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Drug Possession
February 8th, 2005
A bill filed yesterday in the Arkansas House of Representatives by Rep. Michael Lamoureux, R-Russellville, would allow felons convicted of drug possession to be eligible for parole after serving one-sixth to one-half of their sentences.
Sexual Assault
March 26th, 2005
According to research by federal prosecutors in Boston, sexual assault on airplanes is much more common than realized.
In court papers filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. McNeil, the most common type of sexual assault on airplanes is tou...
January 30th, 2005
Child health care officials and defense lawyers and prosecutors are alarmed that a Texas agency that examines and counsels abused children has stopped videotaping sexual assault examinations at its clinic despite the tapes’ potential to help authoritie...
May 7th, 2005
The Pentagon announced yesterday that the number of reported sexual assaults in the military grew in 2004, and that number is expected to continue rising next year in response to new policies intended to remove barriers to victims coming forward.
...January 31st, 2005
A newly formed Department of Defense Joint Task Force for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response was set up after a report was released last April from the Department of Defense’s Task Force on Care for Victims of Sexual Assault that called for the m...
DUI Driving Under The Influence
September 18th, 2007
One of the nation's toughest DUI laws will be enacted tonight at midnight in Arizona. Under the new law, first time Read More...
Assault
May 18th, 2007
Three Rochester, New York-area funeral home directors are among the seven individuals charged this week with body stealing, unlawful dissection, and other counts related to the illegal removal of skin, bone, and other body parts from corpses. Jason Gan...
Criminal Law
January 24th, 2007
The United States Supreme Court has struck down the criminal sentencing law that allowed judges rather than juries to increase or decrease sentences. This decision could result in the adjustment of thousands of sentences for people currently in jail. <...
July 11th, 2007
Three bills aimed at reducing the number of wrongful convictions in California's criminal justice system passed a vote in the state's Assembly Public Safety committee yesterday, and will head to the Appropriations Committee next. The bills have already...
Police Misconduct
December 19th, 2005
A group of protesters who sued Humboldt County, California Law Enforcement officials have been awarded $750,000 this past Saturday. The lawsuit stemmed from an incident in 1997 when several protesters had “chained” themselves together and refused to le...
Child Molestation
May 20th, 2008
The Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 vote yesterday that a strict federal child pornography does not violate the First Amendment right to free speech.
...Rape
June 25th, 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional in child rape cases, citing the ban against cruel and unusual punishment.
It has been ove...
Sexual Harassment
July 16th, 2007
The Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay a $660 million settlement to 508 individuals with claims of sexual abuse against 221 priests, lay teachers, brothers, and other church employees. The Archdiocese also finally agreed to release t...
Felony
October 5th, 2005
A Columbus, Ohio man’s parents have filed a $5.5 million civil lawsuit against a man they say murdered their son. The parents are also bringing a lawsuit against the Franklin County Coroner’s office in order to challenge their findings that their son ...
Sexual Assault
August 14th, 2008
The Archdiocese of Chicago announced on Tuesday a $12.6 million dollar settlement with 16 victims of sexual abuse, b...
DUI Driving Under The Influence
January 30th, 2008
The governor of Connecticut wants to crackdown on underage drinking with a proposal that would mandate substance abuse counseling and a minimum year-long license suspension for teens convicted of Read More...
Drug Possession
December 10th, 2007
In a 7-2 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that judges may use their discretion when imposing sentences in crack cocaine cases. Judges were previously strictly bound by federal sentencing guidelines that required harsher sentences for Read More...
March 6th, 2008
The federal government announced yesterday that they have recently received hundreds of court orders reducing the sentences for crack cocaine offenders.
...Sex Crimes
September 6th, 2007
Law enforcement officials across the United States are conducting sting operations to net prostitutes who trade sex for money using Craigslist.org, a popular website that allows users to post and search advertisements—most commonly for jobs and sale it...
Firearm Possession
November 26th, 2007
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the highly controversial Second Amendment issue of gun control in an appeals case stemming from the District of Columbia, where gun-control laws<...
Criminal Law
January 11th, 2007
A study has found that those who have recently been released from prisons are at significantly higher risk of dying than those still in jail and those in the general population.
The death rate for former prisoners was about four times higher t...
May 15th, 2007
Governor Eliot Spitzer proposed that the state’s current database of DNA samples be expanded to include samples from people convicted of nearly any crime, including misdemeanors such as unauthorized use of a credit card, harassment, and minor drug offe...
DUI Driving Under The Influence
September 19th, 2005
The small Texas town of Dalworthington Gardens recently began having police officers take blood samples of suspected drunk drivers. Officials in the town maintain that the new policy will speed up blood alcohol level results and arrests in drunk drivi...
