Have you ever wondered whether officers are allowed to lie in order to gain entry into your home? It is already well-established that they are allowed to lie in order to convince defendants to confess to a crime. However, an encouraging ruling by the Fourth Circuit this month clarifies that lyin...
Many of us are familiar enough with the constitutional protections that prevent the police from walking into your house and going through your things without a warrant. Given these protections from warrantless searches, it may be surprising to learn that the government can force your internet ser...
Do you use a password to lock your phone? Or do you use a fingerprint to unlock your phone through Touch ID technology? Many people think that a fingerprint would be more secure; however, it depends on who you are trying to prevent from getting into your phone. Thieves may find it harder to acces...
Sentencing reform has taken a big step forward in reducing mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders. The House Judiciary Committee has approved the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015, which is now making its way to the House of Representatives. The bill will reduce mandatory minimum senten...
With the rising cost of health care, many patients are on the hook for pricey medical bills after treatment. While most doctors and hospitals are charging the market rates for medical care, some more unscrupulous patients and healthcare providers are taking advantage of the high costs of health c...
In a kidnapping story so bizarre the it was recently the subject of an NBC Dateline story, a federal grand jury has indicted a man in California for allegedly abducting a woman for ransom. Matthew Muller, 38-years-old, will be facing life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. On March 23rd...
It's not often that Republicans and Democrats can agree on anything, but one issue has recently brought the two sides together. After decades of enforcing harsh penalties for simple and non-violent drug crimes, lawmakers are now moving towards a more measured approach to federal drug crimes. As a...
Two Mexican nationals have been convicted of federal murder charges in the death of a Border Patrol agent. The two men, Ivan Soto-Barraza and Jesus Leonel Sanchez-Meza, were members of a “rip crew,” which is a group that robs drug traffickers of drugs or money. The men admitted they had entered t...
A federal judge in Georgia sentenced former peanut company executive Stewart Parnell to 28 years in a federal prison for his role in the salmonella-related outbreak that killed nine, and sickened hundreds more. This is the longest prison sentence ever handed down for a food-related illness in U.S...
Before you decide to hide out from federal criminal prosecution, you will probably find that investigators won't quickly forget about you. Months, years, or even decades later, the feds are not likely to let you move on, and may continue to pursue criminal prosecution long after any alleged crime...
The U.S. Justice Department has gone after big banks for corporate wrongdoing and secured billions in fines, but prosecutors largely ignored corporate executives. Former Attorney General Eric Holder faced criticism for what some saw as leniency towards the executives. Now, with the federal depart...
Non-violent drug offenders are the favored children of our justice system when we discuss sentencing reform. Almost universally, when the subject is discussed, this group of individuals is well-advocated for. Now, 130 judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials have lent their voices in...
In a stunning (yet common sense) victory for the defense attorneys before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Court ruled that the police cannot unjustifiably extend a traffic stop in order to have the car sniffed by drug dogs. "Beyond determining whether to issue a traffic ticket, an of...
The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000. Read the full article here. To...
In an emphatic summary reversal of the lower court, the Supreme Court held in a per curiam summary reversal Grady v. North Carolina, No. 14-593 (S. Ct. March 30, 2015) that satellite monitoring programs for sex offenders - the ankle bracelet - does amount to a search pursuant to the Fourth Amendment and therefore must be reasonable. This has implications for all defendants, not just sex offenders.
Two Supreme Court justices are speaking out against mandatory minimums and saying the correctional system is broken. Of note is that one of them, Justice Kennedy, normally sides with law enforcement on questions of criminal procedure. This type of top-down re-evaluation of our justice system is...
Great story this morning on the personal costs of remote incarceration. Local jails are shipping inmates long distances to serve relatively short sentencings. While it may save some government resources, the removal from society only enhances the difficulties of re-integration and could therefo...
Interesting data of US Sentencing Commission. 50% of federal inmates are there for drugs. Remaining 50%- robbery, fraud, firearms, sex offenses combined. See full report at Quick Facts on Federal Offenders in Prison
Every case deserves a detailed look. Confessions can be coerced. Prosecutors can make mistakes. It's great to see law-enforcement led initiatives to ensure the system seeks and finds, not convictions, but the truth. Exonerations Of The Wrongfully Convicted Hit Record High In The U.S. In 2014
They fought for us, and now it's our turn to fight for them. Wonderful to see Fairfax Court paving the way for Veteran's Court in Northern Virginia. So many courageous men and women returning from the battlefield deserve our admiration, respect, and a chance to be understood in their often silent...
Something we always knew, but now the Department of Justice is finally confirming through its own research. Full Flyer Attached
Instead Of Charging Him For Shoplifting, Officer Helps Single Dad Feed His Baby HUFFINGTON POST By Ryan Grenoble Superman has a cape, Spider-Man his webs, and Justin Ro...
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 18, 2014) — The United States Sentencing Commission voted unanimously today at a public meeting to apply a reduction in the sentencing guideline levels applicable to most federal drug trafficking offenders retroactively, meaning that many offenders currently in prison could...
"Chong wasn't forgotten. He was ignored. The former would merely be callous incompetence. The latter is what happens when you are conditioned to see drug offenders as less than human." http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/07/09/daniel-chong-is-the-entirely-predictable-result...
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