Jailhouse Phones are Tapped. Watch What You Say
Jailhouse Phones are Tapped. Watch What You Say
When the family members or friends of an inmate accept a jailhouse call, they will likely have to acknowledge a recording stating that the call is being recorded. There are also usually signs by the phones in the jail informing inmates that their calls are being recorded. The only calls that remain private are between inmates and their attorneys. Despite the warning, inmates often talk about their cases over the…
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Search Warrants 2.0: An Upgrade for the Digital Age
Search warrants have been a part of our criminal justice system since this country was founded, but when the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1791, the Founding Fathers could not have possibly anticipated the advances in technology that are a part of our daily lives in the 21st century. Laptops, tablets and smartphones could not have been imagined at a time when even the telegraph had…
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Do Juveniles Admit to Crimes They Didn’t Commit?
False confessions are a serious problem in our criminal justice system, particularly for young people under 18 years old. According to The Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully accused individuals, between 2.3% and 5% of individuals in prison are actually innocent of the crime they were convicted of, and one-third of those people were between 14 and 22 years old when they were arrested.1 One of the main…
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LA County to Realign Nursing Home Inspections Due to Elder Abuse Allegations
Nearly half of all nursing home residents across the country have experienced abuse, and nearly all (95%) have been neglected or witnessed another patient being neglected, according to a recent report.1 Currently, more than 10,000 complaints and incidents of elder abuse and neglect are currently open in Los Angeles County alone.2 State and county enforcement officials are hoping proposed changes will improve enforcement programs and patient welfare within the county.…
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What is the LEAD Program and How Can It Impact My Case?
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (or LEAD) is a growing pilot diversionary program originally implemented in Seattle and now being used by some California counties. Established in 2011, the program was developed as an innovative solution to drug- and prostitution-related crimes. Criminalization and imprisonment are increasingly seen as inappropriate responses for these non-violent, low-level crimes. Between the years 1990 and 2008, over 85,000 bookings were made for drug offenses in Seattle…
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California’s Backlog of Mentally Ill Defendants
According to a recent report by the LA Times, California is experiencing a backlog of mentally ill and developmentally disabled defendants who have been ruled incompetent to stand trial. The problem is reportedly directly related to a lack of funding and resources to appropriately treat the mentally ill. There are simply not enough beds to house the hundreds of defendants declared mentally incompetent.1 As a result, many mentally ill and…
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Swatting: Far From a Harmless Prank (PC 148.3)
You have just gotten home from a long, difficult day at work. You are at a point where you can relax and truly consider yourself done for the day, and now it is time to have some fun. You fire up your Xbox and start playing “Grand Theft Auto V,” the open world game where you can commit just about any act of violence or criminal mischief you have ever…
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New Initiative Would Fine Transgender People Thousands for Choosing the Wrong Public Toilet
A new ballot initiative in California could make using a public restroom awkward for most and very expensive for many. This trans-phobic initiative would force transgender people to choose a restroom in all public buildings, including public schools, colleges, and universities, based on their biological sex. If the transgender person uses a public restroom based on their gender identity, they could be fined a minimum of $4,000 by every individual…
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California Gun Free School Zone Act and its Affect on Your Weapons Case
California’s Penal Code 626.9, also known as the California Gun Free Zone Act (the Act), was enacted in 1995 to further student safety to a from school. The Act makes it illegal to knowingly carry or shoot a gun within 1,000 feet of any school zone; it does not matter whether or not the local school is public or private. However, despite the Act’s restrictions, there are numerous provisions in…
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What is the Drug Flakka?
A hallucinatory drug has been rising in popularity since the ban of bath salts. Reports say the drug, called Flakka, can cause users to experience super-human strength, euphoria and “excited delirium.” How popular is this high-powered drug? The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports a 780 percent jump in the number of Flakka cases reported across the country over the last three years. What are the Effects of Flakka? Flakka,…
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