Criminal Law
February 11th, 2004
The Utah House is currently pursuing a bill that would cut the state''s legal drinking limit for drivers with children in their vehicles to half that of those who are driving alone or with other adults.
House Bill 128, sponsored by...
DUI Driving Under The Influence
January 31st, 2005
New Jersey has required ignition locks on vehicles of repeat DWI offenders’ cars since 2001, but now first-time offenders may have to submit to the same penalties.
First-time offenders could be ordered to install the pricey ignition loc...
November 15th, 2004
Nearly 10,000 signatures and letters in support of passing tougher New York drunk driving laws will be given to state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver by two Queens mothers November 16. The stricter New York DWI laws are in response to a man be...
February 7th, 2005
Two Oklahoma state lawmakers are proposing a bill to increase first time DUI convictions to a felony if a child age 13 or younger is in the vehicle.
first time Oklahoma DUI is currently a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $1,000, up to o...
DWI Driving While Intoxicated
May 16th, 2005
The Charlotte Observer has reported that judges in three North Carolina coastal counties acquitted suspected DWI offenders at a rate more than double the state average over a period of more than four years.
According to the newspaper report, ...
May 24th, 2005
The New York State Senate has passed several bills in attempts to protect state residents from drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol.
The comprehensive package of legislation would increase penalties for repeat drunk drivers, increase penalti...
Criminal Law
November 8th, 2007
The Texas Court of Appeals recently created an emergency filing system for e-mails in hopes that they won't have a repeat of the execution process that has raised national concern.
New System Causes Buzz
The new syste...
January 31st, 2007
This is especially troubling because in many jurisdictions, once domestic violence charges have been pressed, legal proceedings will continue even if the person who pressed the charges drops them.
“A Culture of False Allegations” October 29th, 2007 A recent case in which a Baltimore County judge barred the use of fingerprint evidence in a homicide trial reflects a growing concern about the reliability of the long-used identification technique. In her ruling, Judge Susan M. Souder describe... June 12th, 2007 A federal lawsuit against the city of Frostproof, Florida by a former assistant city manager was settled recently for $340,000. Stella Heath contended that she was sexually harassed in the Read More... October 2nd, 2007 A tough new law tripling the maximum penalties for certain sex crimes in Florida took effect on Monday. Soliciting sex from a minor and possessing child pornography will now c... April 3rd, 2008 Florida’s House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill to increase the penalties for individuals convicted of murder or attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. Mandatory Life ImprisonmentSexual Harassment
Sex Crimes
Criminal Law
DUI Driving Under The Influence
July 22nd, 2008
A woman who was recently charged with a DUI has taken action and filed a lawsuit against city of Gulfport and the police officer who arrested her.
The woman claims she was accused of drunk dri...
Firearm Possession
June 26th, 2008
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of individual gun rights today in a case involving a handgun ban in the District of Columbia.
Washington D.C. has the strictest gun laws in the nation, banning private ownershi...
Federal Crime Defense
April 18th, 2008
In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the lethal injection method used for executions in Kentucky does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
The decision opens the...
Hit And Run Cases
December 27th, 2006
The family of a woman who was killed in a hit-and-run accident won a $1 million lawsuit against the driver and Rockland County.
The victim Stacy Gersten had a mild developmental disability and was 48 when a vehicle on a county road struck her...
White Collar Crime
July 1st, 2008
A settlement was recently reached in the case involving two hotel owners who were accused of credit card fraud.
The two men, who own a Holiday In...
Criminal Law
January 13th, 2005
The Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision that U.S. immigration authorities cannot indefinitely detain illegal aliens convicted of crimes in this country who have completed their prison sentences.
The order was in response ...
Criminal Law Topics
March 5th, 2007
A recent study found that contrary to popular belief, in the United States, neither legal nor illegal immigrants raise crime rates in the populations them move into.
The study was conducted by Washington’s Immigration Policy Center.
...DUI Driving Under The Influence
February 26th, 2008
A Kennebec County jury has acquitted a woman charged with operating under the influence (OUI) after determining that she broke the law to avoid sexual assault.
“The law says you can break the OUI law if it’s necessary to avoid immi...
Criminal Law
August 3rd, 2007
Because of a legal loophole created by the federal government, only U.S. Attorney offices can prosecute a non-Indian person who commits a crime against an Indian person on reservation land. This has led to a multitude of tragic results for Indian popul...
White Collar Crime
January 5th, 2006
CIS Internet Services, an Internet Service Provider based in Clinton, Iowa has successfully sued a Florida man for a record $11.2 billion. The suit sought damages for Internet spam emails and illegal advertising.
The man, James McCalla, was fo...
