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U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Gun Safety

by Jodi Miller | March 28, 2023 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Sylvia Mendoza When an active shooter entered the Michigan State University campus on February 13, 2023, killing three students and wounding five others, for some it would be the second mass shooting they survived. Several MSU students had also survived a shooting...

Throwing a Red Flag on Gun Safety

by Jodi Miller | March 28, 2023 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Michael Barbella Federal gun safety legislation signed into law by President Joseph Biden in June 2022 includes $250 million for the establishment of state crisis intervention court proceedings, including extreme risk protection orders (ERPO). Depending on what...

The Challenges of Holding Gun Manufacturers Accountable

by Jodi Miller | March 27, 2023 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Daryl E Lucas In almost every other industry, if you’ve sustained an injury, you have some course of redress through the courts. Not so with the gun industry, which includes gun makers, sellers and distributors. They are shielded by the Protection of Lawful...

Is Charging Parents for School Shootings a Solution?

by Jodi Miller | March 27, 2023 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller A project undertaken by The Washington Post that analyzed school shootings from 1999, the year of the Columbine High School shooting, revealed that the average age for school shooters is 16. According to a 2019 assessment published by the U.S....

Battles Intensify Over Social Media Bans and Free Speech

by Jodi Miller | January 5, 2023 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Michael Barbella The framers of the U.S. Constitution could never have imagined social media; however, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does apply to online speech as well as the spoken or written word. Social media companies, however, have First...

Is Corporal Punishment Making a Comeback?

by Jodi Miller | January 4, 2023 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Daryl E. Lucas Whether you’re for or against the use of corporal punishment in schools, the one thing everyone probably agrees on is that the practice is not easily forgotten if it’s been used on you. In an opinion piece for NBC News’ blog, S.C. Beckner, an...

Garden State Serious About Protecting the Environment

by Jodi Miller | January 4, 2023 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Maria Wood The National Climate Assessment, a congressionally mandated report, which was released in November 2022, revealed that over the past 50 years America has warmed 68% faster than the planet as a whole. In addition, the report showed that the U.S. has...

U.S. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Praying Football Coach

by Jodi Miller | September 8, 2022 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Suzi Morales In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of a football coach employed at a public school to pray on the field after games. The Court’s decision illustrates the complexity of interpreting the five clauses in the U.S. Constitution’s First...

Juvenile Strikes Count in Three Strikes Law

by Jodi Miller | September 7, 2022 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Maria Wood “Three strikes and you’re out” doesn’t just refer to baseball, it also applies to those who commit serious crimes in the Garden State. New Jersey is one of 28 states that have three strikes laws on the books. Passed in 1995, New Jersey’s Three Strikes...

Right to Remain Silent? Not About Passcodes

by Jodi Miller | September 7, 2022 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Michael Barbella Increasingly, the nation’s courts need to look to the U.S. Constitution to interpret laws dealing with 21st century technology as digital devices become entrenched in everyday life, as well as in criminal activity. Computers, cellphones, and other...

U.S. Supreme Court from Origins to Reforms

by Jodi Miller | April 11, 2023 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller A national survey, conducted by Marquette Law School and published in November 2022, revealed that 56% of the public disapprove of the job that the U.S. Supreme Court is doing. A Gallup poll in September 2022 put the number at 58% disapproval. Ken I....

Electing a Speaker of the House—It Can Be Complicated

by Jodi Miller | February 23, 2023 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller If you happened to see the 2023 Speaker of the House election process—whether through snippets on the evening news, or maybe you watched the coverage on CSPAN—take heart, because this wasn’t the longest battle to see who would lead the U.S. House of...

Updating an Old Act

by Jodi Miller | November 9, 2022 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller Election rules and procedures in the United States can be complicated. That is especially true in presidential election years because we don’t have one presidential election, we essentially have 50 separate ones. In the U.S. Constitution, Article II,...

Are States “Labs of Democracy?” Yes and No

by Jodi Miller | November 2, 2021 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller In civics education, generally the U.S. Constitution gets all the attention, but every state has its own constitution too and some of them pre-date the federal constitution. An often-quoted dissenting opinion, written in 1932 by U.S. Supreme Court...

Freedom of Speech Vital to Democracy

by Jodi Miller | November 12, 2020 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo wrote in a majority opinion that freedom of speech “is the matrix, the indispensable condition of nearly every other form of freedom.” Other countries don’t enjoy the same right to free speech that Americans do....

