21st-Century Big Brother Concern: Government’s Online Monitoring

In Drug Crimesby RSF

On behalf of Rosenblum Schwartz & Fry posted in Drug Crimes on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. Are you being watched? Are Facebook images of you also being perused by security officials via top-secret databases used for domestic spying? Are comments you posted innocuously online concerning your views on topics ranging from marijuana use and sexting to political activism and other topics being scrutinized by officials from the FBI or NSA? You obviously hope not, given that the very idea is chilling. Can it possibly be that the nation’s citizenry is the mass target of clandestine domestic surveillance efforts? The American Civil Liberties Union thinks the …

Is This Court Ruling Really A Landmark Self-Incrimination Decision?

In Sex Crimesby RSF

On behalf of Rosenblum Schwartz & Fry posted in Sex Crimes on Thursday, January 24, 2019. Here’s a hypothetical we pose for readers that we suspect many of them will challenge on the grounds of skewed logic. The cops have probable cause to search a home pursuant to a criminal investigation. They demand that targeted criminal suspects open their smartphones for government scrutiny by unlocking them with personal passcodes. A court rules that impermissible because a passcode or other such information that must be “willingly and verbally supplied” is testimonial in nature. A criminal suspect needn’t divulge it, given the seminal protection against self-incrimination …

What Is Missouri’s Revenge Porn Law, And Does It Have Clout?

In Sex Crimesby RSF

On behalf of Rosenblum Schwartz & Fry posted in Sex Crimes on Tuesday, January 15, 2019. We spotlight a fundamental point regarding sex crime outcomes in Missouri on our Rosenblum Schwartz & Fry website. We stress at our established St. Louis criminal defense law offices that, “The stigma and criminal penalties associated with a sex crime conviction are significant.” Moreover, they attach to wide-ranging behavior. Many people might reasonably link sex crimes with violent acts like rape or sexual assault, but the possibilities go far beyond that. They additionally encompass child pornography (possession or distribution), prostitution-tied charges, child molestation and unlawful Internet conduct. That …

What Might Materially Improve Missouri’s Budget Problem?

In Drug Crimesby RSF

On behalf of Rosenblum Schwartz & Fry posted in Drug Crimes on Wednesday, January 9, 2019. Mary Ann McGivern says that her reasoned view regarding a material budget fix to Missouri’s governmental money woes might not fly with a number of residents, especially public officials. Rather than endorsing her ideas and promoting their implementation, she fears that state decision makers are more apt to simply deem her “a lunatic.” Concededly, some might, but it’s just as likely that legions of Missourians would be most willing to give McGivern a close listen and thoughtfully reflect on what she has to say. In fact, it is …

2019 Brings Strong National Focus On Gun Law Updates, Restrictions

In Uncategorizedby RSF

On behalf of Rosenblum Schwartz & Fry posted in Violent Crimes on Monday, January 7, 2019. Although partisanship and a general unwillingness to cooperate across political lines certainly contributes to slowed American progress along many fronts, gun-law adjustments appear to be a marked exception. That might reasonably surprise many people, given ultra-strong positions that have emerged as polar opposites in the right-to-bear-arms debate that has prominently raged in recent years. Notwithstanding extreme views that mark the outer limits of discourse, middle ground that promotes legislative change has unquestionably appeared in states all across the country. A recent national media piece on material gun-linked changes slated …