Monthly Archives: April 2018
The Need For Criminal Justice Reform
Many are aware that there are a myriad of flaws in our criminal justice system, however, a recent publication from The Hill highlights just how bad it is. For example, almost three million U.S. children under the age of 18 have an incarcerated parent; there are more prisons than colleges in our country; drug… Read More »
This Spring, Some Of New Jersey’s Laws Get Stricter; While Others More Flexible
March brought some significant changes to New Jersey’s regulation of guns and medical marijuana. Below, we discuss these changes in greater detail: New Jersey Close To Passing Additional Criminal Measures Regarding Gun Ownership In response to the wave of student protests that resulted from the recent Florida mass shooting, New Jersey lawmakers are now… Read More »
Is It Possible To Incorporate Neuroscience Into The Courtroom While Also Safeguarding Liberties?
The U.S. Bill of Rights enshrines certain individual liberties and freedoms in our culture that the law, governments, courts, etc. cannot infringe upon; rights that include freedom from self-incrimination and the right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury. We’ve previously discussed the use of neuroscience to argue for mitigating circumstances in a… Read More »
“Defending Yourself In The Dark”: New York Continues To Face Issues With Unfair Discovery Laws
We’ve previously discussed the issue of a huge problem that New York faces in its criminal justice system before; this issue of prosecutors withholding evidence until the last minute, and how this not only violates defendants’ rights to a fair trial, but actually contributes to the number of wrongful convictions every year. For years,… Read More »
A Closer Look At The Insanity Defense
In the wake of last month’s deadly shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, the issue of to what extent the insanity defense should be used in the courtroom as a criminal defense has been the subject of a nationwide debate. In order for a defendant to rely on the insanity defense, the… Read More »
Yale Rape Verdict Shows Differing Standards For Consent In Criminal Courtrooms Versus Campus Panels
The trial against the Yale student accused of rape has been in the headlines of late, especially when the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on March 7th, after less than three hours of deliberations. The message received from the trial was loud and clear: prosecuting sex crimes in a court of law… Read More »
Neuroscience Gains Increasingly Important Role In Criminal Defense
According to this recent piece featured in Scientific American, neuroscience is playing a larger and larger role in criminal defense cases every day. Specifically, criminal defense strategies are including behavioral tests, brain scans, and psychological evaluations more and more in an effort to mitigate potential punishments for criminal defendants. As scientific methods to measure… Read More »
New Jersey’s Liquor Laws Generate Significant Confusion
New Jersey’s liquor laws have long been the source of much confusion: While one law limits towns to one liquor license per 3,000 people, another limits markets and other companies to two retail licenses only. While some towns often have their own regulations regarding whether or not liquor can be sold on Sundays, others… Read More »