×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Prosecutors Have the Power to Stop Bad Roadside Drug Tests From Ruining People’s Lives
by Sagiv Galai, Paralegal,
ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project
Three years ago on New Year’s Eve, Dasha Fincher was arrested in Monroe County, Georgia, after the deputies performed an on-the-spot test of a bag of blue substance that they found in the car in which she was a passenger. ...
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Criminal Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- Florida Deputy Falsifies Drug Field-Test Results, Freeing 11 From Jail, by Edward Lyon
- Police Not Required to Protect; Are They Required to Serve?, by Matthew Clarke
- Delaware Supreme Court: ‘The Sixth Amendment Demands More Than the Presence the Morning of Trial of a Warm Body With a Law Degree’, by Douglas Ankney
- Deadly Force Mindset as Justifiable Defense Questioned, by Kevin Bliss
- L.A. County Wipes Out Almost $90 Million in Debt for Juvenile Detention Fees, by Dale Chappell
- Federal Judge Rules Massachusetts Law Banning Secretly Recording Police in Public Is Unconstitutional, by Dale Chappell
- Fourth Circuit Holds 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B) is Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- In Washington State, a Man’s Home Is No Longer His Castle, by Edward Lyon
- New Jersey Board Finds Suspending Drivers’ Licenses Because of Failure to Pay Court Fines Doesn’t Work, by Dale Chappell
- Fourth Circuit: District Court Must Provide Rationale When Denying Motion for § 3582(c)(2) Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
- D.C. Circuit Holds Attempted Drug Offenses Do Not Count Toward Career Criminal Designation, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules as a Matter of 1st Impression That Mother’s Use of Opioids During Pregnancy Not Child Abuse, by Chad Marks
- Fourth Circuit: Unreasonable Post-Seizure Delay in Obtaining Warrant Requires Suppression of Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
- California Supreme Court Rules That Defense Counsel Can’t Agree to Stipulation That’s Tantamount to Guilty Plea Without Voluntary and Intelligent Waiver by Defendant, by Derek Gilna
- Creation of Prosecutorial Watchdog in New York Spotlights Distinction Between Misconduct and Unfair Conduct, by Michael Berk
- Georgia Supreme Court Announces Statute Mandating Lifetime GPS Monitoring of ‘Sexually Dangerous Predator’ Even After Completion of Sentence Is Facially Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit Rules Miscalculation of Guidelines Sentencing Range Plain Error That Merits Correction Even Though Not Raised by Defendant, by Chad Marks
- Prosecutors Have the Power to Stop Bad Roadside Drug Tests From Ruining People’s Lives, by Sagiv Galai
- Former New Jersey Police Chief Faces Rare Federal Hate Crime Charges
- Cops Seize Almost $150,000 from Black Musician for Not Using His Turn Signal, by Dale Chappell
- Ninth Circuit Vacates a Sentence Imposed for Violation of Supervised Release Because the District Court Failed to Disclose to the Defendant the Probation Officer’s Confidential Sentencing Recommendations
- Fourth Circuit: South Carolina Conviction for Assaulting, Wounding, or Beating Officer While Resisting Arrest Is Not Predicate Violent Felony Conviction Under ACCA, by Douglas Ankney
- Legal Aid Society Counters NYC Police Misconduct With New Database
- Florida Cop Found Guilty of Killing Stranded Driver, a First in 30 Years in State
- Second Circuit: Government’s Misleading Disclosure Warrants New Trial, by Douglas Ankney
- Facial Recognition Gives Police Easier Access to Cellphones, by Dale Chappell
- Why Brady Lists Still Don’t Work, by Douglas Ankney
- Abolishing the Death Penalty Leads to Decline in Murders, by Douglas Ankney
- Fourth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Habeas and Remands for Hearing on Actual Innocence Claim, by Douglas Ankney
- Federal Judge Denies Qualified Immunity for Cops Who Detained Motorist for Giving Them the Finger, by Dale Chappell
- Seventh Circuit: Failure to Disclose that Star Witness Was Hypnotized is 'Brady' Violation, by Douglas Ankney
- Georgia Supreme Court: Statutes Permitting a Defendant’s Refusal to Submit to Breath Tests to Be Admitted into Evidence Are Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Retroactively Applies Birchfield, Holding that Enhanced Criminal Penalties for Refusing Warrantless Blood Tests are Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- First Circuit: Failure to Prove a Prior Conviction Was a ‘Controlled Substance Offense’ Under the Guidelines Requires Resentencing, by Douglas Ankney
- Fourth Circuit Announces Reasonably Foreseeable Acts of Co-Conspirators Not Sufficient for Fleeing Sentence Enhancement Under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2, by David Reutter
- California Supreme Court: Competence Hearing Required When Formerly Incompetent Defendant Quits Taking Psychotropic Medication and Exhibits Signs of Incompetence, by David Reutter
- SCOTUS: Presumption of Prejudice Recognized in Flores-Ortega Applies Regardless of Defendant’s Appeal Waiver, by Douglas Ankney
- California Governor Announces Moratorium on Capital Punishment, by Bill Barton
- Arrests Do Not Necessarily Represent Solved Crimes, by Edward Lyon
- Expert Report Urges Changes to Forensic Analysis in Courtrooms, by Dale Chappell
- Misconduct in the Forensic Science Community Reveals Urgent Need for Greater Oversight, by Kevin Bliss
- Q&A: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel: Which Errors Are Worth Pursuing?, by Dale Chappell, Brandon Sample
- Texas Misuses Privacy Law to Withhold In-Custody Death Information, by Edward Lyon
- Plea Bargaining: Prosecutors Leave Trail of Injustice When Playing Hardball with Defendants, by David Reutter
More from Sagiv Galai:
More from these topics:
- Mayhem, Murder and Staff Misconduct at Brooklyn BOP Lockup, March 1, 2025. Cell Searches, Drug Testing, Prison/Jail Murders, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Cell Phone Access, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet.
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction for Prosecutorial Misconduct Based on Prosecution’s Improper Statements During Closing Arguments, Feb. 15, 2025. Prosecutors, Wrongful Conviction, Prior Convictions - Expungement or Reversal of, Improper Comment.
- NIJ Partners With Doctor to Develop Better Screening Method to Detect and Identify Drugs Postmortem, Jan. 15, 2025. Drug Testing, Forensic Sciences.
- Push to Digitize Rikers Island Mail Based on Faulty Drug Tests, Jan. 15, 2025. Drug Testing, Mail Regulations, Mail/Packages.
- A New Approach to Drug Testing: Electrochemical Sensors and Raman Spectroscopy, Nov. 1, 2024. Drug Testing, Forensic Sciences.
- New York Revises 2,772 Prisoner Disciplinary Records After Inspector General Finds Defects in Another Contraband Drug Test, Aug. 15, 2024. False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Evidentiary Ruling (Disciplinary Hearings), Drug Testing, junk science.
- Hair Drug Testing: New Approach Differentiates Deliberate Ingestion or Introduction From Environmental Exposure, Aug. 15, 2024. Drug Testing.
- Reform-Minded Prosecutors Face Backlash for Prosecuting Bad Cops, June 15, 2024. Police Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Prosecutors, Police/Govt Misconduct, Criticism of Government.
- Report Finds Inaccurate Field Drug Tests Major Cause of Wrongful Convictions, June 15, 2024. Drug Testing, Statistics/Trends, Databases, Wrongful Conviction, False Arrest.
- California AB 2773 Requires Police to State Reason for Traffic Stops Before Questioning, May 15, 2024. Traffic stop, State Constitutional Claims, Pretextual Stops, Traffic Stops.