Police officers have a fairly large amount of discretion when it comes to making traffic stops, but their discretion is not unlimited. Instead, officers must have a reasonable suspicion of a crime before they can pull someone over. This is not usually an issue because many traffic law violations are quite obvious, like speeding or running […]
Advances in technology have allowed modern corporations to develop a size and reach that are historically unprecedented. This poses problems because corporations are made up of people, and consequently are just as capable as ordinary people are of committing crimes, and charging corporate crimes presents unique considerations. Certainly, some of those can be avoided by charging the […]
Technology’s forward progress is usually reason for celebration. New technologies can cure disease, make work easier, or improve people’s quality of life. Still, new technology can also breed controversy, and one of the most controversial pieces of new technology to appear lately has been unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. Much of the controversy has centered […]
The recent trend of posting revenge porn has proven to be a significant problem for law enforcement officials. Revenge porn is the posting of naked pictures of a former significant other online following a breakup. While some states charged the crime as harassment, many states have passed laws specifically designed to criminalize the posting of revenge porn. […]
The criminal law has a wide variety of different punishments it can impose for crimes. The ones that people think of most commonly are probably jail sentences and fines. However, these are not the only options. Another common option is criminal probation. Probation is a period of court-authorized supervision of the offender by the Department of […]
The notion of accidentally committing a crime can be hard for many people to swallow. After all, part of the reason that a society has a criminal justice system is to express moral disapproval for things beyond what a civil lawsuit, like a personal injury suit, can do. Much of that moral culpability stems from […]
The healthcare sector of the economy is a multi-billion dollar industry that is growing rapidly as a result of scientific advancements and an aging population. On top of this massive growth, the government has laid down complex regulatory and benefits systems over the industry. This combination of large amounts of money and bureaucracy has led […]
The law has a reputation for being at times needlessly complex and confusing. It is hard to find somewhere where this reputation is more deserved than the law of theft. At its heart, theft is the act of taking something that belongs to someone else, but the law of theft is much more complicated. It draws […]
The court system of the United States is often described as “adversarial.” This means that there are two sides in criminal cases – the prosecution and the defense – and that each side is representing the interests of their client. The prosecution works to prove a person’s guilt on behalf of the government, and the defense works […]
Attorneys act as people’s representatives in court, often making tactical decisions when there is no time to consult with their client. Additionally, attorneys work with clients to develop overarching legal strategies. In order to do this job well, attorneys need to have a clear picture of all the facts that their client knows, which means […]