Forensics is the application of principles from other disciplines, usually sciences, to the law. In addition to the analysis of blood, urine, fingerprints, body decomposition, blood splatter, and the presence of drugs and drug metabolites, forensics have been applied to linguistics (determining who composed a document based on the language used), psychology (someone’s mental state […]
Nobody’s Taking Your Guns: But How You GIVE AWAY Your Defense Against Tyranny
No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. Aaron was stopped for speeding. When the officer got to Aaron’s window (which Aaron had rolled down), he asked Aaron “how much have you had to drink tonight.” Aaron did not answer. The officer asked Aaron for his driver’s license and proof […]
How Black-Robed Judges Actually Affect Your Daily Life and What You and I Can Do About It
A brief review of eighth-grade civics (powdered wig and musket issues): Both the United States and Minnesota governments have three branches of government. The legislative branch makes laws, and the executive branch enforces them (by use of police and administrative agencies such as the Social Security Administration and the Department of Human Services). Since Marbury […]
An article in today’s Washington Post repeats an assertion I hear all the time: that only a criminal with something to hide would decline to talk to a prosecutor. This common belief undermines two fundamental American principles: the presumption of innocence and the constitutional right against self-incrimination. The Miranda Advisory says that statements “can and […]
Security Versus Liberty – Where Do We Find Balance?
Security versus Liberty The American criminal justice system inherently pits security against liberty. On the one hand, we all want to be safe from criminals, and we pay police to provide us some of that safety, even at the risk of their own safety. On the other hand is the often-esoteric concept of “liberty” which […]