Protecting Your Rights And Holding Those With Power Accountable
You are pulled over, or perhaps approached on foot, and despite your cooperation, you are not allowed to leave. The initial encounter becomes an extended confinement, leaving you feeling helpless and unjustly restricted. When does this scenario transition from a...
A police officer cannot just randomly stop your vehicle and ask you to answer questions, take a field sobriety test or things of this nature. For instance, an officer can’t just wait outside of a local bar and pull over every driver who leaves the bar, looking for...
Sometimes, what looks like silence is just someone trying not to panic. What seems like defiance might just be someone doing their best to stay calm. Not everyone reacts the same way to stress, especially during high-pressure encounters. Understanding how...
Police misconduct is no small matter. If you walk away from an incident feeling shaken and disrespected by a police officer’s actions, you may have experienced police brutality. But not knowing what counts as abuse of power versus a “bad encounter” can leave you...
It is a strange and uncomfortable feeling—being told to wait while officers “figure things out.” Maybe it started with a traffic stop. Or maybe someone called the police, and suddenly, you are being questioned. You have not been arrested, but you are not free to go...
You’ve probably been reading and seeing a lot of media stories about “due process” lately. Just what is due process, what does it involve and how does it help protect people’s legal rights? The concept of due process goes back to the U.S. Constitution. The “Due...
Governors have the authority to call out their state’s National Guard when they believe it’s necessary. (So does the president.) Oftentimes, Guard members are used to help keep order and assist after a natural disaster. Other times, they’re used when there’s a serious...
The New Mexico Civil Rights Act (NMCRA) was signed into law in April 2021. This piece of legislation represents a significant development in the protection of individual rights across the state. Designed to enhance accountability and give everyday citizens a clear...
Advocates for immigrants are seeking legislative relief for those they represent who may be next in the crosshairs of the U.S. Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detentions. As of now, the location of 48 immigrants detained by ICE officials remains unknown....
You value your privacy, so you have your cellphone locked. No one can use it without typing in a passcode or using biometric data. For instance, maybe you have a fingerprint scanner on the phone, which prevents unauthorized entry unless you give someone else a code....