On February 20, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States voted unanimously “that the Constitution’s prohibition on excessive fines applies to state and local governments, limiting their abilities to impose fines and seize property.” In her decision, Justice Ginsberg wrote “For good reason, the protection against excessive fines has been a constant shield throughout Anglo-American history: Exorbitant tolls undermine other constitutional liberties. Excessive fines can be used, for example, to retaliate against or chill the speech [...]

In the movies, when someone’s honor is at stake in a public place, the two characters inevitably come to blows. A chair gets broken; someone is struck by a lamp. In the end, one man (or woman) is left standing, and then he or she leaves said space to accomplish whatever mission is up next. In real life, that’s not how it works at all. Assault is a broad term, but Tennessee law breaks it down [...]

 One of the common urban myths deals with Miranda warnings. Do the police actually have to give you a Miranda warning before they arrest you? The long answer is yes, if they intend on questioning you. The short and succinct answer is no. They can actually arrest you, they can detain you, but before they talk to you, they need to give you a Miranda warning. The fact that they didn't give you a Miranda [...]

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides many protections for defendants including the right not to “be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” In the case of Miranda v. Arizona case, the United States Supreme Court added a further protection to this Fifth Amendment right. It ruled that any incriminating statements a suspect makes against his interests will not be admissible in court unless the suspect: Was told of his/her [...]

The U.S. Supreme Court gave privacy rights advocates a significant victory on June 22, 2018. According to the 5-to-4 decision, in which Chief Justice John Roberts joined the Court’s four liberal Justices, the police are now required to obtain a warrant in order to obtain cell phone location information as part of an investigation. The majority asserts Fourth Amendment protection reasons The five Justices voting in the majority argued that a distinct expectation of privacy in [...]

Probation and parole sound like they should be alike, but they are really two different criminal law ideas. Both place a high value on good behavior. Both terms address what is to be done with a defendant who has been convicted of a crime. They even start with the same letter. The two terms, though, are used at different phases of the criminal law proceedings. There are different legal issues in both probation and parole proceedings [...]