The U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision on Fourth Amendment rights for rental car drivers. If a driver who is not listed on a rental contract—but who has permission from the authorized driver to use the car—gets pulled over, are they protected...
The question of what is considered excessive police force has been raised in myriad cases around the country in recent years. What is the legal backing that gets a police officer off the hook for injuring—or even killing—a civilian?In today’s post,...
If you’re an immigrant in the United States and are charged with a crime, it’s particularly important to understand how your actions following your arrest could affect your immigration status. Legal advice that applies to a U.S. citizen may not serve your...
One evening in southern Illinois, a 17-year-old boy named Anthony sat at home. Suddenly, the police arrived, arresting Anthony in front of his family—without explaining why. Anthony has an IQ of 60—which places his cognition on par with a nine year old....
You're driving down the road, on your way to work, when you get pulled over for failing to signal a lane change. The police officer approaches your vehicle, asks for your driver's license and vehicle registration and runs a background check. So far, this process is...
If you’ve been charged with a crime, you may be feeling hopeless at the prospect of spending a certain amount of your future behind bars. However, while the law assigns certain penalties to certain types of crimes, there is still some flexibility for reducing...
Double jeopardy is an important protection to understand. Under the Fifth Amendment, an individual cannot be tried twice for the same crime. This means that if you went to trial and were acquitted, the prosecution can’t try the same case against you again. It...
Attractive people get the advantages in life. Statistically, they tend to land better jobs and earn higher salaries. But a recent study shows that attractive defendants also tend to win the sympathy from jurors more often than their unattractive counterparts.Legal...
If you’re ever detained by the police, it’s worth understanding the concept of reasonable suspicion and what it means to you.What is reasonable suspicion? A police officer may have reasonable suspicion if they believe you are acting suspiciously—in a...
You may be under the impression that the sentence a defendant receives in court is based on legal guidelines which attach a certain type of crime to a certain amount of prison time. That’s not entirely true. A mathematical tool is also used to determine...