Drug Possession
February 9th, 2005
Prosecutors are urging lawmakers to tighten loopholes in Iowa’s drug possession laws after Iowa’s highest court threw out a pair of drug convictions because they said prosecutors did not have enough evidence.
Opponents of the proposed drug ...
Sexual Harassment
July 12th, 2007
The Los Angeles Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church is expected to reach a settlement agreement soon regarding about 570 claims that the Diocese failed to protect children from Read More...
Criminal Law
June 25th, 2007
The City Attorney for Los Angeles, Rocky Delgadillo, prosecuted heiress Paris Hilton in her recent suspended license and drunk driving cases, and now Delgadillo is apologizing ...
Firearm Possession
October 21st, 2005
The latest bill banning lawsuits against gun makers and sellers has been approved by the US Congress and is now being sent to President Bush where he is expected to eagerly sign it. The President long called for the ban on lawsuits against gun manufac...
Criminal Law
April 24th, 2007
The three-drug lethal injection method used to execute U.S. inmates sometimes fails to properly work, resulting in painful and slow deaths that most likely violate the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment, according to a new analysis...
DUI Driving Under The Influence
December 2nd, 2005
Researchers have reported the more marijuana a driver smokes before driving, the more likely they will be involved in a fatal crash. The study was a population-based, case-controlled study of more than 9,000 drivers with known drug and alcohol blood co...
Criminal Law
January 13th, 2005
United States Attorney General Michael J. Sullivan announced today a major reorganization of the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney''s Office, marking the first major reorganization of the mechanism of federal criminal law enforc...
Medical Malpractice Cases
June 19th, 2008
In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court decided that it does not violate the Constitution to deny mentally ill criminal defendants the right to represent themselves in cases where they’ve been deemed fit to stand trial.
December 27th, 2005 The ACLU is targeting the state of Minnesota and in particular the city of Minneapolis over what the civil rights group says is a gross violation of a person''s constitutional rights. The case centers on Minneapolis area red-light runner cameras that h... June 5th, 2008 The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the defense on Monday in a case involving a Mexican national who was convicted of money laundering after authorities discovered $81,000 hidden in his car in 2004. The Case July 16th, 2008 A three judge panel rejected residency restrictions sought by various New Jersey municipalities against sex offenders, citing that local ... December 14th, 2007 The New Jersey legislature voted this week in favor of a bill to abolish capital punishment. Governor Jon Corzine, an opponent of the death penalty, is expected to sign the bill into law. Capital punishment in the U.S. has been declining in rec... December 3rd, 2007 A former employee of the Public Regulation Commission in New Mexico was recently awarded $840,000 in damages in a sexual harassment lawsuit. “I have never... August 9th, 2005 Health care advocates urged New York Gov. George Pataki to sign a bill that would repeal a law allowing auto insurers to deny coverage for medical bills of drunken drivers injured in car accidents. According to proponents, the repeal would ... June 4th, 2008 A landmark in New York City’s Central Park recently settled in a suit filed against them for sexual and racial discrimination. The suit was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Tavern on t... June 7th, 2005
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with a group of sex offenders who challenged the current Florida laws requiring sex offenders register with the state after getting out of prison and submitting DNA samples. Enacted after... August 16th, 2007 Brooke Astor, a famed New York socialite and philanthropist, gave away nearly $195 million from the Astor Foundation to various charities in her lifetime. She passed away Monday at the age of 105 after months of declining health and dementia. There is ... October 3rd, 2005 A federal judge recently allowed a lawsuit to take place against the East Haven, Connecticut police department. The lawsuit alleges that the police department failed to protect a woman from her estranged husband, who shot and killed her in July of 200... October 10th, 2006 A Compton man suspected of car theft and beaten by a law enforcement official after leading them in a car chase, will receive a $450,000 settlement from the city of Los Angeles, according to his attorney. In June 2004, Stanley Miller, 39, was ... October 13th, 2005 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyers were awarded $80 thousand in a recent settlement with the city of St. Louis, Missouri over a controversial homeless “sweep” by the police in that city during the July 4th celebrations of 2004. The... February 9th, 2005 Rep. Timothy Hutchinson, R-Lowell, agreed to postpone discussions of his bill that would stiffen drug possession penalties for pregnant Arkansas women. Intended to deter the pregnant women from taking drugs, Hutchinson agreed to postpone th... July 19th, 2006 A ruling handed down by a federal judge in Missouri said that the state must allow pregnant inmates to have abortions, adding that it must also provide female prisoners with transportation to an apprA ruling handed down by a federal judge in Missouri s... January 9th, 2006 In the latest development in Iowa’s growing convict abuse charges, three female convicts claiming that they had been