See if you can find the logic in this. A local government issues traffic fines to residents for infractions like not wearing a seat belt, expired registration tags or a broken taillight. If the fine isn’t promptly paid then interest and penalties pile up and soon a $50 or $100 ticket can quickly balloon to…
Seventy-five years ago, tens of thousands of brave and selfless young men from the United States, Canada and Great Britain took part in the largest seaborne invasion history has ever seen. It was carried out on the beaches of Normandy, France and propelled by the ideal that no one man should dominate others, no foreign…
How is it that someone accused of dozens of criminal acts can throw millions of dollars at a problem and pay his way out of trouble? That is what’s happening with Horrible Harvey Weinstein, except if all goes as planned he won’t be paying out anything. His insurance companies will handle the payoffs to the…
Guess how much our nation’s system of mass incarceration costs each year? I’m talking about the taxpayer funded budgets of prisons, jails, probation departments and the public employees who staff them. Add in the cost of running the criminal justice system; the amount spent on health care, food and incidentals for inmates and the financial…
So democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders wants to give all prisoners the right to vote. He said so during a recent campaign speech, much to the surprise of many. I was among them. Sanders believes “the right to vote is inherent to our democracy” and even “terrible people” like the Boston Marathon bomber should…
This is not one of my typical crime and justice columns. This one comes from a personal place. I love the television show Jeopardy. I adore host Alex Trebek and I watch the program whenever I can. . So, when the contestant, James Holzhauer, recently started racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars, and then…
If someone libels, slanders or defames your character you can sue them. Of course, you’ll have to be able to prove in court how they injured your reputation or business and you’ll have to show that what they said was more than just their ugly opinion. You’ll have to show the offender made a false…
Want to reduce the number of mass shootings in the United States? Then let’s ramp up efforts to stop domestic abuse. Just as a red flag is raised when a child tortures animals, often a precursor to later criminal behavior, there is plenty of evidence that mass shooters display red flag behaviors, like aggression and…
We in America have lost faith. Not only is there a decline of religious faith in the United States, there is also a lack of confidence in the institutions that made this country what it became – a worldwide superpower, respected by all. I’m most worried about the lack of faith in our justice system.
Former Pennsylvania Prosecutor Kristen Gibbons Feden has a message for defense attorneys who represent accused rapists: the days of victim-shaming are over. Her prosecution partner, Stewart Ryan, agrees saying, “The band aid has been ripped off now” and more than ever victims are feeling strong enough to press charges against their attacker and go to…