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You have to watch this video twice. The first time, you will be mesmerized by this law professor’s raw talent for averaging 22.6 words per second with an unmatched ability to simultaneously entertain, wave his hand around, chew gum, rub his belly, and pat the top of head without breathing. Okay, I exaggerated. But only […]
April 10, 2012 by CrimeCents
Jury research is just not that impressive. Studies done by psychologists and others in the social sciences often rely on convenience samples of college students, sample sizes are often quite small, but most importantly? Juries just aren’t nearly as relevant as you might think. When the majority (read: 90-95%) of criminal cases are plea-bargained, it’s […]
What yesterday’s US Supreme Court opinion allowing suspicion-less strip searches for any offense says to me: Don’t piss on the street after a night of debauchery because you may get arrested. If you get arrested, you may be taken to the local jail where a bored/sadistic guard will ask you to strip down to your birthday […]
March 30, 2012 by CrimeCents
While the recently released report “Satisfaction and willingness to engage with the criminal justice system” from the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice offers several interesting tidbits, the most striking finding is, perhaps, that victims and witnesses report relatively positive experiences with the UK criminal justice system. For example, regarding satisfaction with case outcomes, contact, receiving […]
March 29, 2012 by CrimeCents
Ryan Murphy died because his mother left him in a hot car where, at two years old, he could not get out and eventually died from the heat. What if, instead, she had been holding him and tripped at the top of a flight of stairs? What is the difference between accident and murder? Where […]
March 26, 2012 by CrimeCents
This guy, Mitch Faber, spent two days in jail after being arrested on his way to work. And now he’s on electronic monitoring, complete with middle of the night phone calls and drug and alcohol testing. All because – get this – he didn’t finish a siding job to add a stucco finish to his […]
March 23, 2012 by CrimeCents
I love a good gadget as much as the next geek, but using GPS on offenders is not quite the simple-yet-brilliant idea that it seems to be at first glance. The concept has gained traction as states struggle with responding to crime with limited funding in conditions of constant resource scarcity. Victims, as well, embrace […]
March 16, 2012 by CrimeCents
Want a prison sentence for stealing something free? It helps if you can describe yourself as follows: Black, poor, homeless, single mom, drug-involved. Oh, and let’s add in another ingredient – you want your child to have a better education. Tanya McDowell’s short journey has taken a strange path from struggling mother, to school services […]
March 14, 2012 by PennEJustIs
As the anxious young woman waited to board the airplane that would take her to testify as a witness in an out-of-state court across the country, an unknown caller rang her cellphone. “Listen,” the caller threatened, “are you going to cooperate and do what we told you? You’d better! If not, we’ll get your little […]
April 12, 2012 by CrimeCents
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