Maybe you were at a family reunion when your cousin started making off-colored jokes about your wife. The next thing you knew, family members had to pull the two of you apart because you absolutely lost your cool. Perhaps you were out at a bar when things took a turn...
The two main sentences used in the United States are fines that need to be paid or time that has to be spent behind bars. When someone gets arrested, this is likely the potential outcome that they’re facing. Both of these are seen as a deterrent, in the sense that...
There are many federal protections that you can invoke when dealing with law enforcement. For example, the Fourth Amendment protects you from unreasonable searches, which means you could deny entry to your home if officers don't have a warrant for probable cause to...
When your child goes off to college, you want them to experience new things and meet new people. Unfortunately, not all of these experiences or people are positive. Young people away from home for the first time can make serious mistakes or just end up in the wrong...
You may have been driving when police pulled you over and requested to investigate your car. Maybe it’s because you were driving someone who they suspected might be carrying drugs, or they believed they would find something incriminating. Whatever the case, you have a...
There are times when research requires people to work with illegal substances. Illegal drugs, like heroin or cocaine, sometimes get used to determine if they have medical benefits or if they could be adapted for certain other needs. Most of the time, the people who...
If you have prescription medications that are or are not prescribed to you, you could face criminal charges if you are in violation of the law. Even when you legally possess these medications, it’s sometimes possible to face charges for driving while impaired by them...
You might have been trying to defend yourself, or you may have made a mistake and thought someone entering your home was an intruder. Whatever the issue was, if you’ve been accused of assault, you deserve an opportunity to defend yourself and protect your good name....
Stigma and misunderstanding about mental health issues prevent people from getting the care that they need to address their personal issues. A surprising number of people think that mental health issues cause criminal behavior. The statistical analysis of criminal...
When law enforcement agencies assign undercover officers or agents or others to investigate suspected criminal activity, they have to be careful that they don’t engage in entrapment. If they do, any criminal case against someone arrested and charged with a crime can...