This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Derek Chauvin was convicted for killing George Floyd, while the Supreme Court undermined its recent rulings protecting juveniles accused of serious crimes. Meanwhile, Oakland begins experimenting with...
Maryland Becomes First State to Repeal its Police Bill of Rights
This month, Maryland became the first state to repeal its statutory police bill of rights, thereby reducing the special protections police officers had previously received in the event that one of them was facing criminal prosecution. For those who are highlighting...
Over Zoom and In-Person, Prosecution is Criminally Inefficient
It was 10:30 AM on Friday—hour three of waiting for my case to be called in West Roxbury District Court “virtual session.” I was happy to wait; from my perspective as a student public defender, I’d hit the lottery with the presiding judge. In several cases, he leaned...
This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. This week, President Biden forms a panel to study Supreme Court reform, Maryland establishes a multitude of police reform measures, and California’s COVID-19 related restrictions are once again struck down by...
Historic New York State Legislation Shows Us What is Possible When Elected Officials Listen to Organizers and Directed-Impacted Communities
On the morning of March 31st, New York, home to the city once considered to be the marijuana arrest capital of the world, became the 15th state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Just hours later, the Governor signed into law an act dramatically limiting...
A new episode of our podcast, Taking Liberties, is up! On this episode, editor Laura Garcia speaks with @MALDEF's Nina Perales. They discuss her work as an impact litigator, voting rights, civil rights issues facing the LatinX community, and more.
https://harvardcrcl.org/taking-liberties-episode-16-nina-perales-of-maldef/
Hey! You! It's Friday afternoon and I know you're not really working. Take a minute to read my post on @HarvardCRCL's blog! I reflect on my recent experience in West Roxbury court and how we define "efficiency" in the criminal legal system.
https://harvardcrcl.org/criminally-inefficient/