Blog

It’s just a text — it will only take a second. This may be what a driver thinks before pulling out their phone and causing an accident. Many people may think that texting while driving cannot be the worst thing they could do, especially compared to driving under the influence (DUI). However, the National Highway… Read More »

It’s no secret that teenagers are on their smartphones practically nonstop.  In recent years, the practice of exchanging racy images via text message — an activity known as “sexting” — has gained popularity, particularly among the teen demographic. Although this activity raises a number of social concerns, teens also unwittingly face serious legal consequences for… Read More »

Sixty-nine New Jersey drivers were arrested in February 2014 for using false driver’s licenses. The arrests were made in large part due to police officers’ use of new facial recognition technology. This technology was able to distinguish the drivers from the photos on their driver’s licenses, identify key differences and weed out the fakes from… Read More »

When he was 26 years old, Douglas Ray Dunkins, Jr. received a mandatory sentence of life without parole for his role in a Texas crack cocaine operation. If that operation had involved cocaine powder, the mandatory minimum sentence would have been 20 years and he would now be free. While the decades-long U.S. “War on… Read More »

If you’ve watched the news even once this year, you know of the probe into involvement by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s administration in the September 2013 lane closures at the George Washington Bridge. The closures tied up traffic for four days, most notably in Fort Lee, New Jersey near the entrance to the bridge,… Read More »

On January 1, 2014, Colorado became the first state to open recreational pot stores after 55 percent of the state voted to legalize recreational marijuana use. Now, 20 states and the District of Columbia have laws legalizing marijuana in some form. Yet every time someone uses the drug legally in one of these states, the… Read More »

  It is estimated that drug and alcohol abuse costs society more than $100 billion annually, including for accidental death and injury, healthcare, treatment, and law enforcement. There are laws in every state and at the federal level to combat the drug epidemic, prohibiting the possession, manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs, including marijuana, ecstasy,… Read More »

In August 2005, Thomas Doswell was released from prison after serving nearly 20 years for the rape of a 48-year-old woman at a Pittsburgh hospital. A DNA test on semen taken from the victim exonerated him after two decades behind bars. He was denied bail four times because he would not take responsibility for the… Read More »

In March 2006, Crystal Gail Magnum, college student and stripper, accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her at a party. The players were ultimately exonerated, but not before the case created a media circus over issues of race, hate crimes, sexism and the power of the privileged. Many presumed the players were guilty,… Read More »

In reaction to the sensational Jerry Sandusky and Catholic clergy molestation scandals, the Pennsylvania Senate has approved one more bill in a broad response aimed at stiffening penalties for child pornography and abuse. In December 2013, the Senate approved a bill to increase the degree of child pornography crimes, up to as high as a… Read More »