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As much as we criminal lawyers complain about the juvenile detention system in Washington, D.C., we sometimes forget that there are other hard-working juvenile defense attorneys in other states who have a rough go of things as well. We got to speak to Jill Ruane about some of the issues she faces in her home state of …

An Oklahoma district judge’s decision to sentence a 17-year-old to ten years of church attendance has caused quite a stir in the public and legal community. Despite numerous people asking legitimate questions about whether or not this type of sentence is constitutional, Judge Mike Norman is standing by his decision. On December 4, 2011, Tyler …

New York State Senator Malcolm Smith, along with five other politicians, are facing charges in a public corruption probe initiated by the FBI.  Authorities arrested Smith and New York City Councilman Dan Halloran at their homes Tuesday morning. Officials also arrested Bronx Republican Chairman Jay Savino and Queens GOP vice chairman Vincent Tabone. Also facing …

If you’ve ever been involved in a domestic dispute, you understand firsthand what a contentious issue domestic violence can be within the household, for law enforcement, and in the courtroom. Choking is recognized as a common form of violence used in domestic violence cases. Due to a lack of evidence often associated with choking cases, the punishment …

Over the weekend, the Metropolitan Police Department arrested 60 people for what’s referred to as “prostitution-related crimes.”  This term encompasses both the solicitation of customers seeking to receive sexual favors in exchange for money and the offering of payment for sexual acts or contact.  The recent roundup of suspects included not just “street-level” offenders but also those …

Law enforcement is not able to solve every crime that is committed. When they are not able to collect enough clues to solve the case or they are not able to track down a suspect, the case grows cold. Every now and then, they will get a break in the case and it will be …

What are the different drug schedules? Under the law, there are five different schedules of drugs. These schedules are set up based upon two basic criteria. The first is the potential for abuse or addiction of that drug and the second is the current medical use of that drug, meaning whether or not the drug …

Professional football players are viewed by most fans as gods among men; titans here on earth who go to battle every week in intense matches that require both physical and mental stamina. The unfortunate truth is that nobody is perfect, and even the strongest players can succumb to emotional difficulties. Two NFL players who have …

UPDATE: Oct. 3, 2014: The plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit that brought about the District of Columbia’s new concealed carry law have asked the federal judge who reviewed the matter to block the law’s implementation, according to the website guns.com. The motion in Palmer v. D.C. challenges the structure of the recently revised Washington, DC …

Earlier this month, the DC City Council voted unanimously to advance a bill that would permit many persons previously convicted of a crime that is now decriminalized or legalized the ability to seal all record of their arrests and related court proceedings. The bill, titled the “Record Sealing for Decriminalized and Legalized Offenses Amendment Act …

Oct. 21, 2014 — UPDATE: Oscar Pistorius was sentenced today to five years in prison for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and received a three-year sentence for negligently discharging a firearm in a crowded restaurant, though that term was suspended, according to The Guardian UK. The British newspaper noted that Pistorius looked …

In a response to the ongoing controversy sparked by the police shooting of an unarmed black team in Ferguson, MO, the Metropolitan Police Department has joined several other agencies across the country in the move to test our body-mounted cameras on patrol officers. The MPD will launch a six month citywide pilot program, starting October …

Singer Chris Brown pleaded guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor assault for hitting a fan outside the W Hotel on Oct. 27. According to the Washington Post, prosecutors did not ask for jail time and instead requested that the judge sentence 25-year-old Brown to time served in exchange for the guilty plea. Brown was accused of punching …

By Julia Cole, Junior Editor  It is becoming increasingly easy for Washingtonians to avoid last-minute beer runs by requesting that alcohol be delivered to their home with just a swipe of a finger. Two smartphone app-based services that deliver beer, wine, and liquor to one’s doorstep have been approved to begin operations in DC by …

Aug. 6, 2014 Music fans in America and Canada will have to wait for the much-discussed reunion between Drake and Chris Brown. The singers were scheduled to perform together at the OVO Fest 2014 in Canada, which is Drake’s home country, for the first time since a widely publicized feud between the pair seemed to …

UPDATE: A federal judge today issued a 90-day stay on his decision to invalidate Washington DC’s long-time ban on handguns. The stay was issued after DC police and city officials asked for more time to respond to the federal court’s decision, which was handed down Saturday by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. The …

This is an update to a blog we posted yesterday, and only further strengthens our conviction that information regarding the use of unknown lethal injection drugs should be turned over immediately. Yesterday’s post focused on the case of Joseph Wood, a death row inmate in Arizona who was granted a stay of execution by the …

The Supreme Court vacated a federal appellate court ruling to stay the execution of an Arizona man Tuesday, despite concerns that remain regarding the secrecy that surrounds the lethal injection process. Joseph Wood was sentenced to death in 1991 for shooting his ex-girlfriend and her father, both of whom died. With the Supreme Court’s ruling …

The battle wages on in the House of Representatives over Washington, DC’s gun and drug laws. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved an amendment to a spending bill that, if passed, would make DC’s gun laws largely obsolete. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) introduced the bill, which would prohibit the city from enforcing the current gun …

Starting today, possession of one ounce or less of marijuana is no longer a crime in the District of Columbia. That does not mean it is legal, merely that it is a civil offense punishable by a $25 fine and confiscation of any marijuana or paraphernalia in public view. In fact, this civil fine is …