The Atlanta Chief of Police Erika Shields resigned Saturday following a fatal police encounter in Atlanta, in which officers shot and killed Rayshard Brooks. Shields served as the chief of police for three years. Following her resignation, she stated: For more than two decades, I have served alongside some of the finest men and women [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic, the death of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police, and the subsequent protests have brought racial inequalities to the forefront of public square discussion. As faculty of color in the fields of criminal justice and legal studies, we cover diversity issues in all of our classes, especially with students who will be [...]
As the 2020 general election approaches, the Trump Administration and Republican-controlled states have ramped-up efforts to keep people of color from exercising their right to vote. Leaders of the Republican Party favor suppressing the votes of minority people, knowing they likely support Democratic candidates. In March 2020, The Guardian reported that Texas leads the South [...]
The US Supreme Court issued an unsigned opinion Monday finding that the petitioner was prejudiced at trial by constitutionally deficient counsel. The case, Andrus v. Texas, involved an attempted carjacking, which resulted in two deaths, and for which the petitioner, Terence Andrus, eventually received the death penalty. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found that, [...]
“Tis bitter cold, and I am sick at heart.” – Hamlet For an afflicted American nation, it never seems to end. On June 1, 2020, President Donald J. Trump once again openly defiled US Constitutional protections of free speech and assembly, on this occasion by gratuitously violent treatment of law-abiding civilian demonstrators. A week later, [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Monday that Title VII’s prohibition on sex-based employment discrimination extends to sexual orientation and gender identity. In Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, the court was asked to decide whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in which Congress outlawed the discrimination of individuals on the basis [...]
The Alliance Police Nationale (APN), France’s largest police union, issued a statement last week against the French Interior Ministry’s recent ban on the “chokehold” technique for detaining suspects in situations where the detainee is resisting arrest. “ a lack of reliable means to replace this technique,” says the statement. “The Alliance requests the maintenance of [...]
The US Court of Appeals for Third Circuit on Friday upheld revised rules regarding settlements for former National Football League (NFL) players with neurological damage from football concussions. Under the revised rules, the settlement provides the following for retired NFL players with neurological damage: The Baseline Assessment Program, which provides baseline neuropsychological and neurological examinations [...]
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a police reform bill into law Friday, banning police officers’ use of chokeholds. Additionally, the bill allows the Iowa Attorney General to investigate and prosecute officers for unlawful conduct, requires officers to have bias training and prohibits officers with previous misconduct charges from joining the force. Reynolds praised the Iowa [...]
Amid ongoing national protests in response to the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee have introduced two bills to reform police practices. The nationwide protests have commonly pushed for reforms to police practices to prevent instances of unneccesary uses of force. Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced one [...]
