Category Archives: Constitutional Rights
Lawsuit to Protect Due Process Rights of those Arrested for DUIs
Florida has been one of many states that have strengthened their DUI laws over the last five years. According to current Florida law, when a driver is pulled over for probable cause by a police officer, the police officer will request that the driver submit to a breath, blood, or urine test to determine… Read More »
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Florida’s Death Penalty Sentencing System is Unconstitutional
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that Florida’s death penalty sentencing system is unconstitutional; as such, this will lead to significant issues that must be decided by Florida relating to the current inmates awaiting execution on death row. Florida’s current system in place was found to be unconstitutional due to the fact that… Read More »
11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Finds Involuntary Commitment Unconstitutional
In our criminal justice system, it is important that anyone who is to stand trial must be competent and intellectually able to understand the charges and the criminal proceedings occurring against the person. Competency is defined not only by the ability of the person to understand the proceedings and the consequence of a verdict,… Read More »
Religious Expression and the Criminal Justice System: Where the Line is Drawn Between an Act Being a Protected Ritual and a Crime
Religious freedom is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The ability to worship (or not worship) in the way that one believes is right for oneself is held paramount in the United States. Generally, the religious freedoms debate only comes up as associated with free speech and expression; largely when there… Read More »
Inmate Access to Internet: Is it a Constitutional Right?
Technology has had a significant impact over our society, for better and for worse. Access to the Internet has been used for good and bad purposes, and such an incredible tool can make a significant difference to a person’s life. Technology is slowly but surely coming to the prison system, as more or more… Read More »
Is FitBit the New Big Brother? The Use of Information Mined by Wearable Devices as Evidence in Criminal Proceedings
Technology has provided us with significant benefits, especially within the last five years, and the extraordinary inventions created post-iPhone. At our fingertips, there is technology that we can slip into our pockets or around our wrists that provides incredible technological advantages to our day-to-day life. But, what comes with incredible advantage also has incredible… Read More »
“When They Came for the Rappers, I Did Not Speak Out; As I Was Not A Rapper…”: Rap Music and the Freedom of Artistic Expression On Trial
One of the first lessons that we learn with regards to our rights that are considered inalienable in the Constitution is that we have the right to freedom of speech. This right, though tempered by the scope and limitations so as to ensure the safety of the general population, has allowed culture and discourse… Read More »
Police Use of Range-R Devices: Does Their Use Constitute a Violation of the Fourth Amendment?
The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution guarantees all citizens to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures of their papers, effects, and of their home. Hundred of thousands of cases and hundred of thousands of journal pages have been devoted to expounding upon the meaning of what the Fourth Amendment guarantees with regards to… Read More »
Dog Sniff Searches Up to Snuff?
In the last few years, police tactics have been on the forefront of the privacy discussion, determining in and out of court the scope in which the police may invade the privacy rights of citizens. In this blog and in the news, the electronic devices used by police officers to reveal information about the… Read More »
“Docs v. Glocks” Act Upheld in Florida: Doctors Prohibited from Discussing Gun Ownership with Patients
In 2013, 17 children in Florida were killed by accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wounds due to parents foolishly leaving loaded guns available to their children; federal mortality statistics reflect a similar statistic nationwide. However, the New York Times has investigated the statistics and found that the number has been vastly underreported. The discrepancy, it has… Read More »