Recent Blog Posts
NYPD & New York City Sued For Misusing Arrest Records
On April 24th, a class action lawsuit was filed against the NYPD police department and the city of New York alleging that the department illegally kept and accessed sealed arrest records in order to target particular communities for investigations and law enforcement activities. The lawsuit alleges that the department used the records in the… Read More »
When Criminal Justice, Environmental Justice, And Racial Profiling Overlap
There are many instances where criminal justice and environmental justice overlap, as recently highlighted in this a recent article published by Grist. For one, police and judges often sentence environmental activists to prison terms, conveniently finding connections between peaceful protests and “felony assault.” Sadly, this can also frequently result in a racial discrimination/inequity/environmental justice… Read More »
Insurance Fraud Charges In New Jersey
In early April, one New Jersey woman was charged with stealing more than $46,000 in workers’ compensation benefits, a charge that comes with hefty criminal penalties and jail time. Specifically, a state grand jury charged her with second-degree insurance fraud and third-degree theft by deception, alleging that she used lies and deceit to continue… Read More »
Two New Jersey Police Officers Arrested For Misconduct
Two New Jersey police officers—Jonathan Bustios and Eudy Ramos—were recently investigated and arrested by the FBI for illegally stopping and searching vehicles, detaining the occupants, and stealing items from them. Both officers worked for the Paterson police department for four years and were assigned to the Hillcrest neighborhood and St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center…. Read More »
Supreme Court Rules For Police In Excessive Force Case
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning police officer conduct in an excessive force case—arguably involving both police misconduct and racial profiling—sends an alarming signal to the public, as noted by Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her dissent. Specifically, it sends the message that officers can shoot first and think later, and that unreasonable conduct… Read More »
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 »
