How Being Poor Could Land You In Jail

Being poor isn’t a crime. Or is it? Americans living in poverty are more likely to be involved in the justice system than those from other economic groups. It’s partly because they have little to no access to employment and the means by which to keep themselves and their families fed with a roof over their heads. It’s also because high crime rates in poor neighborhoods puts the citizens of those communities in greater contact with police and therefore at a greater risk of arrest (ex. stop and frisk policies of the  NYPD). But, there’s another problem at play here and it involves jailing people based solely on the amount of money they have. [Read more…]

Supreme Court Rules on DUI Blood Draws

Score a victory for civil liberties and protections. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that police generally must seek a warrant before drawing blood in a suspected drunk driving case. In a section of criminal law that often turns due process on its head, this ruling is a positive one indeed. [Read more…]

Can Your “Right to Remain Silent” Work Against You?

The average person knows a little about having a “right to remain silent”. Even if you’ve never personally been arrested, you’ve heard that line before on television. But if remaining silent in the face of criminal charges is a right, how could it be used as evidence of our guilt in court? The Supreme Court has recently decided to hear a case where this question is the crux of the matter. [Read more…]

Getting a Job After A Criminal Conviction and Jail

When you have a conviction on your record, it can have untold consequences for the rest of your life. In particular, a conviction can make it difficult to find a good job. Fortunately, there are programs out there specifically targeted at ex-offenders and that assist people in getting back into the workforce after a period of incarceration. [Read more…]

The Problem with Eyewitness Identifications

If you were to witness a crime, would you remember what the suspect looked like, how they were dressed, or what they said? Many people believe they could be trusted to “finger” the bad guy. But, many would be wrong. Eyewitness identification is the leading contributing factor to wrongful convictions in the United States. More people are wrongfully convicted on the basis of a flawed eyewitness id than are by mishandled evidence, for example.

The flaws of eyewitness identification are widely known. Just this week, one state took a major step to reduce the likelihood that such an identification would incarcerate another innocent person. [Read more…]

Court Affirms Your Right to Film Police in Illinois

The U.S. Supreme Court sent a message this week when they declined to hear an appeal overturning  an Illinois law that made it a felony to record police officers. The appeals  court decision against the law will stand, therefore your right to record police officers in Illinois is safe, for now.

Prosecutors in the state were hoping the Court would hear arguments over the controversial law, settling its legality once and for all. Instead, the Court’s decision not to hear it means they believe the Appeals Court ruling again the law should stand. [Read more…]

What Happens in a Public Inquest into a Homicide By a Medical Examiner?

An inquest has been ordered in the death of Derek Williams after the medical examiner ruled his death while in Milwaukee police custody was a homicide. But, as this Journal Sentinel report reveals, inquests are rarely productive and wrought with problems. So, is the inquest just a symbolic effort to save face? [Read more…]

Why The U.S. Should End Cash Bail

On any given day, 60 percent of the people housed in jails across the United States aren’t there because they have been found guilty of a crime, but because they are awaiting their day in court. You know the whole “innocent until proven guilty” thing—the premise that our “just” society won’t penalize anyone unless their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt? Well, that whole idea doesn’t really apply to pretrial detention. The Justice Policy Institute, a nonprofit organization that promotes sound research and analysis on the U.S. justice system in pursuit of reform, has published a new paper outlining why the U.S. bail practices should be done away with altogether. [Read more…]

Supreme Court to Take Up DNA Collection At Arrest

Can the police collect your DNA and store it in a national database without any due process?  In twenty-five states they can, if you are even a suspect in a felony case.

They even don’t need to wait until you are officially arrested, or until you are found guilty, and they don’t need a warrant to do it. This, many say, isn’t only an “unreasonable search,” but does away with the presumption of innocence—a cornerstone of our criminal justice system. For this, and other reasons, the United States Supreme Court is expected to decide the issue in coming months. [Read more…]

Former Cop Speaks Out Against Bad Interrogation Practices

What would it take for you to confess to a crime that you didn’t commit? Would several hours in an interrogation room do it? For many, the acts of interrogating police officers push them to the edge, where they end up admitting to crimes they never committed. One former police officer is working to change that, or at least to get the word out there that these false confessions sometimes, or usually, happen because of the actions of the interrogators. [Read more…]