Voters to Weigh in on Marijuana Legalization, Police Funding, and Other Issues
With the upcoming election in November, voters in several states will have the opportunity to vote on several ballot initiatives that are designed to allow the public to have their voices heard on issues related to the criminal justice system. Some of these ballot items reflect a shift back to a “tough-on-crime” stance, such as a proposition in California that would roll back some of their progressive reforms by turning some current misdemeanors, such as certain theft and drug crimes, back into felonies that carry longer prison sentences.
Continue Reading Criminal Justice Reform on the Ballot in Several States

Sexual Assault Accusations Against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Garth Brooks Rattles Music Industry
In the past several weeks there have been a new rash of criminal charges and accusations of sexual assault against icons in the music industry, including federal charges against Sean “Diddy” Combs and a sexual assault allegation against country star Garth Brooks. Diddy has pled not guilty after being charged with engaging in a racketeering conspiracy that included sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, while Brooks has been sued by his former makeup artist with allegations that he raped and sexually assaulted her in the…
Continue Reading Me Too Movement 2.0?

As we have previously covered, the passing and implementation of the SAFE-T Act, which eliminated cash bail in Illinois, was a hotly debated/litigated issue that saw both sides forecasting the best/worst outcomes with the dramatic change in how pretrial release is handled at the state level. Advocates suggested that the new system would lead to less disruption in defendants’ lives as they awaited trial on pretrial release, which would allow people to retain employment and stability thus leading to less recidivism, while opponents warned about a breakdown in law and order. Now a year after the law has taken…
Continue Reading Criminal Justice Reform Continues in Illinois

Chicago Police Department Looking to Expand Drone Fleet
Last year the Chicago Police Department (“CPD”) purchased its first five drones and hired three pilots, but the CPD is trying to find the funding to purchase more, saying that drones are, “the future of policing.” CPD Sgt. Marcus Buenrostro went as far as saying he would like to see each district police station have a “pod or hive” for drones installed on their respective roofs in the future to enable faster and safer responses to criminal activity. With the police department facing short staffing, difficulty in recruiting, and long response times,…
Continue Reading Illinois Law Enforcement Agencies Embracing Use of Drones

Federal Prosecutors Turn Over Brady Evidence Concerning Key Witness
The defense team representing indicted New York Mayor Eric Adams conveyed their belief to the media that the case against the embattled Mayor is weak after they recently received Brady evidence from the Department of Justice that could discredit a key witness in the case. So-called “Brady evidence” is any evidence in the government’s possession that could be favorable to the defense, named after the Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland, which ruled that the failure for the prosecution to turn over any such evidence violated a defendant’s right to a…
Continue Reading Indicted New York Mayor Eric Adams Defense Team Hints at Weak Case After Prosecutors Turn Over Evidence

Uncertainty Remains Around Prisoners Safety in the Face of Hurricanes
With Hurricane Milton approaching (and now passed), several county jails and prisons in the evacuation zone in Florida announced that they would not evacuate inmates before the storm made landfall, choosing instead to weather out the storm. Numerous officials defended the policy by pointing out that many of the prisons are built/designed with hurricanes in mind so that they can move up floors if necessary, as well as support the logistical issues in moving so many inmates. “Evacuation of a correctional facility is a complex operation involving significant security, logistics,…
Continue Reading Dangerous Elements Continue to Plague Prisons Across the Country

Extensive Chicago Police Surveillance System Falls Short of Expectations
The city of Chicago has one of the largest and most sophisticated surveillance networks in the United States, at great expense to the city’s taxpayers, but a recent investigation found that in practice the network of roughly 4,400 surveillance cameras is underutilized by the Chicago Police Department (CPD). Starting in 2001, the city began installing POD cameras in various locations around the city, some of which can rotate 360 degrees, zoom in from far distances, and are accessible from remote police stations, costing the city at least $279 million. According to…
Continue Reading Police Increasingly Rely on Video Technology as Critics Question Effectiveness

New York State Lawsuit Against Manufacturers Reviewed by Second Circuit
Manufacturers of parts and kits that are used to assemble so called “ghost guns” asked the Second Circuit to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General over their ability to sell their products, accusing them of negligence and not following regulations that require background checks and serial numbers on the sale of firearms. Ghost guns are made up of separate parts of a gun that are purchased as part of a kit or as separate pieces that are then assembled by the end user and, by virtue…
Continue Reading Appellate Court to Review “Ghost Gun” Ban with Supreme Court Decision Looming

FBI Raids Miami Mansion Linked to $230 Million Crypto Theft
Earlier this week, the FBI raided a waterfront mansion in Miami and arrested one of two individuals in connection with a $230 million cryptocurrency scam. Malone Lam, 20, was arrested in Miami while his alleged coconspirator, Jeandiel Serrano, 21, was arrested in California at the same time and the two have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money, according to the unsealed indictment. The two, along with other unnamed individuals, are accused of gaining access to other people’s cryptocurrencies and then transferring the proceeds…
Continue Reading More Arrests Linked to Cryptocurrency

Illinois Supreme Court Rules That the Smell of Burnt Cannabis Does Not Justify a Warrantless Police Search of an Automobile
In People v. Stout, a 1985 Illinois Supreme Court opinion, the Court held that law enforcement was permitted to search a vehicle without a warrant based on the smell of burnt cannabis alone. However, with changes in the law and the permitted recreational and medical use of marijuana, there have been several challenges to this long held precedent, and earlier this year the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to hear the consolidated challenges, as we have previously covered. Earlier today…
Continue Reading Marijuana Smell Alone Doesn’t Justify Police Search in Illinois Anymore

Pilot Program Encourages Self-Disclosure of Non-Violent Criminal Conduct
Has self-snitching become normalized? The government seems to think so and is encouraging it. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois recently announced a new, limited-time, pilot program that would allow individuals who, “participated in and have knowledge of criminal wrongdoing by virtue of their employment” to self-report their misconduct in exchange for the potential of a non-prosecution agreement. “We are implementing this pilot program to provide a roadmap for how to report individual and organizational misconduct,” said Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of…
Continue Reading Self-Snitching? Chicago United States Attorney’s Office Announces New Individual Voluntary Self-Disclosure Program

Texas Set to Execute Man Based on Disproven “Shaken Baby Syndrome” Theory
Next month, Robert Roberson is scheduled to be executed in Texas based on his conviction for killing his 2-year-old daughter in 2002 after medical experts testified at his trial that the combination of injuries found on her body could only have been caused by violent shaking, or the well-known theory of shaken baby syndrome (“SBS”). Roberson’s defense stated his daughter was sick, evident in the fact that he had taken her to the doctor twice in the past week after she ran a high fever and had been…
Continue Reading Junk Science Remains a Problem in Criminal Courts

Appellate Court Decision Provides Pathway for High Court Review
We have previously covered that the United States Supreme Court has consistently declined to intervene and hear the current challenge to the Illinois state law that bans AR-15s which was passed in wake of the Highland Park July 4th shooting, but it appears that there is now an avenue for the Supreme Court to rule on similar bans in the near future. Although the Supreme Court said that the Second Amendment guarantees an individuals right to use a weapon for self-defense, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a Maryland…
Continue Reading Could Supreme Court Weigh in on AR-15 Bans in the Near Future?