Category Archives: Civil Rights
Secret DNA Database Raises Civil Rights Concerns
We’ve previously written about the largest DNA crime lab in all of North America, and how instrumental it is in producing “evidence” in thousands of criminal cases every year. In December, police and crime lab officials faced tough questions about whether keeping an unregulated DNA database—which contains DNA from everyone, including innocent people—violates the… Read More »
Civil Rights Update
When it comes to how the police treat citizens, it is imperative that they practice constitutional policing. As a citizen, you are entitled to very specific rights. Below, we discuss some recent events and developments in addressing issues where those rights were violated: Man Bitten By Police K-9 Sues Deputies for Civil Rights Violation… Read More »
Is There Hope For Preventing Wrongful Convictions in America?
The United States has what you might call a fascination with the concept of wrongful conviction; especially at the moment, what with all of the various true crime series such as Serial, Making a Murderer, The Murder of Laci Peterson, and others. In our everyday real lives, however, wrongful conviction is a serious issue… Read More »
Civil Rights Concerns Exacerbated After Local Police Provided With Military-Grade Weapons
On August 28, President Trump signed an order mandating that the U.S. military provide access to grenade launchers, high-caliber weapons, and other military gear to local police departments, igniting concerns from civil rights groups when it comes to police officers violating the public’s constitutional rights. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has also been steadily increasing… Read More »
Plea Bargains & Your Sixth Amendment Rights: What You Need To Know
On August 21, Courthouse News Service covered an important story regarding the pervasive lack of counsel in some of the nation’s lowest courts, and what a significant issue this has become in terms of violating individuals’ Sixth Amendment right to counsel. In many of these courts, prosecutors negotiate with defendants who represent themselves and… Read More »
Restoring Ex-Felons’ Voting Rights in Florida
A new civil rights campaign is underway in Florida: An effort to end Florida’s felon disenfranchisement law by changing the state Constitution via a November 2018 ballot initiative. Florida is one of only three states where felony convictions permanent strip ex-felons of their voting rights, regardless of the crime and the time done. It… Read More »
Know Your Rights Regarding Police Brutality & Excessive Force
Police officers are supposed to protect and serve, but too often these days we hear about an officer who shot an unarmed victim, or an officer who was unnecessarily brutal with a suspect. Unfortunately, those officers are hardly ever reprimanded, and the incident is brushed under the rug to be forgotten about. For victims… Read More »
Is the Justice System Really All That Just in Florida?
In 2008, Chase Legleitner of Martin County was charged with two counts of armed robbery for participating in the ambush and mugging of three men during a drug deal. At 19 years old and with a single misdemeanor on his record, he was sentenced to a little less than two years in county jail…. Read More »
What is Overheard During a Butt-Dial Can and Will Be Used Against You
Butt-dials are an ongoing joke with owners of cell phones, mainly because many people commit the occasional butt-dial and may be overheard saying or doing something they would not otherwise want an outsider to be privy to. While many people on the receiving end of butt-dials typically only overhear banal conversation, music, or an… Read More »
A False Arrest is a Violation of Your Civil Rights
Back in June of 2013, 76-year-old Rosemary Brackett was just leaving the post office after a routine trip to drop off mail when a car pulled up and blocked the entrance. She made a quick maneuver to avoid the collision and to let the other driver exit first. While her moves may have been… Read More »
Cleveland Settles Lawsuit with Tamir Rice’s Family
In April 2016, the city of Cleveland agreed to pay $6 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy shot by the police in 2014. According to the Washington Post, neither the city nor the officers involved admitted any wrongdoing. As the Post story reminds… Read More »
New ACLU Report Offers Evidence of Racial Profiling on Florida’s Roads
Racial profiling, as defined by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, refers to a pattern by law enforcement of targeting particular individuals to stop, detain, or question based on their personal characteristics rather than their behavior. One of these characteristics is race, but they also include ethnicity, national origin, and religion. The… Read More »
Can Taser Use Ever Be Excessive Force?
More and more these days, police departments are being encouraged to use Tasers instead of guns to help minimize the use of deadly force. But can using a Taser also constitute excessive force under certain circumstances? It appears that the answer is yes. According to a report from the American Bar Association Law Journal,… Read More »
A New Kind of Police Surveillance
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that more than 90 percent of local police forces in the United States are using some sort of technological surveillance as of 2013. This surveillance equipment includes primarily video cameras, but departments are also deploying license plate scanners, drones, and gunshot detection systems. In many instances, communities are… Read More »
Use of Social Media in Criminal Cases
Americans’ use of social media has exploded in the past few years. Millions of us have social media profiles through sites and services such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Foursquare, and others. We share with online “friends” and the general public an enormous amount of personal information, including photographs, observations, locations, and descriptions… Read More »
Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel
When you are arrested, the police must inform you of your so-called “Miranda rights,” one of which is the right to have a lawyer present while you are being questioned. This right to counsel during custodial interrogation comes from the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But the Fifth Amendment is not the only… Read More »
Taking Video of Police
With the advent of smartphones, just about anyone has the ability to photograph and record video of police officers performing their jobs. But, perhaps not surprisingly, this behavior is not popular with the authorities. When are you within your rights to take video of the police? When can you take video of the police?… Read More »
What is False Arrest?
Suppose you have been detained or arrested by the police, but you are not guilty of a crime. Can you bring a lawsuit against the police department or the state/city/county which the department represents? The answer is a qualified yes. Depending on the circumstances, you may have a claim for false arrest under Florida… Read More »
Civil Suits in Police Shootings
Michael Brown in Ferguson. Eric Garner in Staten Island. Albert Davis in Orlando. Larry Jackson in Austin. Tamir Rice in Cleveland. These are just a few of those fatally shot by police in recent years. Few of the officers involved have been convicted of a crime. Recently, the Washington Post looked at what happens… Read More »
The Right to Remain Silent
Thanks to television and the movies, most of us are familiar with our basic right to remain silent under police questioning. The Florida Supreme Court is now considering whether, under Florida law, prosecutors can use a suspect’s silence even before the police formally interrogated her as evidence of her guilt. According to a story… Read More »
False Confessions
On October 6, 2015, Johnny Hincapie’s conviction for a 1990 murder was overturned. Twenty-five years ago, Mr. Hincapie was one of many defendants tried in the New York City subway stabbing of an out-of-town tourist. For 25 years, Mr. Hincapie has maintained his innocence, claiming that he was a bystander who got swept up… Read More »
What are Miranda warnings?
Many people are familiar with the Miranda warnings. The phrase “you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…” is frequently heard on television, often whenever an arrest is made. While many people may guess that Miranda warnings exist to protect… Read More »
Cell Phones and Searches
Technology is becoming increasingly pervasive in Americans’ everyday lives. More and more people have access to computers – many of which are portable (such as laptops or tablets) and may be part of the cadre of things that they don’t leave home without. In addition, more and more people are not only gaining access… Read More »
New Charges Stemming from Ferguson Protests
Earlier this month, the County Counselor’s office in St. Louis County began charging people that had been arrested in Ferguson, Missouri between August and December of 2014 – during many of the protests resulting from the death of Michael Brown. Those who had been arrested had been in legal limbo for almost a year,… Read More »
What Happens to Police Body Camera Footage
In response to the increased concern and public outcry against police brutality, use of force, and abuses of power, many police departments across the country have implemented the use of body cameras as a way to increase accountability. Those jurisdictions equip some, or all, police officers with cameras that are worn on the officer’s… Read More »
