As a small number of states begin legalizing marijuana possession, police department have had to take creative measures to adjust their drug enforcement tactics. One interesting change in Washington state, for example, is that police officers are now training drug-sniffing dogs to ignore marijuana, according to a report from Fox News. Sources say Washington passed [...]

By Mary Ann Pekara A law student walking down the street visibly carrying a gun, in an open carry state, was stopped by a police officer. The officer took the gun from the student and asked for identification. The student refused to give identification and asked if he was suspected of committing a crime. The [...]

With secularism on the rise in the U.S. several studies for and against religion have flooded the airwaves. Some people say that an unaffiliated person would be more likely to commit a crime (as they lack moral judgement that religion provides) while others counter that a religious person is more likely to commit a crime [...]

By Bob Negele Richard Vanecko, nephew of former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, pleaded not guilty in court on charges of involuntary manslaughter which stemmed from an incident in 2004. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the nephew of the iconic mayor will fight the charges against him. The charges arose from a highly publicized incident in [...]

By Bob Negele Illinois had a very controversial law that banned the video or audio recording of police officers on the job.  The so-called “Illinois’ eavesdropping law” was one of the harshest of its kind in the country; a felony, with a maximum of 15 years in prison. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, the [...]

By Mary Ann Pekara “Three Strikes and You’re Out!” Yes, the term comes from baseball, but it also refers to our criminal justice system. This statute states that a person’s third felony conviction yields a lifetime prison sentence. These sentences are typically given without the possibility of parole for at least the first 25 years. [...]

Capital punishment has become one of the most controversial topics in the United States. Each year, a handful of inmates in the United States wait to meet their fate on death row after being convicted of felonious charges or drug charges. While some would say the cost of each prisoner that would serve life in [...]

Law enforcement officials are increasingly turning to social media networks to help fight crime, according to a recent study discussed in a CNBC article. Four out of five police investigators have admitted to using social media in their efforts to catch criminals, according to a fascinating survey conducted by LexisNexis. The websites used most frequently [...]

In a controversial decision that some criminal law experts claim violates suspected criminals’ Fourth Amendment rights, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a California law that allows police to collect DNA samples from criminal suspects who have yet to be tried. The ruling comes after a challenge of a 2004 California law that [...]