January - 2022

Jan 21
2 min

Body-worn cameras: Substantive, distractive or both?

Police Body-Worn Cameras (PBCs) are implemented with various policy goals, but most prominently, they are used to reduce police misconduct and police brutality. Currently, seven states have mandated statewide use of PBCs by law enforcement: Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Carolina. Considering the increasing number of police departments that have implemented PBCs, it is important to ask whether PBCs have resulted in substantive reme

Samantha Hall

Jan 18
3 min

Redesigning youth justice

On Sept. 30, 2021, President Biden proclaimed October 2021 as National Youth Justice Action Month. In this proclamation, he specified that this month should be dedicated to “seeking justice for our youth and modernizing our juvenile justice system” by “shift[ing] our approach from a default stance of incarceration to one of prevention.” President Biden emphasized how youth incarceration environments are rife with abuse and sexual assault, and how the environments actually mak

All you have to do is take a class: Is this really the solution to domestic violence?

Lucy Delves

Jan 17
2 min

All you have to do is take a class: Is this really the solution to domestic violence?

When someone perpetrates domestic violence, the solution agreed upon by both parties and the court is often to send the abuser to a batterer intervention or anger management class. This is particularly true for first-time offenders and less severe cases. In jurisdictions where prosecutors are not given discretion to dismiss domestic violence cases (no-drop prosecution), there must be a remedy that serves everyone involved, and the solution often lies in court-mandated abuser

Misfire: Virginia’s new firearm prohibition is off-target

W. Connor Smith

Jan 16
3 min

Misfire: Virginia’s new firearm prohibition is off-target

In June, Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) signed Virginia’s newest firearms prohibition into law. The statute prohibits persons convicted of domestic battery and assault against family members from purchasing, possessing or transporting firearms for three years from the date of their conviction. Proponents of the legislation believe this is a life saving measure by empowering law enforcement to disarm known offenders. When interviewed, Lori Haas of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence

D.C. Council embarks on rewrite of criminal code

Emily Gorin

Jan 15
3 min

D.C. Council embarks on rewrite of criminal code

The District of Columbia’s 120-year-old criminal code is finally being rewritten. D.C.’s current criminal code dates back to 1901, the original version that Congress codified. The proposed bill, B24-0416, is called the “Revised Criminal Code Act of 2021.” The D.C. Council’s (“Council”) rewritten version of the code will define crimes better, clarify penalties and terms within the code, and repeal outdated offenses. The current D.C. criminal code “is a patchwork of laws” writt

Solitary confinement reform is only for men, apparently

Jackie Solomon

Jan 14
4 min

Solitary confinement reform is only for men, apparently

In March 2017, three male prisoners sued the Louisiana Department of Public Safety Corrections (LDOC) and the wardens at the Louisiana State Penitentiary for imposing conditions in solitary confinement that violated their Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment and their Fourteenth Amendment right to Due Process. At that time, male death row inmates in Louisiana were automatically placed in solitary confinement without any chance to rebut such a place

Call for reform: Improving access to phones in jail and prison populations

Kaitlyn Wallace

Jan 13
3 min

Call for reform: Improving access to phones in jail and prison populations

While COVID-19 has drastically affected the jail and prison populations across the country, the pandemic has brought one benefit to the inmates—communication. Since the pandemic started, some jails have provided inmates with cell phones or allowed free phone calls with a monthly limit of 500 minutes. This method of communication was vital during the pandemic when inmates needed updates on the health and well-being of their families. However, the cost of calls when the pandemi

Devin Iorio

Jan 12
2 min

Examining Florida's repackaged poll tax

The right to vote is the cornerstone of American democracy. Historically, however, this right has been systemically restricted to select portions of the population who were deemed worthy of wielding it. Over the years, the right to vote has slowly been extended beyond this “worthy” population by the efforts of marginalized groups who fought for access to their constitutionally guaranteed right to representation in government. This expansion was met with vehement opposition fr

The unruly world of pleas: Ethics in plea bargaining

Breann Bell

Jan 11
3 min

The unruly world of pleas: Ethics in plea bargaining

Once a frowned-upon practice thought to impede the truth-seeking function of the justice system, plea bargains have become the system. Accounting for the vast majority of resolutions, plea bargaining has displaced trials with nearly allcriminal cases at the state and federal level—more than 94% and 97% respectively—being resolved with a plea agreement. As noted by Justice Kennedy in the majority opinion of Lafler v. Cooper, “the reality [is] that criminal justice today is for

Prison gerrymandering: A ripple effect of mass incarceration

Ben Crawford

Jan 10
3 min

Prison gerrymandering: A ripple effect of mass incarceration

Across the country, felons are subjected to varying degrees of voter disenfranchisement depending on where they are incarcerated. In all but the District of Columbia, Maine and Vermont, felons lose their right to vote while they are incarcerated. While the right to vote and the future of democracy are often foremost concerns for many American citizens, the issue of prison gerrymandering rarely comes to mind. Prison gerrymandering is an effect that arises from how the Census B

Samantha Hall

Jan 9
3 min

Practitioner Profile: Ryan Norman

When crime began to touch him and his family more directly, and he watched his mother no longer feel comfortable and safe in her home, this

Encampment closures displace, criminalize D.C. residents experiencing homelessness

Caitlyn Greene

Jan 9
7 min

Encampment closures displace, criminalize D.C. residents experiencing homelessness

On Dec. 21, 2021 the D.C. Council rejected an emergency bill aimed at restricting Mayor Bowser’s authority to remove homeless encampments via a pilot program. This decision came on the same day as Homeless Persons Memorial Day, and council members advocating for the bill as well as advocacy groups and community members were outraged. As of Jan. 2020, the District of Columbia had an estimated 6,380 individuals experiencing homelessness on any given day. Now up for reelection,

“We Fight Like Hell”: Applying Brandenburg to Trump’s Speech Surrounding the U.S. Capitol Siege

Joshua Azriel, Ph.D. & Jeff DeWitt, Ph.D.

Jan 5
57 min

“We Fight Like Hell”: Applying Brandenburg to Trump’s Speech Surrounding the U.S. Capitol Siege

...this article concludes that the three key elements of the speech test—advocacy, incitement, imminence—are satisfied.

KNOWLEDGE • PRACTICE • JUSTICE

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