by Douglas Ankney
According to November 14, 2019, news reports from dailykos.com and nytimes.com, the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, will pay $190,000 to former U.S. Marine Jilmar Ramos-Gomez after he was illegally detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) for three days.
Ramos, who suffers from PTSD, was arrested ...
by Douglas Ankney
On the list of cops in California who are convicted felons, 20 former officers are shown as convicted killers.
Recent headlines told us of Joseph DeAngelo — the suspected “Golden State Killer”— charged with a dozen murders and more than 40 rapes, some of which occurred in ...
by Douglas Ankney
As of October 2019, Chicago’s 300 red light cameras netted $35 million in fines, penalties, and collection fees.
According to an investigation by ABC 7, the city is setting traps for unwary drivers by reducing the length of time the traffic lights remain green and yellow while ...
by Douglas Ankney
In following a trend among the states, New Jersey has passed legislation designed to rein in the abuse of civil asset forfeiture.
On January 13, 2020, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed a bill requiring a criminal conviction in certain cases before police and prosecutors may take private ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Rhode Island vacated the first-degree child molestation sexual assault conviction against Henry G. Bozzo due to a remark made by the prosecutor during closing argument together with the trial court’s abuse of discretion in admitting evidence of prior bad acts.
Seven-year-old Veronica told ...
by Douglas Ankney
Through the Freedom of Information Law, communications, memos, and correspondence were obtained that reveal the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s (“OSNP”) database has information flagging police officers with potential credibility issues.
The database purportedly contains judges’ assessments of officers’ testimony, NYPD disciplinary records, and notes ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of California ruled that repositioning a computer monitor so that it blocked the defendant’s view of the witness testifying against him violated the Confrontation Clause.
Jason Arron Arredondo was tried by a jury on several sexual offense charges against F.R., Ar.R, An.R, and M.C. ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that, where officers are aware that a passenger could lawfully assume control of a vehicle, it is improper to impound the vehicle upon the arrest of the driver without first offering the option to the driver.
Two Boston police officers ...
by Douglas Ankney
Division Two of the Fourth Appellate District for the California Court of Appeal ruled that an officer must have reasonable suspicion based on articulable facts to initiate a traffic stop, and a hunch, even when it proves correct, is insufficient.
After a jury convicted Blanca ...
by Douglas Ankney
On January 24, 2020, the Court of Appeals of Maryland announced that henceforth trial courts, when requested, must ask potential jurors during voir dire if any of them are unwilling or unable to follow the court’s instructions on the presumption of innocence, the burden of proof, and ...
