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  • While it's great that we're celebrating some major victories for civil rights this Supreme Court term, it's important to remember that not everything they do is great. I'm just as excited about the end of DOMA as the next person, but even aside from the horrible Voting Rights Act decision, here's a serious reality check and a reminder that we can never stop fighting for our rights...
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  • For a country that brands itself as the "land of the free" we certainly seem to have a lot of prisoners. Let's just check and see... Yep... We have more prisoners than any other country in the entire world. If our prison system were a boat, it'd be the kind that is taking on water and has no way to get the water out. And that kind of boat sinks!
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  • A pretextual traffic stop is when the police pull you over for some bogus reason because they really just want to harass you. In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for them to get away with it. Smoove is back -- with improved audio -- in an important podcast about police dishonesty and the Constitution. Don't just sit back and let the U.S. become a police state. Stand up for your rights!
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  • Every February, some white people ask "Why is there no White History Month?" In response, I'm examining the concepts of equality, privilege, and economic class in terms that even the most ignorant should be able to understand. You're welcome, fellow white people.
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  • When can a cop arrest you? When can he stop you and ask nosy questions? Can you flip him off? Can you sue Smoove D if the cop beats you up for flipping him off? Smoove addresses the 3 recognized levels of police interference with your important young life.
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  • In Redding v. Safford Unified School District, a federal case out of Arizona, a 13-year-old girl was interrogated and strip searched on flimsy evidence as part of the War on Advil in our middle schools! Huh?... Yeah. There are rules against that kind of thing. Smoove explains.
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  • Ever wonder why it is that Fox News can lie over and over again, yet continue to call itself "NEWS"? It's because Fox News is a corporation, and ever since that 1886 Supreme Court case of Southern Pacific Railroad v. Santa Clara County when a rogue court reporter named JC Bancroft Davis slipped corporate personhood into the legal record, the courts have ruled time and time again that corporations -- since they have all the rights that actual people have -- could also lie just like people can.
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  • In this introductory episode, Smoove explains about the Constitution and reads the actual Fourth Amendment. He defines the terms "search," "seizure," "warrant," and "probable cause," and then talks about exceptions to the warrant requirement. He goes through a couple of specific examples and shows what you can do if your 4th Amendment rights are violated.
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  • Are you still trying to figure out what the deal is with all these "Voter ID" laws popping up all over the place? Don't stress. Let our good friend Sarah explain what it's really all about!
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  • It's time to vote! Smoove considers each candidate's position on the Supreme Court, Warrantless Wiretapping, and the War on Drugs. Who is the better choice to protect your 4th Amendment rights? Here's a hint... It's THAT one!
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  • Don't Tread on Me: A public service announcement from Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) on the harmful impact of stop-and-frisk on communities and how New Yorkers are taking the fight for their rights to the courts.
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  • Reason.TV's Nick Gillespie talked with Reason columnist Radley Balko, proprietor of The Agitator and a long-time student of the increasing militarization of police. We asked Balko to talk about what he thinks are the three most shocking videos of police abuse that have come to light so far in 2011. Due to the violence depicted and discussed in this video, viewer discretion is advised.
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  • The Equal Access Rule applies where the government is trying to prove possession and someone else had equal access to the space involved, under circumstances where the inferences do not disprove an alternative reasonable hypothes... -- oh, just listen to the podcast, it's too complicated!!!
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  • Wow, a super simple set of steps to stop cyberbullying from happening to your kid...
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  • The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Herring v. United States further weakened the exclusionary rule by expanding the so-called "good faith" exception. What is the exclusionary rule? Why do we have it? What's the "good faith" exception? These questions and more are addressed in this week's legal rant.
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  • In Arizona v. Gant, a United States Supreme Court case issued April 21, 2009, the Court strictly limits police vehicle searches, reversing a practice abused for 28 years nationwide. From now on, if a car is stopped and the driver or a passenger is arrested, the police do not get a free no-holds-barred search of the car, the trunk, the glove compartment and any luggage, purses or backpacks in the car. This case is a great victory for freedom and a major setback for cheating police officers. Yahooooooo!
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  • Drug dog sniffs are unreliable and probably unconstitutional, but dogs are so cuddly and happy all the time! Who could ever cross-examine such a good boy?!! Smoove discusses three different ways to address a drug dog case in court. Nothing personal, puppy, but I can't let you play with the Constitution!
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  • If the police are somewhere they are allowed to be (like your crib), and they see something obviously illegal (like a baggie full of blow), they can grab it, and lock you up. Smoove goes over the ins and outs of this frequently used search method; except it's not a search, but it is a seizure. Confused yet?
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  • Respectable phone sex becomes a kinky three-way with the NSA! What's up with government phone operators listening in on American citizens without a warrant? Smoove sorts it all out, in only 5 minutes!
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  • Everyone can see the epidemic! Unregulated, unrestrained rogue police officers like these run rampant, and are unquestionably the most dangerous people in our society. Now is the time for decisions to be made. Now is the time for change!
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  • Media Evolution: The Conference is an international conference organized annually in Malmö, Sweden. On August 21, 2013 Anita Sarkeesian, Kate Miltner and Laurie Penny spoke at a session entitled "Online Harassment: What Drives It and How It Lowers Visions". The harassment of people online is emerging as one of the biggest issues on the internet. It's a topic that thankfully has gained much attention in the media recently. In this session we want to examine what the drivers of hate online are and why it's so important to work against it.
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  • Smoove's discussion of legal issues surrounding protests at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota addresses the issue of search warrants, the probable cause requirement in the context of arrests, and a disturbing trick that may have allowed the Ramsey County Sheriff's department to get away with ten million dollars worth of brutality with no consequences.
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  • Racial profiling is a serious problem, made worse by a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing police to get away with it. Smoove tells the tale of his mandatory police ride-along with a cowboy cop who somehow managed to pull over only blacks and hispanics in a mostly-white county. Get up, stand up... Stand up for your rights!
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  • James Duane, a law school professor and former criminal defense attorney, tells us why we should never agree to be interviewed by the police... EVER!
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  • INCOMINGGGG! Smoove D looks at the law surrounding helicopter surveillance of pot farming, including a 2008 Vermont case that requires police to get a warrant before flying over private property.
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  • Smoove D is back, after writing his book. This week's podcast is about the cops' latest trick to get around Arizona v. Gant -- instead of doing a search "incident to arrest", they tow your car off and search it anyway, claiming to be protecting your property from theft. Take Smoove's advice and fight back!
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  • Up against the wall, motherf-----! When can the police frisk you? What reason do they need? Is it OK for them to empty your pockets or ask you what's in them? Smoove goes through the constitutional limitations on so called "stop-and-frisk" searches and what you can do to protect your rights!
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