U.S. job seekers are crashing into the worst employment market in years and background checks that reach deeper than ever into their pasts. The result: a surge of people seeking to legally clear their criminal records. In Michigan, state police estimate they'll set aside 46% more convictions this year than last. Oregon is on track to set aside 33% more. Florida sealed and expunged nearly 15,000 criminal records in the fiscal year ended June 30, up 43% from the previous year. The courts of Cook County, which includes Chicago and nearby suburbs, received about 7,600 expungement requests in the year's first three quarters, nearly double the pace from the year before. [continues 1940 words]
The marijuana harvest in British Columbia generated about 7 billion Canadian dollars (US$7 billion) last year, making it one of the most lucrative industries in the Canadian province. But after a string of high-profile arrests and slayings -- including the execution-style murders of six people in October -- the easygoing attitude that has long surrounded marijuana in Canada is under attack. Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper is calling for a cultural shift, to be enforced by what his political opponents are calling an American-style war on drugs. He has introduced legislation that would set mandatory minimum jail sentences for marijuana growers and traffickers, and he is seeking more money for enforcement and prosecution. [continues 644 words]
Ex-Officer Linked To Public Counsel More than 600 cases handled by the state public defender's office over the last six years could be appealed because they were investigated by a private detective company connected to a disgraced former Boston police officer convicted of perjury, the chief counsel for the office said Friday. Carlos Luna, a detective with the city's drug unit in the late 1980s who was convicted of making up information to obtain search warrants and then lying about it under oath, works for Scollay Square Investigations, according to attorneys and private investigators who know him. And, according to its chief, Scollay Square Investigations has worked on hundreds cases for the Committee for Public Counsel Services. [continues 918 words]
