Category: Civil Rights

In 2016, then-Governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe moved to restore the voting rights of convicted felons. Though this legislation was a triumph, it also served as a painful reminder that Virginia had been depriving a large portion of its free residents from their democratic right for decades. Many people assume that individuals convicted of a

After the court finds you guilty of a crime, you may feel as if you have lost the fight. However, Pennsylvania offers defendants several avenues to have the circumstances of their case and conviction reconsidered. In addition to direct appeals, the Post-Conviction Relief Act affords individuals the opportunity to have aspects of his or her

Jury duty is commonly regarded in American society as an arduous chore and an unwanted task. We tend to take the honor of jury for granted. Many Americans are ineligible for jury service due to past mistakes or associations. The repercussions of these restrictions are painfully apparent in the criminal justice system. Though some states

Do not consent to a search: If a police officer does not have a warrant, you do not and should not allow him or her to search your property. Police are permitted to lie in the course of an investigation- they may tell you that they will get a warrant, and it will be better for

Welcome to the November edition of our Know Your Rights series. Often times during the holiday season, we find ourselves bickering about politics around the dinner table. Occasionally, you may feel silenced by louder, opinionated relatives. We thought this would be the perfect time to remind you about your constitutional right to free speech. The

Welcome to the November edition of our Know Your Rights series. Often times during the holiday season, we find ourselves bickering about politics around the dinner table. Occasionally, you may feel silenced by louder, opinionated relatives. We thought this would be the perfect time to remind you about your constitutional right to free speech. The

Quite frankly, it can be hard to understand your constitutionally protected rights. Stipulations and exceptions have been established by decades of court precedent. Doctrines and “tests” have been adopted which can be extremely difficult to digest.  Some literature on the subject published on the internet is misleading, adding to the confusion. We implore you- no

Welcome back to school and welcome to our “Know Your Rights” Series! Every other week we will be posting on a topic that is essential to understanding your rights protected under federal and state law. We are launching our series with an analysis of your Miranda Rights. As 21 Jump Street taught us, there are

There has been an ongoing battle between Penn State and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The school’s football team has been paying for mistakes made by top-level executives of the program for the past two years. After former coach Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse conviction, an official investigation, led by Louis J. Freeh and commissioned

A just outcome was reached in the horrific case of a University of California student being imprisoned in a United States DEA jail cell for 4 and half days without food or water. The San Francisco Gate reported today that the 25-year-old student, Daniel Chong, reached a $4.1M settlement with the federal government after he