SUSANVILLE, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management has announced opening of the North Eagle Lake and Pit River campgrounds and the Hobo Camp Day Use area in northeast California for the warm weather recreation season. The campgrounds open Wednesday, May 1; Hobo Camp opens Wednesday, May 17.

The North Eagle Lake Campground northwest of Susanville has 20 developed campsites available on a first-come, first-served basis. The campground has potable water and sites that can accommodate RVs up to 35 feet long. The fee is $8 per night. A camp host is on site.

Also at the north shore of Eagle Lake, the BLM offers Eagle Lake shoreline camping at the undeveloped Rocky Point East and Rocky Point West areas. There are no facilities or services, and the sites are best for fully self-contained camping. There are no fees, but donations are accepted. The sites are open all year, weather permitting. There are information boards and vault toilets at Rocky Point East.

The Pit River Campground, near the community of Fall River Mills in eastern Shasta County, offers eight campsites, a group campsite, a kayak launch facility and a fishing pier for those with disabilities. The fee is $8 nightly and $12 per night for the group campsite. A camp host is on site.

At Hobo Camp, the main vehicle gate off South Street on Hobo Camp Road at the west edge of Susanville will be open daily from 8 a.m. to a half-hour after sunset through the season. Exceptions are Saturday, May 17, and Saturday, May 24, when the gate will open at 5 a.m. to allow early fishing access for the Lassen County Junior Fishing Derby and for the opening day of the California stream fishing season, respectively.

Hobo Camp is also accessible to walkers, bicyclists and horseback riders using the Bizz Johnson Trail from the Susanville Railroad Depot Visitor Center and trailheads on Lassen Street and Miller Road in Susanville. It offers picnic tables, grilling grates and fire rings, open space for outdoor games, toilets and parking areas in a pine grove setting. There is parking for large vehicles and trailers, including horse trailers. A host is on site. There are no fees.

A woman was recently arrested in Florida after attacking a man with a can of Pringles and possibly causing him “permanent disfigurement,” law enforcement in the Sunshine State say.

Shanika Serdahl, 28, stands accused of one count of aggravated battery, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident occurred on Thursday, at a 7-Eleven on International Drive in Orlando, according to an arrest affidavit.

A deputy arrived in response to a call about a “physical fight” at the convenience store, the court document says.

Last fall, I attended a continuing legal education conference focused on sex crime defense and an outstanding speaker—who discussed the emerging field of forensic genetic genealogy—mentioned The Genetic Detective, a six-episode reality TV series that aired on ABC in 2020. The reference came from a credible source, so I figured it was worth viewing.

‘The Hot Case’

CeCe Moore, a genetic genealogist who originally worked more toward helping people discover their biological identities and lineage, utilizes The Genetic Detective to recount various situations in which she assisted law enforcement in solving cold cases.

Not knowing where to start, I visited the show’s IMDb page and discovered that “The Hot Case” (the last episode in the series) was the most applicable to my trial work. I was able to view it for free at ABC.com.

The episode focused on a 79-year-old woman from St. George, Utah, who was raped in her home as she slept. Law enforcement was alerted to the attack and immediately conducted a crime scene investigation. They located a large portion of genetic material, namely seminal fluid, that they attributed to the assailant.

The material was collected and submitted to the Combined DNA Index System, a database known as CODIS, which is used by law enforcement to compare unknown DNA profiles to known profiles collected from offenders and missing persons. But the submission didn’t return a result, so a St. George police detective reached out to Moore in hopes that her methods could help.

Moore employs a database of genetic material submitted by individuals who want to discover their genealogy. As the episode plays out, we learn about a divide between those who feel using these family tree-type databases for law enforcement purposes is an assault on privacy rights and those who favor the trade-off of solving cold cases.

The rape was Moore’s first open case. I don’t want to give away too much because the episode, and likely the series as a whole, is worth watching.

Interestingly, “The Hot Case,” takes a meta approach to the science by also incorporating the then-ongoing William Earl Talbott II litigation. Tabbott was charged in 2018 with the 1987 murders in California of Canadian teenagers Jay Cook and Tanya van Cuyklenborg. Moore had aided law enforcement in apprehending Tabbott, and the episode is able to show how the trial played out in real time.

