Michigan voters approved the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes in the 2018 election. While the state is still sorting out some of the infrastructure involved, such as the regulation of the businesses, Indiana residents have already started going...
Is marijuana legalization coming to Indiana?
Advocates for the legalization medical and recreational marijuana have made inroads across the United States. There are currently 33 states and Washington, DC that allow medical marijuana and 11 (including DC) that legalized cannabis for recreational use. As many...
Should drug dealers be charged with homicide?
The opioid epidemic is all around us with 47,000 deaths in 2017 tied to opioid-related deaths. Whether it is hardscrabble areas that are economically depressed, affluent suburbs with ritzy country clubs or college campuses like IU, drug addiction has wrecked the lives...
Jurors can bring personal beliefs into the courtroom
Judges typically have a list of factors it considers before dismissing a juror, but at the top of the list is that person’s ability to remain impartial when hearing evidence. Massachusetts Justice Kimberly Budd wrote as much, saying in her decision: “Asking a...
Supreme Court rules that states cannot impose excessive fees
The United States Supreme Court rarely rules unanimously these days. Nevertheless, it did so recently when it passed down a decision that makes it clear that the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of excessive fines, fees and forfeitures applies to states. In her return...
Many roadside drug tests are inaccurate
A Florida sheriff’s deputy recently made national news for a string of arrests based on inaccurate drug tests. The now-dismissed man made 81 arrests in his first 11 months on the job, and now he faces criminal charges for false arrest. While it is still unclear...
Some DAs use blacklist for lying cops
Statements from law enforcement usually carry a lot of weight in a court room or during pretrial negotiations. These officers’ jobs are to protect and serve as well as relay the details of a case in a way that is factual and unbiased. This, however, is not always the...
Elkhart police chief resigns
Police Chief Ed Windbigler recently announced his resignation. This comes in light of video of two officers under his command beating a handcuffed man who tried to spit on them. The chief downplayed the situation during a review last June. The officers were...
Some prosecutors changing their approach
The federal government is in the middle of passing First Step, a major bi-partisan bill that will change the structure of sentencing guidelines. However, there are also reports that District Attorneys overseeing prosecutions at the local level are already on board...
President backs new sentencing guidelines
President Trump has put his backing behind a new bill that has tentative bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress. If signed into law, this bill would be the most substantial change to federal sentencing guidelines since 1994. The law would boost rehabilitation...
