红杏视频

In 1994, the Supreme Court of Hawai驶i held in State v. Kekona that the due process clause of the Hawai鈥榠 Constitution does not require custodial interrogations to be recorded. More than 30 years later, with advances in technology that have made recording far easier, this case asks whether this decision should be reconsidered. The 红杏视频鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, along with the 红杏视频 of Hawai鈥榠 filed an amicus brief arguing that the Supreme Court of Hawai驶i should now hold that custodial interrogations must be recorded in order to be admissible in court, either as a matter of due process or as an exercise of the Court鈥檚 supervisory authority over lower courts.

LINCOLN, Neb. 鈥� Yesterday, the Nebraska Legislature鈥檚 Judiciary Committee heard testimony on LB 222, a bill that would reduce non-safety traffic stops in Nebraska. The legislation would reclassify certain non-moving equipment violations, such as expired registration tags or improper use of horn, as secondary violations, meaning police could only cite drivers for these infractions if they had already been pulled over for a more serious offense, like speeding or drunk driving. Introduced by State Sen. Terrell McKinney, LB 222 aims to improve road safety and reduce unnecessary law enforcement encounters by having police shift attention away from non-moving violations to prioritize dangerous driving behaviors that contribute to serious traffic crashes. Nebraska鈥檚 traffic code currently lists over 300 traffic violations, but more than half of all traffic fatalities in the state involve just two offenses: speeding or driving under the influence. The Center for Policing Equity, a nonprofit research center, submitted written comments in support of the bill, citing benefits that come with shifting enforcement priorities from non-safety traffic stops. 鈥淟B 222 represents an educated step towards focusing police time and resources where they are most effective,鈥� said Chris Burbank, former Police Chief of Salt Lake City and consultant with CPE. 鈥淥f the more than 100,000 traffic stops reported in Nebraska in 2023, just 1.1% led to an arrest: clear evidence that pretext stops are not an essential crime-fighting tool. The economic and social cost of traffic enforcement for non-safety infractions outweighs any benefit. We can and must do better. The time has come for us to ask of policing, 鈥榮hould we?鈥� as opposed to 鈥榗an we?鈥欌�� At the hearing, the 红杏视频 of Nebraska shared new polling results showing that Nebraskans broadly support legislation that reduces unnecessary police interactions through non-safety traffic stops. Among the highlights, 70 percent of surveyed voters said they would strongly or somewhat support a law like LB 222 to change certain minor offenses, like an expired registration or cracked windshield, to secondary violations. The civil rights organization said the bill could help reduce racial disparities in law enforcement. Since Nebraska began collecting traffic stop data in 2001, Black, Latine, and Native American drivers have consistently been two to three times more likely to be pulled over or searched by law enforcement than white drivers. 鈥淔or drivers of color, traffic stops have been a primary entry point to harmful and sometimes deadly interactions with police,鈥� said Jason Witmer, policy fellow for the 红杏视频 of Nebraska. 鈥淎nd Nebraskans of color have long been more likely to be stopped, searched and arrested by police. There is an undeniable psychological impact that comes with that, and not just for folks who are pulled over. Something has to change. LB 222 is an important step in the right direction.鈥� In submitted testimony with a neutral position, national road safety advocates applauded the potential benefits of the legislation. 鈥淟imiting non-safety traffic stops is a commonsense way to make the roads safer for everyone,鈥� said Leah Shahum, founder and executive director of Vision Zero Network. 鈥淲hen law enforcement resources are used to pull drivers over for minor equipment violations, such as tinted windows, officers miss opportunities to address actual dangerous behaviors causing the most serious crashes, such as speeding, reckless driving and impairment. The most effective approaches to improving roadway safety are not punitive enforcement for non-safety infractions. Instead, road safety is best advanced by using proactive strategies such as redesigning roads to be safer, managing speeds for safety, improving vehicle safety standards, using technologies to encourage safe behavior and ensuring enforcement is used to address actual road safety threats. By shifting enforcement priorities from non-safety traffic stops, Nebraska can join a growing number of states and cities prioritizing evidence-informed strategies to reduce traffic deaths.鈥� The bill remains with the Judiciary Committee. This year鈥檚 legislative session is scheduled to conclude in June.

Shelby County (Memphis), Tennessee, historically set cash bail in criminal cases without stopping to ask whether people would be able to bail out. This practice unnecessarily detained people who could not afford to pay for release, but who would otherwise return to court and live peacefully in their communities. The 红杏视频 Criminal Law Reform Project negotiated a historic settlement with Shelby County to end this practice. In retaliation, the Tennessee legislature passed HB 1719, which prohibits judges from considering an arrestee鈥檚 ability to pay when setting bail. This law is unprecedented. Our lawsuit seeks to enjoin Shelby County officials from enforcing it.

This case asks whether Georgia鈥檚 insanity defense statutes can be construed to contain an exception for cases where defendants allegedly triggered their own insanity by discontinuing their medication weeks before the alleged crimes. The State argues for such an exception, even though the text of the insanity defense statutes expressly pins the availability of the defenses to the defendant鈥檚 mental condition 鈥渁t the time of鈥� the alleged crimes. The 红杏视频鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative, along with the 红杏视频 of Georgia, filed an amicus brief arguing that even if the State鈥檚 interpretation of the statutory text were reasonable, its argument should still be rejected because it contradicts the rule of lenity. The rule of lenity is a well-established canon of statutory construction requiring that, if a criminal statute can reasonably be interpreted in different ways, courts must adopt the interpretation most favorable to the accused.