The Iowa Supreme Court recently overturned the conviction of Jayel Coleman, who was arrested after he was discovered driving while barred. Coleman was driving his sister’s car when Eldridge police officer James Morris pulled him over. Morris had been checking license plates for stolen vehicles when he came across the car Coleman was driving. The …
Changes Are Here For Eyewitness Identification Procedures
Changes are here for Justice Department eyewitness identification procedures. Obtaining accurate and reliable information from eyewitnesses plays a key role in our criminal justice system. Eyewitness identifications are especially important as they are oftentimes central pieces of evidence in a criminal investigation. A standard eyewitness identification method is the “photo array” – when several photos …
Iowa Disability Rights Can’t Stand Trial
On March 16, 2016, a tragedy occurred in Council Bluffs, IA. That morning, Council Bluffs police officers found Jackie Dieckmann and Illa Pfeiffer dead in their home. Michael Dieckmann – who has severe schizophrenia – murdered them. Michael is Jackie’s son and Illa’s grandson, and has a long history of violence due to his mental illness. …
Iowa Traffic Ticket Lawsuit
An Iowa traffic ticket lawsuit could result in over 20,000 traffic tickets that were issued by the Iowa Department of Transportation to be invalidated and paid back to the drivers. This situation began in May 2016 when a 16 year-old, Peyton Atzen, was issued a speeding ticket by a DOT officer. He and his parents …
Addiction Is Now Categorized as a Brain Disorder
After a four-year evaluation process with over 80 experts involved, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has released a new definition of addiction. Instead of a behavioral issue, addiction is now considered to be a brain disorder. For decades, many believed that addiction was a moral, social and behavioral issue. The experts involved in …
When a Plea Deal Leads to Spying
Throughout the course of a trial, a defendant may decide to take a plea deal, which usually will shorten or lessen their sentence, or allow them different charges. Many times this plea deal will require that they give evidence or testify against someone else in the same case or a current ongoing investigation. This is …
What Accounts For More Arrests Than All Violent Crimes Combined? Marijuana.
Even though the war on drugs began 45 years ago, not much good has come of it. Since the late 1970s, drug possession arrests have skyrocketed. However, illicit drug use among Americans age 12 and older is higher than it was in the early 1980s. Accordingly, there has been no correlation found between drug-related arrests and …
Iowa City Residents Are Concerned About Our Justice System
Recently, journalism students from the University of Iowa interviewed Adam. They wanted to hear a lawyer’s thoughts on why some crimes are more severe but receive less punishment. Students were comparing the sentence lengths of the Brock Turner sexual assault case to the actor Wesley Snipe’s tax evasion case. Brock Turner received a six-month sentence whereas Wesley Snipes’ received a three-year sentence. Adam …
Never Talk to the Police
You have the right to remain silent, but there are better ways to exercise that right than others. A 2013 ruling by the Supreme Court, Salinas v. Texas, states that choosing to remain silent can be used against you in the court of law if you do not formally assert your Fifth Amendment privilege. This ruling …
Muhammad Ali’s Fight For The Right To Fight
Muhammad Ali is well known for his boxing career, but also is remembered for refusing to submit to induction into the Armed Forces of the United States. After his refusal, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of $10,000. He also was stripped of his boxing title and his ability to …
Police can use illegally obtained evidence in court, SCOTUS rules, sabotaging 4th Amendment
Normally, the Fourth Amendment protects you from unreasonable searches and seizures, but this principle was in question during Utah v. Strieff. Police spied on a house in Salt Lake City, and when Strieff proceeded to leave the house, they stopped him illegally. After running his name in the police database, they found he had a …
Iowa Supreme Court discusses the problem of wrongful convictions in Rhoades v. State of Iowa
Iowa Supreme Court discusses the problem of wrongful convictions in Rhoades v. State of Iowa, and the limitations on obtaining compensation under the state’s wrongful imprisonment statute. “Remarkably, in the seven years between 1989 and 1996 in sexual assault cases referred to the FBI, DNA results excluded the prime suspect about twenty percent of the …