Criminal Law

Spam is mostly a pain in the gluteas maximus, but every once in a while it furnishes some amusement. I got this gem in my inbox this morning. I’m emailing you today because I noticed James H wrote […]

American prisons are profoundly inhospitable for incarcerated women — but prison education programs can help women on the inside resist the ‘inhumanity’ of incarceration, say Kathy Boudin and […]

Lack of sufficient funding and a failure to coordinate between law enforcement agencies has reduced the effectiveness of a 2016 California law authorizing police to remove firearms from people […]

The Biden administration is using a 1944 public health statute to enforce an inhumane policy blocking access to asylum, writes an immigration policy author.

So last week was a bit of a feel good story involving my two children. Today, not so much. You see, last Friday I really did have to take both kids to the dentist’s office for their annual cleaning […]

It took Dr. SJ and me three tries to make it through the first episode of the new “phenomenon” Netflix series “Squid Games.” We found it repugnant. We found nothing likeable about the […]

While the decision could expose Steve Bannon to criminal prosecution, the final decision remains in the hands of the attorney general and the Department of Justice.

Despite a 2019 law intended to speed up needed disclosures of officer credibility, officer history remains inscrutable and those flagged for misconduct continue to jeopardize cases.

Mohamed Noor, who fatally shot an unarmed woman after she called 911 to report a possible rape happening behind her home, has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison — the most the judge […]

Jerome Boykin and Rogelio Mancera met on a Facebook specialty sneaker group and started trading guns for marijuana about a year ago to traffic guns supplied by a retiree who’d traveled the country […]

Lyft has pledged to improve its safety practices over the years, noting the issue is a work in progress and that the overwhelming majority of rides ended without incident.

While it can be initially difficult for cops if they must solely rely on social media posts for crime activity rather than getting direct information, the video’s “play well in front of the […]

As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, jury selection began this week in the joint trial of three men charged with murdering Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia in February of last year.  The report says […]

Jason Riley has this column in the WSJ pointing out a problem that does not get enough attention. When crime rates go up, the added crimes hurt people of modest means much more than they hurt the […]

This post summarizes criminal and related decisions published by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during September 2021. Decisions that may be interest to state practitioners are summarized […]

“A recent poll from Morning Consult/Politico found that 78 percent of voters believe that violent crime is a major problem in the United States, and nearly as high a percentage thought that the […]

Violence against police officers has accelerated over the past several years.  Rick Sobey of the Boston Herald reports that so far this year, 59 police officers have been murdered in the line of […]

In a word, no. In ten words, ominous FBI surveillance like this would make Richard Nixon blush. Clark Neily of the libertarian Cato Institute and I often disagree  —  about drug legalization, […]

The young Black men most victimized by gun violence can tell us how to stop it, but “too often we ignore their voices,” criminologist Joseph Richardson tells Greg Berman in the latest installment […]

At $600 million, the volume of suspected ransomware payments is likely to double what it reached last year.

As an 11-year-old he was bullied by classmates. Thirty years later he looked back with regret on the choices that turned him into a violent gang member serving life in prison, in this essay produced […]

Since July 2020, the Justice Department has brought over 220 criminal and civil enforcement actions in nearly 20 different types of fraud cases that targeted the elderly, according to the DOJ’s […]

When asked by a senator who gave her the authority to make up her own rules, Catherine Lhamon smugly responded that the Senate did when it confirmed her. She had a point, that they knew who they were […]

The Indiana State Police are seeking to benefit from the ongoing confrontation between the Chicago Police Department and the city over vaccine mandates .

Advocates point to increased enforcement at the Mexican land border as one explanation for the jump in attempts at far more dangerous crossings by sea.

It appeared that some held their phones up in the direction of the assault, seemingly to film the attack.

Settlement agreements — and many police union contracts — often prohibit the release of the names of officers named in disciplinary records, but Brady Lists can blow open those closed doors..

Many advocates say that reports of rampant abuse by asylum officers are par for the course.

Police are recommending that four people involved in the incident receive misdemeanor charges related to disruption of an educational institution and disorderly conduct.

The investigations uncovered multiple sex offenders and allegations of sex trafficking involving minors.

Some good news to report about Joe Biden. He has rapidly been filling the open slots for federal District and Appeals Court judges. So far, 8 of those appointed and confirmed have backgrounds as […]

Researchers with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government found that high-profile acts of police brutality, like the murder of George Floyd, negatively affect public trust and cooperation with law […]

There probably aren’t many people left who aren’t online in one way or another, making internet access something of a universal necessity. The issue of access was elevated to woke status during […]

A program launched in April 2020 helped smooth the transition from prison to civil society for more than 10,000 returning citizens during the pandemic. Could it be a model for post-pandemic reentry […]

Despite proof that female officers use less force and avoid more complaints, state police departments often fail to change the perception that state policing isn’t for women.

U.S. authorities detained more than 1.7 million migrants along the U.S.- Mexico border during the 2021 fiscal year that ended in September, and arrests by the Border Patrol soared to the highest […]

Armed with a legally purchased semiautomatic rifle, Nicolas Cruz, then 19, committed one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.

There wasn’t much to say about the outrage over Netflix airing Dave Chappelle’s special, The Closer, until I saw it and found out what all the outrage was about. Now I have, and I get it. It was […]

This post summarizes criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals published on October 19, 2021. Summaries will also be posted to Smith’s Case Compendium, here. Improper remarks to […]

A vehicle subject to forfeiture following a DWI must be returned to an innocent owner under specific circumstances. Effective January 1, 2022, this innocent owner defense will be spelled out in the […]

John F.  Kennedy thought well enough of him to tell a collection of the “best and the brightest”: I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever […]

A 21-year-old woman used meth while she was pregnant. That this was a monumentally bad thing to do isn’t the question. There’s no really good time to use meth, and people who use meth tend to […]

General Colin Powell has died from complications from COVID-19. He was 84 and fully vaccinated. However, his immune system had been compromised by having had blood cancer. Powell, who was 84, […]

Last November, I blogged about recommendations from the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association for legislation that would enable hiring authorities, certifying commissions, and state prosecutors to […]

Virginia Senator Joe Morrissey (D. Richmond) plans to introduce a bill in 2022 that will restore parole to make violent criminals, including murderers, eligible for release from prison after serving […]

There has been a loud campaign for years now, led by a number of libertarians and some liberals, to end qualified immunity for the police.  The gist of their argument is that police who behave […]

There you were, wearing your tightest Jordache jeans and a flammable Huckapoo shirt, and still you were on line praying the doorman would open the velvet ropes like he did as Halston walked past the […]

Its Virginia local proudly announced that it filed an amicus brief in a case involving teachers in Loudoun County. The ACLU of Virginia filed an amicus brief in the Loudoun County Circuit Court on […]

We’ve always known that most non-millionaire Donald Trump supporters are marginalized and under-informed. (Just a nicer term for under-educated and/or stupid). So perhaps it’s no surprise that many […]

I’m obsessed with bodies of water these days. From Drake’s Passage that goes between Ushaia, Argentina and the Antarctic, to the amazing waters around Tasmania, just below Australia, I’ve spent hours […]