Civil forfeiture is a process by which law enforcement agencies seize money and property from suspected criminals and criminal organizations. The assets can be seized whenever law enforcement personnel determine they are connected to, or are the result of, criminal...
Is it fair and legal for police to shame defendants on Facebook?
A Boston writer for the Associated Press recently published an article on whether police departments can legally use their Facebook pages to shame defendants they have arrested. The article cites activity from several different cities where police departments, in a...
Supreme Court asked to rule on reach of email warrants under SCA
The Stored Communications Act was passed as Title II of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, long before the possibility of cloud computing was even on the horizon. In general, it addresses the government's ability to compel the disclosure of "stored...
MADD pushes for ignition interlock law
In a year when the national average for highway deaths involving drunk drivers was 1.9 percent, Massachusetts rated 2.9 percent. An average of 121 people in the state die each year from alcohol-related accidents. Impaired drivers were responsible for accidents that...
When should the tragedy of an overdose become a criminal act?
A 30-year-old Pennsylvania woman has been charged with aggravated assault on a newborn after she overdosed while seven months pregnant. It's a tragic story, made only more so by the shortsightedness and mistakes that appear to have contributed to the events. Although...
