by Ed Lyon
A historically overlooked, or at least minimized, constitutional guarantee is that excessive bail amounts must not be imposed upon citizens accused of crimes. Cash bails routinely far exceed not only most people’s ability to pay but are usually far in excess of the severity of the crime ...
by Ed Lyon
Police responding to 911 calls that involve individuals in a mental health crisis might resort to deadly force rather than exercise restraint and give support, according to a trend identified by The Intercept’s Shaun King. And, in areas such as New York City, the vast majority of ...
by Ed Lyon
Cody Gregg of Oklahoma is a member of a growing segment of America’s population—he is a homeless person and also receives food from a community pantry. On August 12, 2019, Gregg was doing a probated sentence for a drug conviction. He had been to a food pantry ...
by Ed Lyon
A historically overlooked, or at least minimized, constitutional guarantee is that excessive bail amounts must not be imposed upon citizens accused of crimes. Cash bails routinely far exceed not only most people’s ability to pay but are usually far in excess of the severity of the crime ...
by Ed Lyon
Criminal Legal News first reported on a 2017 law passed by the New York State Legislature that allows citizens to have certain criminal records sealed in its January 2019 issue (p.38-39).
Former prisoners could have up to two misdemeanors or one nonviolent felony and one misdemeanor conviction ...
by Ed Lyon
A computer-era dictum states, “To err is human but to really foul things up requires a computer.” There is no place like the criminal injustice system and its growing dependence on AI and algorithms where that folksy axiom runs so true.
Not all algorithm-driven artificial intelligence (“AI”) ...
by Ed Lyon
Arizona is known for the antics of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph Arpaio. A hard-liner on crime, Arpaio was constantly harsh on prisoners, often to an unconstitutional extent. An alarming, statistically backed report compiled by the Arizona Republic newspaper covering 2011 to 2018 shows that state to ...
by Ed Lyon
The two supreme governmental systems in the U.S. are the overall federal government and the lesser, yet still quite powerful 50 state governments. The federal Constitution and its amendments delineate certain powers exclusive to the federal government while limiting some of its powers and ceding all other ...
by Ed Lyon
Humans communicate in many ways. Although speech is our primary mode, many non-verbal cues assist in getting one’s message across. Folded arms, crossing then uncrossing one’s legs, yawns, and eye rolling all augment verbal speech. A recent push to scientifically read and interpret peoples’ emotional states has ...
by Ed Lyon
In 1996, 20-year-old Idaho Falls, Idaho, citizen Christopher Tapp was convicted of raping and murdering 18-year-old Angie Dodge. Tapp did not finish high school, so he was no match for educated cops who relentlessly interrogated him nine times over three-and-a-half weeks for a total of 25 hours. ...
