Many states have a public defender’s office that handles defending almost every person who is accused of a crime but that doesn’t have the money to hire an attorney. By having attorneys who work full-time for the public defender’s office, those states ensure there is representation available for the accused. The public defender system is…
Tag: law
Our criminal courts are inherently racist
Our legal system has a serious problem with racism, and I say that as an attorney and a Black man. As discussed below, this is not just some idea of mine; the history, statistics, and peer-reviewed studies make this conclusion sadly inescapable. Starting with my own personal experiences as an attorney who handles criminal defense…
Record Interactions with the Police
In both Illinois and Iowa it is your legal right to record the police during a traffic stop (or when the police stop you on foot). You do not need the permission from the police to record. You do not need to inform the police that you are recording. Recording the police, whether they are…
The Killing of Concealed Carry Permit Holder Philando Castile by a MN Police Officer, and the Killing of 5 Dallas Police Officers
The police killing of concealed carry permit holder Philando Castile is a troubling, for a variety of reasons, as are the killings of the 5 police officers in Dallas, TX that soon followed.