There will soon be two squad cars in Cedar Rapids with automatic license plate readers. This means that any plate they drive by will be scanned and will alert them if the car has been stole, the person is wanted for a crime, driving without a license and etc. The goal behind the scanners is …
Iowa City Police Update Arrest Policy After Video Surfaces
The Iowa City Police Department wants to emphasize communication following a video that surfaced of a recent arrest. The controversy began because of a white Police Officer, Travis Graves arrested a black teen with use of alleged excessive force. In the video the office tells the teen to “put his hands behind his back” and …
Iowa Court On Open Container Law
Iowa Court of Appeals rules that having an open container of alcohol inside a vehicle does not violate the open container law when the vehicle is in a private parking lot, because the vehicle must be on a public street or highway for the law to be violated. Hence, evidence of drugs secured as a …
Officer’s alleged lies may jeopardize DWI cases
A Dallas police sergeant is being accused of perjury over a drunk driving case in 2012. On July 6th, 2012 officer Baker pulled over a civilian after he allegedly ran a red light. After getting pulled over Baker conducted several field sobriety tests and arrested the civilian after several failed tests. The footage from Baker’s …
Supreme Court Says Use Of Lethal Injection Drug Is Legal
Last Monday, on a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the lethal injection used in Oklahoma does not violate the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The dispute was over the drug called midazolam, which is the first drug used in the lethal injection cocktail to make the inmate unconscious. Inmates were arguing …
Cedar Rapids going to court to keep traffic cameras
The city of Cedar Rapids has decided to sue the Iowa Department of Transportation to keep their traffic cameras right where they are. The city’s legal staff and Police Chief convinced the mayor to make the decision after providing strong statistical data. The cameras in dispute are located on the S-curve on Interstate 380. The …
Body Cameras: A question of privacy
The Iowa City Police Department and surrounding departments will soon be equipping body cameras for everyday use. The body cameras are being used to hopefully resolve civilian complaints, but some are worried about their privacy. With body cameras being relatively new to police departments there aren’t many rules governing activity and the privacy of people’s …
John Oliver on the Issues With Bail
John Oliver has some great insights on how courts treat bail in the U.S. …
Supreme Court Ruling Regarding Required State of Mind for a Crime
In Elonis vs. United States (decided 6-1-15), the US. Supreme Court held that criminal statutes require the actual mens rea or state of mind of the Defendant to be considered, not that of the alleged victim or that of a reasonable person. Furthermore, in a criminal case, it isn’t enough that a person knows what they are …
Cedar Rapids Police Attribute Arrests To Bike Patrols
The Cedar Rapids bike patrols have recently been busier than normal. Last week three arrests in Cedar Rapids were due to the bike patrols. These arrests consisted of burglary, drunk driving, and drug charges. Greg Buelow, Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman said their has been an increased awareness across the country about the advantages of increased bike …
American Inmates Released After Decades in Prison
In 1975 three men were convicted of crimes they did not commit. They were charged and convicted of the murder of a businessman in Cleveland, OH. The only significant piece of evidence the prosecution had against them was a 12-year-old boy’s testimony. Channel 4 news sat down with Kyle Morris to discuss what it was like in prison …
Potential New Rule for Police Body Camera
Police body camera’s have become increasingly more common after the public outcry regarding civilian deaths at the hands of the police. These body cameras have been tested in the Iowa City police department and it has been working on finishing its own policy. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) has recommended new rules that each department …