Being the sort of person who follows major civil suits coming out of prisons, my morning reading is often a bit grim and spattered with stories that might seem utterly bizarre to people who aren’t familiar with the abuses of the prison system. Prisoners are suing across the United States for the right to access […]
Tag Archives: justice system
Funneling Children With Disabilities Into the Justice System Through Zero Tolerance Policies
The hot trend in US schools is zero tolerance policies, brought on by a series of incidents in the 1990s which reminded people that schools weren’t necessarily safe places to be. Columbine was probably the critical turning point, the moment at which people understood that violence could strike anywhere, at any time, and could involve […]
Public Defenders: Underpaid, Overworked, and Critical for the Justice System
Life as a public defender is rough. After finishing law school and being saddled with the accompanying debt, people work in an often maligned profession for minimal pay and extremely long hours. They’re not getting the perks and benefits available to private criminal defense attorneys, who can charge massive fees for their services, work out […]
Laying Some History On You: People v. Hall
In 1853, a court in San Francisco convicted a man of murder. Not a particularly remarkable case, except for two things. The victim, Ling Sing, was a Chinese miner, and the perpetrator was George Hall, a white man. To bring a white man to trial for the murder of a Chinese man was unusual, and […]
Eyewitnesses Are Not Reliable. So Why Are We Still Relying On Them?
Few things impress a jury more than an eyewitness. Someone who saw the crime take place, and gets up on the stand to testify about it. Eyewitness testimony is compelling in its simplicity; anyone can witness a crime and tell the jury what happened. Scientific evidence is often snarled and confusing, not cleanly laid out […]
Impatient Hens
Michael Roberts at Westword: Colorado Juvenile Equal Protection Act: Should terms be lowered for 48 lifers busted as juvies? According to Levy, the Colorado Juvenile Equal Protection Act, officially known as HB 1287 (read it below), would allow juveniles sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole to be eligible for this process […]
Wide Wicker
Zach St. George at The Journal: Farmers Honked Off at Once-Cooked Goose Distinguished from their bigger Canada cousins by their squatter features and the white ring at the base of their neck, the Aleutian Cackling Goose was among the first species put on the Endangered Species List in the 1960s. Dan McGraw At Fort Worth […]
Gingery Flutes
Cienna Madrid at The Stranger: He’s Wrong His reasoning: Prosecutors would have to prove that the officer killed with malice—with evil intent. “Washington law gives police officers more protection against criminal prosecution for homicide than it gives ordinary citizens,” Satterberg said. Brantley Hargrove at Nashville Scene: For a teen’s impulsive, unthinkable act, Cyntoia Brown got […]
Dubious Candles
Jordan Smith at The Austin Chronicle: A Parliament of Experts In fact, nearly every witness who testified against Jimenez at her trial testified, in varying degrees, as an “expert” – not only did the doctors have an opinion for the jury about key elements of the case, but so did police and even the 911 […]
Squamous Saxophones
Betsy Yagla at the Hartford Advocate: How To Prevent Guns From Getting Into the Wrong Hands It’s illegal for felons to own guns. So where are the weapons coming from? David Hudnall at The Pitch: Is the Camp Zoe-Schwagstock seizure legal? That sure doesn’t sound legal or constitutional to me, but I am not a […]
