The Child Abuse and Neglect Statute in Washington DC has both a civil and also a criminal component and at times run on separate tracks but concurrently. If there is a referral for child abuse to the Child Protection Services (CPS), in cases of alleged physical child abuse — there will be a civil as well as criminal investigation when warranted. Thus charges may be brought in the Family Court as well as in the Criminal Court Systems. According to the DC Civil Neglect Statute, the term neglected child encompasses the following categories: 1) A child who has been abandoned
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Monthly Archives November 2017
4TH AMENDMENT VIOLATION: LEGALITY OF STINGRAY: DC CRIMINAL LAW
The Court of Appeals in Prince Jones v. U.S., decided on September 21, 2017, considered and evaluated the legality of the police force use of cell site simulator commonly known as “stingray” without a search warrant. The Court in short concluded that deployment of “stingray” without a valid search warrant violated the 4th Amendment of the Constitution and evidence hence collected would be excluded as “fruits of a poisonous tree.” Prince Jones was convicted for sexual assault and robbery (stolen cell phones). The police force shortly after the incident deployed a cell tower simulator to pinpoint his location via his
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DC Voyeurism Statute: Recent Court of Appeals Decision
The DC Court of Appeals in David Thomas v. U.S., on October 12, 2017, issued an opinion on a conviction pursuant to the DC Voyeurism Statute, which provides: D.C. Code 22-3531 (c)(1) in pertinent parts provides: (c)(1) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, it is unlawful for a person to electronically record, without the express and informed consent of the individual being recorded, an individual who is: (A) Using a bathroom or rest room; (B) Totally or partially undressed or changing clothes; or (C) Engaging in sexual activity. The Defendant in this case was convicted for taking nude photographs of his
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