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Written by Tracy Manzer, Managing Editor Price Benowitz LLP The ACLU of Maryland has challenged the Baltimore Police Department to meaningfully monitor its use of the highly controversial “stop-and-frisk” tactic after finding less than one percent of the individuals stopped by Baltimore police officers last year were actually searched. In a recent press release, the ACLU included the BPD's most recent response to a Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) request for information on the department's use of stop-and-frisk over the last several years. In that response, the police department noted that of the 123,121 stops conducted by its officers in 2012, only 494 of those people were searched. The results of the searches were even less impressive with the department logging the seizure of just 10 controlled substances, nine guns and one knife. In its public call for change, the ACLU expressed skepticism of the numbers released by the BPD…

Rob Ford, the now infamous Toronto mayor, is currently facing political turmoil. But most of his woes stem not from public policy decisions, but from his allegedly criminal behavior on both sides of the border. While currently Mr. Ford only has one serious charge officially on his rap sheet (a 1999 charge for driving under the influence in Miami, Florida, to which Ford pleaded “no contest”), he is currently being haunted by an array of allegations—many of them substantiated by video evidence, and some of which may become official criminal charges in the future. Mr. Ford escaped a marijuana charge as part of his “no contest” plea in the Miami DUI case. Since then, Mr. Ford has been the subject of numerous drunk and disorderly conduct allegations, as well as claims that Mr. Ford was a cocaine user. Most recently, a video has surfaced of Mr. Ford taking hits from…

A Maryland prison gang leader has recently pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy, as he was dressed in a navy blue jumpsuit and conferred quietly with his attorney in the courtroom Tuesday. (more…)