The Insanity Defense: From Fundamental Legal Principle to Legal Fiction
In Kahler, the Court did not merely uphold Kansas' interpretation of a vital protection; it allowed Kansas to, in effect, eviscerate the protection entirely. [...]
Criminal Law
Cell Site Simulators Meet the Fourth Amendment: When can the police track your phone (read: you) without a warrant?
“[M]odern cell phones . . . are now such a pervasive and insistent part of daily life that the proverbial visitor from Mars might conclude they were an important feature of human anatomy." Riley v. California, 134 S. Ct. 2473, 2484 (2014) [...]
Tracking the Recent Decisions in North Carolina’s Satellite-Based Monitoring Jurisprudence
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated . . . . The black device exclaimed “low battery” in a robotic voice drawing curious glances from passerby. This was his cue. The ankle monitor called the shots; he either had to leave or find a nearby electrical outlet for the device’s daily two-hour charging. Letting it die was not an option as it would lose signal—a major violation, [...]
What Monopoly Can Teach Us About Cash Bail Reform: Recent Efforts, Pros and Cons, and the Community Response
“Go to Jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.” Jail is one of the most-landed on spaces in a typical game of Monopoly. However, for many Americans, Monopoly jail is the closest they will ever come to being behind bars. The latest Department of Justice statistics available on the jail population in America places the jail incarceration rate as of 2017 at 0.229 percent of the U.S. population (based on the number of confined inmates in local jails per [...]
Is that Legal Hemp or Illegal Marijuana? Essential Differences and the Consequences of Treating Them the Same
The 2019 North Carolina Farm Bill looks to ban smokable hemp throughout the state. The North Carolina House of Representatives and Senate are at odds choosing a date to ban smokable hemp. One side wants to accommodate law enforcement’s request to ban hemp, while the other side wants to make sure local farmers are protected. The legalization of smokable hemp creates issues in relation to law enforcement’s ability to establish probable cause based on the odor or appearance of marijuana. [...]
Excessive use of force: where decisions made in seconds are scrutinized for years
The truth is that only those officers, under those circumstances, at that scene, on that day, can truly account for both what was and was not reasonable. [...]
No protection under law: The unchecked prevalence of violence against women in North Korea
The government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, commonly referred to as North Korea, has found itself under international scrutiny and condemnation once again as the subject of a recent Human Rights Watch report. [...]
Stopping School Violence Starts with Understanding Who Attacks Schools: Leveraging Local Opportunities to Reduce Violence by Students
In 2004 the United States Secret Service concludedthat attackers “varied considerably in demographic, background, and other characteristics” and was unable to develop a profile of a “school shooter.” The Secret Service did find that school shooters shared certain characteristics. [...]
Hard drugs and Oregon House Bill 2355
Oregon Governor Kate Brown recently signed into law Oregon House Bill 2355 as part of significant changes made to Oregon’s drug possession laws. [...]
Fat Leonard and Fat Cats: Overbilling practices in the U.S. military
Due to the Department of Defense’s lack of resources and oversight, contractors have defrauded millions of dollars from the U.S. military by overcharging for work not performed. [...]
When things get hazy: who’s accountable in hazing-related deaths?
Tim Piazza, 19, died after an alleged hazing ritual at a Penn State fraternity. His death has not only brought the dangers of hazing back into the spotlight, but also presented the question, “who’s to blame?” [...]
Mexican Judge dismisses sexual charges because offender did not enjoy it
Judge Anuar Gonzales Hemadi dismisses sexual assault case because there was no evidence that it was done “to satisfy sexual desire.” [...]
Baylor University faces serious allegations of Title IX violations.
In a recent lawsuit, the Baylor football program is under fire for their inappropriate recruiting tactics and the behavior of its players. [...]