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50 Founders Plaza
East Hartford, CT 06108
50 Founders Plaza
East Hartford, CT 06108
When you think about a person who has been charged with a crime, you are likely to picture a defendant sitting in a courtroom while a prosecutor presents his or her case on behalf of the state or federal government. The defendant’s attorney, in this scenario, will have the opportunity to refute the government’s claims and raise reasonable doubts about his or her client’s guilt. Of course, this mental image is one of a criminal trial, but trends in criminal law over the last 50 years have forced criminal trials to the brink of extinction. In fact, a new report by a national lawyers’ group suggests that the stakes of going to trial have become so outrageously high that the right to a jury trial guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Sixth Amendment has been largely compromised.
A Troubling Report
Earlier this month, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) released the findings of a report titled The Trial Penalty: The Sixth Amendment Right to Trial on the Verge of Extinction and How to Save It. The report examined the dramatic differences in sentences offered to criminal defendants during plea bargain negotiations and those imposed after a criminal trial. This difference is what the report refers to as the “trial penalty.”
When a person is sexually assaulted, his or her life is often changed forever. While therapy and counseling may help, the emotional trauma of such an experience may never really go away. Unfortunately, it can be extremely difficult, in many cases, to successfully prosecute a perpetrator of sexual assault in criminal court because the standard of proof is quite high. Proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect committed the crime can be nearly impossible when the case boils down to two conflicting stories about what happened. Some victims of sexual assault are able to secure justice to a certain degree in the form of a personal injury verdict or settlement, as a headline-making case from Georgia recently demonstrated.
Teen Raped by Security Guard
In 2012, a 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a 22-year-old man who worked as a security guard at a housing complex near Atlanta. The girl was at the complex for a friend’s birthday party. Following the incident, the man was arrested and charged with several criminal counts related to the assault, including rape, statutory rape, sexual battery, and molesting a child. He pleaded guilty to several of the charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison—a sentence that he is currently serving.
You probably remember that in 2015, a photograph of an article of women’s clothing made headlines because of how it was perceived by different people. Two individuals could look at the same photo and see two different color schemes. Social media outlets were strongly divided into teams of “black and blue” and “white and gold” based on what color the dress appeared to be to a given person. A similar phenomenon made the rounds on social media earlier this year—only this time, it was an audio recording. It turns out that the differences in how people perceive colors, sights, and sounds could be affecting our criminal justice system.
Yanny or Laurel?
When you look at the words “yanny” and “laurel,” there does not seem to be any way that you could confuse one for the other when you hear them. However, a recording from a vocabulary website generated considerable buzz when some visitors to the site had trouble hearing the recording as it was intended to be heard. The recording was posted on the page for the word “laurel,” a noun that usually refers to a wreath worn around the head as a symbol of victory. It turns out that in the slightly distorted, computer-generated speech recording, some people were hearing “yanny”—a word that does not exist.
Summer can be the most enjoyable time of year—especially if you are a student reveling in the break from studying and exams. Unfortunately, data about car accidents shows us that summer can also be the most dangerous season for young people. In fact, an average of 260 teenagers lose their lives each month of summer due to motor vehicle accidents. This represents a 26 percent increase in fatal accidents as compared with other months of the year. If you are a parent with teenage drivers, there are ways that you can help your children stay safe while driving this summer.
Distracted Driving Is a Serious Issue for Young Drivers
If you are over the age of 30, you probably remember the days before everyone had a cell phone. If someone wanted to make a call while they were driving, they simply waited until they got home to do so. Nowadays, we have the ability to send a text, make a call, or Google a question at literally any time—including behind the wheel. Many younger drivers have lived their entire lives around technology, so disconnecting from their cell phone for even the duration of a drive can prove challenging. Tragically, thousands of teens and adults have died in car accidents caused by distracted driving. Over half of all teen crashes are now thought to be caused by distracted driving. If you have teenaged drivers, make sure you are talking to them about distracted driving and the importance of not using a cell phone while driving.
We live in a world that is more connected than it has ever been. With a few taps on a smartphone, it is possible to access virtually any piece of information and to connect people from around the globe. One of the most pressing questions of the digital age, however, is in regard to protecting personal privacy. Do we forfeit our privacy by using our mobile devices? According to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding a robbery conviction, the answer to that question is “no.”
