Thursday, April 19, 2012

Marijuana Policy

Thanks for everyone that came to Monday's Lacey lunch and yesterday's race and justice discussion.

One of the things that was touched on at both events was U.S. drug policy. This appears to be on the minds of many Americans these days - at least in regard to marijuana legalization.

Washington state will be voting on legalizing recreational marijuana this November. Other local initiatives have been pursued elsewhere.

A study by a Harvard Business School professor recently released finds that legalization could save the federal government up to $13.7 billion a year. 300 economists have signed a petition to start a discussion on legalization.

A former U.S. federal prosecutor who helped put Canada's "pot king" in jail is calling for an end to prohibition in Canada and the U.S.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration is pushing back against calls for serious reform both here and abroad. The DEA also raided and shutdown Oaksterdam University, an Oakland trade school of medical marijuana. A protest is planned tomorrow in Oakland, among others I am sure.





Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Continuing our Discussion on Trayvon Martin & Beyond

Thank you to everyone who came out for the Trayvon Martin & Beyond forum, and to our speakers and the staff that made this event possible!

It seemed as though the discussion had only gotten started when we had to end, and we wanted to give everyone a chance to get to the topics that they were hoping to discuss, or to add their own perspective. We invite you to reply to this post with your comments, reflections, and questions.

We have also provided a list of the questions we were not able to get to at the event to the speakers, who may be able to offer their thoughts on some of them. I have pasted that list here - please feel free to comment on any of these questions too!

Additional discussion questions:

  • What are the underlying race dynamics that affect criminal law?
  • What role should race play in a criminal trial?
  • What kinds of laws or protocols have criminal justice systems put in place in different states to counter race bias?
  • How do gun laws play a role in these issues?
  • So, if racial dynamics influence the “reasonable fear” of a person under self-defense law, does that mean that people of different races have different standards of self-defense?
  • Where are conversations of race not occurring in the criminal justice system, where they really need to? Who is not talking about these issues?
  • How can lawyers and courts ensure that their work does not promote racial inequality?
  • How can lawyers work to counter media influences?
  • What do defense attorneys and prosecutors need to be aware of when vetting a jury? Is it possible to get an untainted jury in high profile cases like these?
  • Should defendants include media in their thought process when considering plea agreements?
  • More broadly, how should a defender counsel a client who has come under media heat?
  • Does a prosecutor have any ethical obligation to correct incorrect allegations made in the media that are particularly damning for a defendant?
  • How does a defendant who is acquitted but condemned by the media deal with that stigma?
  • In this case, media altered the 911 call in order to make Zimmerman appear to have volunteered information about Trayvon’s race on his own, rather than after the 911 operator had asked him, and this alteration has come under a lot of criticism. A few questions follow from this issue:
  • While acknowledging issues of race in criminal law is important, what kinds of media practices are more damaging to social justice causes than others?
  • What can or should defense attorneys and prosecutors do when the media comes out with misleading presentations of evidence on their cases?
  • Should 911 calls be available to the public?
  • How can an attorney promote appropriate media coverage of their case, or discourage inappropriate coverage?
  • How can we recognize inappropriate or unreliable coverage of a case when we see it?
  • What role should media take in criminal cases?

Monday, April 16, 2012

Trayvon Martin Forum on Race, Media & Criminal Law this Wednesday:

What are the underlying race dynamics that affect criminal law? In what ways do media present issues of race and law - appropriately, and inappropriately? How can lawyers and courts ensure that their work does not promote racial inequality? How can lawyers work to counter media influences?

Wednesday, April 18th, 10:00am-11:00am

Mondale Hall Room 25
229 19th Avenue S
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Our forum discussing the issues surrounding Trayvon Martin / George Zimmerman case in the media will touch on these questions and more. We gather not to debate the merits of this particular case, but the learn about and troubleshoot the social and legal issues that influence this and many other cases.

Email us at mnjusticeleague@gmail.com to submit your questions to the panel!

About our speakers:

Judge Pamela Alexander; grew up in South Minneapolis and graduated from the UMN Law School. She has served as a criminal defense attorney, a prosecutor, and a District Court Judge, and is currently the President of the Council on Crime and Justice. She will speak on race & the criminal justice system and initiatives on eliminating race bias in the criminal justice system in Minneapolis.

Prof. Michele Goodwin is the Everett Fraser Professor in Law at UMN and has written extensively on the cognitive bias surrounding the images of persons of color. She will speak on the development of cognitive bias connecting criminality with communities of color, and their fallout effects on youth of color.

Jon Hopeman is is a trial and appellate attorney in state and federal courts and teaches at UMN. He has also served as an Assistant United States Attorney. He will speak on the practical aspects of implementing bias-elimination practices as a practitioner, both as a prosecutor and a defense attorney, and the influence of media on attorneys’ decision making

Prof. Perry Moriearty teaches at UMN and co-directs the Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic at UMN. She has written on the the interaction of media, bias, color, and juvenile juvenile justice.

Professor Carl Warren teaches in UMN's Civil Practice Clinic. He managed the Human Rights Division of the Minnesota Attorney General's Office for two years, and is a UMN Law School graduate. He will speak on the historical foundations of current patterns of race in the criminal justice system and their influence on ongoing civil rights concerns.

Shy Cunningham is a second year law student at the University of Minnesota currently conducting research on the Trayvon Martin situation and its broader implications. She is a NAACP LDF Warren Scholar, Fredrikson & Byron Minority Scholar, Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers McGee Scholar.