Category Archives: Criminal Defense
Congress Seeks To Increase Crack Down Against Hate Crimes
On March 13th, the Associated Press announced that U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is introducing legislation that would strengthen those federal laws relied upon to combat hate crimes across the nation. Specifically, his bill would reportedly create incentives for law enforcement to both go after and document hate crimes, establish grants to fund state-run hate… Read More »
Resisting Arrest and Eluding an Officer in New Jersey
A man eluding officers who tried to pull him over for a traffic violation along the New Jersey Turnpike brought national news attention to his flight on Sunday, March 12th. Officers ended up deploying spike sticks in order to get him to pull over, and proceeded to charge him with eluding officers (along with… Read More »
Congress May Soon Affect Gun And Weapons Charges in New Jersey
New Jersey is one of 10 states that will not honor concealed carry permits issued outside its borders; instead, in order to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon in New Jersey, one must demonstrate that there is a “justifiable need,” or good reason to believe that your life or the life of… Read More »
New Jersey Official Sentenced To Home Confinement
On March 6th, David Samson—former attorney general of New Jersey—was sentenced to home confinement for one year and ordered to pay a fine of $100,000 after admitting that he had used his authority as chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to coerce United airlines into operating a weekly flight… Read More »
Criminal Charges against Volkswagen Executives Escalate
Criminal charges against Volkswagen (VW) executives continue, as U.S. federal prosecutors have accused six of them of knowingly providing false information to American regulators after regulators initially became suspicious of emissions cheating three years ago. As these prosecutions move forward, they could, in turn, end up having a permanent effect on the prosecution of… Read More »
What’s Ahead for The Decriminalization of Marijuana?
When it comes to the legalization and regulation of marijuana, it is important to keep in mind that there is a difference between federal authority to manage recreational vs. medical marijuana insofar as what authority the Justice Department has to enforce federal laws banning the product (i.e. arresting and prosecuting citizens for drug possession)…. Read More »
Police Immunity & the Connection to Wrongful Convictions
What constitutes excessive use of force, and how is it connected to police immunity? Holding police officers civilly liable for police misconduct is important, but it is also important to know when police officers, as government officers, can raise immunity as a defense. Ultimately, police abuse is directly connected to other elements of the… Read More »
When Children Are Tried As Adults
Many people remember hearing about the terrible Slender Man stabbing incident in 2014, when two 12-year-old girls allegedly lured their friend into the woods and stabbed her 19 times, purportedly out of a belief that a fictional character known as the “Slender Man” made them do it. Both of the girls accused of the… Read More »
How the New Attorney General May Affect Criminal Prosecutions and your Rights
Now that Jeff Sessions has been confirmed as attorney general at the Justice Department, it is important to note what effect he will likely have on federal civil rights enforcement, as this will affect countless numbers of people who are subject to police abuse, racial profiling, and numerous other civil rights violations. Specifically, the… Read More »
Administration Blurs the Line between Crime and Being an Immigrant in Recent Arrests
During the week of February 6th, immigration agents arrested a reported 600 people across the United States, at least 40 of them in the New York City area alone. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), officials are arresting very specific targets as opposed to spontaneously checking employees’ papers at various businesses. Although ICE… Read More »