Year: 2017
Another fatal shooting of a police officer in San Antonio has highlighted violence against law enforcement officers in Texas. Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state flags to be lowered to half-staff in San Antonio to honor Officer Miguel Moreno. He was killed in a shoot-out last Thursday and died a day later. Moreno…
Controversial laws that prohibit sex offenders from using social media have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court as being in violation of the Constitution. On June 19, the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that a North Carolina law making it an offense for convicted sex offenders to use social media violated the First Amendment…
There are now three times more people with serious mental illness incarcerated in the United States than in hospitals. Are U.S. prisons criminalizing the mentally ill? That’s what a large number of criminal justice advocacy groups have stated — and their assertions are definitely backed up by the data. According to the Bureau of Justice…
Technology often makes life easier, but is it always a good thing? Computers have become such an integral part of daily life that it’s hard to imagine life without them. It’s also hard to believe that just a few decades ago there was no email or internet. Today, however, technology plays a major role in…
The question of mandatory reporting gets murkier when the alleged crime takes place online. The brutal sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl on Facebook Live in March 2017 is raising important questions about whether individuals who view a live stream of a criminal act should be held criminal responsible for failing to report it. According…
The law is constantly changing when it comes to mobile phones and other technology. Before smartphones, you usually had to tell someone where you were out in the world. Today, smartphone technology makes it possible for friends and loved ones to see exactly where you’re located. Of course, if friends and family can see your…
Criminal justice experts have stated that treating teenagers as adults in the criminal justice system is detrimental for both the young people involved and the states. In Texas, along with a handful of other states, 17-year-olds accused of criminal offenses are automatically tried as adults. Texas lawmakers have introduced two bills that propose raising the…
Violent crime has been rising in many American cities over the last few years and Texas is no exception. Recent figures for Fort Worth found crime increased by 14 percent and murders were up 69 percent year-on-year. A report on Channel 5 compared crime figures in the first three months of 2017 with those in…
The organization has published some startling statistics that show just how critical a problem the country’s incarceration rate has become. Funded by a $100 million investment from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Safety and Justice Challenge was created to reduce over-incarceration in the United States. The organization has published some startling…
The Court’s decision is likely to have a significant impact on the dual sovereignty exception to the Double Jeopardy Clause. Double jeopardy is a subject most people have heard of but don’t always fully understand. According to news reports, the Supreme Court of the United States may be set to hear a double jeopardy case…