The Chicago Justice Initiative

Drug Raids, SWAT Teams, and the Power of Rhetoric

2010-05-18T20:54:00.003-05:00

Here's an interesting article about a drug raid in Missouri that was videotaped by the police. The video was obtained and circulated by a newspaper covering the incident and it now has something like 1.3 million views on youtube. The author, Radley Balko, brings up two points that I think are particularly fascinating: 1) how the increased use of SWAT teams creates situations of violence, instead of merely responding to crises; 2) how the emergence of a militarized police force is a reflection of the terminology, technology, signs, and symbols of the "war on drugs." Words are power!

Supreme Court Rules on "Sexually Dangerous" Prisoners

2010-05-17T15:23:00.002-05:00

In a follow-up to the education section I gave a while ago on the involuntary commitment of prisoners deemed "sexually dangerous," the Supreme Court has ruled 7-2 that Congress does have the power to enact civil commitment regimes. The two dissenting votes were Thomas and Scalia.

It's interesting to note that unlike another punishment-related case decided today that invalidated life-without-parole for juveniles in non-murder cases, this case hinged on the proper purview of Congress and not whether the effects of the law were cruel. This was because precedent holds that civil commitment simply isn't punishment.

Challenge to NY's Public Defender System

2010-05-06T14:39:00.003-05:00

Here's a case to watch: a class-action suit brought against New York State on the behalf of criminal defendants who say that they've been unjustly served by the State's public defender system. The ruling that just came down allows the case to either go to trial or to end in a settlement. What's interesting about the decision is that both the majority and minority opinions agreed on the fact that many defendants are being denied their Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The basis of the dissent was that the Public Defender system is not within the purview of the judiciary, and that reform efforts should come from the legislature instead.

"The World's Most Humane Prison"

2010-05-04T21:56:00.003-05:00

Norway has just opened a new prison that is being called the most humane in the world.

"The facility boasts amenities like a sound studio, jogging trails and a freestanding two-bedroom house where inmates can host their families during overnight visits. Unlike many American prisons, the air isn't tinged with the smell of sweat and urine. Instead, the scent of orange sorbet emanates from the 'kitchen laboratory' where inmates take cooking courses. 'In the Norwegian prison system, there's a focus on human rights and respect,' says Are Hoidal, the prison's governor. 'We don't see any of this as unusual.'"

It's so important to remember that the United States' way is not the only way to incarcerate people.

Civil Forfeiture

2010-04-14T12:47:00.002-05:00

I just came across this article about civil forfeiture. I had never heard of it before but apparently police officers can confiscate and keep money from someone suspected of obtaining or using the money in some illegal activity.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-bullock/end-policing-for-profit_b_534553.html

Criminal Justice Roundtable at the Law School

2009-02-02T09:54:00.000-06:00

I just came across an event at the law school in May that looks really interesting. I know this is far in the future but I thought it might be something to keep an eye on and maybe even think about creating an event around while some of these speakers are in town. Bernard Harcourt happens to be scheduled to speak at this event.

More information is available here: http://www.law.uchicago.edu/events/index.html?Event=456

An organization to team up with...

2008-11-16T14:03:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone,

Maybe we should work with this organization for our legal book drive: http://chicagobwp.org/

They can handle the logistical issues and we can just get the books to them. I think we definitely have a great deal of potential for collecting books on campus. Maybe we can actually set up a "book drive" where students give their old books to us.

Cool Radio Program

2008-07-22T11:16:00.003-05:00

I know it's summer, but I just found a cool radio program regarding (among other things) real justice for America's poor. It is called "Justice Talking" and it is an NPR program. The cool thing about it is that all the old shows are archived at www.justicetalking.org. Paymon and I were talking about this and it seems that some of the old shows would provide great conversation points for our future meetings. Take a look if you're interested. Post back about anything interesting you may find!

Hope everyone is having a great summer. I'm looking forward to talking about our experiences when we return to campus this fall.

Cool Radio Program

2008-07-22T11:16:00.001-05:00

Cook County Jail violates inmate rights, U.S. finds

2008-07-17T11:47:00.000-05:00

By Jeff Coen |Chicago Tribune reporter

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-cook-county-jail-web-jul18,0,3223109.story

TAMMS Correctional Facility

2008-05-27T02:51:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

So last week Joe presented on TAMMS Correctional Facility and other Supermax prisons in the country. Well, it seems like others shared our outrage. Check out these articles...It seems that Illinois State Legislators are actually trying to do something about the problem:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/970595,CST-NWS-prison26.article

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-tamms-26-may26,0,1498035.story

Apparently, our discussion was very timely...Hopefully the Illinois legislature does something!

Deportation without Appeal

2008-05-16T15:30:00.000-05:00

This recent story from This American Life details an almost unbelievable practice by the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) with regards to the deportation of widows of U.S. citizens who had not yet finished their immigration procedure when their spouse passed away. The absurdity of the practice is such that it must be filed into the category of "You can't make this stuff up."

The story can be streamed from here. (Starts around 31:50)

Act Two. This American Wife.

