People ask criminal defense lawyers about it so often that I just call it the Question. It comes in many forms: How can you sleep at night knowing your client is guilty? Why do you represent criminals? How do you represent those people?

I can see why so many people ask, even clients ask it. Nearly every night on the local news there’s a scary story about people accused of breaking the law. If it’s not a less-than-flattering mug shot, it’s in-court footage of someone in a jumpsuit and bound in chains. It’s not a good look, and it’s easy to wonder about the lawyer speaking on their behalf.

Over time, I’ve come up with different answers to the Question.

Continue reading “Ben Lowenthal: The Question Every Criminal Defense Lawyer Gets Asked” →

South Dakota’s medical marijuana oversight committee will have a lot of new faces this year when the panel returns to work, after state lawmakers decided in the 2023 session that it needed a somewhat different look.

There’s now a clear preference among a majority of the Legislature’s Executive Board that the group stay in the middle, rather than veering too far toward tougher restrictions or broader availability. There’s also greater recognition that public schools have an interest, too, because students younger than 18 can receive medical-cannabis cards if they qualify.

Continue reading “Legislators overhaul SD medical marijuana panel” →

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the “Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.” Named for two victims of hate crimes, the act bolstered and expanded the criteria upon which violent crimes could be prosecuted as hate crimes. In addition to crimes motivated by a victim’s race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion, the act further stipulated “actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.” It also provided state and local governments and law enforcement agencies with funding to aid hate crime investigations.

Continue reading “States with the most hate crimes” →

If you’re of a mind to dig into crime stats in Brookings County, you’re going to find numbers that mostly reflect a law-abiding population — numbers further reinforced by programs designed to keep people out of South Dakota’s prison system.

“If we look at the crimes that impact the most people across the board, what we’ve done about that is hold people accountable. We’ve sent the right message to those offenders — ‘If you continue to endanger the people in this community, you will be prosecuted and you will be held accountable’ — and I think since I’ve taken office in January of 2019, we’ve done just that,” Brookings County State’s Attorney Dan Nelson said in an interview.

Continue reading “Anti-crime efforts paying dividends in Brookings County” →

Breaking the law is something most of us strenuously avoid, but there are actually a slew of illegal things that even the most conscientious people do just about every single day—and usually get away with. These may be minor infractions we know we shouldn’t do (but make a habit of when we see everyone else doing it), or laws we break without knowing they are laws in the first place. Read on for 30 weird things that are illegal that you’re likely guilty of doing at least once in your life.

Continue reading “30 Illegal Things Practically Everyone Has Done” →

When Major Gerald Hansel applied to become a Linn County sheriff’s deputy almost 33 years ago, he was one of more than 200 applicants competing for just a few open positions.

Now, as the Linn County sheriff’s second deputy, in charge of hiring for the department, Hansel said he’s lucky if he sees 20 applicants show up for testing.

“Back in the day, we all grew up wanting to be in this profession, whereas I think today it’s not looked upon maybe in the same light. It’s not necessarily a career. It’s a job, and if it doesn’t work out, they’ll move on,” Hansel said.

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office isn’t alone in struggling to find applicants. Law enforcement agencies across Iowa and across the country have been seeing application numbers decrease for years, with the change even more noticeable in the last few years.

Iowa City Police Chief Dustin Liston said when he was a new police recruit in El Paso, Texas, in 1997, there were thousands of job seekers during each application cycle. Even in smaller agencies in Iowa, it was normal to have several hundred about that time.

“Over about the last decade, that has really slowed down, and certainly over the last couple of years it’s slowed down even more so,” Liston said. “So, we’ve had to become pretty creative in trying to remove as many barriers to the application process as we can, to make sure we get the appropriate number of applicants.”

Larger departments with more city resources, like the Cedar Rapids Police Department, aren’t having as much trouble filling open positions, but Cedar Rapids Capt. Jeff Hembera noted there have been fewer applicants to choose from in filling those roles.

“Like the rest of the country, our applicant pool has been smaller, but we’re finding that in the end we’re still getting good, qualified hires,” Hembera said.

You can read the full article at The Gazette.

Last year, Oklahoma became the sixth state in the U.S. to enact the Clean Slate Law, which automatically seals the records of non-violent federal crimes for individuals who have maintained a clean record.

Now, there are lawmakers in Washington looking to make this clean slate act a federal policy.

“95% of all of those who go to jail no matter what level from county to state to federal will come home. The question is what happens when they come home?” said former GOP Congressman Doug Collins.

A criminal record can be a significant hindrance in obtaining a job, housing, or education due to a stigma or concern attached to the record.

The goal of this federal bill is to lift the stigma and offer people a second chance.

Representative Nicole Miller of Edmond, authored Oklahoma’s Clean Slate Law.

“We want to make sure that government itself is not creating barriers for people to move on with their lives and to get back to work,” said Miller.

Last November, Governor Kevin Stitt signed the Clean Slate Act into law, automatically sealing the records for individuals with non-violent offenses only.

While the records are sealed, they are not erased.

“A sealed record is one that can still be accessed by law enforcement. And we think that’s important for protecting public safety, but at the same time, it opens up opportunities for education and employment,” said Jenna Bottler, president of Justice Action Network.

There are existing limitations in fields, such as law enforcement and healthcare, that will remain in effect. But Legislators said this policy could help patch the worker shortage.

“Employers are clamoring for this in Oklahoma,” Bottler said.

Collins said there have been thousands upon thousands of jobs that weren’t filled due to the shortage of job applicants.

You can read the full article at KTUL.

After spending 38 years in the Alabama prison system, one of the most violent and crowded in the nation, Larry Jordan feels lucky to live long enough to regain his freedom.

The decorated Vietnam War veteran had survived prostate cancer and hepatitis C behind bars when a judge granted him early release late last year.

“I never gave up hope,” says Jordan, 74, who lives in Alabama. “I know a lot of people in prison who did.”

At least 6,182 people died in state and federal prisons in 2020, a 46% jump from the previous year, according to data recently released by researchers from the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project.

Continue reading “When a prison sentence becomes a death sentence” →

This week, the Arc of Dreams is lit purple to commemorate National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

Holly Wethor was inspired by her experiences navigating the criminal justice system as a victim; she decided to become a victim advocate and help those in abusive situations.

A victim advocate can be made available by the court system or through a counseling center. Continue reading “Arc of Dreams lit purple for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week” →

Banning TikTok has become one of the only bipartisan issues lawmakers seem to see eye to eye on.

From a Montana ban on the social media app passed this month that will impact nearly all personal devices within state lines to a unanimous Senate approval to ban it from all government devices, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers agree that the short-form video app — and its parent company, the Beijing-based ByteDance — has got to go.

Continue reading “RESTRICT Act explained: proposed TikTok ban is ‘a PATRIOT Act for the digital age,’ some lawmakers say” →