Freedom of the Press Guards Against Tyranny

by Jodi Miller | November 11, 2020 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller Thomas Jefferson once said, “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” He also said, “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into...

Allowing the Freedom to Practice Religion or Not

by Jodi Miller | November 11, 2020 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller There are more than 300 religious denominations in the United States. From those who believe in one God, to those who believe in multiple Gods, to those who don’t believe in God at all, the First Amendment’s freedom of religion clause protects them...

First Amendment Freedoms Allow For Dissent

by Jodi Miller | November 10, 2020 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller From the Boston Tea Party in 1773 to the Black Lives Matter Movement today, Americans have met oppression with protest. The Founding Fathers believed strongly in a citizen’s right to express dissent, preserving the right in the First Amendment to the...

The Evolution of the Second Amendment

by Jodi Miller | November 10, 2020 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” These 27 words that comprise the Second Amendment have been endlessly debated by legal scholars,...

No Quarter Given

by Jodi Miller | November 9, 2020 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller Can you imagine being forced to shelter someone you don’t know in your home indefinitely? We’re not talking about a distant cousin that annoys you by borrowing your stuff without asking. We’re talking about a British soldier that is essentially...

What are the procedures involved in applying for disability and what paperwork will I need?

by Jodi Miller | May 5, 2023 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

If you are a New Jersey resident, you would most likely be eligible for NJ Temporary Disability Benefits (NJTDB) for the first six months you are out of work. There is a 3-part form available on the NJ Department of Labor website—you fill out one part, your doctor...

Can my employer require me to take time off during my pregnancy?

by Jodi Miller | May 5, 2023 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

An employer cannot require a pregnant employee to take leave when she is able to perform the functions of her job, and, in some cases, even when she cannot. The New Jersey Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which amended the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination...

Does worker’s compensation cover long-term problems and illnesses? Do I have the right to see my own doctor if I am initially treated by an insurance company doctor?

by Jodi Miller | May 5, 2023 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

In addition to providing treatment and compensation for work related injuries, New Jersey Workers Compensation laws also provide coverage for occupational disease such as those caused by repetitive motions, loud noises, or exposures to toxins and chemicals. Although...

What expectation of privacy do students have when using a computer wholly owned and overseen by a school district?

by Nicole Crippen | February 7, 2022 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

Use of district-owned computers typically comes with a disclaimer and requires the signing of a technology agreement between the parents and district before each school year begins. These technology agreements usually consist of a compact that the student promises not...

I have a Will; do I need Estate Planning?

by Nicole Crippen | January 26, 2022 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

Wills are just one part of Estate Plans. Wills only control assets that are in one’s sole name and become effective after death. Wills do not control joint accounts or beneficiary designations; upon death, the joint owner/beneficiary receives that asset. Estate Plans...

Why do parents of minors need Wills? Minors cannot own assets.

by Nicole Crippen | January 26, 2022 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

If a minor inherits their parents’ estate, the Courts decide who controls the child’s inheritance until age 18. A father might not want the mother (having first right) to manage his money and she will pay court fees or bond premiums to access this money. Also, the...

What happens if I am involved in an accident while driving under the influence and someone else is injured?

by Nicole Crippen | January 5, 2022 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

Driving While Intoxicated and causing injuries to another is a criminal offense, Assault by Auto under N.J.S. 2C:12-1c. Criminal offenses are heard in the County Superior Court, not the local Municipal Court. In addition to the penalties for the underlying DWI...

What recourse do I have if I am discriminated against in the workplace?

by Nicole Crippen | November 2, 2021 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

The EEOC is the federal law enforcement agency that: • Enforces laws against workplace discrimination; o Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII), o Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), o Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and o Genetic Information...

What laws protect employees against discrimination?

by Nicole Crippen | November 2, 2021 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

The State of New Jersey, Division on Civil Rights (DCR) is responsible for enforcing the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, which makes it illegal to discriminate in employment, contracting, housing, and places of public accommodation, as well as violations of the...

If I am in a domestically abusive relationship and I leave, how can I protect myself?

by Nicole Crippen | November 2, 2021 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

“New Jersey enacted the Prevention Against Domestic Violence Act (“PADV”) to afford an individual in an abusive relationship the maximum protection from abuse by his/her spouse or cohabitants that the law can provide. The PADV enables a victim of domestic violence to...

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