As president, Joe Biden can fight for the criminal justice reforms the electorate is demanding... or he can double down on his decades-long advocacy for tougher policing, harsher sentencing, and stricter drug laws. With Inauguration Day on the horizon, we ask: what will Joe do?
Read MorePolice accountability, cash bail, drug decriminalization and legalization, and strong reform candidates were all on the ballot this November. Dave reviews the results.
Read MoreJudging from the unexpectedly close presidential election result, the U.S. electorate is as polarized as ever -- at least in terms of partisan alignment. But there's one issue on which the 2020 vote reveals widespread and growing agreement among Americans from across all demographics and in almost every part of the country: the decriminalization and full legalization of marijuana and, increasingly, other drugs.
Read More"Systemic racism" refers to systems that produce racially disparate outcomes regardless of the individual motivations, values, or personal qualities of the people working within them. The criminal justice system doesn't require individual police officers, lawyers or judges to hold racist views in order to structurally uphold white supremacy. But -- as the case of suspended Pennsylvania judge Mark Tranquilli vividly illustrates -- plenty of them do anyway.
Read MorePresumptive Justice-to-be Amy Coney Barrett is conservative in both her political ideology and her judicial philosophy. But that doesn't mean she'll automatically side with police and prosecutors on the Supreme Court bench. Indeed, if her mentor Antonin Scalia is any guide, Coney Barrett may be less predictable on criminal justice than on other social issues.
Read MoreFor decades, Joe Biden has claimed credit for crafting and championing the 1994 Crime Bill, now widely regarded as the policy foundation for the modern carceral state, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the systematic, often militarized overpolicing of Black communities. It's no surprise that Biden's very public association with that legislation has become a political liability in the Black Lives Matter era. But he's far from being the only member of his party who bears responsibility.
Read MoreWho bears responsibility for Breonna Taylor's murder?
Read MoreRemembering the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Read MoreDave reviews the recently concluded U.S. Supreme Court session with 90.5 WESA's Kevin Gavin on The Confluence.
Read MoreWhat's the meaning of Donald Trump's decision to commute the sentence of Roger Stone? And what went on behind the scenes?
Read MoreOn June 10, Dave gave an hour-long presentation on law and racial justice for the Center on Race and Social Problems at the University of Pittsburgh. We invite you to check out the video on YouTube:
Read MoreMinneapolis takes a bold step, announcing it will dismantle the police department that sparked nationwide protests with the murder of George Floyd -- and just like that, "defund the police" graduates from activist rallying cry to viable policy option.
Read MoreDerek 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.
Read MoreViral video 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.
Read MoreAnother 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?
Read MoreThe 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?
Read MoreRecommended reading on how COVID-19 is impacting incarcerated populations and what must be done to avoid catastrophe: "Let the People Go" by Joseph Margulies in the Boston Review.
Read MoreCOVID-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.
Read MoreLouisiana'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.
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