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Texas Inmate Plans for Freedom as DNA Exonerations Continue in Texas (Thursday 3 January 2008)
Charles Chatman's upcoming release will be the 15th DNA exoneration in Dallas County since 2001, the largest number of any prosecuting office in the country.
The Late Claude Howard Jones’ Innocence Hangs on a Single Strand of Hair (Tuesday 11 September 2007)
According to The Texas Observer, Claude Howard Jones was convicted of the crime primarily from the testimony of a state expert who had examined the hair under a microscope and concluded it most resembled Jones’.
NJ Internet Sexual Predator Law Bans Some Sex Offenders From the Internet (Friday 4 January 2008)
New Jersey is the latest state to pass laws dealing with the volatile mixture of computers, the Internet and convicted sex offenders.
Death Penalty Losing Support as Science Uncovers Flaws (Wednesday 13 June 2007)
Support for the death penalty weakens as DNA exonerations expose the innocent as victims of what some feel is a flawed justice system.
COMMENTARY: Supreme Court Averts Danger by Disallowing the Death Penalty for Child Rape (Monday 7 July 2008)
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against the death penalty for a person found guilty of raping a child, preventing state legislatures from allowing execution for non-homicide crimes.
DWI/DUI
All states prohibit operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
Traffic Tickets
Traffic tickets are citations that result from traffic violations, which generally are classified as parking (non-moving) and moving.
Electronic Surveillance
Using electronic devices to keep surveillance over a person may implicate the investigated individual's Fourth Amendment rights.
Criminal Defenses
Information about criminal defenses
Criminal Justice System
Defendants who have been arrested, booked and formally charged with a crime generally pass through the three main phases of the criminal justice system: the police or law enforcement agency phase, the court system phase and the corrections or incarceration facility phase.
Crime Classifications and Definitions
Each year, the FBI publishes crime statistics that provide not only helpful statistics but also crime classifications and definitions.
Fundamental Rights of the Accused
Many of an accused person’s most basic rights are set forth in the Bill of Rights.
Forfeiture
Forfeiture is a potent deterrent as well as a revenue source on which law enforcement has grown increasingly dependent. However, it brings with it far fewer procedural safeguards than the criminal law.
Misdemeanor Crimes
Misdemeanors are crimes punishable by no more than one year in jail.
Search & Seizure Law
The Fourth Amendment protects two fundamental liberty interests: the right to privacy and the right to freedom from arbitrary invasion.
Before Arrest : the DWI Traffic Stop
When a police officer determines he or she has cause to pull over a driver, the officer may ask the driver to perform standard field sobriety tests.
After Arrest : the legal process
After a driver is arrested on suspicion of DWI, he or she may face a breathalyzer and blood tests, driver's license suspension and criminal trial.
Criminal Law
Criminal law research materials including helpful websites, blogs, associations and agencies, journals, news, articles and research guides.
A person must be 18 years old to play a pinball machine in South Carolina! (Monday 14 May 2007)
A minor is prohibited from playing a pinball machine in South Carolina.
One may not sniff glue for excitement in Indiana (Monday 14 May 2007)
Indiana glue sniffing law.
Parents may substitute prayer for medical care by a dr. (Monday 14 May 2007)
Ex-cons are prohibited from hosting Bingo, or other games of chance in Pennsylvania! (Thursday 24 May 2007)
Recent felons may not operate a Bingo game in Pennsylvania.
Stick ball is outlawed in Bartlesville, Oklahoma! (Thursday 24 May 2007)
Baseball on public streets prohibited in Bartlesville, Okla.
Beware kids: Stink bomb sales are illegal in Oklahoma City! (Thursday 24 May 2007)
Oklahoma stink bomb law
Butter substitutes must not be served in Wisconsin state prisons (Thursday 24 May 2007)
Butter substitutes must not be served in Wisconsin state prisons.
Impersonating a town auctioneer is against the law in Rhode Island! (Thursday 24 May 2007)
Impersonating a town auctioneer is against the law in Rhode Island.
Racing a horse on public highway illegal (Thursday 24 May 2007)
Illegal to race horses on Rhode Island public highways.
Blasphemy is subject to criminal prosecution in Massachusetts (Wednesday 19 September 2007)
Blasphemy is subject to criminal prosecution in Massachusetts.
Fake boxing illegal in Louisiana (Wednesday 6 June 2007)
Fake boxing illegal in Louisiana.
Sunday sales of clothing, furniture, hardware and musical instruments are illegal in South Carolina! (Monday 14 May 2007)
Clothing, furniture, hardware and musical instruments may not be sold on Sundays in South Carolina.
Parents may legally substitute prayer for medical treatment of their children in Indiana (Tuesday 17 June 2008)
Treatment by spiritual means.
One may not dye ducks blue and offer them for sale in Kentucky (Tuesday 29 May 2007)
In Kentucky, one may not dye a duckling and offer it for sale.
Washington health laws prohibit anyone with a common cold from appearing in public (Monday 14 May 2007)
In Washington, no person may appear in public if he or she has the common cold.
