Legal News

How AI Can Lead To False Arrests And Wrongful Convictions

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 05/15/2026 - 12:00am

In Baltimore County, Maryland on Oct. 20, 2025, a 17-year-old student named Taki Allen was sitting outside his high school after football practice when an artificial intelligence-enhanced surveillance camera falsely identified the Doritos bag in his pocket as a gun. Within moments police cars arrived, officers drew their weapons and Allen was forced to his knees and handcuffed while they searched him. All they found was a crumpled bag of chips. The AI’s misidentification and the human decisions that followed turned a normal evening into a traumatic confrontation.

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Prosecutors To Retry Alex Murdaugh In Deaths Of Wife And Son After High Court Overturned Convictions

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 05/15/2026 - 12:00am

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The murder convictions and life sentence of Alex Murdaugh were overturned Wednesday by the South Carolina Supreme Court because the court clerk at his trial suggested he was guilty, but the disgraced lawyer won’t be leaving prison any time soon.

Prosecutors say they plan to retry Murdaugh, which likely means there will be another lengthy trial for the case that because of the combination of money, power, Southern accents and treachery has become a true crime sensation with several streaming miniseries, best selling books and dozens of true crime podcasts.

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DHHS Head Pledges To Be ‘Thoughtful And Careful’ After Lawmakers Balk At Plan To Move In-Custody Teens

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 05/08/2026 - 12:00am

Steve Corsi, CEO of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, speaks to reporters at an open cabinet meeting hosted by Gov. Jim Pillen on April 20.
(Lily Smith / Flatwater Free Press)

When he talks with the boys at Nebraska’s only youth prison, Mike Jackson feels like he’s giving advice to his younger self. And in a way, he is.

Jackson, 56, has been serving a life sentence since the late ’90s. Over a decade ago, he caught Corrections leaders’ attention as a natural mentor to his peers at the state prison in Tecumseh.

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Zach Pluhacek Appointed As New Inspector General Of Nebraska Corrections

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 05/08/2026 - 12:00am

LINCOLN — Nebraska’s new Division of Legislative Oversight announced the appointment of Zach Pluhacek as the new Inspector General of the state’s prison system.

Pluhacek previously worked as a reporter for the Lincoln Journal Star and briefly served as a legislative aide before he joined the Office of Inspector General of the Nebraska Correctional System in late 2020.

Regarding his appointment, Pluhacek emphasized the importance of legislative oversight in maintaining effective and accountable government operations.

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How A Legal Challenge Over Gender Dysphoria Became A Fight For Disability Right

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 05/08/2026 - 12:00am

Charlotte Cravins’ son Landry turned 2 in January. He’s a smiley little boy who loves singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and recently got his first pair of glasses.

Landry was born with Down syndrome and has impaired vision. He receives publicly funded therapies that have helped him learn to crawl, to pull himself up to stand, and to use American Sign Language.

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‘A Big Worry’: Closure Of UNL Immigration Law Clinic Raises Concern About Nebraska’s Legal Landscape

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 05/01/2026 - 12:00am

Kevin Ruser, director of the UNL Immigration Clinic, speaks with law students at a North Platte event in March. The clinic will close at the end of the semester.
(Emily Wolf / Flatwater Free Press)

One by one, the students clambered out of a university-issued van and into the brisk March air. They grabbed their backpacks, laptops, file folders and printouts, and filed into their office for the day.

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Millionaire Taxes Gain Steam As States Face Budget Crunches

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 05/01/2026 - 12:00am

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrive to a news conference in the Staten Island borough of New York, Monday, April 27, 2026.
(Seth Wenig / AP Photo)

While the idea of a special tax on millionaires is hotly debated across the country, Maine state Rep. Cheryl Golek characterized her state’s new tax as a modest and reasonable step toward fairness.

That’s because, she said, working- and middle-class households in Maine — including teachers, firefighters and nurses — are paying effective state income tax rates similar to or higher than those of the highest earners.

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In First Keynote Since ‘24 Loss, Kamala Harris Calls For ‘Revival Of The American Dream’

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 05/01/2026 - 12:00am

In a speech billed as her first keynote since her 2024 election loss, former Vice President Kamala Harris accused the Trump administration Saturday of not paying attention to Americans’ cost of living concerns and called for a “revival of the American dream” as she addressed a packed ballroom in Little Rock.

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Agents Armed With Search Warrants Keep Focus On Minnesota In Public Fraud Probe

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 05/01/2026 - 12:00am

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents executed multiple searches in Minnesota on Tuesday, seizing records and other evidence in an ongoing fraud investigation by the Trump administration of publicly funded social programs for children, authorities said.

No details about possible crimes were disclosed, though armed agents were seen at childcare centers in the Minneapolis area. KSTP-TV said one crew even had a battering ram.

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Inside The Closing Sprint To Be The Dem Nominee In NE-02

Published by maggie@omahadai... on Fri, 04/24/2026 - 12:00am

A yard sign that shows the “Blue Dot” in Omaha on April 12, 2026.
(Juan Salinas II / Nebraska Examiner)

OMAHA — Hours before a live forum this month, Democratic candidate Crystal Rhoades did what she has done with her downtime for months. She knocked on voters’ doors in Nebraska’s most populous city.

Rhoades — and her husband, Ben Onkka — mapped out which doors to knock using a program on their phones — choosing those occupied by people likely to vote in the upcoming Democratic primary.