement in a bizarre legal battle between the owners of two Palm Beach lawn-care companies.

A Bar grievance committee in Tallahassee found probable cause on July 10 that Boies had violated rules against misconduct, giving money to a client and improper supervision of other lawyers. The finding is similar to an indictment by a grand jury, and the charges will be heard in a trial proceeding by a judge appointed by the Florida Supreme Court.

Here's the background on the charges:

No, we're not talking about the past, but the May 28, 2003 death of a 32 year old black man in the "racially divided" town of Belle Glades, Florida. Initially thought to be a suicide by hanging, police are now investigating the death as a possible lynching.

This is not good news for Dog the Bounty Hunter, also known as Duane "Dog" Chapman. We also wonder whether Puerto Vallarta has a rabid prosecutor on its hands.

Marco Roberto Juarez, a state prosecutor in Puerto Vallarta ... wants to slap Chapman with organized-crime charges and is preparing to ask for his extradition. "We are going to make this a precedent to show that you can't just come here and do this kind of thing with impunity," Juarez said.

Organized crime offenses? Talk about trumping up charges...

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Oakland, CA pot guru Ed Rosenthal is back in the news. Last time we reported, he had received a one day sentence from a federal judge for growing marijuana for cancer patients - with the permission of the Oakland City Government.

Today comes news that the Government is appealing the sentence.

Rosenthal was convicted last spring of growing pot in an Oakland warehouse. The marijuana growing operation, which supplied a dispensary on Sixth Street in San Francisco, was legal under California law and had been inspected and signed off on by Oakland city officials.

But because federal law does not recognize medical pot, Judge Charles Breyer excluded any testimony dealing with California law, which allows for the medical use of weed with doctors' approval. After the trial, a majority of the jurors who convicted Rosenthal said they would have reached a different verdict had they been allowed to consider the purposes of the growth and that Rosenthal was acting in accordance with local and state laws.

The San Francisco Examiner says it best:

OH, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, why don't the feds just give it a rest?

After that, we like Ed's comment:

Rosenthal also said he thinks the appeal is a waste of taxpayers' money. "If they have all that money, why don't they build some schools?" he asked. [from Bay City News]

Who could believe this could happen again?

A 19 year-old man in Florida hit a pedestrian and drove for a mile to his house, with the 57 year-old pedestrian's legless body stuck in his windshield. The accident cut off the man's legs, which later were found near the parking lot of a bar. Bar patrons called in the discovery.

Meanwhile, the traumatized young driver, who did not have a cell phone, figured his house was the closest stopping point. He called 9/11 when he got home. The pedestrian was dead. No charges will be filed against the driver as he was not at fault, according to Kim Miller, spokesperson for the highway patrol:

``It's the pedestrian's fault. He was wearing dark clothing,'' Miller said. ``The poor kid (Dradeen) was in the wrong place at the wrong time.''

Many in blogtopia (yes, Skippy coined that phrase) are talking about the life sentence imposed on an Oklahoma man for spitting on a police officer. See, Eugene at Volokh Conspiracy, Ken Hammers at CrimLaw and Matt Rustler at Stop the Bleating.

All three have updated (although happily not entirely disavowed) their original criticism of the sentence, having learned that the offender had prior convictions for rape and burglary, and bit the officer when spitting on him. They point out that the life sentence was allowed by the state's repeat offender laws. Allowed, yes. Required, no. We'd point out there's a big difference.

This Houston Chronicle article makes it clear that it was not a mandatory repeat offender sentence, but rather, one imposed by the Judge, who followed the jury's recommendation, made after 15 minutes of deliberation, despite the prosecutor's and defense attorney's requests for a lesser sentence:

Creek County Associate District Judge April Sellers White followed the recommendation of a jury for the maximum sentence against John C. Marquez under a law that makes it a felony to place bodily fluids on law enforcement officers. White rejected a prosecution request for a 25-year prison term and a defense request for a four-year term.

Yes, biting and spitting is bad. But both the officer and defendant were tested for communicable diseases after the incident and both tested negative. Also, according to the officer's testimony, the biting occurred while the officer was physically attempting to restrain the defendant from spitting a second time. Thus, it was a defensive gesture.

The sentence is excessive, and we are offended that a judge would give credence to a jury who voted for life in prison after 15 minutes of deliberation given the facts of this case--especially when the lawyers on both sides asked for a lesser sentence.

Even though this isn't a three-strikes sentence, we will take this opportunity to direct interested persons to Families to Amend California's Three-Strikes, which is filled with horror stories of inmates receiving undeserved life sentences.

Lawyers for the accused sniper suspect John Muhammad have sued in federal court to postpone publication of a former police chief's book about the case:

In a request filed in federal court, attorney Thomas Mann said Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose has ''strategically planned the launch of his book just prior to Muhammad's trial in an attempt to obtain as much money as possible from the results of his official investigation.''

''Muhammad will suffer irreparable harm in the nature of ... a feeding frenzy conjured by Moose through press tours, television interviews and other publicity-oriented endeavors,'' the attorney said.

The book is scheduled to be released September 15, and Muhammad's trial begins in October. Controversy has dogged this book since the beginning. It is unfathomable to us that a law enforcement officer would try to profit off an accused before trial. We will not mention the title of the book in protest. We refuse to even inadvertantly cause anyone to buy it.

Moose signed a book deal in January with publisher E.P. Dutton for a reported $170,000 advance. The county ethics commission later forbade him to write the book, saying that he would be misusing his office for profit and that he might be tempted to disclose confidential information. Moose resigned on June 28, saying he was forced to choose between his job and the book.

Good riddance.

Our favorite bounty hunter, Duane "Dog" Chapman arrived back in the U.S. today. His attorneys are working out his legal problems in Mexico.

Dog has bail bond businesses in Hawaii and Colorado. The Rocky Mountain News reports Dog is headed back to Colorado as soon as possible--he has his next job already picked out:

[Dog's Wife] Beth Smith said the cost of attorneys, chasing down Luster and not chasing several other fugitives have taken their toll on the couple's bank account.

"We're just about broke," Smith said. "That's why, as soon as he can get out, Dog is going to Commerce City where Bullet has been running amok while the bounty hunter is gone."

"Chapman is expected to renew his search for Colorado felon Robert "Bullet" Vigil, who, according to Smith, is hiding in Commerce City, Chapman's birthplace. Vigil, whose bond is $40,000, has a long arrest record, which includes domestic violence, assault and drug arrests, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records."

We think Dog will get a well-deserved hero's welcome here.

The Judge presiding over the case of accused sniper suspect John Lee Malvo has granted a defense request for change of venue. The trial will be held in Chesapeake , 200 miles to the south.

The Judge found that the paramount issue was the victimization of the community in Fairfax County and the Washington, DC area--not the prejudicial publicity.

Update: Here's the opinion.