FDA Gives Early-Stage Approval for Psychedelic Used to Treat Mental Health Issues
Psychedelics are enjoying a surge of interest from pharmaceutical companies looking to explore their potential for treatment of several mental health issues, from addiction to PTSD. Although the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) recently rejected one company’s proposed treatment, as we covered here, that does not mean it’s the end of the road for the industry on the whole, which has invested heavily in the psychedelic space. Recently, the FDA approved an early-stage clinical trial of the psychedelic compound known as “Moxy” to treat depression, anxiety, post-traumatic…
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Federal Judge Rules Public Transportation Gun Ban Unconstitutional
As we have previously covered, there has been a flurry of litigation when it comes to Illinois’ gun laws at both the state and federal level, as advocates on both sides of the issue continue to push their own respective agendas. Recently, a federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois ruled in Schoenthal v. Raoul, that the state law that bans anyone, including those that are licensed concealed carry (“CCL”) holders, from bringing their firearms onto public transportation is a violation of the Second Amendment right to defend themselves. The…
Continue Reading Gun Regulation in Illinois Continues to Grab Headlines

CTA Using Artificial Intelligence Surveillance Program to Identify Guns in Stations
Earlier this month the Chicago Transit Authority (“CTA”) announced that it was currently one month into a year long pilot program with the private company ZeroEyes, a company that pairs surveillance videos with artificial intelligence to detect firearms. As implemented as part of the pilot program, when the AI technology software detects a possible firearm, a human employee is then alerted who reviews the footage for accuracy before they then alert the Chicago Police Department, the CTA and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications at the same time.
Continue Reading Illinois Government Agencies Use of Controversial AI Technology

Concerns of Police Overstepping When Collecting DNA Samples Post Arrest
Since the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that law enforcement can take DNA samples from arrestees after an arrest is not a violation of an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights. the practice has become routine in many states, but some question whether law enforcement is crossing an ethical boundary in the widespread practice. Currently 30 states collect DNA from anyone arrested for a felony, with 8 of those states expanding the practice to specific misdemeanor arrests. Many in law enforcement point to highly publicized cases in which DNA profiles have helped…
Continue Reading Post-Arrest Swabs Are Legal But Are They Justified?

Investigation Finds Chicago Police Officers Routinely Fail to Report Traffic Stops
A recent investigation by a watchdog organization found that Chicago Police officers have routinely failed to document instances of traffic stops that do not end in arrest or charges, as many as 20,000 a month last year, in violation of a 2003 law which mandates that every traffic stop must be documented. This information stands in stark contrast to CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling reporting this past June that traffic stops in Chicago were down by approximately 87,000 stops from last year. What is particularly troubling about these numbers is…
Continue Reading Illinois Police Departments Show Troubling Patterns in Use of Traffic Stops

Concerns Raised Over Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Buying Peoples’ Data
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the government may be circumventing the Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches by buying up large amount of data from third parties that collect information about a person’s location via their cellphone data. While the Supreme Court ruled that the government must have a warrant to access historical cell site location information and track people’s movements through cell phones in Carpenter v. United States, this hasn’t stopped federal law enforcement agencies from simply buying data in bulk from third parties when trying to investigate…
Continue Reading Federal Government May Be Violating Your Fourth Amendment Rights

Indiana Woman Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Role In Death
Ashantae Corruthers, an Indianapolis woman, was the second person sentenced to federal prison for their role in procuring a firearm for a known felon by acting as a “straw purchaser” for a person who was legally prohibited from owning a firearm that would ultimately kill a police officer with the weapon. As we have previously covered, a straw purchaser of a firearm is someone who falsely certifies on a form used by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (“ATF”) that they are purchasing a…
Continue Reading Straw Purchaser of Gun Used in Police Officer’s Death Sentenced

DOJ Sets Procedures for Federal Agencies to Interact with Social Media Companies
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced that it had developed and implemented formal policies and procedures for how the FBI and other federal agencies should interact with social media companies to try and ensure that the government is not infringing on First Amendment rights of individuals. This comes after growing concerns that the government agencies may be engaging in “jawboning,” which is the practice of the government indirectly censoring free speech illegally through coercing private companies to do it for them. Although Mark Zuckerberg had revealed to…
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Bills Aimed at Public Safety and Transparency Fail to Garner Support for Vote
Three proposed bills aimed at preventing gun violence and increasing transparency and accessibility for the public of police activity failed to receive a vote this past spring session despite being introduced at the start of the year. Those bills were known as Karina’s Bill, the Homicide Victims’ Families’ Rights Act, and the Homicide Data Transparency Act. Karina’s Bill, named after Karina Gonzalez and her 15-year-old daughter who were murdered by their husband/father when they had an active order of protection against him, would both clarify the process…
Continue Reading Illinois Legislature Declines to Vote on Gun Safety Laws as Crime Rates Rise in Chicago

New York Judge Finds Search of Individual’s Locked Phone at Border Crossing Violates Fourth Amendment Rights
Judge Nina R. Morrison, a federal judge in New York, ruled that US Customs agents are not permitted to force a traveler to unlock their phone in order to search the contents of said device without a warrant. The case that brought the issue to the judge’s attention revolved around Kurbonali Sultanov, a naturalized US citizen from Uzbekistan, who was ordered by Custom and Border Protection (CBP) officers to hand over his phone and unlock it when he attempted to re-enter the United States…
Continue Reading Increased Scrutiny Over Warrantless Searches of Phones at the Border

Department of Justice Continues Crackdown on Sinaloa Cartel with Arrest of El-Chapo’s Son 
As we have previously covered, the DOJ has continued its pursuit of those connected to fentanyl distribution and specifically the Sinaloa drug cartel by recently announcing the arrest of two alleged high ranking officials in the organization, including the son of the infamous founder of the organization “El Chapo” Guzman who is currently serving a life sentence in the United States in connection with his running of the cartel. In announcing the charges, the prosecution highlighted the drug organizations role in distributing multiple drugs in…
Continue Reading DOJ Remains Focused on Prosecuting Fentanyl Distributors and Producers