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Supreme Court: Cops can pull you over even if you haven’t broken a law

Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org

In a ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, the nation’s top court found that a police officer who mistakenly interprets a law and pulls someone over hasn’t violated their Fourth Amendment rights.

The case pertained to a traffic stop initiated on Nicholas Heien in North Carolina, on account of a broken tail light. The stop and search of the vehicle, conducted by the officer after the initial citation, yielded a good amount of cocaine. Heien was charged with drug trafficking.

FL: As nation awaits court ruling on health care, Sunshine State in spotlight

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

TAMPA— As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares its decision on the national health-care law, it is no mistake that President Barack Obama and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney are sweeping across the Sunshine State in a campaigning frenzy.

Romney is speaking Thursday in Orlando at the annual conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, the same group Obama will address Friday.

FL Supreme Court grants new district boundaires

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog

TAMPA — After striking down a previous plan drawn up by state Senate lawmakers in February, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously approved a new map Friday morning, defining the political districts for legislators ahead of state elections this fall.

The issue stems from the first lawsuit filed by groups such as the League of Women Voters of Florida, the National Council of La Raza, and Common Cause Florida, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Florida Democratic Party, which objected to the manner in which the first Republican plan divided districts previously populated with minority communities.