Cleveland, Ohio has become the latest city to enter into a consent decree with the United States Justice Department (“DOJ”) concerning the conduct of its police force. Other cities that have previously entered into similar agreements include New Orleans, Seattle and Detroit. The consent decree stemmed from a DOJ investigation…
The Cook County Jail in Chicago is one of the largest county jails in the United States, holding up to 9,000 inmates on any given day. It is estimated that approximately one third of these inmates are mentally ill. Indeed, Cook County officials have stated that the jail is, in…
Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) recently issued a new Report finding that mentally ill inmates in US prisons are frequently mistreated, neglected and abused. The Report also contains a lot of information concerning the role of prisons in the mental health system in this country. First, according to the HRW Report,…
The United States Supreme Court decided Grady v. North Carolina on March 30, 2015. After completing his prison term for sex offenses, the State determined that Grady was a recidivist sex offender, and wanted to place him on satellite-based monitoring. Grady argued that the monitoring program, which required him to…
The United States Supreme Court decided Rodriguez v. United States on April 21, 2015. The decision enhances Fourth Amendment protections in cases involving motor vehicle stops. Briefly, Rodriguez, the driver, and his passenger were stopped by a Valley, Nebraska police officer for veering onto the shoulder of a State highway…
Any New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorney who practices regularly in our State’s Municipal Courts handles clients accused of DWI (Driving While Intoxicated/Driving Under The Influence). While DWI clients charged with a second or third offense frequently decide to proceed to trial because of the stakes involved, the first offense cases…
New York’s Rikers Island is the second largest jail in the United States, housing between 11,000 and 12,500 inmates at a given time. It is also one of the most violent jails in the country. For many years, experts have acknowledged that placement in solitary confinement can negatively impact an…
I recently learned about TED Talks. In short, these are presentations by people who have “ideas worth spreading”. If interested, you can learn more about TED Talks at TED.com. Anne Milgram, the former New Jersey Attorney General, gave a TED Talk where she discusses what she calls “moneyballing criminal justice”. …
A large part of my firm’s criminal practice focuses upon representing criminal defendants with substance abuse issues. These defendants are typically addicted to cocaine or heroin. Many of these clients are simultaneously addicted to numerous substances (typically referred to as poly-substances abusers). These clients present special challenges that must be…
The United States Supreme Court has ruled 8-1 that a police officer can stop a vehicle based upon a mistaken understanding of the law without violating the federal Constitution. Heien v. North Carolina, No. 13-604. An officer in North Carolina stopped a vehicle because of a broken brake light. State…