A 2016 study has shown that jurors who are shown surveillance video, in slow motion, of criminal acts committed by defendants often suffer from ‘intentionality bias’. Even when reminded that the footage was artificially slowed down, unanimous juries were four times more … Continue reading
Category Archives: Legal Fact of the Week
Under ancient Anglo-Saxon law a plaintiff who suffered injuries or death was allowed to seek vengeance, either personally or through surviving family members, through a “blood feud“. This vendetta system was eventually replaced by payments referred to as “blood fines”, “bloodwit” … Continue reading
Eight states still possess constitutional prohibitions against atheists from holding public office: Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. While these provisions still exist, they are unenforceable under the 1961 decision of Torcaso v. Watkins, in … Continue reading
The pervasive use of billable hours by lawyers in the U.S. is a fairly recent phenomenon. Historically lawyers billed at flat rates, or on percentage bases, or based on ‘value billing’ for ‘services rendered’. The ABA began promoting hourly billing … Continue reading
The first gun law passed in the United States was in Kentucky in 1813, which banned people from carrying concealed weapons. Kentucky currently requires a permit for concealed carry, although a gun permit is not required for owning a firearm. … Continue reading
The Corwin Amendment was proposed in 1861 as an attempt to reverse the creation of the Confederate States of America and prevent further border states from seceding, and would have prohibited Congress from passing any laws that interfered with the … Continue reading
A ‘wobbler’, otherwise known as a ‘hybrid crime’, is one that can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor. These crimes are said to ‘wobble’ between these two categories, as they can be charged as either based … Continue reading
The Fugitive Slave Clause is found in Article 4, Clause 3 of the Constitution, which states that “No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or … Continue reading
Signed into law in September 2018, the Pro Bono Work to Empower and Represent Act of 2018 (POWER Act), requires the chief judge in each judicial district to hold one or more events annually to promote free legal services to … Continue reading
The case of In re Gault (1967) extended Miranda rights to juveniles. However, recent studies show that approximately 90% of juveniles waive their Miranda rights during custodial interrogations, despite serious concerns that many are not capable of knowingly waiving those … Continue reading
Intellectual Property fans will rejoice in knowing that one of the two longest English words with no repeating letters is ‘uncopyrightable‘. The other, also 15 letters long, is ‘dermatoglyphics‘ (the study of skin patterns). This also has a legal connection, since the … Continue reading
The Child Labor Amendment is an unratified amendment proposed in 1924, which would grant Congress the authority to regulate the labor of children under the age of 18. It was ratified by 28 states, the last in 1937, and is … Continue reading