In today's post, we'll be continuing and concluding a discussion that we started last week. The death of an African-American woman named Sandra Bland has been a national news story lately. Ms. Bland was pulled over for a minor offense, had a negative interaction with...
Month: July 2015
Understanding your rights during a traffic stop: Part I
Our last two posts focused on racial profiling and the overly aggressive tactics police officers commonly seem to use these days. Although the particular incident we wrote about was local to Colorado, similar problems are occurring nationwide. By this point, many...
Racial profiling part 2: ‘It hurts and it’s not OK’ to fear police
In part 1 of this post, we discussed a recent situation where a 21-year-old man was confronted by four CSPD officers, with guns drawn, because he was trying to break into his own car. That's a lot of force, considering the 911 caller had specifically said the suspect...
Racial profiling part 1: How common a cause of false arrest?
Imagine your frustration: After dealing with a traffic ticket, you're heading back to your car when you realize you've lost your keys -- and you have to get to work. A Good Samaritan offers to call a locksmith, but in the meantime you fiddle around, trying to break...
Trying to find a better way to set bail in criminal cases
If you've ever been arrested or even seen a television crime drama, you know what bail is. That being said, the purpose of bail is often misunderstood. Many people assume that posting bail is like paying a fine in order to get out of jail before your trial - which can...