After six years and 150+ interviews, Criminal Injustice is wrapping up. Dave and producer Josh Raulerson look back on what the show has accomplished and what it's meant to them. While we're taking an indefinite hiatus from posting new episodes, the full back catalog will live on at criminalinjusticepodcast.com. Thanks to our wonderful listeners and everyone who has supported the show over the years! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands...
Apr 19, 2022•49 min
As listeners know, Dave has a great day job: teaching law school. On this special episode we’ll meet some of his law students from the University of Pittsburgh, learning what drew them to the law, and what’s on their minds. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Apr 05, 2022•1 hr 10 min
On Criminal Injustice, we’ve examined a host of changes and reforms that have altered the criminal justice landscape. But nothing – nothing – can match the change brought to every aspect of the system by the use of DNA to uncover wrongful convictions. Links: The Innocence Project Christina Swarns Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands...
Mar 22, 2022•51 min
In Episode 55, we brought you a conversation with Kevin Sharp: a former federal judge who gave it up because he had to sentence young men like Chris Young to cruel and unjust mandatory sentences. Several years later, we have an update: we talk with Kevin Sharp, and this time with Chris Young too. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Mar 08, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Grand juries are a handy tool for prosecutors, providing a ready pretext for any potentially controversial decision to bring charges or, as is often the case with police accused of crimes, not bring charges. Do grand jury proceedings serve any purpose, or are they just theater? Dave explains on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Mar 04, 2022•11 min
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced in January that he will retire this year, giving President Biden a chance to name his replacement. Dave reviews highlights from Breyer's 38 years on the bench. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Feb 07, 2022•19 min
The criminal legal system has left us with too little justice, and too much mass incarceration, racial disparities, and lifelong burdens on those it touches. But few groups suffer as much under the system’s burdens as young black people. How America criminalizes black youth – we discuss it with Professor Kristin Henning , author of “The Rage of Innocence: How American Criminalizes Black Youth.” Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands...
Nov 30, 2021•49 min
This month the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments concerning enforcement of the controversial "heartbeat" law that effectively bans abortion in Texas. Dave provides analysis as a guest on 90.5 WESA's The Confluence. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Nov 18, 2021•11 min
The news is out: 2020 saw a 30% rise in murders, nationwide. 2021 isn’t looking good, either. Some want us to turn back to the aggressive policing of the past. But is there a better way to stem the tide of gun violence? What actually works? We look at the evidence and get real information on what to do, right now, to stem the violence, with Ciera Bates—Chamberlain , Executive Director of Live Free Chicago – Live Free Illinois, and Thomas Abt , Senior Fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice. Bo...
Nov 16, 2021•46 min
Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona was larger than life – America’s Toughest Sheriff. But when he became an anti-immigration profiler of Latinos, they organized and resisted – and that changed everything. We talk to veteran journalist Jude Joffe-Block , co-author of “Driving While Brown: Sheriff Joe versus the Latino Resistance,” published in 2021 by the University of California Press. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands...
Nov 02, 2021•55 min
Dave previews some of the big cases coming before the U.S. Supreme Court this session -- first with Kevin Gavin on 90.5 WESA's "The Confluence," then continuing with extra podcast-only analysis of cases not covered in the segment. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Oct 25, 2021•18 min
We know that every part of the criminal justice system needs transformational change. We’ve heard this about police, prosecution, the courts, and prisons. But what about public defense systems? We talk to Jonathan Rapping, founder and president of Gideon’s Promise , a national organization supporting public defenders, and the author of “Gideon’s Promise: A Public Defender Movement to Transform Criminal Justice,” (Beacon Press, 2020). Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands...
Oct 19, 2021•53 min
While crime remains down overall, over the last year we've seen a startling spike in the U.S. murder rate. What's going on? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Oct 16, 2021•6 min
When something goes catastrophically wrong with a police action, we ask whose fault it was. Who made the mistake? Focusing on who’s to blame is a key question for justice. But what if we want to prevent similar errors going forward? How do we fix the system that allowed the mistake to happen? We look at root cause analysis in the Criminal justice system with three people who were part of a Sentinel Event Review Board in Tucson, AZ. Tonya Strozier Chad Kasmer John Hollway Tucson Sentinel Event Re...
