911 texting has begun, but can the text messages be used as evidence?

As of last Thursday 5/15/14, major U.S. cell phone carriers support text messaging to 911 dispatch. Most call centers across the country are not equipped the handle the messages but, interestingly, Maine’s have been ready since last summer. The FCC site links to this document showing where you can text 911.

Tolan v. Cotton, SCOTUS reverses summary judgment for cop who shot pro baseball player

Monday was an interesting day at the U.S. Supreme Court. The court approved of a local government opening official business with an explicitly religious ceremony, the judges refused to hear a highly anticipated challenge to a New Jersey law that severely limits gun rights, but for my money the most interesting story comes from Tolan v. Cotton. The case tells a bizarre tale of how police came to shoot and nearly kill a professional baseball player, in front of his parents, while mistakenly believing that he had stolen his own car.[Read More at the Portland Press Herald]....