Thousands of defendants in both state and federal court may be in jail based on evidence that the United States Justice Department, as early as 1984, knew was unreliable. In many criminal cases, the prosecution uses lab reports produced by forensic experts that link a defendant to a victim or to a crime scene. In […]
Articles
Article Categories
Woman claims her breasts are too large to permit field sobriety testing
A Port St. Lucie, FL woman claimed that she could not conduct field sobriety testing because her breasts were too large. Maureen Raymond, 49, was stopped for speeding and crossing double yellow lines after a report of a reckless vehicle was called in. A Sheriff’s Deputy asked her to submit to field sobriety testing, which […]
Deal or No Deal: U.S. Supreme Court Finds Defense Counsel Ineffective for Advice on Plea Bargains
The United States Supreme Court has established a new constitutional remedy—to challenge the results of a plea bargain that was accepted or rejected because of bad legal advice. In a pair of cases from Missouri and Michigan, a divided Supreme Court ruled that when a lawyer representing a criminal defendant acts incompetently when advising whether […]
Connecticut poised to abolish the death penalty
The Connecticut Senate voted this morning to abolish the Death Penalty in that state. The Governor quickly went on record to make it very clear that he intends to sign the bill. He stated that the Death Penalty is not workable at all in Connecticut. One can easily draw a parallel to Pennsylvania, which spends […]
Employers cannot consider mere arrests in hiring decisions
We are often asked by those recently arrested whether they should even bother looking for a job in light of the arrest. Pennsylvania employers are forbidden from considering a “mere arrest” when making hiring decisions. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 9125 permits employers to consider felony and misdemeanor convictions as they relate to the type of employment at […]
