Most people think officers always need a reason (reasonable suspicion of atraffic offense) to stop a moving vehicle. However, this Labor Day weekend some cities and towns in Illinois and beyond will use a sobriety checkpoint to briefly detain and interview suspicious...
Month: August 2015
Labor Day Weekend: Dog Bites
This Labor Day weekend when visiting friends or hosting a BBQ take extra precautions around unfamiliar pets. Illinois is among the Top 3 states for dog bite claims. According to Insurance Company State Farm statistics, Illinois had the second highest number of dog...
Cannibal Cop: The Limits of Fantasy
A New York City police officer was convicted in a plot to kidnap, kill and eat women. The case and the appeal drew widespread attention because it raised the question of when does a virtual crime, discussed and plotted in internet chat rooms, cross into...
Standards of Proof: Sex Meets Academic Bureaucracy
Drunk freshman boy meets drunk freshman girl in a dorm room. What happened? Across college and university campuses administrations are wrestling with a system that, on the whole, is poor and improving. CBS Sunday Morning, Esquire Magazine and members of the Harvard...
Beard Cutting: Is That Hate Crime?
A string of assaults (beard cuttings) in several Amish communities in Ohio gave rise to prosecution under Section 2 the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. A jury convicted all of the men charged with this hate crime. On appeal, the appellate court reversed...