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In October, a 91-year-old woman passed away in Georgia, and few around her may have realized that she had been at the center of one of the most significant criminal cases that was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in the last 50 years. Her name was Dollree Mapp, and...
By many measures, the so-called war on drugs has been a colossal failure. From its significant increase in the numbers of people incarcerated to the degradation of constitutional civil liberties, to the effect on the militarization of the police throughout the nation,...
Today is the busiest travel day of the year with millions flying or driving to visit friends and family over the Thanksgiving Day weekend. And while most people are not thinking that they may need the services of a criminal defense attorney, there are a few things to...
According to the Iowa Constitution, those convicted of an "infamous" crime can be denied the right to vote. The state has defined that to include all felonies and some misdemeanors. Recently, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the definition of infamous crimes did not...
Drug-related sentences have been controversial for much of the last few decades. The war on drugs and disparities in sentencing between powdered cocaine and crack cocaine has led to long and vocal protests. The rising cost of incarceration of the large numbers of drug...
Federal district judges have a great deal of discretion. The presumption is the that the district judge, who in effect, is the trial judge for the majority of federal criminal cases, is in the best position to evaluate the defendant, the witnesses, the evidence and...
Until recently, few people in Iowa, or anywhere else, were aware of the 1033 Program. That, of course, changed after the events in Ferguson, with the police on display with an mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle (MRAP) and riot gear that looked like pictures of...
During the 1960s, there was an "alarming" increase in the crime rate in the United States. This was one of the factors behind Richard Nixon's election as a "law and order" president. He also made the first reference to the "War on Drugs" that was part of his crime...
The criminal justice system has to deal with some difficult cases. While ostensibly designed to mete out punishment, protect society from the dangerous and engage in varying degrees of rehabilitation, it is sometimes faced with handling cases where there may be no bad...
Five men in Des Moines have been charged with federal bank fraud. They are accused of "flipping" homes, using short sales to generate a quick profit. This type of transaction is prohibited by the laws governing the banking industry. The alleged fraud involved 18 home...
