Author: Mick Mickelsen
Dogs have powerful noses. According to researchers at Florida State University, they can smell up to 100,000 times better than humans. Considering how amazing a dog’s sense of smell is, it’s probably no wonder why police use dogs to detect illegal substances. But what does the law say about drug sniffing dogs? Can police use…
When you ride as a passenger in a vehicle, you are giving a certain amount of control over to the driver. For example, if the driver is exceeding the speed limit, you could find yourself in a situation being pulled over and stopped by the police. What happens if the driver has an illegal substance…
For most taxpayers in the United States, an IRS audit is something you should try to avoid at all costs. Unfortunately, many taxpayers already know the stress that comes when the IRS knocks on your door to investigate a simple error. When the “simple error” results in a significant discrepancy in reporting, or failure to…
Is it possible to find work and rebuild your professional reputation after being convicted of a white collar crime? Here’s what you need to know about employment after conviction. When you’ve been convicted of white-collar crime, the residual effects of the conviction can last long after you’ve paid your dues. For people with a white…
Internet scams are a form of fraud, and a conviction for this type of computer crime can result in serious penalties, including years in jail. Recently, investigators uncovered a large scale phishing scam that targeted tech giants Google and Facebook. Using emailed invoices, a man was able to defraud the companies out of more than…
Could the Patriot Act affect your criminal case? You’ve probably heard about this powerful federal tool that gives authorities the sweeping ability to engage in surveillance tactics, but most people only know of the Patriot Act from what they see on television. What they may not realize is that the Patriot Act often allows law…
Although many people use “restraining order” and “protective order” to refer to the same thing, these two terms actually describe two different types of court orders. In stalking and harassment cases, when someone needs protection from an alleged stalker or harasser, the appropriate order is a protective order. If you believe that another person poses…
Many depictions of police lineups on television or movies make it seem like police routinely and easily solve crimes simply by having a victim point out the perpetrator in a line of suspects. But do police lineups really work this way? What happens if the victim identifies the wrong person? Studies have shown that police…
Most people are curious about their family origins. It’s normal to wonder where your ancestors came from and how they moved around the world before you. This curiosity has led to a rapid rise in the popularity of home DNA testing kits like those offered by Ancestry.com and 23andMe. However, privacy experts say these kits…
A bipartisan effort to change the law to allow judges in Texas to dismiss low-level crimes when police officers fail to explain why they arrested a suspect has died. The Texas Tribune reported a committee of Texas lawmakers from both chambers killed a measure in late May that would have let judges dismiss low-level crimes…