Archive for July, 2008
Action Against Sagging Pants Raises Question of Civil Rights
Police Chief David Dicks of Flint, Mich., has made it a point to stop a certain fashion trend, telling officers to cite anyone seen wearing pants low around the waist. He claims that “this immoral self-expression goes beyond free speech; it rises to the level of indecent exposure/disorderly persons.” However, some feel he has overstepped his authority by imposing on basic civil rights.
Read the full story in our featured column “The Law in Real Life,” by Linda Holmes, J.D.
Add comment July 29, 2008
U.S. Court of Appeals Finds School Strip Search Unconstitutional
On July 11, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Redding v. Safford Unified School District #1 that a strip search performed on a 13-year-old student at an Arizona middle school was unconstitutional. The ruling came after an unsuccessful appeal by the student’s family. Savana Redding was strip-searched in 2003 by school authorities for suspicion of carrying prescription-strength ibuprofen.
Read the full story in our featured column “The Law in Real Life,” by Linda Holmes, J.D.
1 comment July 22, 2008
Supreme Court Rules Against Death Penalty in Cases of Child Rape
A recent ruling by the Supreme Court further defined the standards of capital punishment in America. Citing the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, the Court ruled in Kennedy v. Louisiana that individuals found guilty of child rape may not receive the death penalty. Patrick Kennedy was found guilty of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter in 2003 and sentenced to death under a Louisiana statue allowing capital punishment for the rape of a child.
Add comment July 9, 2008
