Last week, Benton County agreed to a $1 million settlement with the estate of Faith Denise Whitcomb, and to changing its policies, in one of, if not the largest civil rights payouts in the state of Arkansas. Ms. Whitcomb was in her early 50s when she was arrested and detained at Benton County Jail. Her… Read More
Despite history of improperly withholding “street files” from criminal defendants, CPD tries to keep information secret under FOIA that could lead to exonerations For years, the Chicago Police Department hid from criminal defendants potentially exculpatory information in secret unofficial “street files.” In response to widespread criticism of this practice, CPD changed its policies to require… Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted cert to an excessive force case out of the Seventh Circuit: Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 744 F.3d 443 (7th Cir. 2014), No. 14-6368, 2015. The issue is whether an objective or subjective standard of reasonableness applies in an excessive force case. In 2010, Michael Kingsley was a pretrial detainee at Monroe County… Read More
The Supreme Court has sided with a former Transportation Security Administration Federal Air Marshal who blew the whistle on fraud within the Department of Homeland Security. (Department of Homeland Security v. MacLean, No. 13-894 (U.S. Jan 21, 2015)). Robert MacLean disclosed to an MSNBC reporter that the Department of Homeland Security was attempting to save money… Read More
The year 2014 was an extraordinary year for individuals who have been wrongfully convicted and those who advocate for their freedom. Reports show that in 2014, 125 individuals were exonerated in the United States—the most in American history. Since 1989, there have been 1,536 exonerations. That is, there are 1,536 people have been wrongfully accused, convicted, and sentenced to prison but… Read More
