Missouri residents might like to know about the new records regarding exonerations from prison set in 2018. Last year, 151 people were exonerated after serving a combined total of 1,639 years in prison, resulting in an average of 11 years for each person. The National...
Empower Yourself, Know Your Rights
Andrew Christie
Blog
Do police always have to read your Miranda rights?
Most citizens learn that the police must read you your Miranda rights (“You have the right to remain silent…”) when you’re arrested. We learn that if this doesn’t happen, we get to go free. This scenario is possible, but don’t rely...
Man facing drug trafficking and resisting arrest charges
A routine traffic stop in Missouri during the early morning hours of March 23 led to felony drug trafficking charges for a 39-year-old New Franklin man according to a report from the Boone County Sheriff's Department. The man has also been charged with tampering with...
How to avoid drunk driving during spring break
Every year, there is an increased push throughout Missouri and the rest of America to combat drunk driving during spring break. Spring break usually means that more young people are vacationing and on the road. Drinking is often involved, and there is a high...
Bill increases penalties for fentanyl, GHB possession
One bill in the Missouri state legislature aims to increase penalties for certain drug charges. According to the bill, possession or distribution of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opiate, and some drugs classified as "date-rape drugs" would be classified as first- or...
What to know about involuntary manslaughter charges
If someone is accidentally killed in Missouri, it could be labeled as involuntary manslaughter. It could also be referred to as criminally negligent homicide. A person could also face such a charge if he or she was in the act of committing another crime and an...
How language and dialect can influence criminal cases
Prisons and jails in Missouri and around the country have a disproportionately high number of black inmates. Civil rights groups say that this is the result of systemic racism in the criminal justice system and have referred to the mass incarceration of...
Right to an attorney heads to state Supreme Court
Missouri – which has one of the worst records for funding public defenders in the country – will see its public defender system on trial in front of the state Supreme Court.At issue is decades of underfunding by state lawmakers which causes public...
Federal officers can’t force people to unlock their iPhone
Federal officers can't force people to unlock their iPhone with biometrics, such as finger or face access, according to a recent ruling from the U.S. District Court in Northern California. Previously, the feds were allowed to force this kind of entry while not being...
Panel issues recommendations to make roads safer
A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine offered a variety of ways to keep roads throughout Missouri and the rest of America safer. One of those suggestions was to reduce the legal blood alcohol limit to .05 percent from the current...