YogaBen10

…so can an employer require an applicant to disclose private social media account information as a condition for employment? Can an employer require the same for existing employees? Some say 'no', and others say, "…well, if you have nothing to hide, then what does it matter?" This argument is like what those who were for the government increasing surveillance, on us citizens, in the beginning years of the Global War on Terror. However, I argue it is the 'potential for data misuse' that is the concern, and there are specific data points, ripe for misuse, as it applies to employment. Listen to learn the dynamics surrounding this issue and what the current state laws are.

You throw a plastic bag, filled with a pound of Molly (only the coarse-crystally, purple and black hued, stinking like black licorice) in your backpack and zip it up. You go to your local library to use the Wi-Fi. You enter the library, find a table, sit down, and place your backpack on the table-top. The cops then conduct a raid, on the library, and eventually ask you if they can search your zipped backpack. Do you have to let them search? What if you say no? What if you say yes and they find the pills? What is you say NO and they find the pills? These nuances matter. Listen to learn all about your Fourth Amendment protections against government unreasonable search and seizure.

…in the United States, the issue of child sexual abuse, by Roman Catholic priests, was first publicized in 1985 when a Louisiana priest pled guilty to 11 counts of molesting minor boys. Most of you will remember the Boston Globe's series of articles, in 2002, reporting how the Greater Boston parishes allowed priests to abuse minor children for years. This reporting led to the 2015 movie, 'Spotlight'. How wide-spread is this problem? Have the offending clergy been prosecuted for their crimes? Listen to learn all about the Catholic Church sex scandal in the United States.

Did you know that California uses prison labor to fight the wild fires that frequent the states ecosystem? California has a program called the Conservation Fire Camps Program where 3,800 inmates live in a camp and perform duties such as creating firebreaks, fighting fires, and clearing fallen trees and debris. Each inmate is only paid two-dollars a day plus one-dollar for every hour worked. Is this exploitation of a prison population, or is the state efficiently using its resources? Listen to learn about this controversial topic.

…many moons ago, Professor Ben had his first trial as the lead attorney. He was young, eager, and an intern in law school. What was the trial? The defendant was charged with Driving While License Suspended or Revoked, which was a misdemeanor, for being almost 14,000-dollars in child support arrearage. The trial was the day after Mother's Day, and the jury consisted of five mothers and one grandmother. To boot, the defendant's four mothers, with all 5 children in tow, showed up to watch the trial. What happened? Was Professor Ben in a cruel 'hidden-camera', Maury-style show? No, but listen to learn if Professor Ben won the trial…