Which is important to Moore and the system as a whole: This was the first time genetic genealogy had been used at trial. The method was allowed as admissible and helped secure a double-murder conviction. In 2024, the Washington Court of Appeals affirmed Talbott’s judgement and sentence, with a directive that the trial court strike a firearm enhancement. The state supreme court denied review the same year.

DNA evidence in a criminal prosecution

Moore works backward with the relevant and available DNA profiles, and her discussion and demonstration of how she does so is remarkable. But I’ve yet to see genetic genealogy used firsthand in a criminal case.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes up, though, as prosecutors will try to employ genetic evidence any chance they have. After all, the only thing better than DNA evidence for a prosecutor is a confession. Actually, some might argue that DNA evidence is still the preferred ammunition. Science is objective.

More importantly, the general public swallows it hook, line and sinker. DNA is a complicated subject, and most receive only limited information through media saturation.

Consequently, those litigants willing to put in the time and effort to further educate themselves will be ahead in the ball game. I know that sounds self-evident, but the uninitiated would be surprised to learn how many players in the legal arena lack more than a basic understanding of a topic that sometimes determines life and death.

And that is scary because when the science is really examined, in my experience, it becomes clear that most situations involving DNA are far from the clear-cut conclusions they initially appear to be.

Turning an obstacle into an advantage

You win your cases at your desk, not inside the courtroom. Many times, if you know the subject better than your adversary, the conclusion isn’t the crux; it’s the delivery that matters most.

Think about it: Suppose you’re defending someone charged with a shooting. In that case, you need to educate yourself on the qualities of gunshot residue, blood splatter evidence, different calibers of firearms, rifling and impressions, among other things. If it’s an arson allegation, you have to be up to snuff on burn patterns, accelerants and smoke and flame colors. Even when it comes to something like a simple DUI, you need to understand the ins and outs of standardized field sobriety tests, gas chromatography, chemical tests, and drug and alcohol metabolization.

The same goes for cases that involve DNA. In order to speak intelligently with an expert on the subject, you have to educate yourself. It’s necessary to read relevant literature to establish a firm grasp on the subject’s essential aspects and stay abreast of developments in the field.

Maybe even more important than speaking with an expert on cross-examination, though, is speaking with a potential jury during voir dire. To the degree allowed by the court, you want to educate the prospective fact-finders. The only way to make that process smooth is to know the material well enough to boil it down to terms and analogies that will resonate.

After all, did you know you can deposit your DNA through secondary and even tertiary transfer? Moreover, there’s literature that discusses quaternary transfer, which is a DNA transfer from one person to another whom they never even touched. For instance, let’s say someone touches a doorknob. Someone else then touches that same doorknob and then touches their car door. A third person later touches that same car door. That third person has now potentially acquired the first person’s DNA, even though they never had contact with them.

Also, were you aware that we can deposit our DNA through aerosol transfer simply by speaking? Most people, and plenty of attorneys, have no idea about these mechanisms.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The existence of DNA merely shows that genetic material is present. Every other circumstance is still subject to multiple facts, considerations, circumstances and interpretations. Those interpretations can lead to innocent explanations if you understand the science.

Adam R. Banner is the founder and lead attorney of the Oklahoma Legal Group, a criminal defense law firm in Oklahoma City. His practice focuses solely on state and federal criminal defense. He represents the accused against allegations of sex crimes, violent crimes, drug crimes and white-collar crimes.

The study of law isn’t for everyone, yet its practice and procedure seem to permeate pop culture at an increasing rate. This column is about the intersection of law and pop culture in an attempt to separate the real from the ridiculous.

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This column reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily the views of the ABA Journal—or the American Bar Association.

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Reed Smith plans to open Atlanta office with 37 lawyers from these 2 law firms

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 5, 2025, 8:52 am CST

Reed Smith announced last week that it is opening an Atlanta office with 33 lawyers from Morris, Manning & Martin and four from Greenberg Traurig.

