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Meet Brittni Nicole Colleps, English teacher, high school girls’ basketball coach, and alleged sexual predator. Accused of having sex with 5 male students at Kennedale High School in Arlington, Texas, the 27-year-old is now facing 5 felony counts that carry decades worth of jail time and $50,000 in fines. There’s visual evidence of her alleged crimes, too. According to one of the male students, he began trading “sexts” with Brittni Nicole Colleps, eventually ending up in her bedroom reports the Star-Telegram....

The comments on ’legitimate rape’ made by Representative Todd Akin over the weekend have had a profound impact on the public. Not only did he show poor understanding of science, especially for someone on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, he also failed to gauge public sentiment. The Republican Party has tried to distance themselves from his comments. They also encouraged him to end his race for Senate, reports Fox News....

Now that the FBI has been caught bugging two California courthouses, many people are wondering about the limits of police surveillance. Recording conversations falls under the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures.” So what’s considered unreasonable? It’s been a long time since the Constitution was written, and society and technology have changed quite a bit since then. Here are some of the limits of police search and seizure today:...

In addition to state laws prohibiting child abuse, the federal government has its own laws meant to protect children from neglect and other forms of abuse. These laws include minimum child welfare standards to which the states are required to conform. However, a recent three-year study by the Children’s Advocacy Institute found that none of the states are actually meeting these standards, NPR reports. What do federal child abuse laws require?...

If you are criminally charged with domestic violence, or if someone is filing a civil request for a restraining order against you, you must get representation. Do not try to defend yourself without help, and do understand that the consequences are extremely serious. While the two situations are different – the criminal case and the civil request for restraint – they can become intertwined. Let’s look at how domestic violence is defined and what to do if you find yourself accused....

When you’re searching for a DUI lawyer online and click on an attorney or law firm’s website, what exactly should you be looking for? You may have already concluded that you need an attorney’s help for your DUI case, but you could probably use some guidance to further narrow your attorney options. Comparing several lawyers’ websites can help you choose an attorney who’s the right fit for you. Finding the perfect DUI attorney isn’t all that difficult, especially with the Internet at your fingertips....

A 15-year-old female patient on the psychiatric ward at the Metropolitan Hospital in Manhattan was sodomized by an 11-year-old patient last month. The young boy has pled guilty and is now awaiting sentencing. This is a horrifying story, but the fact is that it’s not that uncommon–particularly at state facilities that house criminal defendants. In the last two decades, the criminal justice system has amped up the placement of defendants in state psychiatric hospitals, finding them criminally insane or unfit to stand trial....

Yes, DUI checkpoints are legal. That could have made for a very short post, but allow me to expand by explaining why DUI checkpoints are generally legal. (I say generally because there can still be situations where a particular DUI checkpoint could be found illegal. Not all roadside sobriety checkpoints are necessarily set up and administered in a constitutionally permissible manner.) Nevertheless, courts in the majority of states have upheld DUI checkpoints against challenges that these checkpoints are unconstitutional....

A federal appeals court today ruled against landowners who sued the federal government to recover for damages arising out of the huge 2003 Cedar Fire in San Diego. The fire originated in the Cleveland National Forest when a lost hunter apparently started a signal fire, which swiftly grew out of control and spread into other landowners’ properties. By the time the Cedar Fire was contained, over 280,000 acres and 2,800 buildings had been destroyed, and 15 people had been killed....

That’s why they call it climate change. Throughout the Midwest, East and Southeast, Americans have been faced with an icy blast from Arctic air since last weekend, according to meteorologists. The Southeast, not accustomed to the extreme cold has been hit hardest, shivering in temps that have plunged 10 to 35 degrees below normal for the last two weeks. Since this cold snap coincides with the to-be-hoped tail end of the great recession, many are still struggling to pay their most basic bills, including gas and electricity....

