Criminal (In)justice

Problems with police, prosecutors and courts have people asking: is our criminal justice system broken? University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris interviews the people who know the system best, and hears their best ideas for fixing it. Criminal (In)justice is an independent production created in partnership with 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR News Station.

Bonus: #CRSPCast Live 06/14/2020

Bonus: #CRSPCast Live On June 10, Dave gave an hour-long presentation on law and racial justice for the at the University of Pittsburgh. We invite you to check out the video on YouTube: Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14812061

Bonus: Defund the Police 06/10/2020

Bonus: Defund the Police Minneapolis takes a bold step, announcing it will dismantle the police department that sparked protests nationwide with the murder of George Floyd -- and just like that, "defund the police" graduates from activist rallying cry to viable policy option. For all the handwringing over what the phrase "really means," it's really not complicated: people want their city governments to take resources away from lavishly-funded and unaccountable law enforcement agencies, and devote them instead to emergency responders, social services, schools, and civil institutions that advance public safety rather than wage war on their own citizens. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14763464

Bonus: Minneapolis Officers Charged 06/04/2020

Bonus: Minneapolis Officers Charged 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. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14690597

Bonus: Dog Leash Lady Tries to Unleash Racist Violence 05/31/2020

Bonus: Dog Leash Lady Tries to Unleash Racist Violence 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. Reflexively fearing people of another race is racist -- but it's mostly a function of the garden-variety implicit bias that most of us harbor on some level, whether we're aware of it or not. Actively weaponizing that fear in others when you know it's baseless... that's taking it to another level. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14635877

Bonus: The Death of George Floyd 05/29/2020

Bonus: The Death of George Floyd 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? /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14611961

Bonus: The Murder of Ahmaud Arbery 05/18/2020

Bonus: The Murder of Ahmaud Arbery 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? Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14470097

Read This: Let the People Go 05/14/2020

Read This: Let the People Go Recommended reading on how COVID-19 is impacting incarcerated populations and what must be done to avoid catastrophe: by Joseph Margulies in the Boston Review. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14420234

Bonus: Bad to Worse 05/10/2020

Bonus: Bad to Worse 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. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14357450

Bonus: COVID-19 and Funding Public Defense 05/05/2020

Bonus: COVID-19 and Funding Public Defense 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. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14270783

Bonus: No More Non-Unanimous Verdicts 04/28/2020

Bonus: No More Non-Unanimous Verdicts 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. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14154677

SCOTUS v COVID-19 04/23/2020

SCOTUS v COVID-19 Workplaces are adjusting to life under lockdown by holding meetings via videoconference — and the U.S. Supreme Court is no exception. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14061851

Bonus: The Confluence, April 16 04/19/2020

Bonus: The Confluence, April 16 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. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/14036246

Bonus: Unicorn Emergency 04/14/2020

Bonus: Unicorn Emergency A trademark lawsuit out of Chicago raises the question: in the midst of a global pandemic, what counts as a legal “emergency”? Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13953449

Bonus: The Insanity Defense on Trial 04/06/2020

Bonus: The Insanity Defense on Trial The Supreme Court upholds Kansas's law barring the insanity defense in criminal proceedings. Dave breaks down the decision in Kahler v Kansas. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13861421

#118 Happy Birthday to Us 03/31/2020

#118 Happy Birthday to Us 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. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13742033

Bonus: Progressive Prosecutors Face Primaries 03/28/2020

Bonus: Progressive Prosecutors Face Primaries Chicago's progressive chief prosecutor, Kim Foxx, has survived her first reelection challenge in the Democratic primary. Meanwhile, reformer and Criminal Injustice alumnus George Gascon may be poised to knock off the tough-on-crime incumbent DA in Los Angeles. We review the latest on progressive prosecutors in politics. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13742288

Bonus: Courts in the Time of Coronavirus 03/25/2020

Bonus: Courts in the Time of Coronavirus The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing our institutions to confront a host of thorny problems. Among the thorniest for the criminal justice system: how to uphold the constitutional right to a speedy trial when courts are effectively shut down. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13639676

Bonus: What Happens When COVID-19 Hits Prisons and Jails? 03/21/2020

Bonus: What Happens When COVID-19 Hits Prisons and Jails? Squalid and unhealthy even in the best of times, prisons and especially jails are especially vulnerable during a pandemic. That's not just a danger to incarcerated people -- it's a disaster for public health. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13639598

