2018 CWAG Annual Meeting
J
uly 22-25, 2018
Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico
Registration is now OPEN to all!
The Conference of Western Attorneys General, Arizona Attorney General and CWAG Chair Mark Brnovich, and New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas invite you to the 2018 CWAG Annual Meeting in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico this July 22 to 25, 2018. Join your colleagues as CWAG explores the most pertinent legal issues during the days and spend the evenings enjoying the land of enchantment at our special events. This website includes travel and hotel information to facilitate air and hotel arrangements, speaker details, CLE information and much more.
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Illegal Firearm Possession
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Attorney General Becerra Announces Ventura County Operation Targeting Individuals Illegally Possessing Firearms
April 27, 2018
Two-day operation results in the confiscation of over 38 weapons.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that in a two-day operation in Ventura County, California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) special agents seized three assault weapons, twelve rifles, eight shotguns, 15 handguns and 22,690 rounds of ammunition from individuals prohibited from possessing them. The individuals were subjects in the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) database or were otherwise engaged in illegally acquiring or possessing an illegal weapon.
“On a daily basis, the California Department of Justice works to combat crime and safeguard our families by removing illegal guns from our neighborhoods,”
said Attorney General Becerra
. “This two-day operation illustrates how California is leading the nation in combating gun violence. We will continue to partner with local law enforcement agencies to remove weapons from individuals who shouldn’t have them in order to keep our communities safe."
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Florida Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Human Trafficking and Branding
April 27, 2018
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Office of Statewide Prosecution secured a prison sentence for a man convicted of human trafficking and branding a victim. Friday, a Marion County Judge sentenced Ryan Gemelle Polle, 33, to 30 years in state prison. The sentence comes after the jury found Poole guilty of human trafficking, deriving support from prostitution, unlawful use of a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony, sexual battery and branding. This is Florida’s first conviction under the state’s branding statute.
“This disgusting human trafficker branded his victim
,
raped and forced her to perform sex acts. We will not allow this evil to persist in Florida, and today’s sentencing serves as a strong warning to anyone trying to enslave and traffic people in our state,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “I want to thank my Statewide Prosecutors Julie Sercus and Rita Peters for their resolve and determination to ensure this monster did not escape justice.”
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FTC Seeks Comment on Proposed Amendment to Privacy Act Notices
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on proposed modifications to its system of records notices under the Privacy Act to ensure the Commission can disclose records to another agency in the event of a data breach.
The Privacy Act authorizes federal agencies to adopt routine uses of data as long as they are consistent with the purpose for which the information was collected. Acting on a recommendation from the President’s Identity Theft Task Force, the FTC in 2007 published a new routine use based on model language recommended from the Justice Department that allowed for disclosure of records to appropriate persons and entities in order to respond to a data breach. Since then, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) determined that the model language was too narrow and that agencies needed authority to make disclosures that go beyond those contemplated by the original routine use.
Based on additional guidance provided last year by OMB, the
FTC’s proposed modification
, which will be published in the Federal Register shortly, more specifically addresses harm to individuals and expands the concept to make clear that it is not limited to identity theft or financial harm. In addition, the proposed modification adds a second routine use to allow the FTC to disclose information to another federal agency when that agency determines that the information is reasonably needed by that agency to respond to a breach. The Commission will be accepting public comments on the notice for 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. Instructions for filing comments appear in the “Supplementary Information” section of the notice.
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2018 Internet Security Threat Report
The 2018 Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR) takes a deep dive into the world’s largest civilian global intelligence network, revealing the latest trends and cyber security attacks statistics.
From the devastating impact of WannaCry and Petya/NotPetya, to the explosion in cryptojacking (stealth crypto currency miners), 2017 was yet another year of extraordinary cyber crime and mounting damage.
Innovation, organization, and sophistication—these are the tools cyber attackers employed, working harder and more efficiently to uncover new vulnerabilities and escape detection.
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Colorado Substance Abuse Trend and Response Task Force Releases Annual Report
May 1, 2018
Since 2013, the Task Force has monitored emerging drug abuse trends throughout Colorado
DENVER
– Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman announced the release of the Colorado Substance Abuse Trend and Response Task Force’s 2017 Annual Report, which is submitted to the Colorado General Assembly’s Judiciary Committees in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Since 2013, the Task Force has monitored emerging drug abuse issues in order to respond proactively and mitigate escalation of potential negative impacts on the people and communities of Colorado. This legislative session the General Assembly passed a bill reauthorizing the Task Force for an additional 10 years in order to continue to their important work.
