On Thanksgiving 2009, James K. killed his wife and two teen daughters. In his defense, the man had been under substantial stress. Several months earlier, his wife had left him and taken the children with her. Also that year, James had lost his job and been forced to...
Study: Many courtroom psychology tests are unreliable
We have all seen some so-called psychology tests that aren’t worth the time spent to take them. They appear in magazines or online quizzes. They aren’t intended to diagnose mental health problems. They’re meant for fun, or whatever insight you may find. There have...
Would less misdemeanor enforcement create a fairer system?
As protests continue across the U.S. and even globally, many experts have come forward with ideas for how to improve the criminal justice system so that it isn’t so unfair to people of color. Harsh police tactics, over-policing in minority neighborhoods, racial...
Colorado Supreme Court: cellphone warrants must be tailored
When a 15-year-old boy said that Pamela Kay Coke had sexually assaulted him, he alleged that it had occurred in November 2018. He even showed the police text messages from the woman, including one that seemed like an apology. When the police contacted Coke at her...
Fatal crashes have increased in Colorado
Since spring, millions of Colorado residents have made the transition to working from home. Officials with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) predicted that fatal accidents would drop correspondingly. However, the opposite is true. To the consternation...
Options when facing a first criminal offense
Facing an arrest of any type is a nerve-wracking experience, but if it’s your first offense, you may also have many questions regarding what will happen to you. Will you face jail time? Will you lose your license or your job? If you are a student, you may worry about...
Expungement or sealing
For many college students who are on the brink of finishing school, applying for jobs and landing interviews can be a rather daunting prospect. For those who were convicted of a crime before or during their time in college, the idea of looking for jobs can be even...
It’s 2020 and the Supreme Court just mandated unanimous juries
You probably assumed that a unanimous jury was required for a criminal conviction, but the truth is that two states had allowed non-unanimous juries in criminal cases. Louisiana and Oregon were the hold-out states, and Louisiana changed its constitution to require...
‘Geofence’ warrants throw out dragnets that ensnare the innocent
A Gainesville, Florida, man got a surprising email from Google in January. The company wanted him to know that local police were seeking information about his Google account and that they would release that information to the police unless the man went to court and...
Study: Major FBI pattern matching method is unscientific
Many common forensic evidence-gathering techniques are less reliable than you may have been led to believe by “CSI.” In fact, some of them appear to have little scientific basis. In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report on the state of forensic...