#117 The Second Chance Club: Life in Parole World 03/17/2020

#117 The Second Chance Club: Life in Parole World Every year, more than 600,000 Americans leave our jails and prisons. Many are on parole. Others people are put on probation instead of going to prison. The job of supervising all of them falls to parole and probation officers. Our guest, Jason Hardy, served as a probation and parole officer for four years in New Orleans, and he gives us a look into a world that is invisible to the rest of us. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13575428

Bonus: Muzzling a Racist Judge 03/10/2020

Bonus: Muzzling a Racist Judge Dave appears on WESA's The Confluence to discuss the case of a Pennsylvania judge disciplined for racist comments. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13476395

Bonus: Breaking Down the Weinstein Verdict 03/06/2020

Bonus: Breaking Down the Weinstein Verdict Entertainment tycoon Harvey Weinstein was convicted last month on a range of sexual assault charges. Dave analyzes the decision and what it means for the #MeToo movement. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13351631

#116 Prison Truth: The San Quentin News 03/03/2020

#116 Prison Truth: The San Quentin News San Quentin Prison in California has always had a reputation as one of the toughest, most violent prisons anywhere. But twelve years ago, the prison’s in-house newspaper, produced by inmates, began to change things. What can journalism do for incarcerated people, and for the prisons in which they serve their sentences? And what about the impact on people outside of prison? Our guest is , an award winning journalist, professor of journalism, and the author of Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13351028

Read This: What Was the Jussie Smollett Case Really About? 02/26/2020

Read This: What Was the Jussie Smollett Case Really About? A post by Paul Butler at proposes a new theory about the uproar over actor Jussie Smollett's disputed claim of being the victim of a hate crime: the real target is a progressive prosecutor. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13318655

Bonus: DOJ Goes After Sanctuary Cities 02/23/2020

Bonus: DOJ Goes After Sanctuary Cities The Trump administration's immigration lawsuits against so-called "sanctuary" jurisdictions pits the Justice Department against the doctrine of federalism, formerly a bedrock principle of conservative ideology. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13253204

Bonus: Keeping Up with Bill Barr 02/19/2020

Bonus: Keeping Up with Bill Barr The thwarted sentencing of Roger Stone kicks off the latest in a series of cascading crises for the integrity of the Justice Department, and it's all we can do to keep up. Dave recaps a week of dramatic and fast-moving events. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13207082

#115 A Life Sentence – and Now Out 02/18/2020

#115 A Life Sentence – and Now Out Every year, courts hand out sentences of life without the possibility of parole to people convicted of serious crimes. Our guest today was one of those people, and he’ll tell us what that was like – and, with his sentence commuted, what his life is like on the outside, after 43 years. Our guest is Robert Wideman, given a life sentence without parole at 25, and now free after Pennsylvania’s governor commuted his sentence in 2019. /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13069295

Unlocked: Mike Bloomberg's Appalling Record 02/16/2020

Unlocked: Mike Bloomberg's Appalling Record This episode originally appeared on the Criminal Injustice members feed on November 17, 2019. To hear all of our premium episodes as soon as they're released, become a $5 member at Michael Bloomberg makes a late entry to the Democratic presidential primary field. The billionaire media baron hasn't released a policy agenda for criminal justice, but he has a voluminous record from his time as New York City mayor -- and it's not good. /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13171430

Bonus: Progressive Prosecutors Fight Back 02/14/2020

Bonus: Progressive Prosecutors Fight Back The chief prosecutor of St. Louis, a woman of color elected in 2016 on a reform platform, has faced intense pushback from the day she took office. Now Kim Gardner, the first African American to serve in the post, is suing the city and its police union under a federal law passed during Reconstruction to combat white supremacist vigilantism. Progressive prosecutors elected in other cities are rallying around Gardner, but can the suit succeed? Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13065692

Bonus: What's Behind Mississippi's Staggering Prison Death Rate? 02/11/2020

Bonus: What's Behind Mississippi's Staggering Prison Death Rate? Why are so many people dying in Mississippi state prisons? As with most systemic problems, the causes are many and complex. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/13063805

Bonus: Dershowitz Said What?? 02/06/2020

Bonus: Dershowitz Said What?? Donald Trump's impeachment lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, makes a remarkable assertion: if the president believes his own reelection is in the national interest, then nothing he does in pursuit of that goal can be impeachable. Support Criminal Injustice at $5/month to unlock extra bonus episodes and more on the Members feed: /episode/index/show/criminalinjustice/id/12978551

Criminal (In)justice

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