Recent Blog Posts
Increased Female Hires to the Police Force May Decrease Excessive Force Claims Against Police Officers
Overt police brutality has gained widespread notoriety over the last year due to the increased presence of the media and technology that is able to capture bad acts from aggressive law enforcement officers. Footage of aggressive attacks captured on cell phones has led the world to witness horrific events, often with defenseless men and… Read More »
Mug Shots: Government Transparency or Public Shaming?
Florida has a long-standing tradition, since 1909, to make sure that all government business is laid bare to the constituents. This means that for more than 100 years, Florida has made available all records, which includes images and videos, to the public barring a few tailored exceptions. The understanding is that all business is… Read More »
SmartWater CSI and the Importance of Deterrence Props in Decreasing Property Crimes
Gadgets and gizmos of technology have consistently been a part of the “crime stoppers” modus operandi. We have seen alarm systems come and go, and video cameras and phone applications that can be used to check up on your home and the babysitter, among others. This is under the labored belief that people will… Read More »
“Blue Lives Matter”: Should Police Officers Be Included as a Protected Class under Florida’s Hate Crime Law
In the wake of the Dallas shootings of police officers during a demonstration, Florida lawmakers are reviewing their hate crime legislation and drafting proposals in hopes to expand hate crime legislation to include police officers and firefighters. The bills, known as “Blue Lives Matter”, will most likely be submitted for the 2017 Legislative session… Read More »
Is Predictive Data Used for Sentencing and Recidivism Rate a Violation of Due Process Rights?
Around the country, the criminal justice system has benefited significantly from teaming up with technological advances. Compas, also known as, the Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions, is one of the technological advances that have aided in reviewing statistical data, and has create an algorithm to determine whether or not someone is more… Read More »
Supreme Court Finds Warrantless Blood Draws in DUI Arrests are Unconstitutional, but Warrantless Breath Tests in DUI Arrests are Acceptable
Florida’s driving under the influence laws are changing once again due to a recent U.S. Supreme Court 7-1 ruling, which found that warrantless blood draws in DUI arrests were, in fact, unconstitutional. Florida is one of several states that have created criminal penalties to drivers who refuse to submit to an alcohol blood or… Read More »
Should College Campuses Be Required to Use the Same Standard of Guilt as a Criminal Court Would for Allegations of Sexual Assault?
Colleges in the last few years have made significant strides in their attempt at cracking down on sexual assault and rape on their campuses. The Department of Justice estimates that almost 1 out of 5 females on a college campus will be a victim of sexual assault or an attempted sexual assault during their… Read More »
The Use of Circumstantial Evidence in Proving Constructive Possession of Contraband
The major tenet of our criminal justice system is the idea that one is innocent until proven guilty. To be proven guilty in criminal proceedings, the burden of proof is on the state and its prosecution team to put forth enough evidence that proves every element of the crime for which the criminal defendant… Read More »
The Parallels between Intimate Terrorism and Mass Terrorism
In our day and age when mass shootings have become sadly more and more commonplace, society seeks to determine what the driving forces are behind this new epidemic. After the Orlando shooting, the desire to understand and hopefully resolve these menaces to personal well-being and a sense of security and safety in our day-to-day… Read More »
Touch DNA: How DNA May Implicate an Innocent Person at the Scene of a Crime
The field of forensic science has held significant sway over the last few decades, especially as technology has progressed rapidly. This sudden technological boom shed light on well-known, supported forensic theories and led to ever-growing scrutiny of the science that we have spent years putting forth as truth. DNA evidence, once considered a god-send… Read More »