X-rays may not be used to fit orthopedic shoes in Washington (Monday 14 May 2007)
X-rays may not be used to fit shoes in Washington.
You may not buy junk from a drunk in Wyoming! (Monday 14 May 2007)
In Wyoming, junk dealers may not make any business transactions with a drunk person.
Booby traps are illegal in Moab, Utah (Thursday 8 November 2007)
Booby traps are illegal in Moab, Utah.
$750 fine for leaving your fence open in Wyoming (Tuesday 18 September 2007)
$750 fine for leaving your fence open in Wyoming.
10 years in prison for stealing crawfish in Louisiana (Tuesday 18 September 2007)
Louisiana is serious about its crawfish
You may not send your child to work or to hunt in Alabama on a Sunday! (Wednesday 6 June 2007)
No working on Sundays in Alabama.
Nun costumes prohibited to those playing dress up in Alabama! (Friday 12 October 2007)
No pretend priests.
Putting an end to "bear wrestling matches" in Alabama (Wednesday 6 June 2007)
Bear wrestling laws for bear wrestlers.
Coasting downhill in neutral is illegal in Rhode Island (Thursday 8 November 2007)
Coasting one’s car downhill in neutral is illegal in Rhode Island.
Washington's election day liquor law (Thursday 28 June 2007)
Washington's election day liquor law.
It is illegal to sell artificially colored potatoes in Alabama (Thursday 8 November 2007)
It is illegal to sell artificially colored potatoes in Alabama.
Don't rob a bank while wearing a mask in Delaware (Friday 12 October 2007)
Don't rob a bank while wearing a mask in Delaware
Snow missiles not allowed in Belton, Missouri (Friday 12 October 2007)
Snow missiles not allowed in Belton, Missouri
In Massachusetts, defacing a milk carton is punishable by a ten dollar fine (Thursday 8 November 2007)
In Massachusetts, defacing a milk carton is punishable by a ten dollar fine.
In Delaware, it is illegal to sell perfume as a drink (Thursday 8 November 2007)
In Delaware, it is illegal to sell perfume as a drink.
Unless the Sheriff approves, men in drag have been outlawed in Walnut, California! (Thursday 20 September 2007)
In Walnut, Calif., you must get permission from the sheriff to cross-dress
El Paso, Texas bans foreign ice (Thursday 8 November 2007)
El Paso, Texas bans foreign ice.
In Oregon, it is illegal to pump your own gas (Thursday 8 November 2007)
In Oregon, it is illegal to pump your own gas.
In Rhode Island, it is illegal to place a windmill within 25 rods of any road (Thursday 8 November 2007)
In Rhode Island, it is illegal to place a windmill within 25 rods of any road.
What's the difference between an assault & battery? (Friday 25 April 2008)
What's the difference between an assault and a battery?
When to contact a lawyer (Wednesday 5 March 2008)
The U.S. Sentencing Commission (Wednesday 5 March 2008)
Civil violation, misdemeanor, felony (Wednesday 12 March 2008)
The difference between lying and entrapment (Wednesday 12 March 2008)
What is the ''Three Strikes'' law? (Wednesday 12 March 2008)
Can the police ever arrest without a warrant? (Wednesday 12 March 2008)
When May Police Conduct a Warrantless Search of a Home? (Friday 14 March 2008)
Under what circumstances can the police search a home without a warrant?
What is Jury Nullification? (Thursday 20 March 2008)
When a jury believes a law has been applied erroneously or a law is immoral, the jury may return a verdict of "not guilty" even if the members believe the defendant is guilty.
What to do if you're caught in a hit-and-run accident (Friday 28 March 2008)
Procedures of a hit-and-run accident
Oct. 3, 1995: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of his ex-wife’s murder (Monday 24 September 2007)
O.J. Simpson is acquitted of his ex-wife’s murder.
June 12, 1978: "Son of Sam" sentenced to life in prison (Monday 11 June 2007)
June 6, 2005: The Supreme Court bans the use of medicinal marijuana (Tuesday 29 May 2007)
May 22, 2002: A jury convicts Bobby Frank Cherry of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing of 1963 (Tuesday 20 May 2008)
Bobby Frank Cherry found guilty of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
May 4, 1998: A California federal judge gives the ''Unabomber'' four life sentences plus 30 years (Thursday 1 May 2008)
Theodore Kaczynski is sentenced in California for a string of bombing campaigns.
April 29, 1992: Riots break out in Los Angeles when police officers charged with using excessive force in beating of Rodney King are acquitted. (Monday 21 April 2008)
Rodney King verdict ignites Los Angeles riots.
Oct. 4, 1988: Televangelist Jim Bakker is indicted on fraud charges (Friday 28 September 2007)
Televangelist Jim Bakker is indicted on fraud charges.
Oct. 13, 1999: A Colorado grand jury is dismissed in the Ramsey murder case (Wednesday 3 October 2007)
A Colorado grand jury is dismissed in the Ramsey murder case.
Oct. 18, 1698: London police arrest John Lennon and Yoko Ono for drug possession (Tuesday 9 October 2007)
London police arrest John Lennon and Yoko Ono for drug possession.
