Recommended reading from The American Lawyer: 'It Could Have Been Me': Black Lawyers Reflect on George Floyd's Death and What Comes Next"
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What's the meaning of Donald Trump's decision to commute the sentence of Roger Stone? And what went on behind the scenes?
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With incidents of serious injuries and deaths at the hands of police, cities face the costs of settlements and jury verdicts. Some of these cases mean millions of dollars paid. How do cities pay for this? What does it mean to city budgets? And how is it that someone is making money off of this?
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The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis set off outrage, weeks of demonstrations across the country and around the world, and has started discussion and legislative action at every level of government. On this episode, we’ll ask an African American law enforcement leader what policing has been like – and where it goes now.
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On June 10, Dave gave an hour-long presentation on law and racial justice for the Center on Race and Social Problems at the University of Pittsburgh. We invite you to check out the video on YouTube:
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Minneapolis takes a bold step, announcing it will dismantle the police department that sparked nationwide protests with the murder of George Floyd -- and just like that, "defund the police" graduates from activist rallying cry to viable policy option.
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Derek Chauvin faces second- and third-degree murder and assault charges, and the three other Minneapolis police officers who watched him kill George Floyd are charged with aiding and abetting the crime. Why not first-degree? What do the charges mean? Dave breaks down the prosecution's reasoning.
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Viral video of an encounter in NYC's Central Park shows a white woman calling 911 to report another park user is threatening her life, apparently trying to provoke a violent police response against the "African American man" who had simply asked her to leash her dog.
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Another horrific episode of police violence, captured on video in Minneapolis, graphically recalls the 2014 killing of Eric Garner by NYPD officers who were never criminally charged in his death. This time the officers may face charges, but prosecuting police is still notoriously difficult. Is there hope for justice?
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The killing of an unarmed black man, Ahmaud Arbery, by two white men in Georgia went largely unnoticed until video of the February shooting went viral earlier this month. Now the father and son face murder charges -- but will Georgia's "Stand Your Ground" law block their conviction?
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Recommended reading on how COVID-19 is impacting incarcerated populations and what must be done to avoid catastrophe: "Let the People Go" by Joseph Margulies in the Boston Review.
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COVID-19 has exposed systemic injustice and institutional failures at every level of society, and nowhere more than in the criminal justice system. Incarcerated people are already being hit hard by the pandemic, but the situation is rapidly deteriorating -- and the effects will be felt beyond the walls of prisons and jails.
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Louisiana's public defender system is funded by fines from traffic violations. But with far fewer cars on the road due to COVID-19, an already badly underfunded system is at the breaking point.
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The U.S. Supreme Court rules that jury decisions in state criminal cases must be unanimous, overturning a precedent that goes back to Jim Crow.
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Workplaces are adjusting to life under lockdown by holding meetings via videoconference — and the U.S. Supreme Court is no exception.
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President Trump claims “total authority” to override governors and end their stay-at-home orders, yet again raising the question: can he do that? No, as Dave explains on 90.5 WESA’s The Confluence, he cannot.
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A trademark lawsuit out of Chicago raises the question: in the midst of a global pandemic, what counts as a legal “emergency”?
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The Supreme Court upholds Kansas's law barring the insanity defense in criminal proceedings. Dave breaks down the decision in Kahler v Kansas.
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Can you believe it? Our first episode was published on this date in 2016! 117 interviews and countless bonus episodes later, producer Josh Raulerson joins Dave to mark the occasion with a look back at four years of Criminal Injustice.
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