Law

April 26, 2013

More than 17,000 people in Baltimore are addicted to an illegal substance.  That’s about 3.3 percent of the population—higher than the national average.  

A look at the latest in legal news from the courts of Maryland and the nation with Baltimore attorney Jim Astrachan.

April 16, 2013

April 9, 2013

April 1, 2013

No one in Baltimore has more power to enforce the law than Police Commissioner Anthony Batts and State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein.  Commissioner Batts has been in the job since November; State’s Attorney Bernstein just over two years. 

Sheilah talks with both of them.

March 29, 2013

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A federal appeals court has reversed a Baltimore judge’s ruling on Maryland’s handgun permitting law, saying the state can insist an applicant show “good and substantial reason” to carry a gun.

Today marks the golden anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, Gideon v Wainwright, that affirmed the Sixth Amendment right of all criminal defendants, including the indigent, to counsel. A look back at Gideon and the defense of the poor, plus the effort to provide “civil Gideon” for those who cannot afford a lawyer.

The Justice Policy Institute, a Washington-based organization that supports lowering the nation's incarceration rate, says five states have reduced youth confinement by more than 50 percent over the last decade. What practices did they implement to achieve these results, and what's being done in Maryland? Our guests: Spike Bradford, senior research analyst for the Justice Policy Institute; and Scott Beal, executive director of community services for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.