Today, in the wake of the tragic Sandy Hook massacre, President Obama announced that he would be formulating new proposals for gun control nationwide. Specifically, reinstating the ban on semiautomatic assault weapons which expired in 2004. However, for many Americans—and many Minnesotans—the current firearm laws still remain a mystery. So what are the current gun […]
Police Trackers Under New Scrutiny
For years, police departments across the state have employed the use of squad car-mounted license plate scanners to gather and log data from Minnesota cars. The American Civil Liberties Union has spoken out against this practice, arguing that such technology is a gross invasion of privacy. Under the MN open records law, anyone may request […]
Minnesota Shooting Raises Questions of Use of Deadly Force
A St. Paul police officer used deadly force to subdue an unruly suspect, and the conflicting stories paint a different picture of the events that took place. Officer Joseph Higgins responded to a domestic disturbance call to find another officer, Ramar Davis, with his gun drawn. Davis was commanding Kevin Carroll, 47, to drop his […]
Correlations between Adolescent Brain Development and Risky Behavior
Laurence Steinberg, who teaches psychology at Temple University, recently gave a lecture at the University of Minnesota on brain development and its impact on adolescent behavior. His lecture, titled “Should the Science of Adolescent Brain Development Inform Legal Policy?” focused on the factors that influence adolescents in their decision making. Steinberg compared an adolescent brain […]
GPS Tracking Seeks to Deter Domestic Violence in Minnesota
Ramsey County and other criminal justice departments will begin using GPS monitoring to track alleged domestic violence offenders before their trial to ensure compliance with court orders. Very similar to other softwares and a selection of GPS tracking units available for commercial vehicles, the GPS will monitor the location of the defendant in order to […]