Oct 05, 2021•1 hr 2 min
As the country looks for better alternatives to police for people in crisis, Eugene, Oregon’s CAHOOTS is the model. So what happens when a much bigger city tries this approach? In this episode, we talk to Colorado Public Radio journalist David Sachs , who has been reporting on the STAR program, in Denver – an attempt to do for his city what CAHOOTS did for much smaller Eugene. His work on STAR has been heard on NPR , and has been published in Denverite . Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle....
Sep 21, 2021•42 min
A pair of articles in USA Today (paywall) and the New York Times raises the question: do police officers face any real consequences for making false statements to cover up criminal abuse? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Sep 16, 2021•16 min
When people experience a mental health crisis or homelessness, the best person to help may not be a uniformed and armed police officer. So, who ya gonna call? We talk to journalist Rowan Moore Gerety, who has investigated the CAHOOTS program, in Eugene, Oregon. His story, “An Alternative to Police That Police Can Get Behind,” was published in The Atlantic. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands...
Sep 07, 2021•58 min
Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared September 17, 2019. Urban violence kills thousands of Americans every year. It accounts for almost three quarters of the murders in the U.S., and it traps a huge number of people in poverty, blight, trauma and despair. What if there was a way cut murderous urban violence – by half? Guest Thomas Abt says it can be done with the tools we have...
Aug 31, 2021•45 min
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is suing his chambermate, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), over the latter's participation in the January 6 rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Brooks's defense is... not great. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Aug 28, 2021•11 min
Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared April 27, 2021. When someone goes to prison, it can destroy the family left behind – and even more so when no one really knows what happened. But then, what does the family do years later, when that family member returns? Our guest, filmmaker Shirley Vernae Williams , tells us the story of Pastor Martin Thomas: the murder he committed, and ...
Aug 24, 2021•40 min
Andrew Cuomo is out as New York governor, after multiple accusations of harassment and abuse from female staff members. Could Cuomo be criminally prosecuted for alleged behaviors that may have crossed the line into sexual assault? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Aug 20, 2021•12 min
Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared April 13, 2021. In the US, the local prosecutor – usu the district attorney has a huge influence on the criminal system. The DA influences who gets prosecuted, for what, how long they serve if convicted – even who gets the death penalty. So what happens when the usual tough on crime DA gets replaced – by someone determined to bring transfor...
Aug 17, 2021•55 min
Consequences are beginning to catch up with the lawyers who brought former president Donald Trump's election theft conspiracy theories to court. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Aug 12, 2021•8 min
Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared March 23, 2021. For years, advocates for better policing have pushed various reforms: consent decrees, civilian oversight, body cameras. But after George Floyd’s death and 2020, is reform still a viable alternative? Or is it defund or bust? Our guest is Christy Lopez , Professor of Practice at Georgetown Law. She headed multiple police refo...
Aug 10, 2021•51 min
Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared Feb 9, 2021. Leaving incarceration, and returning to life outside of prison. It’s a difficult process, and many end up back behind bars. What does it take to make it work? What more can be done to support those coming home? We hear it directly from two men who have done it. Mr. F. and Mr. R. (identities withheld) describe their steps into t...
Aug 03, 2021•1 hr 5 min
Criminal Injustice returns with new episodes in September,ber 2021. Until then, we're reposting some of our favorite interviews. This episode originally appeared December 15, 2020. More US jurisdictions are questioning the use of money bail systems for pretrial release from jail. But many in law enforcement and the bail bond industry say this will damage public safety. Is that true? What really happens when you trash cash bail? Dr. Don Stemen of Loyola University in Chicago is co-author of a new...
Jul 27, 2021•49 min
The New York DA brings indictments against Donald Trump’s business organization and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Jul 22, 2021•9 min
The U.S. Supreme Court wraps up its session with big decisions on juvenile justice, criminal procedure, civil rights and liberties, voting rights, and more. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Jul 20, 2021•27 min
Bill Cosby is out of prison, but not because he's innocent of the rape charges that landed him there. What happened? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Jul 18, 2021•12 min
In the world of police reform, accountability for misconduct depends on transparency – and that kind of transparency exists in very few places. So when a state finally does open its files on police discipline, what do we learn? We talk to Sukey Lewis and Sandhya Dirks, two reporters at KQED in San Francisco; their new podcast, On Our Watch , is a deep dive into the inner workings of the police disciplinary process. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands...
Jul 06, 2021•50 min
