What are the chances of a first time felony offender going to jail?
It is going to depend on a number of things: the type of crime, the way in which the crime was committed, the circumstances of the crime, and the offender's past criminal history. Let's say you broke into someone's home and stole over $250 worth of their belongings (that makes it a felony). If you did it because a bully said he would hurt your mother if you didn't get him the stuff is a more compelling reason than if you did it to get money to buy more video games for yourself and some good weed. If this was your 3rd time getting caught doing this type of thing, that ups your chances at serving time. If you broke into someone's home and found there were some kids in it with a babysitter and you terrorized everyone, that's not going to go well in court. So you see your intentions and your actions, along with your past criminal history, will be the deciding factor on whether the judge sees jail in your future. You get points on a sentencing sheet for all these different things. Rack up so many points and it's off to the slammer for you. A sentence of under a year is served in the county jail. A sentence of over a year is served in a state prison. Generally. Every state has their own rules, but that's the way it usually goes. Some crimes have a jail sentence no matter what. Gun laws in Massachusetts for example have an automatic, no getting out of it, jail sentence if the crime was committed with a gun. First time offenders that committed a non violent crime and have no past criminal history will most likely get a suspended sentence, probation and fines. Suspended means you don't have to serve the jail time as long as you do your probation and pay the fines. If you screw up, you will be put in jail to serve the original sentence.
What are some slang terms used among police officers?
The most derogatory terms for the bad guys and citizens who are just pains in the rectum:A.H. = Adam Henry (A-dam H-enry) If you don’t get it…..sometimes you will hear it as “Jack Hole”…..now what starts with an “A” that ends with HOLE ?RICHARD CRANIUM= What starts with a “D” and is a nickname for Richard ? What is the non-medical layman’s term for the Cranium ? Do these clues HEAD you in the right direction ?
Is someone pulls a knife on me, can I legally kill them in self defense?
It depends. On all kinds of things.Not least of all the legislation this happens in.Generally speaking, a knife is usually considered a deadly weapon (although a one Inch pen knife might well routinely not be, depending, again, on legislation and circumstances). In most legal systems I know anything about, your assailant brandishing a deadly weapon will go a long way towards justifying your use of deadly force in self defense. But it won't suffice on its own.If you're standing ten metres and a busy city street apart, simply brandishing the knife will not be regarded a credible threat to your life - which is the standard often applied to when lethal force is permissible in self defense.Drawn during a fist fight between you two, a metre away from you, while shouting death threats? That's as close to a textbook case of a credible threat to your life as it gets...Not a lawyer, anywhere, not even cooking for a law firm or playing one on youtube...
Do people realize that you can send marijuana through overnight carriers with zero detection?
Yes, many people realize that you can ship all kinds of things that are illegal or unsafe to ship through air and ground carriers. Cannabis seeds make it through US customs daily, cannabis by the ounce and pound are shipped all over the US, and I imagine cocaine, heroin, molly, etc are all shipped too. It's a numbers game that is far and wide in favor of the senders and receivers. There isn't time for the carriers to scrutinize packages, not even 1%. Most are for-profit companies that want to make money shipping stuff, there is no profit in busting people. Unless, there is an on-going investigation and the investigator caught wind of the shipment and obtained warrants, outside of individual targeting, people are rarely caught doing this.My friend was "caught", he shipped an ounce of cannabis from Michigan to Florida overnight by FedEx. He surmises that the envelope was a little too fat and the processing machine was jammed by it, FedEx said one of their machines damaged the envelope and tore it. This all happened in Atlanta, Georgia, FedEx gave him the option to destroy the package, which he gave them permission to do. That was the end of it, no federal or state law enforcement actions at all.I also know someone who received 5lbs. of garbage cannabis at her shop in the name of a former employee via USPS. For whatever reason she opened it to discover the cannabis and called the police. She told me she wasn't sure if she was being set-up, because the former employee left on bad terms. Detroit police and USPS inspectors arrived took the package into evidence and she never heard anything there after.Carriers really don't care about this aspect of shipping illegal drugs, it is the hazmat stuff that can leak, release vapor, spontaneously combust, things that can exploded with shock, or biological material that is infectious. Things that can harm employees, contaminate vehicles, or take-down aircraft are the bane of the industry.I have a 20+ year background in security, part of my experience includes high-risk transportation, logistics, and industrial safety. My company has transported dangerous caustics, explosive ammunition components (military components), and dangerous biologics. This is a country's real danger that travels on roads everyday and everywhere. I would tend to think that anyone attempting to transport a large amount of drugs would either use their own plane or hired freight liner.
If you smell marijuana being smoked by a neighbor in their backyard, should you notify the police?
Wow. Who died and made you the evil cop? Smoking marijuana used to be legal for thousands of years until someone thought of a bigger scheme to support a prison system that did nothing but made US the laughing stock on earth with the highest prisoners count on planet earth. Like they say, good fences made good neighbors, if the fence wouldn't block out the smell then walk inside. Your neighbors are smoking in the privacy of their backyard and you should respect that. That's the law defining property lines so people can enjoy a private life as long as they are not cooking up meth or made their houses into drug factories. Also, please take in consideration that USA is changing its views about marijuana. Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, Washington has legalized the use of cannabis and they are being followed by many others. California has long allowing medical marijuana as a pain relieve medicine for cancer patients. Please spare the law enforcement and personal embarrassment calling the police. Personally, I know of a few friends in the law enforcement who smoke regularly to relieve job stress. I have been around people who are smokers for several decades and never once I see them hurting anybody. It's time to get the record straight that smoking marijuana is not a real crime but a scapegoat of the so called "War on drugs" that has done more harm than good for the society. Scandinavians were smart of never banning marijuana. Now that's what I called a developed country with developed minds.