State and federal lawmakers and gun control advocates have long tried to strengthen gun restrictions for those convicted of domestic violence and other offenses. In many cases, those efforts have not been successful. And the mismatch between federal and state laws can create confusion. First, let’s cover federal law. Anyone convicted of a felony, other…

The FBI is facing significant controversy over the tactics it used to capture viewers and distributors of child pornography. In early 2015, the FBI took control of a website known as Playpen which was used to distribute large amounts of child pornography. For two weeks after the seizure of the site, from February 20, 2015,…

A Brooklyn man is suing New York City for false arrest after being jailed on fraud charges that were ultimately dropped. Lamont Hamilton, 31, was arrested in January 2015 on charges of opening a fraudulent account at a Chase bank and subsequently trying to withdraw large sums of money. However, he claims he is a…

Kirk Cottom, 45, of Rochester, New York, was sentenced to six years in prison for accessing child pornography. He previously pleaded guilty to the charges on August 3, 2015. Cottom is the 19th man to be convicted of child pornography-related charges stemming from an FBI investigation into websites residing on the so-called “darknet.” The darknet…