The Senate bill, which is identical to the House version introduced today, is supported by a broad coalition [2] of advocates from across the political spectrum, including: American Civil Liberties Union, American Conservative Union, Americans for Prosperity, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Demand Progress, Due Process Institute, FreedomWorks, Government Accountability Project, Government Information Watch, Innocence Project, Justice Action Network, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Taxpayers Union, Open the Government, Protect Democracy, Project on Government Oversight (POGO), Public Citizen, R Street Institute, Right on Crime, and The Sentencing Project.
Another View: Criminal trials should come first
Civil trials are important, but when jail time is at stake, the priority is clear.
By Timothy E. ZerilloSpecial to the Telegram
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Attorney Benjamin Gideon recently wrote (Maine Voices, April 30) that civil jury trials must be given equal footing with criminal trials because both are guaranteed by the Maine Constitution. It is true that civil jury trials are crucial to ensure justice. Criminal trials must receive priority, however.
Consider the burden of proof in each type of case. A criminal case requires the heaviest burden in our system: proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Conversely, a civil plaintiff can prove their case with a mere preponderance of the evidence.
Maine may restrict police use of no-knock warrants amid national backlash
Legislators on Monday will wade through three competing bills that would curtail or eliminate the use of no-knock search warrants in the state.
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A legislative committee could vote Monday on three proposals to end or sharply curtail the use of no-knock search warrants by Maine police.
The proposals are part of a nationwide response to the March 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was asleep in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment when drug officers executed a no-knock search warrant connected to her ex-boyfriend, but the officers ended up shooting and killing her instead.
Maine may restrict police use of no-knock warrants amid national backlash centralmaine.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from centralmaine.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Barre-Montpelier Times Argus
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders, has proposed banning police from buying access to user data from data brokers, including ones that “illegitimately obtained” their records.
“The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act” is sponsored by 20 members of the U.S. Senate.
The proposed act:
â« Requires the government to get a court order to compel data brokers to disclose data the same kind of court order needed to compel data from tech and phone companies.
â« Stops law enforcement and intelligence agencies buying data on people in the United States and about Americans abroad, if the data was obtained from a user’s account or device, or via deception, hacking, violations of a contract, privacy policy or terms of service.