sexually abused by a prison guard while incarcerated have been awarded $160,000 in damages. The prison guard, Kenneth ... September 22nd, 2005 Two separate real estate agencies, Patricia Forgione''s Realty Network Inc. in Eastchester, NY, and Green Tree Realty and Relocation Company Inc. in White Plains, NY, were monitored by a Westchester county government agency after complaints about racia... September 30th, 2005 Massachusetts lawmakers are debating over the fine points of new DUI legislation called “Melanie’s Bill,” after a 13-year-old girl killed by a repeat drunk driver. The debate centers over strict rules that many in the Massachusetts government believe v... March 22nd, 2006 The wife of a professor who was killed in a drunk driving accident last year filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the local restaurant where the drunk driver was employed and drank alcohol that night. John P. Manzer, 59, was leaving a drugst... March 26th, 2008 The Missouri Senate recently endorsed an amendment that would require the names of thousands of former sex offenders to be added to the state registry. In June 2006, the state Supreme Court ruled that those con... December 22nd, 2005 Daniel Doll, a San Diego area man who was paralyzed over two years ago by a falling movie theater sign settled his injury lawsuit for $12.7 million recently. The man had jumped on top of a 4-year-old girl he was babysitting in order to protect her from... May 2nd, 2007 South Carolina legislators are seeking to pass a bill that would make it easier for law enforcement officials to make DUI arrests and implement stricter penalties for repeat offenders. “What I understand prosecutors and law enforcement want is... March 24th, 2004 An article titled "The Link Between Pornography and Violent Sex Crimes" on a Web site of Morality in Media has cited evidence of a casual connection between pornography and violent sex crimes. Evidence used in the articles was taken from interviewers a... September 6th, 2006 A North Carolina appellate court ruled that a man convicted of cocaine possession after police shined a flashlight down his pants during a search should be granted a new trial because the search violated his legal rights. The court decision te... October 27th, 2005 This Halloween new laws will go into effect throughout the country that limit the exposure paroled-sex criminals have to children who are trick-or-treating. The laws either keep the parolees indoors for the night, or keep them from even answering thei... October 27th, 2005 This Halloween new laws will go into effect throughout the country that limit the exposure paroled-sex criminals have to children who are trick-or-treating. The laws either keep the parolees indoors for the night, or keep them from even answering thei... October 4th, 2005 A controversial new law took effect in Florida this past Saturday regarding gun defenses. The so-called “stand your ground” law says that if someone confronts you, then you have the right to use a gun or other violence to act in self-defense. The per... April 2nd, 2004 The case against former Tyco executives accused of stealing $600 million from the company ended in a mistrial because of one holdout juror. Ex-CEO Dennis Kozlowski and ex-CFO Mark Swartz will likely face a retrial in the case that became one of the hig... May 13th, 2008 The United States ranks as having less than five percent of the world’s population, but recent reports have shown that the U.S. is home to the highest number of prisoners in the world. Many believe that this newly revealed statistic is... September 6th, 2006 A North Carolina appellate court ruled that a man convicted of cocaine possession after police shined a flashlight down his pants during a search should be granted a new trial because the search violated his legal rights. The court decision te... December 19th, 2006 During the first six months of 2006, the rate of robberies and murders across the nation rose, according to preliminary FBI statistics, indicating that the lull in crime in the United States between 2001 and 2004 has come to an end. Furthermor... August 24th, 2007 A New York City councilman proposed legislation yesterday that would make nonconsensual 'voyeurism' a misdemeanor crime in the state of New York. He was prompted to write the new bill after complaints from women in his Queens district about a man stand... December 27th, 2007 More than $15 million in damages was recently awarded to an Illinois man and his wife in a highly publicized civil rights case. The verdict is believed to be the largest ever of its kind to be handed down in the state. Kevin Fox was arrested in... August 11th, 2006 A man who spent almost seven years in prison after a negligent fingerprint match falsely linked him to a police shooting, was awarded a $3.2 million settlement by the city of Boston in a wrongful conviction case. Stephan Cowans, 35, spent ... March 22nd, 2007 An ex-convict is suing the state Department of Correctional Services for delaying his parole based on information that should not have been considered. Raymond Stalley was convicted of DWI and imprisoned. He behaved well in jail and was suppos... June 28th, 2006 Since its inception in 2003, the Ohio Innocence Project – a program run through the University of Cincinnati School of Law – has helped to exonerate several inmates who were convicted of crimes they didn''t commit. The nonprofit program uses n... October 27th, 2005 In a decision with national implications a six-member jury in New York found the Port Authority guilty of negligence in guarding the World Trade Center from terrorist attacks. The case revolved around the 1993 bombing that killed six people and result...Hit And Run Cases
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