Month: 2022
What are the limits of smartphone searches by law enforcement?
A search of one’s belongings – by anyone – can feel incredibly invasive. You wouldn’t want someone rifling through your purse or backpack, nor would you be comfortable with someone looking around your home for whatever they might happen to find. But for many of us, the most invasive search...
How do lie detector tests work? And are they accurate?
The polygraph, or “lie detector” test, is a well-known piece of technology that most of us have seen in movies and television shows. But how often are these devices used in the “real world?” And are they reliable, or just another example of junk science? Three biological responses measured A...
Is it worth it to fight a traffic violation?
Fighting traffic tickets can seem like a headache you’d rather avoid by just paying a fine and moving on. It can be cumbersome and may take time and money. However, in certain cases, doing so can have significant short- and long-term benefits. How a traffic violation can affect you It...
New Jersey legislator wants to make open arrest warrants public
Whenever legislation is introduced, it is critical for lawmakers to consider the unintended consequences as well as the intended ones. Nearly every law has drawbacks, sometimes major ones, and well-intentioned legislators often fail to consider how their proposals could be more harmful than helpful. That may be the case with...
Can I refuse a breathalyzer test in New Jersey?
When you are pulled over after perhaps one too many drinks and asked the take a breathalyzer test, your initial instinct might be to refuse, so there’s less evidence against you. However, refusing a breathalyzer in New Jersey may only worsen your situation. Can I refuse a breathalyzer? Technically, yes,...
State’s new marijuana law leads to huge drop in arrests
In early 2021, New Jersey enacted a law legalizing possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana. In doing so, it joined a growing list of states choosing to decriminalize or legalize marijuana use, even as the drug remains illegal under federal law. Those pushing for legalization argued that arrests and...
Could tech company spying on your data lead to criminal trouble?
Companies like Google, Apple and Facebook sometimes know more personal information about us than certain family and friends. And while big tech companies are quick to point out how they are keeping our data safe from others who may be trying to access it, they omit the fact that our...
How a DUI might impact your job prospects
If you are charged with driving while intoxicated in New Jersey, you may face a range of consequences. In addition to any legal sanctions that you might be subject to, a drunk driving conviction may also cause a significant interruption to your career. There are many ways in which being...
New Jersey’s highest court reaffirms Fourth Amendment protections
We have previously written on this blog about the protocol for conducting law enforcement searches. Generally speaking, for a search to be considered legal, police must obtain a search warrant, issued by a judge, based on probable cause that a crime has been committed. If police were allowed to search...
New Jersey Will Soon Enact Important Jury Selection Reforms
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees anyone accused of a crime the right to a trial by a fair and impartial jury. Many believe that to be fair and impartial, the makeup of the jury (gender, race, socioeconomic status, etc.) should reflect the general population of the area....
Rethinking sex offender registries, especially for young offenders
In theory, sex offender registries are a useful and important tool for public safety. They are meant to make it easy for members of a community to know when a dangerous repeat sex offender is living among them. For this reason, sweeping legislation like “Megan’s Law” have widespread public support...
Brain science raises questions about charging young offenders
When does someone become an adult, capable of making adult decisions and fully responsible for the consequences when they make poor choices? In the United States, the number that we’ve chosen is age 18. This is the age of legal adulthood in most respects. But should it be? As brain...
Is body language a good crime-solving tool? Science says no.
You’ve likely watched police procedural shows in which a body language expert is able to tell that someone is hiding something. You may have seen books about “how to spot a liar,” or even TED Talks about how to use your own body language to control the messages you are...
Rates of speeding and risky driving remain high nationwide
Although The Covid-19 pandemic isn’t technically over, life has largely returned to normal for many Americans. But certain things associated with the pandemic haven’t gone away. It is still common to see people wearing masks. It is still protocol to sanitize surfaces in many public places. And, perhaps oddest of...
Judge sends mixed messages on use of controversial search tactic
The technology we all carry around in our pockets has made it easier than ever for businesses and the government to invade our privacy. One of the strongest examples of government privacy intrusion is what is known as a “geofence warrant.” Use of this investigative tactic has been controversial, and...
Prosecutors slowly move away from trying teens as adults in court
There are two criminal justice systems in the United States: one for adults and another for minors. The principle underlying the juvenile justice system is that children are still developing, which means they should be considered less culpable for the things they do wrong and more capable of reform. Unfortunately,...
