Recently in Legislation & Policymaking Category

In response to last year's SAT cheating scandal, state Senator Kenneth LaValle has proposed a bill that would make cheating on the SAT a felony in New York.

If passed, the SAT cheating bill would formally criminalize the "facilitation of education testing fraud" and "scheming to defraud educational testing." Such a law would punish students who pay an impersonator and the impersonators themselves.

Can New York do this?

State lawmakers are heading back to work this month, and many of them are considering ways to prevent another Penn State.

Mandatory reporting laws are the issue du jour this session, and at least 12 states have already drafted legislation. If passed, those bills would extend coverage to athletic coaches, licensing boards, camp counselors and employers.

In some jurisdictions, everyone will become a mandatory reporter.

A Mississippi judge issued a temporary injunction that forbids the release of 21 pardoned prisoners. This after outgoing Mississippi governor Haley Barbour pardoned some 200 inmates this week, including murderers and rapists.

During his last minutes in office, Gov. Barbour pardoned about 200 state inmates -- a number that far surpasses any governor in recent history. The list includes 14 convicted murderers; 2 dozen statutory rapists; and persons convicted of drug crimes, driving under the influence, burglary and armed robbery.

Several convicted murderers have already been released, CNN reports.

Mississippi's legal showdown moved swiftly into the night. Circuit Judge Tomie Green issued an injunction late Wednesday at the request of Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood.

Child sex abuse has always existed, but in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, it has renewed its status as a major issue of public concern. Parents have begun to fear teachers, coaches and babysitters. Legislators have responded with promises of tougher sentences and police vigilance.

But did you know that 35.6% of sex offenses committed against minors are also committed by minors? Approximately 1/3 of known cases of child sex abuse involve child-on-child sex abuse.

Got overdue traffic tickets? If you live in California you may be able to take advantage of the state's one-time traffic amnesty program.

Stuck in a never-ending budget crisis, the state has launched the program in an attempt to raise revenue. Between January 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012, you can get rid of some overdue traffic tickets for half-off.

The discount does not apply to parking tickets and citations given for driving under the influence or reckless driving. The following conditions also apply:

You may think that you've never broken the law. But with 4,500 federal criminal statutes and 300,000 other regulations, you probably have. And even if you didn't know about the obscure federal law, you may still be on the hook.

That's because you're presumed to know the law -- yes, all 304,500 criminal statutes (and the state ones, too!).

Ready to start studying? If not, check out the obscure federal laws listed below. They may change your mind.

You can't always get what you want -- or who you want to represent you in a criminal trial. Such is the case for Miguel Hernandez Jr., an Illinois gang member accused of killing 5-year-old Eric Galarza during a drive-by shooting.

Hernandez hired criminal defense attorney Liam Dixon. But Dixon represented the boy's father, Eric Galarza Sr., 10 years ago in a different gang-related shooting. He may have also been the intended target.

After learning of this connection, the judge disqualified Dixon, ordering the appointment of a public defender.

When criminal defendants are released from prison, some are "bonded out" while others are "bailed out." If you consume enough criminal news, the two terms start to look interchangeable, as though they both mean the same thing.

While they both have the same effect -- temporary freedom -- they're actually different. The difference between bond and bail is a subtle one, but it ultimately comes down to the source of the money. Who and what is securing the defendant's freedom?

There may come a time when your checking account is low. Bills may be due, but your paycheck won't be issued for another few days. Should you still write a check? What if it bounces? Is it illegal to bounce a check? What if you have overdraft protection?

These are all incredibly important questions for anyone on a fixed budget. But the answers are unfortunately not very positive.

Bouncing a check is also known as writing a bad check. And bad check laws generally make the practice illegal.

Nashville Occupy protestors' arrests will stop, at least for now. A federal judge recently issued a temporary restraining order, forbidding new rules that imposed curfews and permits on Tennessee's Occupy protestors.

Dozens of protestors were arrested outside the state's Capitol last week.

Protestors had gathered on Legislative Plaza. The curfew requirements went into effect last Thursday, though many refused to leave the premises. Police arrested 55 protestors in two days last week.