Ohio pot laws still deem the widely used recreational drug to be illegal. On November 3, Ohio voters turned down a ballot initiative, labeled Issue 3, to amend the state constitution by permitting state residents age 21 and up to buy, use and grow limited amounts of marijuana for personal or medical purposes. Despite national […]
The Criminal & College Discipline Blog
An attorneys blog about criminal law and procedure, college discipline, Title IX and cases of Interest
Article: New York City and State Restrictions on Use of Criminal Records in Hiring
On June 29, at a signing ceremony in City Hall, New York City mayor Bill DeBlasio hailed a new City Council law, the “Fair Chance Act,” as a way to require city-based employers with four or more workers to take into account job applicants’ qualifications, rather than to screen them out early in the hiring […]
Article: Total Costs for Local Jails Are Seriously Understated, New Study Says
What does it cost taxpayers to run a local jail? Unless your hobby is studying local government budgets, you probably have little or no idea what the actual figure might be, but you no doubt believe it ought to be a statistic easy to look up, right? But, says a recent report from a non-profit […]
Article: Why Eyewitness Testimony May Be Wrong
If you were a prosecutor getting ready to go to trial, just about the best evidence you could hope to have, other than a full confession from the main suspect, would be an eyewitness account, from a victim of the crime or someone who saw it transpire, identifying the defendant as the actual culprit. What […]
Article: The Bipartisan Federal Safe Justice Act, H.R. 2944
On June 25, a political odd couple of House Judiciary Committee members Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Bobby Scott (D-VA) joined to co-sponsor a far-reaching bill to revamp the nation’s criminal justice system: the Safe, Accountable, Fair and Effective (SAFE) Justice Act (H.R. 2944). The bill’s 37 other co-sponsors to date, evenly divided between the […]
Article: Would New Sentencing Guidelines Free Violent Felons?
The chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary committees have warned Attorney General Loretta Lynch a fast-approaching retroactive reduction in sentencing guidelines for drug distribution and trafficking convictions will bring the release of thousands of federal inmates in a few months, potentially including those with extensive criminal records involving violent offenses including firearms violations, assault […]
Article: FBI, Federal Prosecutors Probe Baseball Team Computer Hacking
For major-league baseball teams, a certain amount of chicanery, like trying to steal the signals an opposing team’s catcher uses to tell pitchers what to throw, or that coaches use to direct on-field strategy, is considered a normal part of the game. But according to recent reports, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and federal prosecutors […]
Article: Why DNA Evidence Isn’t Always as Reliable as It Looks on TV
It’s featured in paternity testing segments on lowbrow daytime TV programs, and is practically a cast member on the various CSI shows. When properly done, DNA testing can greatly assist law enforcement, but if not, it can be unreliable evidence. It can produce amazing results. Take the recent, highly publicized case of the killing of […]
Article: Federal Commission Revises Penalties for Fraud, Economic Crimes
The United States Sentencing Commission has recently sent Congress proposed changes to penalties for several classes of federal crimes, including major changes in recommended penalties for crimes of fraud and theft, and economic crimes, including antitrust or securities violations. One of Washington’s lesser-known agencies, the United States Sentencing Commission is part of the judicial branch. […]
Article: Does a Polite Note to the Teller Mean You’re Not Robbing the Bank?
A Very Polite Robbery On the afternoon of May 6, when 23-year-old unemployed aspiring rap star Dominyk Antonio Alfonseca found himself in Virginia Beach, Virginia and running short of cash, he knew just what to do. After locating what he thought was the most impressive-looking bank in the area, a Towne Bank branch fronted by […]