| Privacy and Public Access to Court Records |
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| Court records include the case file of a lawsuit, records of any hearings, and information the court or clerk court prepares in connection with any judicial proceeding. A court's management information and data (budgets, reports, and statistics) are also considered court records. Since computers make it easy to gather and store information, many courts have developed databases of information. This database is also considered a court record. More... |
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| DNA Testing |
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| DNA is genetic material that controls inherited traits such as eye color, hair color, and bone density. DNA testing is used to match a sample of evidence (sperm, blood, saliva, skin, or hair) from the crime scene to a suspect. Current DNA techniques are so sophisticated that one person can be differentiated from all other living persons by analyzing DNA from a single strand of hair. DNA testing is especially helpful in solving rape and murder crimes and in exonerating wrongly convicted prisoners.
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| Finding Federal Regulations and Administrative Decisions |
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| Over 50 federal agencies perform regulatory functions. Most aspects of everyday life are regulated by federal agencies, including the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the air we breathe. The body of law created by federal agencies is called administrative law. Administrative law covers the rules, regulations, and decisions of federal, state, and municipal agencies. This article discusses how to find proposed and final federal regulations, as well as how to locate the administrative orders or decisions of various federal agencies. More... |
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| Traffic Law Enforcement with Electronics |
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| Electronic traffic law enforcement involves the use of technology to enforce traffic laws. Police officers have been using conventional radar guns for years to detect speeding drivers. More recently, laser speed guns have been developed that more accurately clock the speed of moving vehicles. Red light cameras detect vehicles that run red lights at intersections. More... |
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| Extrajudicial Speech and Judicial Ethics |
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| There are standards of conduct for judges that assure judicial ethics. The goal of the standards is to assure judges' impartiality and avoid improprieties. There are codes of judicial conduct for both state and federal judges. In general, the code of judicial conduct requires a judge to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary, avoid the impropriety or the appearance of impropriety in any activities, and perform his/her duties impartially and diligently. Judges are also required to conduct extrajudicial activities in a way that reduces the risk of conflict with judicial duties. More... |
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