“Substance abuse has had a devastating impact on millions of families across the country and Colorado is certainly not immune to this crisis,” said Task Force Chair Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman. “The findings in the 2017 report highlight the many successes during the last year, but it also begins to outline how much more must be done in the areas of treatment, education, and prevention to help Coloradans.”
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Drug Free America Foundation: Lifetime Achievement Award
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General Bondi's efforts on combating drug abuse recognized
Drug abuse destroys lives, divides families and jeopardizes the safety of our communities. As Florida’s Attorney General and a former state prosecutor I have seen the destruction it causes firsthand. I have also seen families reunited and lives changed with the help of good people who stand up to fight against drug abuse and addiction.
This week, I was humbled to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Drug Free America Foundation for the small role I’ve played in fighting drug abuse. We have a lot of great partners in this fight, and Florida exemplifies how local, state and federal law enforcement can work in harmony to stop drug traffickers.
My office has worked with these great law enforcement partners in recent weeks on cases resulting in 25-year prison sentences for drug dealers trafficking dangerous opioids in Florida.
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Fraudulent Business Filings
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Attorney General Coffman Cracks Down on Fraudulently-Filed Businesses
Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman today announced the filing of several suits against businesses that fraudulently filed their organizing documents with the Secretary of State. These purported businesses used unwitting Colorado consumers’ addresses to fraudulently incorporate in Colorado.
Several businesses, many of which appear to have been incorporated by individuals residing outside of Colorado or the United States, have been using local consumers’ residential addresses as the businesses’ principal office location or as their registered agents’ address without the consumers’ knowledge or consent. The unsuspecting consumers had no idea this was happening until they began receiving mail for these companies. One consumer discovered that more than 200 companies used his address as their principal office location and registered agents’ address. Another fraudulently-incorporated business was found to have been infringing on the trademark of a legitimate business selling water heaters overseas.
“Consumers should never face the difficult circumstance of unknowingly being used to help facilitate fraud,” said Attorney General Coffman. “By filing for judicial dissolution of these fraudulently-filed companies, we are cracking down on businesses that misuse Coloradans’ information and think the law does not apply to them.”
The Attorney General urges any person who has reason to believe that a business is fraudulently using his or her address to file a complain
t
here
or
contact the Colorado Bureau of Investigation by email at
[email protected]
.
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Forensic Resources Library Announced
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CWAG and Cellebrite to Launch Digital Forensics Resource Library
The
Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG)
C
yber Security Working Group and working group partner
Cellebrite
,
a leading provider of digital intelligence solutions, today announced the launch of a comprehensive repository of digital procedural documents and educational assets designed to enhance the investigative process for law enforcement and prosecutors.
The CWAG Cyber Security Working Group – Digital Forensics Task Force consists of Attorneys General representatives from Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and Wisconsin. With an initial goal of creating legal policy and procedures around the access of public and private cloud through tools like Cellebrite’s UFED Cloud Analyzer, CWAG recognized the wider implications and value of creating and sharing their collective insights. With technical expertise and guidance from Cellebrite, the working group laid the groundwork for the repository initiative.
“Digital forensics technology has become an increasingly vital resource for law enforcement and legal entities in the United States, since crimes at all levels often involve mass amounts of digital evidence,” said Karen White, CWAG Executive Director. “Digital intelligence tools can provide real-time collection of cloud-based evidence in a forensically sound manner, enabling law enforcement officers and investigators to preserve and analyze data in the public domain including location information, profiles, images, files, and communications from the most popular social media applications."
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CWAG Announces two new team members to lead Environmental and Indian Law efforts
CWAG is pleased to announce that Clive Strong has joined the staff as Legal Director for Natural Resource and Environmental Matters and Clay Smith has joined the staff as Chief Editor, American Indian Law Deskbook.
Clay Smith, Chief Editor, American Indian Law Deskbook
208.724.9780
Clive Strong, Legal Director for Natural Resource
and Environmental Matters
208.850.7792
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Follow the 31 AG Races in 2018 on this Interactive Website
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A significant number of states, 30 and the District of Columbia, have contests for the Office of Attorney General. Cozen O’Connor’s State Attorneys General Practice hosts an interactive map for those interested in following the races throughout the country. The State AG Election Tracker includes state-by-state AG candidate snapshots, filing deadlines and primary election dates; daily news, insights, polling and fundraising data; and the ability to sign up for real-time election-night updates via text and email. Access is free.
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