General Litigation
| Courthouse Security |
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| Courthouse security has been increased since events such as the Oklahoma City bombing of a federal court building and the tragedy of September 11, 2001, which destroyed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The goal of enhanced security is twofold: to assure the safety of people and property in the courthouse and to preserve the integrity of the judicial process. Reasonably safe courthouses must be provided, measures have to be taken to safeguard court records, and a plan must be adopted that would permit the court system to function after an emergency. More... |
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| Technology in the Courtroom |
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| Courts are increasingly using technology to enhance the quality and the effectiveness of court proceedings. New York, Florida, Arizona, Minnesota, and Delaware all have state-of-the-art courtrooms. Technology is being used to increase the trier of fact's understanding of the evidence while reducing the length of trials and their cost. Information related to the case is stored and presented electronically. A CD-ROM will hold a transcript, an audio and a video recording of the trial and all evidence that was presented at trial, making a multi-media trial record. This article discusses how technology is being used in today's state-of-the art courtroom. More... |
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| Racial Profiling and the Criminal Justice System |
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| Racial profiling refers to the law enforcement practice of using race as a factor in deciding who is a suspicious person that should be investigated. Racial profiling is illegal.
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| Housing Courts |
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| Housing courts are specialized courts that handle landlord-tenant cases. The New York City Housing Court handles only residential landlord-tenant cases; another court division handles commercial landlord-tenant cases. Housing courts in Minnesota handle civil and criminal cases related to residential rental housing. The Boston Housing Court handles landlord-tenant disputes, evictions, and housing code violations. This article covers the most common types of cases filed in housing court. More... |
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| Judicial Conflicts of Interest |
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| Our legal system requires a fair and independent judiciary. In order to maintain public trust in our system of justice, judges must conduct themselves in an ethical manner. There are codes of conduct, which set standards of behavior for state and federal judges. These standards are aimed at assuring the impartiality of judges and reducing the possibility of conflicts of interest. More... |
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