Something exonerated inmate, Damien Echols, said in one of his interviews about being on death row is alarming. He talked about some of the other inmates he had come into contact with during his long stay on death row. There were several, Echols said, who were profoundly mentally ill and so out of touch with…
A criminal trial is an overwhelming and scary situation, especially for those who have never encountered the criminal justice system before. Most people, when charged with a criminal offense, find a way to finance the services of a criminal defense attorney or obtain a court-appointed defense attorney in order to navigate it.
Here is an aspect of criminal trial proceedings that rarely reach the consciousness of the general public. It almost never reaches the understanding of jurors: the snitch culture inherent in our criminal justice system. The reality is this. When you incentivize someone to lie, they will. This is especially true when that incentive is to…
Wrongful convictions cases are more frequent than you can imagine. Let’s take a look at the case of Jason Strong. He was released in 2015 after 15 years in a maximum security prison. He was innocent of the crime for which he was convicted: the torture and murder of Mary Kate Sunderlin, whose death remains…
In the wake of all the student protests, school shootings, and terrorist threats made across Michigan, it might be helpful to have a guide for what student rights are in school. Most school discipline isn’t about terrorist threats and most of the time school discipline can be handled in school. However, sometimes school discipline matters…
Thanks to several decades of police procedural television, many people know a lot of legal speech. Some of you also know some of the more important constitutional rights that may be used to defend you in a court of law if you should find yourself facing charges after being searched or having your property seized.
An article was published in MLive about the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. It covered how the county has adopted a new program – Handle With Care. Handle With Care is basically a training and informational program designed to help teachers and school administrators to recognize the signs of trauma in children.
We have now reached the point where – as horrible as school shootings are – there are those who treat it as a joke, or make light of becoming the “next school shooter.” Mainly teenaged boys. Why would someone jeopardize their future in order to do something like this? At the best, it was a…
What will happen to you if you lie in court? It’s a good question. If you’ve ever been a witness in a trial or seen one in action, you know that you have to swear you are telling the truth. You also may be asked to sign a sworn statement declaring that what you have…
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