This American Life contributor Jack Hitt uncovers a strange practice within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. If a foreign national marries a U.S. citizen and schedules an interview for a green card, but the U.S. citizen dies before the interview takes place, the foreign national is scheduled for deportation with no appeal—even if the couple has children who are U.S. citizens. Jack talks with Brent Renison, a lawyer who's representing over 130 people in this situation, mostly widows, who are seeking to overturn the Immigration Service's rule.

Immigration and Gang Violence Propel Crusade

2008-05-15T13:22:00.000-05:00

This raises some interesting issues about racial profiling and immigration law.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/us/15gangs.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban!

2008-05-15T12:39:00.000-05:00

SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court has overturned a gay marriage ban in a ruling that would make the nation's largest state the second one to allow gay and lesbian weddings.

This isn't exactly about the criminal justice system, but it is about inequality and the law, so I thought I'd share.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-gay-marriage,0,1238682.story

Justices: Judges can slash crack sentences

2008-05-08T10:50:00.000-05:00

This is yet another article about the unfair sentencing differences for drug crimes involving crack versus those involving cocaine, but this time there seems to be a silver lining.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal judges have the discretion to give "reasonably" shorter prison terms for crack-cocaine crimes to reduce the disparity with crimes involving cocaine powder.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/10/scotus.crack.cocaine/

Racial Disparity in Drug Enforcement

2008-05-07T13:15:00.001-05:00

Reports Find Racial Gap in Drug Arrests

This is a topic that has been covered already in discussions, but it corroborates the continuing racial differences in drug enforcement.

The article includes a quote from Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute in an attempt to present both sides of the argument, but is heavily critical of the way the war on drugs is disproportionately affecting blacks.

More Blogs

2008-05-07T11:46:00.000-05:00

These are two blogs that I check out every so often; I thought some may enjoy:

Balkinization: This blog was started by Jack Balkin, a law professor at Yale Law School. He, along with other professors, blog every couple of days on a variety of topics. If you check out the May 2nd post, "Politics on the Supreme Court- -What the Numbers Say," you'll find a post about an article written by Richard Posner and William Landes, two guys from University of Chicago. It's really interesting, and a bit frightening.

NCADP: This blog is run by the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, which I thought some may find interesting as we get more involved with the coalition on our campus.

Indigent Defense in the United States

2008-05-05T17:10:00.001-05:00

So here is some information about public defense. Most of these sites/articles support increasing the funding and quality of indigent defense. I'm personally pretty biased in my support for this stance. But it'd be cool if someone can find information and evidence supporting the opposing stance. Please post anything of interest.

1. http://www.nlada.org/ (This is a great resource for information about defense of the poor more generally in regards to both public interest and public defense attorneys. NLADA focuses on problems within the legal system and also discusses some pieces of legislation that can begin to address some of these issues. I think that just browsing the links on the homepage would be a
good introduction to public defense.)

2. http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/sclaid/defender/downloads/state_indigentdefense_feb07.pdf (This American Bar Association article is very comprehensive, but also very long. I think the first 15 pages are the most informative, because it describes the historical and legal basis for public defense and also the various problems currently associated with it currently.)

3. http://www.nlada.org/Defender/Defender_Technical/Defender_Technical_Audits ( The first article at this website, "Justice Impaired," focuses on New York public defense and its current issues. I think the first few pages are really important because they discuss how inadequate public defense makes for an unjust legal system.)

The Political Nature of American Law & the Supreme Court

2008-04-28T19:25:00.001-05:00

This article goes along with my reply to Ashley's article about that Indiana election law case. It highlights the relationships among the five conservative judges in their apparent efforts to change American law through the Supreme Court. It's also kind of a funny article because it essentially states that Justice Scalia is crazy...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/washington/28memo.html

Voter ID laws

2008-04-28T11:03:00.000-05:00

Responding to a Voter ID law in Indiana, the Supreme Court holds that states can constitutionally require voters to show photo identification.

"Democrats and civil rights groups opposed the law as unconstitutional and called it a thinly veiled effort to discourage elderly, poor and minority voters--those most likely to lack proper ID and who tend to vote for Democrats."

Chief Justice Stevens supports the ruling on the basis that it creates a rational and reasonable method of "protecting 'the integrity and reliability of the electoral process.'"

What do you think? Read the article. Blog your thoughts.

Supreme Court Upholds Voter ID Law in Indiana

Execution by Lethal Injection

2008-04-28T10:52:00.000-05:00

Article: "Justices Uphold Lethal Injection in Kentucky Case"

hey guys

i'm sure many of you guys have already seen this, but thought it was one of those articles that would catch the attention of many members of the group.

ashley

Mission Statement

2008-04-21T13:26:00.000-05:00

The Chicago Justice Initiative contends that a close examination of the American legal system reveals in our country that lady justice is neither blind nor objective. Specifically, harsh sentencing laws, uninhabitable prisons, inadequate public defense and disparate urban law enforcement construct a penal system that is disproportionately punitive towards America's poor and disadvantaged. The purpose of the Chicago Justice Initiative is twofold: (1) to better educate our members about the legal system generally and particularly its biases towards the poor, and (2) to utilize the knowledge that we obtain to raise awareness on campus regarding the system's inequities. Through our weekly meetings, publications and major events, we hope to make the case among the student body that the current American justice system is far from truly just. In doing so, we plan to build the foundation for increased activism on campus for the cause of true justice.