In the past, U.S. Supreme Court justices have sided with the states in warrantless drug dog sniff searches. But this past week, they shifted directions on one Florida case, deciding that the police can’t use a drug dog at a home (even on the front porch) without a warrant. The difference between this case and previous ones? Location, location, location. [Read more…]
Where Do We Stand with GPS Tracking Bill?
When you are under criminal investigation, it’s best not to start off at a disadvantage. After all, law enforcement has a plethora of tools at their disposal aimed at finding, pinning and incarcerating you. One such tool involves following you as you find your way home. [Read more…]
Are Wrongful Convictions Predictable?
People are accused of crimes they didn’t commit on a relatively regular basis. Less often, they are convicted for these offenses. Even experts have difficulty estimating just how many wrongful convictions happen, but a recent study indicates we may be able to predict when they will. [Read more…]
ACLU Launches Investigation into Police Militarization
Over the past few decades, SWAT teams have gone from a big city thing to an every city thing. Cops with military equipment, training, and even military assistance are no longer rare, they are commonplace. And with the police increasingly looking like a domestic military force, there needs to be accountability and the people need to know just how pervasive it is. [Read more…]
Domestic Drone Use: Where Does Your State Stand?
A few years ago, if a drone was mentioned in the news, it was referring to a military drone being deployed overseas. And while their impersonal and deadly use globally is certainly a serious issue, drone use has now reached our own shores. Police departments are buying the unmanned aerial vehicles and lawmakers are rushing to pass laws controlling them. So, where does your state stand in regards to drone use? [Read more…]
Pardons: A Delicate Balancing Act for Governors
As the most incarcerated nation in the world, many people have strong and even emotional opinions about crime and punishment in the United States. There is a sense of the “bad guys” being bad to the core and getting their due. Pardons issued by governors across the country, therefore, are sometimes greeted with serious controversy despite usually being well-calculated and cautious decisions. [Read more…]
What is the FBI Doing in “Community Outreach”?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the largest federal law enforcement agency. They are federal police, make no mistake about it. So, while the fact that they have “community outreach” agents may seem nice, like they are delving into mending law enforcement and community relationships, their duty is to investigate crimes, period. [Read more…]
Police Officers Lying Under Oath Is Commonplace
The possibility of a police officer lying under oath is shocking, we know. But it likely happens far more often than we realize. According to some, it’s the order of the day.
Michelle Alexander, author and criminal justice critic asks, who are you more likely to believe—the inmate in the orange jumpsuit or the officer in the nicely pressed uniform? It’s this inherent bias that many cops use to their advantage. [Read more…]
Feds Sanction States on Drunk Driving Laws—Who’s really in charge?
Technically, the federal government won’t regulate what happens when you are caught driving drunk. They won’t write the drunk driving laws used to prosecute people in various states across the country—that’s the business of the states. But, that’s technically. Though they won’t write or enforce those particular laws where states have clear jurisdiction they will tell the states exactly what needs to be in them. They’ll do it by threatening them where it matters most—in the pocketbook. [Read more…]
Lawmaker Suggests Lashings Instead of Prison
There is a serious incarceration problem in this country. Every day more and more actions become crimes and more and more people face becoming a victim of the prison system. Criminal justice experts have offered a wide range of solutions, those that would both ease spending and mitigate the damage we’ve already done by incarcerating more people than any other nation. And while some of these ideas have been controversial and debate-worthy, none have been so off the mark as the suggestion from Montana’s state representative Jerry O’Neil. [Read more…]
