Articles focusing on prison reform and the criminal justice system.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Chatrie v. United States marks a decisive shift in the law governing modern digital surveillance, holding that government acquisition of stored location history constitutes a Fourth Amendment search and rejecting the argument that users surrender their privacy rights simply by enabling routine device features.
While national media highlights the allegations against Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity, local reporting demonstrates how sustained journalism can uncover legal gaps and prompt legislative reform.
In recent months, armed and masked federal agents have roamed the streets of Charlotte, Durham and Raleigh, conducting what many describe as a “dragnet” of our communities. From smashing car windows to dragging workers out of their places of employment, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “Operation Charlotte’s Web” has left a trail of trauma across North Carolina.
A defendant is shackled, handcuffed, and marched past cameras. Before prosecutors present any evidence, the public sees a defendant as already guilty. This practice undermines one of our legal system’s longstanding principles: the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial.
The Ohio Four were convicted in the 1991 killing of Marsha Blakely; all four have maintained their innocence to date.
In Kahler, the Court did not merely uphold Kansas’ interpretation of a vital protection; it allowed Kansas to, in effect, eviscerate the protection entirely.
Some states offer sex offenders castration as an alternative punishment. Is it too cruel and unusual?
Oscar Pistorius, South African Olympic runner, will receive his prison sentence next month for murdering his girlfriend back in 2013.
A recent report reveals that the mentally ill and African American citizens of Los Angeles are involved in police shootings by the LAPD at a disproportionately higher number.
The use of judicial override in capital cases is emerging as an issue in Florida and Alabama after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Florida’s death penalty sentencing scheme.
Kansas Supreme Court ruled it is a Fourth Amendment violation to criminally charge a person for refusing to submit to a DUI test when pulled over.
Budget cuts in funding for public defenders in New Orleans have caused many indigent citizens to be denied their Sixth Amendment constitutional right to appointed counsel.
In late January, Indiana joined other US states in the recent trend of restricting the use of solitary confinement by prohibiting seriously mentally ill inmates from being held in restrictive housing.
Juveniles are psychologically susceptible to being coerced into false confessions and yet there are few safeguards in place to prevent these confessions.
Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, announced a new policy to be implemented consisting of providing more accessible Tasers to police officers and better training of police officers when dealing with confrontational situations with suspects.
