Links of Interest for May 1-6, 2011
Criminal Justice
- University of Virginia Law Professor Brandon Garrett discusses at Slate false confessions and eyewitness testimony in the wake of Illinois abolishing the death penalty.
- New York’s Chief Judge is working to create a system which provides counsel to indigent defendants at arraignment. The Chief Judge stated that processing countless defendants every day “in an assembly line fashion” is “miles removed from the ideal of equal justice for all”.
Community Justice
- The Woodstock Institute released its perennial report on the mortgage and housing industry, “Paying More for the American Dream V: The Persistence and Evolution of the Dual Housing Market.” The report reveals “systematic inequalities in the housing finance system,” resulting in disproportionate impact on poor communities and communities of color.
- Following in Illinois’ footsteps, the State of Maryland passed its own version of the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act failed to pass in the US Senate earlier this year. The bill allows qualifying undocumented immigrants to attend public colleges at in-state tuition rates.
Court Reform
- The Sun-Times published an editorial on why Illinois needs a better recusal for judges in a time of ever-increasing campaign funding.