Arrests and prosecutions for hate crimes are a growing phenomenon throughout the country. In Louisiana, it’s a crime to commit an offense against person or property because of actual or perceived race, age, gender, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or ancestry. If…
Because physicians have a license to prescribe controlled substances, they always face a risk of being accused of abusing the privilege. If a physician is too lenient in prescribing controlled drugs or if he is easily subject to manipulation by drug criminals, he can be…
When someone is having emotional or mental problems, he or she may be prone to acting out some bizarre anti-social behavior. This is sometimes seen when a sports fan develops an unhealthy case of fan fervor. Recently, a sports fan was arrested and charged with…
Professional offices often handle hefty volumes of incoming cash and outgoing paperwork. In Louisiana, for example, many medical and dental offices take in substantial cash payments from their patients. Also, they process a great deal of paperwork pertaining to insurance claims. These activities open the…
One of the basic values of our criminal justice system is that an accused is innocent unless and until proven guilty. That rule, however, does not always function to protect the accused. For example, when a teacher in a Louisiana public school is arrested for…
Traffic stops are a significant source of arrests for drug offenses. Some advocates accuse authorities of making traffic stops solely to obtain drug arrests. When a traffic stop is made in Louisiana, there must first be reasonable factual grounds for making the stop. Without reasonable…
The identification of suspects by the authorities is a process filled with potential flaws. Police must try to be reasonably certain that they have based their identification and arrest on solid evidence that will hold up under later scrutiny. In a recent Louisiana incident, two…
The sight of teenagers inhabiting the country’s shopping malls is a mainstay of suburban life. Many teens find the local malls to be places where they can legally congregate, see friends and socialize. But in East Baton Rouge recently, the Mall of Louisiana hosted an…
A Louisiana Sheriff’s Office recently held a 37-year-old legal immigrant in a jail cell for five days until they were told by an agent of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office that they were holding him illegally. The man was charged with a…
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office recently announced the arrest of 245 suspected pedophiles in an international raid called Operation Sunflower. The arrests include 13 in the New Orleans, Louisiana area. The operation, which lasted more than a month, targeted predators who allegedly…