The Role of Eyewitness Testimony
How much weight should be given to eyewitness testimony? It's right out of Perry Mason: A witness goes to the stand, points at the defendant and says, "He's the one I saw beating Mr. Smith with a tire iron," or words to that effect. | READ MORE
Are Federal Definitions of Rape Realistic?
A recent study revealed that the definition of rape used by federal statistical reports may not reflect the true number of incidents. This illustrates at a very high level the challenges in dealing with any type of sex crime. | READ MORE
Is Monitoring Sex Offenders Legal?
Electronic monitoring of convicted sex offenders on probation or parole has been a common practice in New Jersey for some time. Since August 2005, individuals convicted of the most serious sex crimes face required GPS monitoring when they are not incarcerated or subject to civil commitment. | READ MORE
New Jersey Has Not Complied with Federal Sex Offender Law
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 set forth uniform standards for tracking sex offenders in all 50 states. As the July 2009 implementation deadline approached, only one state, Ohio, had complied. | READ MORE
False Identity Theft Can Have Devastating Financial Consequences
With increasingly sophisticated methods of stealing identities, a growing number of people are potential victims of identity theft. In a typical instance of identity theft, someone obtains the personal information of another, such as a Social Security or bank account number, and assumes that person's identity to gain access to credit or other resources. Consequently, victims of identity theft can end up with financial problems that can be difficult to overcome. | READ MORE
TV Show Inspires White Collar Criminals
A New Jersey stock trader recently pled guilty to an insider trading scheme that netted approximately $37 million over 17 years of illegal activity.
Insider trading is not uncommon among securities dealers, but what makes this incident unique are its ties to a television program, "The Wire," a crime drama set in Baltimore. | READ MORE
Do New Jersey Anti-Bullying Laws Go Too Far?
Most of us are familiar with the bullying of school-age children and may have even experienced it ourselves. With the advent of the Internet and social media, bullying has gone high-tech. | READ MORE
Wiretaps and Admissibility in Drug Cases
An increasingly relied upon tool in police surveillance and prosecution of drug cases is the wiretap. Wiretapping is usually seen as a method of intercepting telephone conversations, but it can also monitor text messages, Internet-related conversations and e-mail. To use a wiretap, authorities must provide evidence to the court of potential illegality and a judge's approval is required. | READ MORE
