A warrantless drug search of all 900 students at a southern Georgia high school has brought a multi-million-dollar court settlement to be paid to the students, and a grand jury indictment for the county sheriff and two deputies. Early one mid-April morning, the students and staff of Worth County High School were suddenly told that […]
The Criminal & College Discipline Blog
An attorneys blog about criminal law and procedure, college discipline, Title IX and cases of Interest
Article: What is the Fifth Amendment Privilege?
You have likely heard someone say they are “pleading the Fifth,” whether it was in a court, on television, or by a child refusing to completely answer their parents’ questions. This legal term has become commonplace, but it is still important to understand what it means, what protections it offers, and how you can use […]
Article: Grand Juries
Although many cases involve a grand jury, they are far less publicized and less well known than their trial jury counterparts. As a result, grand juries and their proceedings are commonly misunderstood. Most people only encounter grand juries if they must serve on one or if they are a witness who will testify before one. […]
Article: Body Searches of High Schoolers Bring Indictments for Sheriff, Deputies
Warrantless Body Searches Leave Teens Traumatized A warrantless drug search of all 900 students at a southern Georgia high school has brought a multi-million-dollar court settlement to be paid to the students, and a grand jury indictment for the county sheriff and two deputies. Early one mid-April morning, the students and staff of Worth County […]
Article: Do Not Talk to the Police
If there is one piece of information I wish my clients had when they are the subject of a criminal investigation, it is not to speak to the police. If you might be a suspect, you may find the officers attempting to engage you into questioning. Although it might be obvious that an officer suspects […]
Article: Colleges Settle Federal Lawsuits by Students Expelled on Sexual Misconduct Charges
Disciplinary Measures for Sexual Misconduct Charges Come Under Review I have previously written about a state court decision striking down a public college’s disciplinary procedures as fundamentally flawed and unfair. More recently, two private colleges have made out-of-court settlements in increasingly common federal lawsuits brought against them by students disciplined or expelled over allegations of […]
Article: Cop Fired for Arresting Nurse Who Blocked Unconsented, Warrantless Blood Draw from Patient
Videos, taken on July 26 in the emergency room of the University of Utah hospital’s burn unit, show Jeff Payne, a veteran Salt Lake City policeman, growing increasingly frustrated as he argues with Alex Wubbels, the unit’s head nurse, a blonde female in blue scrubs, over the cop’s intent to draw a blood sample from […]
Article: Trial Lawyers Hit Title IX Hearings as Lacking Fairness, Due Process
According to a new report by the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), university students accused in campus hearings of sexual misconduct are “deprived of their fundamental fairness,” and procedures set by colleges and universities in response to a legal mandate enforced by the federal Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) are in […]
Article: Are Prosecutors Trying to Undercut Lawyer-Client Privilege?
This May, Jessica McElfresh was arrested at gunpoint in San Diego, and local prosecutors soon brought several still-pending marijuana-related felony charges against her, including conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and manufacturing a controlled substance. What begins to make this highly unusual is Ms. McElfresh’s occupation: she’s an experienced criminal defense lawyer, regarded as one of the […]
Article: Education Department Will Revamp Guidelines for Campus Sex Misconduct Probes
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made it official on September 7: her agency plans to change guidelines the Obama administration had set in 2011 for how schools should investigate and handle complaints of sexual misconduct. In a speech delivered at George Mason University, the head of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) said the Obama […]