When it comes to prisoners' rights in the United States there is good news and there is bad news. Let's start with the bad news: American prisoners do not have access to full Constitutional rights. Now for the good news: There numerous ways in which the Constitution...
You may be familiar with seeing the comical side of slip-and-fall accidents on television and reading about them in books. But in real life, many people who slip-and-fall are not able to get up, go on with their planned activities and laugh about their accidents. Many...
Police have the power and ability to enforce the law. However, they cannot use excessive force when carrying out their duties. Under the United States Constitution, police in New York and elsewhere are limited in their ability to exert force depending on the situation...
If you're hoping to maintain your sense of human dignity and your human rights, a United States prison is not the place where you want to be. Indeed, sadistic abuse and malicious violence are not uncommon in our nation's prison system. Reports and lawsuits have been...
In a recent article published by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU is saying that it has not been able to get information about the policies and practices of 23 different police departments in the state. The ACLU asked for information about police...
There have been a lot of protests in New York City recently. Maybe you have already participated in some or are thinking about joining the next one. Whether you protest against police brutality, a decision by the President on immigration or something else, you should...
In the violent and difficult world of prisons, corrections officers are sometimes far worse criminals than the people they are charged with keeping in line. This fact became apparent with the conviction of an ex-prison guard from Rikers Island Jail in New York. The...
The first civil rights bill -- the Civil Rights Bill of 1866 -- became law on April 9, 1966, when the House of Representatives overrode the veto of President Andrew Johnson. According to the language of the bill, "all persons born in the United States" were "declared...
False criminal accusations are much more common than most New York residents think. When a false criminal accusation happens, it means that the accused person is charged with a crime that he or she hasn't committed. Even worse, the accused person could go to jail and...
When a police officer arrests someone, there is an assumption there is probable cause to do so. However, numerous people are falsely arrested and imprisoned every year. According to an article from the New York Post, anywhere between two and five perfect of...