Police are trained to “shoot to stop.” This means rapid fire “center mass” into the chest of someone who may be posing a threat to the officer or someone else. The police fire multiple times until the perceived threat has…
Category: Criminal Law
2016
Category: Criminal Law
During the recent presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump pledged to make African-American neighborhoods “safe.” As part of this campaign rhetoric, Trump promised to give the police more power to make these neighborhoods “safe.”
Abuse of Power, Stop and Frisk,…
2016
Category: Appeals | Criminal Law
The laws that apply to guilt do not always apply to punishment—at least that is the position of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TexCrimApp). This can create a slippery slope in cases where new evidence tends to undermine both…
2016
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law
Crime reached unprecedented levels in the 1980s and early 1990s before it began a precipitous decline beginning in 1995. Experts from every field in the nation’s criminal justice system have offered reasons or speculation about what caused the decline. The…
2016
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law | Sex Crimes
The State of North Carolina does not believe registered sex offenders should enjoy access to social media. State lawmakers made this clear in 2008 when they passed a law banning the use of social networking websites by registered sex offenders.…
2016
On August 11, 2016, the Fourteenth Court of Appeal, based in Houston, issued an opinion in Ex parte Donaldson[1] that set out the legal rules governing excessive bail.
Texas Constitution Prohibits Excessive Bail
The right to be free…
2016
Category: Appeals | Criminal Law
There are times when courts of appeals entertain certain issues of the law because the trial court failed to take reasonable steps to safe guard to appearance of impropriety. The decision handed down by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals…
2016
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law
The killing of a mentally ill, 66-year old, African American woman by police has been officially criticized as violating NYPD police policy. Deborah Danner was shot after she dropped a pair of scissors she was holding during the psychiatric episode…
2016
In 1997, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Ricciuti v. N.Y.C. Transit Authority held that law enforcement officers who fabricate evidence against a criminal suspect are liable for damages under the federal civil rights statute. The constitutional principle established…
2016
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law
Last month, on the heels of a string of high-profile police killings, the nation again witnessed two fatal police shootings: one in El Cajon, California and the other in Charlotte, North Carolina. Both fatal encounters triggered street protests and acts…