Monthly Archives: February 2020
How Online Searches & Texting Has Landed Some Seeking Abortions in Jail
An important article was recently published by Fast Company highlighting how the internet has both helped women obtain access to medical abortion, while also criminalizing and punishing them for the practice at the same time; largely due to how quickly some states are diverging from Roe v. Wade in their criminal abortion laws. While… Read More »
New York City Is On the Verge of Severely Penalizing Red Light and Speeding Camera Violations with Potential Vehicle Impoundment
New York City Council is currently contemplating taking extreme measures in response to what has been described as rampant traffic violations and reckless driving in the city which has led to a number of injuries and deaths. According to a preliminary study by the University of Chicago and New York City Transportation Department, vehicles… Read More »
Fate of Marijuana Decriminalization In New York Remains Unclear, Even as Gov. Cuomo Releases Plan
While last year, New York did decriminalize the possession of certain small amounts of marijuana and launched a process to expunge the records of many who have been convicted of low-level possession crimes, the law still left a number of individuals targeted for arrests. Specifically, Blacks and Latinos continue to be arrested and sent… Read More »
ICE Arrests 115 People in New Jersey Claiming They Are Criminals but Move May Instead Be Punishment for Immigrant Trust Directive
In late January and early February, immigration officials arrested over 100 foreign nationals across the state of New Jersey from 23 different African, European, and South American countries, claiming that they had criminal histories. Specifically, the statement released by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claims that 84 percent had prior criminal convictions that… Read More »
Where Privacy Laws Can Exacerbate Criminal Injustice Issues and Lead to Wrongful Convictions
While there is no question that a significant amount of data gathered and stored by network providers has spurred concern about protecting privacy, at the same time, recently proposed data privacy laws could very well make it more difficult for those who have been wrongly accused to obtain digital records critical to proving that… Read More »
Report Reveals Government Using Foreign Spying Exemptions for Routine Domestic Criminal Investigations & Making Too Many Mistakes Along the Way
Years ago, Congress provided the executive branch with very particular and somewhat unlimited surveillance powers under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, in order to enable them to track down foreign spies in the United States. FISA allows the government to ask the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for approval to wiretap people to… Read More »
January 2020 Criminal Law Legislation Passed in New Jersey
In January, a number of important bills were signed into law in New Jersey that criminalize selling toy guns that look like real guns and reform New Jersey’s criminal justice system, which we describe below: Illegal to Sell Toy Guns That Look Like Real Guns In late January, New Jersey banned toy guns that… Read More »
New Jersey’s “Red Flag” Law Comes Under Fire for Constitutional Issues; Those Targeted Feel Like Criminals Without a Trial
Under New Jersey’s new “red flag” law, also known as the Extreme Risk Protective Order Act, approximately 200 people have had their guns seized after law enforcement or a family member submitted a petition to the court successfully arguing that they pose a danger of causing bodily injury to themselves or others. However, New… Read More »
