Humanizing the Accused: An Interview with Lawyer Thomas Mesereau on Criminal Defense in America
In courtrooms from Birmingham, Alabama, to Santa Maria, California, Thomas Mesereau has faced some of the highest stakes in American criminal law. Renowned for his landmark criminal defense of pop icon Michael Jackson and over two decades representing clients on death row in the Deep South, Mesereau speaks with JURIST’s Senior Editor for Long-Form Content, [...]
The Pelicot Case Isn’t Just About France—It’s About How We All Define Consent in Law
Editor’s note: This op-ed centers on the case of Gisèle Pelicot. For readers who may be unfamiliar with the case, a brief synopsis: In December 2024, French electrician Dominique Pelicot was convicted along with 50 other men for years of sexual abuse. For nearly a decade, Pelicot drugged his wife until she lost consciousness, and [...]
In a joint interview, JURIST Chief of Staff for Africa Lana Osei and Associate Editorial Director Alanah Vargas speak with veteran Ghanaian journalist Kwaku Sakyi-Danso as he reflects on his 24-year career covering Ghana’s Parliament during the media’s evolution from military to civilian rule. He speaks candidly about the threat untrained bloggers pose to public [...]
In August 2021, the world watched as the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, sweeping away two decades of progress toward democracy, human rights and gender equality. While international headlines have since moved on to other crises, millions of Afghan women and girls continue to live under increasingly restrictive policies that have systematically stripped away their [...]
Edited by: Alanah Vargas | JURIST Staff, US Mark Salter, a journalist, analyst, and writer with over 25 years of professional experience in democratization, governance, and post-conflict peacebuilding, speaks to JURIST’s Senior Editor for Long-Form Content, Pitasanna Shanmugathas, about his upcoming book From Independence to Aragalaya: A Modern History of Sri Lanka. In this interview, Salter [...]
In this interview, an anonymous Palestinian legal and political science scholar speaks with Associate Editorial Director Alanah Vargas about his life in Gaza under Israeli occupation before and after October 7, 2023, his perspective on the Western world’s response to Palestinian suffering, and what he wishes the world knew about Gaza. What was your life [...]
In August 2021, the world watched as the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, sweeping away two decades of progress toward democracy, human rights and gender equality. While international headlines have since moved on to other crises, millions of Afghan women and girls continue to live under increasingly restrictive policies that have systematically stripped away their [...]
Israeli Back Channel Negotiator Gershon Baskin on Gaza War, Hamas Talks, and Path to Peace
Gershon Baskin, a prominent Israeli peace negotiator who is currently conducting back-channel negotiations between Hamas and Israel to bring an end to the current offensive in Gaza, spoke to JURIST Senior Editor for Long Form Content Pitasanna Shanmugathas about the complex obstacles preventing a ceasefire amid the conflict’s expansion into Lebanon and Iran, his unique [...]
With the 2024 presidential elections rapidly approaching, concerning trends in electoral confidence and rule of law have emerged across party lines in the US. The latest Rule of Law Index, released last week by the World Justice Project (WJP), shows the US dropping to 43rd globally in measurements of “lawful transition of power” — a [...]
US president pardons LGBTQI+ military veterans' convictions of now-repealed discriminatory laws
US President Biden on Wednesday pardoned American veterans who were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity under a military code for more than 60 years. Biden’s proclamation grants direct clemency to people who had been given court marshal convictions between 1951 and 2013 because of their status in [...]
