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  • Utah Cop Who Violently Detained Nurse Is Fired

    13 Oct 2017

    The Utah detective who violently detained a nurse after refusing  to take a blood sample has been fired. A Salt Lake City police spokesman said that Jeff Payne had been fired in connection with incident on July 26th. Payne's supervisor Lt. James Tracy has also been fired over the incident as well. The Salt Police Department called Payne's conduct "inappropriate, unreasonable, and [...]

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    U.S. Supreme Court Reviewing DNA Collection Practices

    12 Jun 2017

    In Utah, while DNA samples may be taken at the time of arrest, the DNA itself is not processed until after a conviction. If charges are not pressed within 90 days of an arrest, or the case is dismissed or acquitted, the DNA evidence is destroyed. However, with other states enacting more stringent rules regarding when DNA is collected and how it is used, the U.S. Supreme Court is now looking at the[...]

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    Is Collecting DNA Samples From Arrestees Unconstitutional?

    31 May 2017

    The United States Supreme Court decided to hear an important case regarding defendants' constitutional rights to privacy. The case involved a man who was arrested for assault but, through DNA collected before he was convicted of the crime, was charged with an earlier rape. At trial, the man's criminal defense lawyer attempted to suppress the DNA evidence, claiming that it violated the Fourth [...]

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    Understanding Electronic Surveillance In Today's Age

    25 May 2017

    Today, individuals everywhere are making a permanent mark of their activities every single day. Whether it's through cellphone texts, emails, Twitter, or Facebook posts, people can be tracked more so today than ever before. However, an article featured by the New York Times highlights some interesting information about surveillance surrounding electronic technology that many consumers are most [...]

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    Warrantless Cellphone Tracking Banned In Two States

    25 Oct 2016

    Under the United States Constitution and the Utah Constitution, residents have a certain expectation of privacy. As part of their Fourth Amendment rights, this means residents of Utah should be protected against unreasonable searches and seizures from law enforcement and other authorities. Recently, Maine became the second state in the country to ban warrantless cellphone tracking. [...]

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    Police In Utah Need Warrant To Draw Blood From DUI Suspects

    21 Oct 2016

    In Utah, a driver cannot be pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving and forced to submit to a blood test. Rather, police must first obtain a search warrant before ordering the blood draw. The issue of whether or not a drunk driving suspect's blood can be drawn without a warrant made its way before the U.S. Supreme Court last month. In the ruling, eight out of nine of the justices all[...]

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