Imagine being told that your case is irrelevant. Imagine the evidence that could put your offender away is completely disregarded. Imagine certain evidence can get an innocent individual who is currently in prison exonerated. When a rape kit goes untested an individual constantly lives in fear because their offender has not been caught. Wouldn’t one think that testing evidence, especially in rape cases would never be forgotten about? Individuals in our country have finally de

From October 2017 to now we have seen a litany of high profile men brought before the court of public opinion: Harvey Weinstein, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, Roy Moore, Al Franken, Louis C.K., Kevin Spacey, Morgan Spurlock, Matt Lauer, Former President George H.W. Bush, not to mention our current “Grab ‘em by the pussy” President Donald J. Trump. Lamentably this list seems to go on ad infinitum. While each of these men has committed sexual harassment and some have even commit

On April 11, 2018, President Donald Trump signed the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017. The Bill explicitly distinguishes section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, by explaining that section 230 will no longer protect websites that “promote and facilitate” sex trafficking. It amends section 230 to ensure that federal civil claims, federal criminal charges, and state criminal charges will not be limited for conduct that constitutes sex t

“Big progress being made in ridding our country of MS-13 gang members and gang members in general. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!”– President Trump via Twitter. From Tweets, to the State of the Union, and even a televised MS-13 roundtable conducted with party leaders, President Trump has engaged his political platform to campaign against purported MS-13 members. In this new era of the media, the President of the United States can communicate the intersection between his political a

Looking at the D.C. Escape Statute (D.C. Code § 22-2601(a)(2)) and the recent court decision in Davis v. United States, it is interesting to see whether fleeing from an attempted arrest violates the escape statute. The escape statute prohibits escaping from the “lawful custody” of a police officer. Throughout history, police have had a lot of power and discretion within a meaning of a term in a statute. Did Officer McHugh have sufficient physical control over Davis for him to

A jury in Baltimore County, Maryland found Adnan Syed guilty of first degree murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and robbery on February 25, 2000. Syed was convicted of strangling his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee whose body was found partially buried in Leakin Park after she was missing for less than a month. This case would have been forgotten long ago had it not been for the hit podcast Serial which investigated the circumstances of Ms. Lee’s death and the subsequent pro

During cross-examination, an attorney may challenge the credibility of the opponent’s witness via impeachment. By doing so, the attorney is signaling that the judge and/or the jury should dismiss what the witness says because the testimony is not credible. Attorneys may impeach witnesses through several means, such as showing that the witness made a prior inconsistent statement, showing that the witness is biased or has a personal interest in the matter, showing that the wit

On February 27, 2018, the Supreme Court heard oral argument for United States v. Microsoft Corporation. The case considered whether a United States provider of email services must comply with a probable cause based warrant issued under 18 U.S.C. § 2703, even if the provider has decided to store the material abroad. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(a), the government may require disclosure by a provider of email services of wire or electronic communications stored in an electronic comm