Blair Defense Criminal Lawyers

03/01/2022

Law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology during investigations has blossomed in recent years. Now, it appears at least some law enforcement agents are flirting with the idea of using facial recognition at otherwise seemingly benign traffic stops, a potential loosening of the tech’s use that has legal and privacy experts on edge.

At least some law enforcement agents are reportedly considering the practice which legal experts say may violate U.S. law.

02/19/2022

If your car is pulled over by police, you have certain rights and responsibilities. You must produce your driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance and take a sobriety test if requested. However, you are not required to consent to a search of your vehicle. Police may do a search only in limited situations. If a search exceeds legal bounds, your criminal defense attorney can later move to suppress any evidence obtained.

02/18/2022

Federal prosecutors have been seeking to limit defendants' rights to win compassionate release from prison in plea negotiations across the country, a practice that advocates say undermines the intent of Congress and produces cruel outcomes.

The Justice Department has been limiting the ability of people in prison to apply for compassionate release. Advocates say that flouts Congress and is cruel.

02/12/2022

If you are convicted of a s*x offense in any U.S. state, your name will be placed on a s*x offender registry — a public database that impacts your civil liberties, such as where you can live and work. How long you must stay on the registry varies state to state and depends on several factors. Your criminal defense attorney must be keenly aware of how the local registry law applies in your case.

02/05/2022

Although autopsies are performed in a timely manner out of necessity, reports are taking months—and in some instances years—to finalize, due to a forensic pathologist shortage. The pandemic—which also precipitated a backlog in cases—has only exacerbated the shortage.

In May 2019, a married man was worried that his lover was going to tell his wife about their affair. He entered her home and shot her in the head while she slept.

02/04/2022

Typically, when you serve a period of supervised release, you must meet with your parole officer periodically, and abide by the conditions of your release. If you do not, your parole could be revoked, which means you would return to prison.

01/28/2022

An overturned conviction in Missouri is raising new questions about video testimony in criminal court cases nationwide, and the ruling could have ripple effects through a justice system increasingly reliant on remote technology as it struggles with a backlog of cases during the coronavirus pandemic.

An overturned conviction in Missouri is raising new questions about video testimony in criminal court cases nationwide, and the ruling could have ripple effects through a justice system increasingly reliant on remote technology as it struggles with a backlog of cases during the coronavirus pandemic.

01/27/2022

The Supreme Court buttressed a criminal defendant’s right to cross-examine prosecution witnesses, ruling in favor of a New York man who was convicted of killing a 2-year-old boy on Easter Sunday in 2006.

By an 8-1 vote, the justices held that defendant Darrell Hemphill's constitutional rights were violated when a judge allowed jurors to read another man's testimony that prosecutors used to undermine Hemphill's defense.

01/18/2022

COVID-19 is once again surging behind bars, posing a renewed threat to a high-risk population with spotty access to healthcare and little ability to distance.

Experts fear “another potential tinderbox scenario” akin to the early days of the pandemic.