Constant Signals
Any time that your cell phone is on, it is sending and receiving signals to and from cell towers in the area. These signals let the towers know that your phone is turned on and ready to receive incoming calls or messages. They may also be using the towers to access the internet so apps like Facebook and Instagram, or even basic email, can be updated. What you may not have considered is that every time your phone connects to a nearby tower, a record of that connection is made.
Warmer weather has finally arrived in the Northeast, which means that riders across the region have pulled their motorcycles out of winter storage. There are few experiences that are quite as freeing as cruising open road on a motorcycle on a warm sunny day. Unfortunately, there are few experiences that are quite as dangerous, as well. Several Connecticut motorcycle riders have lost their lives already this riding season, and many more are likely as the season continues. A new report suggests that while motorcycle fatalities dropped in Connecticut last year, they did not drop enough to match the national average. This means that riders in Connecticut may be statistically more at risk than those in other states.
Good News and Bad News
Last month, the Governors Highway Safety Association released a report based on preliminary data regarding 2017 motorcycle traffic fatalities. The report estimated that there were about 300 fewer motorcycle-related deaths in 2017 than in 2016—a drop of about 5.6 percent. Motorcycle fatalities represented about 14 percent of all traffic deaths in the United States in 2017.
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees citizens the right to be free from “unreasonable searches and seizures.” The operative word in that phrase, however, is “unreasonable.” Over the last 240 years, courts at every level have attempted to define what constitutes an unreasonable search or seizure in a variety of situations. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court was presented with two conflicting interpretations of the Fourth Amendment—one as it applies to a person’s home and the other as it applies to a person’s vehicle.
Collins v. Virginia
The case originated in Albemarle County, Virginia in June 2013 where a rider on a distinctive orange and black motorcycle fled and eluded police at high rates of speed twice in the period of several weeks. The police used found the person they believed to be in possession of the motorcycle and that the motorcycle was likely to have been stolen. Using social media, the police were able to link the suspected owner/rider to an orange and black motorcycle. Social media also allowed police to find an address for the suspect.
Summertime is just about here, which means that people of all ages will soon be planning trips to amusement parks and water parks. While some prefer the tranquility of a miniature train ride or a relaxing soaking pool, others seek the adrenaline rush that comes from the simulated danger on roller coasters and other thrill rides. Unfortunately, not all of the dangers are simulated, and thousands of people are injured at amusement parks every year.
No Federal Oversight
Forty years ago, the Consumer Product Safety Commission was responsible for the regulation of mobile carnivals—such as county fairs—and fixed-site amusement parks. During the 1980’s, however, federal lawmakers decided that state and local governments should regulate the fixed-site parks in their respective jurisdiction. Federal regulators still oversee mobile carnivals, but there is no national standard for permanent parks.
In 2015, the Connecticut General Assembly directed the state’s Sentencing Commission to conduct an in-depth examination of Connecticut’s policies regarding the “assessment, management, treatment, and sentencing of sex offenders.” The two-year study concluded near the end of 2017. As a result of its findings, the Connecticut Sentencing Commission officially recommended a shift from offense-based registration as a sex offender to a system based on the risk an offender poses to the community at large.
The recommendation was formalized as House Bill 5578 in the most recent session of the General Assembly, but the measure never made it past the Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers, however, say that the proposal may have merits, but the discussion is better suited for the longer legislative session next year.
Among the study’s most important findings was the idea that the current laws and guidelines regarding sex offender registration are largely based on decades-old assumptions that have been proven questionable or demonstrably false. According to the Sentencing Commission, three primary myths persist.
When a person lends their vehicle to another person, they assume a level of responsibility for ensuring that the driver is capable of safely operating the vehicle. Accidents, of course, will still happen from time to time, and not every crash will result in liability on the part of the vehicle owner. In certain situations, however, an owner may be held liable if he or she knew or should have known that the person borrowing the car would present a risk to others on the road. Such was the point of a lawsuit filed in Hartford Superior Court last year that recently settled for $1.1 million.
Hit-and-Run Rollover Crash
In October 2016, a 42-year-old Colchester man was driving north on Interstate 91 near Windsor Locks when his pickup truck was rear-ended by a Volkswagen SUV driven by a 34-year-old old woman from Newington. The man lost control of his truck, which hit a guardrail and flipped over, killing the driver instantly, reports indicate. The woman in the Volkswagen reportedly fled the scene, but she was apprehended by police in a store parking lot a short time later.
50 Founders Plaza
