The Justice Department suffered a digital-age defeat Friday at the Supreme Court, which sided with the privacy rights of cellphone users in a dispute over law enforcement tracking their movements. In a 5-4 ruling, the court said law enforcement generally will need a warrant for such searches. Chief Justice John Roberts cast the deciding vote. At issue is whether the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment requires a search warrant for the government

BOISE, Idaho – An Idaho man who experts say was coerced into a false murder confession was freed Wednesday after spending half of his life behind bars. A judge released Christopher Tapp after vacating his rape conviction and resentencing him to time served for the 1996 killing of Angie Dodd. The release came after years of work by Tapp’s attorney, public defender John Thomas, and advocates, including Judges for Justice, the

Boston, MA – Visual Litigation, Ltd. was on hand to assist the crime scene members of the Boston Police Dept. in the exhumation of the suspected Boston Strangler. The case of the Boston Strangler had remained officially opened for more than forty years, mostly due to the fact that there had previously been little or no evidence to link the main suspect, Albert Desalvo, to the crimes. That may have all

Courtesy of FARO Technologies, Inc. The world’s law and order agencies have a long history of embracing new technologies that can help them to detect and solve crimes; aid in the apprehension of suspects and allow the clear presentation of prosecution evidence. In addition to the adoption of dedicated equipment that is designed specifically to assist in the above areas, for example fingerprinting systems, advancements in other fields, such as

Special Report – A Second Look KALAMAZOO, Mich. NEWSCHANNEL 3 – What if you could roll back time and step into a crime scene from ten years ago?It’s already happening in West Michigan.Newschannel 3 got a front row seat to astonishing 3D imagery that’s helping Michigan State Police solve

In the latest skirmish over privacy in the cellphone age, a federal judge in Chicago has rejected a law enforcement request to force potential targets in an ongoing investigation to provide fingerprints to unlock any iPhones or other Apple devices. The order by U.S. Magistrate Judge David Weisman concerned a request for a warrant to search a residence where investigators believed someone was using the internet to traffic images of

Cleve Heidelberg will be in a Peoria County courtroom on the morning of Feb. 8th. He (Heidelberg) has been imprisoned since 1970 for the murder of a Peoria County Sheriff’s Sergeant.

Christmas weekend was grim in Chicago even by this year’s wretched standards for gun violence: Police say at least 41 people were shot, 11 fatally, between Friday evening and Sunday night, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The victims include James Gill, 18, and Roy Gill, 21, who were killed when somebody came out of an alley and opened fire on a front porch during a family party, the Chicago Tribune reports. Five others were wounded

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –  Three people dressed as clowns were taken into custody Sunday after being found with a possible firearm, Albuquerque police said. Police spokesman Simon Drobik said officers were dispatched to a call about a “clown sighting” near a kids’ clothing store. Authorities located three juveniles donning clown masks. Drobik said they were also in possession of what appeared to be a handgun. The investigation was ongoing. It’s not clear

Courtesy of Natalie Shaver IDAHO FALLS, Idaho Attorneys met with a judge Tuesday to give an update on the progress in DNA testing in the Christopher Tapp case.   Tapp’s attorney, John Thomas, said one thing they’ll be testing, which hasn’t been tested before, is swabs taken of Angie Dodge’s hands at the crime scene. “They did swab her hands with little Q-tips to see if there was DNA on it,”