The Supreme Court recently held that it is cruel and unusual punishment to send a young murderer to prison for life if a judge has not first weighed whether he or she deserves a shorter prison sentence due to his or her youth and the specific nature of the crimes…
Just last week we did a post about the police in Charlotte’s use of license plate scanners. Now Yahoo has news of a civil rights group that’s trying to turn the tables on police. The New Jersey Branch of the Americans Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has created a new app…
According to the News & Observer the UNC-Chapel Hill physicist that is currently being held in Argentina after being found with two kilos of cocaine is saying a personality disorder led him to being so easily lured into smuggling the drugs. The professor, Paul Frampton, the Louis D. Rubin, Jr.…
George Zimmerman, the Florida man charged with killing Trayvon Martin, was given a second chance earlier this week to get out of jail when the judge set bail at $1 million. In his ruling, Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Lester said that George Zimmerman manipulated the court during his first bond…
News from the Charlotte Observer of a suspicious summer course offering at UNC-Chapel Hill shows that a class with no instruction time was created just days before the summer semester began which was filled exclusively with football players. The records show that in the summer of 2011, 19 students signed…
Raleigh police have a new weapon in their arsenal to track down criminals: a device mounted on a patrol car that automatically scans license plates, looking for cars that have been reported stolen. The system is known as Automated License Plate Recognition and is made up of four cameras atop…
According to an article with CBSNews, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky has been found guilty of child sexual abuse. The jury in Pennsylvania deliberated for nearly 21 hours before handing down its verdict which was guilty on 45 of 48 counts. The jury was composed of seven…
According to a recent article by WRAL, the North Carolina Racial Justice Act appears to be headed for repeal. SB 416, known as “An Act to Amend Death Penalty Procedures,” was passed by the North Carolina House of Representatives last week by a vote of 73-47, a veto-proof majority. More…
As a general rule, it’s a good idea to refuse a breath test if you ever find yourself pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving. The reason is that the breath test results often form the crux of the state’s DUI case against you. A breath test that indicates a…
A few months back the Supreme Court heard arguments surrounding two new cases up for review. Both involved the question of just how severe a penalty imposed on a juvenile offender must be before it is declared unconstitutionally cruel and unusual. The first case, Miller v. Alabama, involved a 14-year-old…