Recent Blog Posts
Jeff Sessions Lets States Off-Hook for Criminal Justice Issues before Exiting Position
Before he left as Attorney General in November, Jeff Sessions issued a final memo in an attempt to limit federal oversight of police officers accused of abusive and unconstitutional conduct. Specifically, he limited the Department of Justice’s ability to enforce certain patterns of conduct via court-enforced consent decrees when it comes to police departments… Read More »
A Discussion of Views on the Death Penalty Surrounding the Pittsburgh Shooting
In the wake of the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Pittsburgh synagogue in late October and resulted in the death of 11 people, federal and state prosecutors are preparing to move forward with capital murder charges against the suspect connected with the incident, Robert Bowers. Bowers was charged in a 44-count indictment that… Read More »
Civil Rights Enforcement & Education in the Trump Era
The Department of Education and Secretary Betsy DeVos have drawn a significant amount of civil rights concerns, especially when it comes to affirmative action policies, school segregation, and Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in all federally-funded education programs. Many feel that DeVos has effectively all but completely abandoned her civil… Read More »
Pittsburgh Shooter Charged With Federal & State Homicide & Hate Crimes
The mass shooting at the Pittsburgh Synagogue that killed 11 people involves the overlap of criminal charges (criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and ethnic intimidation), hate crimes (obstruction the free exercise of religious beliefs), and civil rights issues. Armed with a number of assault rifles and handguns, the suspect allegedly opened fire inside the synagogue… Read More »
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Guilty Plea Appeal Waiver Case
We’ve previously discussed the issue of plea bargains being on the rise in the United States. It has become such an issue that many argue that it has turned our criminal justice system upside down. In fact, today, an estimated 97 percent of federal and 94 percent of state prosecutions now end in plea… Read More »
Brett Kavanaugh’s Nomination Concerned Civil Rights Advocates
The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court had a number of civil rights activists concerned; based on the judge’s decision record. In addition to concerns over his individual record, there were also overall concerns that his addition to the court would also make the current Chief Justice—a traditionally conservative voter—the swing… Read More »
Current Administration’s Department Of Justice Redefining Who Has Civil Rights
The Department of Justice’s announcement that they would be working against race-based college admissions in early September is the latest move in a series of decisions made by this administration to redefine the entire concept of civil rights. Under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the focus has shifted from protection of the everyday citizen and… Read More »
Law Proposed In New Jersey Requiring Pet Groomers to Be Licensed
Pending legislation in New Jersey known as “Bijou’s Law” would force pet groomers to be licensed, or otherwise face strict sanctions. The legislation was born out of a tragedy that occurred, whereby one woman’s dog died at a grooming session, inspiring her to push for changes and require that groomers not only get licensed,… Read More »
Update on Medical & Recreational Marijuana Legalization in New York & New Jersey
Here in New York, the planned merger of two of the country’s largest cannabis companies could change New York’s law on marijuana manufacturing and distribution as we know it. The merger would create the largest cannabis country in the nation, with licenses to operate 79 facilities in a number of states, including two cultivation… Read More »
Police Crackdown on New York Doctors Distributing Opioids
On October 11, in pursuit of the current administration’s war on opioids, five New York doctors in Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and Westchester County were arrested and charged with running illegal prescription drug mills that led to the distribution of more than 8.5 million oxycodone pills being dispersed throughout the state. According to Manhattan… Read More »