The group is made up of 15 partners, 20 associates and two counsels who will bring “a wealth of corporate, finance and emerging technology experience to the firm,” according to a Jan. 30 press release. Most of the lawyers will become part of Reed Smith’s global corporate group.

“Our firm is in growth mode,” said Casey Ryan, Reed Smith’s global managing partner, in the press release.

Ryan told Law.com that Reed Smith plans to “grow into a very full-service offering for our clients in the southeast and beyond.”

Thirteen of the partners are from Morris Manning as are 20 other lawyers (18 associates and two counsels), Law.com reports. According to Reuters, Morris Manning lost about 20% of the partners in its Atlanta office as a result of the move. Two partners and two associates are from Greenberg Traurig. A Reed Smith partner is also relocating to Atlanta.

In a statement, Simon Malko, Morris Manning’s managing partner, said the law firm remains in good financial health and committed to growth, according to Reuters.

Reed Smith has added 84 attorneys to its corporate group in the past year, Law360 reports.

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Special counsel Jack Smith filed court documents on Monday to dismiss the criminal election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January, citing long-standing Justice Department policy prohibiting the indictment and prosecution of a sitting president. The request was subsequently granted by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan just a few hours after Smith’s filing, meaning the charges stemming from Trump’s alleged attempt to undermine the 2020 election on Jan. 6 are over.

While the dismissal was inevitable, Smith requested that the case against Trump be dismissed “without prejudice,” meaning there would be nothing barring prosecutors from bringing the same charges again in the future.

In her order granting the request, Chutkan wrote that “dismissal without prejudice is appropriate here,” noting that Trump’s presidential immunity from prosecution will not be permanent.

“Dismissal without prejudice is also consistent with the Government’s understanding that the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office,” Chutkan wrote.

A group of alleged hitmen got out of a vehicle and opened up fire at a hookah lounge in Birmingham, Alabama, and killed their intended target along with three other bystanders caught in the hail of bullets, according to police. In addition, 17 other people suffered bullet wounds in the mass shooting at the popular nightlife district, cops say.

The gunmen remain at large, Birmingham police Chief Scott Thurmond told reporters at a press conference Sunday morning. It happened around 11 p.m. Saturday outside Hush, a hookah and cigar lounge on Magnolia Avenue in Five Points South. Thurmond said the investigation is still in its early stages, but cops have been able to determine the shooting was targeted.

The federal Judiciary is accepting applications for membership in its public user group that provides advice and feedback on ways to improve electronic public access (EPA) services.

The EPA Public User Group consists of up to 12 members representing a cross section of people who use the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system to access federal court records, including representatives of the legal sector, commercial enterprises, the media, academia, government agencies, and the public.

The application period is open until Sept. 2, 2024. Interested individuals should fill out an application form and submit it to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO). The two-year terms begin on Jan. 1, 2025.

The EPA Public User Group typically holds an annual, in-person meeting in Washington, D.C., and additional meetings virtually, as needed. Meeting agendas and summaries are publicly available.

Members are selected by the AO based on user type, experience accessing court electronic records through PACER, frequency of usage, an account status in good standing, and a commitment to collecting feedback from peers. Current members of the group may reapply for a second term. Members can serve no more than two consecutive terms.

The EPA Public User Group will serve as the Judiciary continues its effort to modernize the Case Management and Electronic Case Files system and PACER, the portal used by the public to access court records in that system. The planned improvements include improving search functionality in PACER, so users can search across the Judiciary more easily for near real-time court data, documents, and docket entries.

The group, first formed in 2020, has contributed to several improvements to the Judiciary’s electronic public access services. Recommendations from the group were pivotal in the creation of a pro se user page on the PACER website, improvements in the PACER Case Locator, and raising awareness among courts of the importance of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. Most recently, the EPA Public User Group aided in refining the requirements for Case Preview, a new feature in the PACER interface, which will provide users with a case summary.

PACER allows instantaneous access to nearly all documents filed by judges and the parties in all U.S. courts of appeals, district courts, and bankruptcy courts. It provides a central access point to more than 1 billion documents housed at more than 200 federal courts. In operation for more than 30 years, PACER has about 4.7 million user accounts.