Understanding your right to ‘plead the Fifth’ in a criminal case
If you follow the news, you see it all the time: Someone being interrogated and refusing to answer by invoking their Fifth Amendment rights. Why can they refuse to answer? And what are they citing in doing so? This is an important topic for anyone facing criminal charges or otherwise...
Man convicted based on junk science exonerated after 30 years
Previous posts on this blog have focused on the problem of “junk science.” Shows like CSI and other police procedurals have given the public the impression that forensic science is highly advanced and almost never wrong. Sadly, that’s far from true, but the misconceptions created by these shows are biasing...
New Jersey judges skeptical of conclusions of shaken baby syndrome
Alleged crimes committed against infants and children tend to evoke strong visceral reactions from juries and the public alike – especially when the defendant is a family member or caretaker. This makes sense, because children are innocent and largely defenseless, and because adults are responsible for their care and protection....
Would you falsely confess to a crime? You might be surprised.
In the realm of criminal justice, its seems that no evidence is stronger than a confession of guilt. Suspects confess, and jurors believe them, because no one would admit to a heinous crime that they didn’t commit. Or would they? Sadly, false confessions are a serious problem in the United...
Cocaine charges in New Jersey
New Jersey laws regarding cocaine can be severe, depending on the circumstance. Someone intending to traffic large amounts of cocaine in the Garden State may face a lengthy prison sentence if arrested and convicted. A suspect caught with a small amount for personal use may face less serious charges and...
Police mistakes that can aid DUI charges
When a driver in New Jersey, gets charged with a DUI, they often think that they have no recourse to fight the charges. However, sometimes, police make mistakes that could help their case. Lack of reasonable suspicion or probable cause To check a driver for DUI, the officer needs reasonable...
What juvenile suspects should know when speaking to law enforcement in New Jersey
Police officers in New Jersey often use coercive interrogation tactics to get suspects to confess to crimes. This is a dangerous practice, especially when the suspect is a juvenile. This article discusses how this could affect minors and provides some tips you can use to protect your child(ren). Police deception...
New Jersey lawmaker seeks to reduce overall police traffic stops
There has been a nationwide reckoning in recent years about how quickly interactions between police officers and citizens can escalate and become deadly. At the same time, there have also been calls to address racial disparities in policing, a problem backed by statistics as well as anecdotal evidence. While these...
Know the risks of being interrogated without an attorney
When suspects are arrested on television and in movies, they are told they have certain rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. This is called the “Miranda warning,” and police must use it in real life as well. The warning is so common that...
Criminal records keep qualified workers out of good jobs
American employers are currently facing a rare problem. Because of the pandemic and a multitude of other factors, there are for more open jobs than there are workers to fill them. For many in the labor force, this has made it far easier to push for higher wages and to...
Average jail stays on the rise, report notes
In recent years, there has been a lot of conversation about criminal justice reform, especially related to length of jail/prison sentences. Some meaningful reforms have been introduced, but there is still much work to be done to solve the problem. According to a recent report, the length of time that...
Public support grows for reducing low-level traffic stops
Each day in the United States, police officers initiate an estimated 50,000 traffic stops, which amounts to 20 million stops per year. If you’ve interacted with a police officer in the past few years, it was most likely during a traffic stop. Some stops, for offenses like speeding and suspected...
How much should we trust eyewitness testimony? Part II
In our last post, we began a discussion about the problems of eyewitness testimony in criminal cases. Juries and the public in general tend to give a lot of weight to eyewitness testimony, but numerous studies have shown that these accounts are often far less accurate than we’d like to...
How much should we trust eyewitness testimony? Part I
For much of human history, the best way to prove someone’s guilt was to seek testimony from someone who saw the crime occur. In fact, before forensic evidence came into its own, eyewitness testimony was sometimes the only way to secure a conviction. To this day, juries find eyewitness testimony...
Report reveals widespread violations of attorney-client privilege
Anyone charged with a crime has the right to an attorney. This is a Constitutional right and one of the cornerstone principles of the U.S. criminal justice system. The right to counsel (or legal representation) only has meaning if the accused person and their attorney can communicate freely without worrying...
New Jersey heroin charges
If you or your loved one is facing charges of the possession and/or the distribution of heroin in New Jersey, the potential penalties could negatively affect your life. Since it is classified as the most highly addictive and destructive drug, law enforcement aggressively pursues offenders. Here are some penalties you...