Welcome to Angela Reaney's Blog

It’s common for young kids to make impulsive, unwise—sometimes illegal—decisions. Fortunately, most of those kids grow up and become law abiding individuals. A few, however, find themselves with lengthy prison sentences. In this blog, I will talk about how the courts look at “emerging brain science” and potential steps if you have a loved one that is serving a long sentence as the result of a stupid decision made in their youth. What is the science? Science shows that the pre

In this blog post, I will address when and how law enforcement can use a canine to sniff for contraband in your car. In Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405 (2005), the Supreme Court found that a canine sniff of a car does not necessarily violate a defendant’s rights because “the use of a well-trained narcotics-detection dog during a lawful traffic stop generally does not implicate legitimate privacy interests.” If pulled over for a traffic violation, a canine sniff can become