Category: General News

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told law students at the University of Hawaii on Monday that the nation’s highest court was wrong to uphold the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the court issued a similar ruling during a future conflict. Scalia was responding to a question about the court’s 1944 decision in Korematsu v. United States, which upheld the convictions of Gordon Hirabayashi and Fred Korematsu for violating an order to report to an internment camp. “Well of course Korematsu was…

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This week, the National Registry of Exonerations, housed at the University of Michigan Law School, released new data showing that 2013 was the high-water mark year for exonerations to date , with 87 prisoners freed. This led some legal media, like our colleagues over at Above the Law, to write headlines like “Instance of Known Prosecutor FAILS are on the Rise.” In their words, “More exonerations suggest that more resources are being spent going back over closed cases and freeing people based on new or better evidence. But the report is also chilling proof that…

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I’ve previously written about the cognitive bias problem in state crime labs. This is the bias that can creep into the work of crime lab analysts when they report to, say, a state police agency, or the state attorney general. If they’re considered part of the state’s “team” — if performance reviews and job assessments are done by police or prosecutors — even the most honest and conscientious of analysts are at risk of cognitive bias. Hence, the countless and continuing crime lab scandals we’ve seen over the last couple…

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YAKIMA, Wash. — The names of Yakima County’s low-level sex offenders will remain out of public view while a judge reviews arguments on whether they should be released. Yakima County Superior Court Judge Blaine Gibson put off making a decision Thursday in order to read an amended legal brief arguing against releasing the names that was handed to him just before court convened. Also, he said he wanted to review a Benton County ruling blocking Mesa resident Donna Zink’s request for information on low-level sex offenders in that county. Full Article…

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There is no empirical evidence supporting the continuation of the AWA. Yearly recidivism reports were not part of the act. The dangling carrot of losing 10% Byrne Fund Grant money is no comparison to taxpayer cost of monitoring registrants for life. Once adjudicated, penalty paid and living a law-abiding life registrants and their families should be allowed to live without punitive punishments. According to a study by Levenson & Tewksbury, children of registrants are harassed, ridiculed, teased, physically attacked and fearful. Registrants are murdered. Last year in SC the wife…

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There are a few things I have come to expect during the Super Bowl: some maybe-OK commercials, an overwrought halftime show, superior programming on Animal Planet, and sex trafficking hysteria. On the last count, Sunday’s game has already delivered my expectations. The media is spinning the usual yarn about how massive sporting events create dollar signs in the eyes of prostitutes, pimps and sex traffickers, all of whom allegedly flock to the host city in slavering hordes. Local officials are assuring the media that they have trained everyone from police officers to cab drivers…

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***Comment submitted by ‘Tim’ on this site. Deserves its own post. We hope that is ok.*** 1) Pick a group of people and then demonize them. The more fear inducing the words, the better. And don’t worry about facts. People don’t need facts. Facts just muddy the waters. “Sex offenders are very sneaky and despicable,”–Donna Simon, NJ assemblywoman “There is no such thing as a “typical” sex offender; however, all tend to be manipulative, deceptive, and secretive. Sex offenders come from all backgrounds, ages, income levels, and professions.”–Stanislaus County Sheriff’s…

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There are 2.3 million people living behind bars in the United States● The US prison system costs the federal government $55 billion every yearPRISON VS. JAIL● Jails are locally-operated facilities that hold inmates for a short period of time● Prisons are long-term facilities run by the state or federal governmentPRISON: A GROWING INDUSTRYBetween 1990 and 2010, the number of privately operated prisons in the US increased 1600%● Private prisons bring in roughly $3 billion in revenue every year○ Over half of this comes from holding facilities for undocumented immigrants■ Private…

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The last month of Jesse Ryan Loskarn’s life was surrounded by a media frenzy, with what appeared to be the goal of destroying his reputation beyond repair. Newspapers and other media outlets depicted him mostly in a negative light and stole away any good he had done during his short but full life. During this tragic time he had no voice, but in his death he can be heard. Our society is quick to judge especially when the topic surrounding his death is so difficult. This letter written by Jesse…

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