Most United States Supreme Court decisions don’t make that much of an impact on the day to day lives, or pocketbooks, of most Americans. However, a recent decision about printer ink cartridge patents is way more applicable to everyday Americans (that still use paper or printers) than one might initially think. The case between Impression Products and Lexmark has finally been decided, and while Impression won the day, consumers were the real winners in the case....

Mattel, Inc. and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have announced the recall of 155,000 Fisher-Price “Laugh & Learn” kitchen toys in the U.S., because pieces of the toy kitchen faucet and toy clock can detach and cause a choking hazard for children. The “Laugh & Learn Learning Kitchen” is a play kitchen containing a toy refrigerator, range and sink. The item number L5067 is stamped on the toy itself, and can be found on the toy’s packaging above the UPC bar code....

A GM recall linked to an ignition issue has more than doubled to 1.6 million vehicles, mostly in North America. A fault involving the ignition switch in certain makes and models can potentially shut off all electrical power, including to the engine and airbags, while the car is in motion, Reuters reports. GM now says the problem may have caused or contributed to 31 crashes, inlcuding 13 deaths. Which GM vehicles are affected by the expanded recall?...

Crash tests on mid-size cars, conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), revealed that most bumper systems do little to protect these vehicles from expensive damage in most “fender benders” – low-speed collisions that often occur in traffic and in parking lots. In the 6 m.p.h. tests, mid-size cars sustained as much as $9,000 in damage. According to the IIHS, “insurance claims of $4,500 or less for damage in these crashes total more than $6 billion each year....

A strip club in Massachusetts can operate with fewer restrictions thanks to a recent federal appellate court’s ruling. Showtime Entertainment LLC sued the town of Mendon because of the hamlet’s “maze of regulations” which made it near impossible to establish or operate an adult entertainment business there. Mendon’s bylaws focused specifically on adult entertainment businesses like Showtime, requiring them to be within a size and height limit, mandating off-duty policemen to patrol the business, and forbidding alcohol....

A jail guard for New York City’s Rikers Island unit was arrested Monday in connection with the overheating death of a mentally ill prisoner earlier this year. Carol Lackner, 34, was stationed in a special jail unit for mentally ill inmates and has been accused of falsifying records to make it seem as if she was checking on inmates when she wasn’t. Lackner was tasked with checking on ex-Marine Jerome Murdough, 56, every half-hour in February, when he roasted to death inside his 101-degree cell....

The FBI has busted a Staten Island gambling ring and landed some of New York’s finest behind bars. Several of the culprits were current and former members of the FDNY and NYPD. The Staten Island gambling operation included over 15 members and several locations, each amassing more than $2,000 in revenues a day. A NYPD detective sold gambling chips, while the two FDNY firefighters dealt cards, according to the indictment. And, some of the other NYPD and FDNY members involved helped provide security and “muscle” for the gambling operation, reports MSNBC....

Madonna and her ex-husband, Guy Ritchie, settled their bitter, nine-month-long child custody battle over their 16-year-old son Rocco. According to TMZ, the former celebrity couple was due in court on Wednesday to argue over custody. Rather than battle it out in court, the former couple worked out a settlement agreement that will allow Rocco to stay in London with his father. Rocco left Madonna’s custody on his own during her world tour....

Recording artist Brandy has terminated her contract and is suing her label, Chameleon Entertainment, for $1 million dollars. She claims she’s being thwarted – not allowed to record or release music – and bullied into signing a “terrible deal,” according to Courthouse News Service. The singer, known in court as Brandy Norwood, argues that the label breached its contract with her by refusing to let her work. This effort to force her to sign another inferior deal with Epic Records benefits Breyon Prescott, Chameleon’s owner and CEO who also works for Epic, by allowing him to double dip, she says....

Stand Your Ground laws are often touted as a crime deterrent but is that really the case? Since Trayvon Martin’s death in April these laws have come under scrutiny for effectiveness and safety risks. Florida’s Governor Rick Scott announced that its Stand Your Ground law, which sparked this national debate, will be investigated by a newly created state task force. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has also announced its own nationwide investigation....