On Behalf of the Community
Eric J. Miller* The development of the institutional approach to policing, and procedure more generally, is one of the most exciting features of criminal procedure over the past decade. More accurately, there are a series of institutional approaches—doctrinal, philosophical, sociological, empirical—that all claim that there is independent value in regulating the police, separate from the […]
DOJ Drops Long Battle Against Texas Voter ID Law With Case Pending in Fifth Circuit
By Brendan Kreckel On April 9 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for the second time that a 2011 Texas voter ID law was passed with intent to discriminate against eligible minority voters. This decision comes just three months after the the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division (“DOJ”) dropped its complaint opposing the […]
Will Your Next Emergency Room Visit be Broadcast on National Television?
By Shaun Prunotto American television audiences have long enjoyed “reality” programs that grant unfiltered access to emergency personnel at work. Police actions are frequently documented and broadcast by programs such as A&E’s Live PD and Cops, which recently aired its 1,000th episode. Production companies, including ABC News (“ABC”) and Discovery, expanded the genre by embedding camera […]
Progressive Movement Building in Trump’s America
By Frank Kearl In the wake of President Trump’s inauguration, the Women’s March sounded the beginning of a new progressive awakening with echoes of past political uprisings. American cities have always been central venues in fights for social justice. From the Boston Tea Party through the women’s suffrage movement, from the Birmingham Bus Boycott to […]
New York’s “Free” Wifi Kiosks Come With a Not-So-Private Catch
By Eric Hornbeck Through a program known as LinkNYC, slab-like kiosks are replacing the increasingly unused payphones on the sidewalks of New York City. The kiosks offer much more than the phone calls that can be made from payphones: the kiosks have tablets with internet access, charging stations and wifi service that expands as far […]
Uncertainty for Sanctuary Cities Under Trump
By Brendan Kreckel During his eight years as president, Barack Obama deported over 2.5 million people; the most of any president in the history of the United States. President Donald Trump has promised to outdo the Obama administration in an unrealistic plan to deport 2 to 3 million people in his first 100 days in […]
A Battle to Restore Voting Rights To Those With Felony Convictions in Virginia
By Brendan Kreckel Earlier this year, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe issued an executive order to restore voting rights to more individuals convicted of felonies in his state. Republican lawmakers vehemently opposed the order, bringing the matter to the Virginia Supreme Court. The court invalidated the order and required that newly registered citizens have their rights revoked […]
NYC Looks To Open Data Portal To More Users
By Eric Hornbeck New York City collects vast amounts of data every day on the activities of its agencies and citizens. For the last several years it has posted reams of that data, from restaurant health inspections to 311 calls, on its open data portal. As the availability and use of that data has increased, […]
Mayor’s Flood Insurance Map Victory May Be Setback for Resiliency Initiative
By Daniel Porat The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced a joint plan to revise New York City’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps, stalling a flood insurance rate hike for many New York City property owners. The announcement came after FEMA accepted the City’s appeal of the agency’s preliminary flood map, […]
Promise for Plaintiffs in Civil Bystander Liability Claims Against Police Officers
By Joseph B. Evans * In its June, 2016 decision Figueroa v. Mazza, et al., the Second Circuit reversed the dismissal of claims against police onlookers who failed to step in while a suspect was punched in the face by a fellow officer for no apparent reason. In limiting the “it all happened so fast so there was nothing […]