Crime and Punishment

I'm a regular reader of Jack Marshall's Ethics Alarms blog, in which he discusses ethical issues that arise in the news of the day. He calls out a lot of public figures for their shady ethics, but he also gives them credit when they get something right. I agree with much of what he has to say, but when his ethical analysis crosses over into matters of public policy -- … [Read more...] about Zumba, Libertarian Style

Over at Indefensible, criminal defense lawyer (and TV producer) David Feige writes: Finally, after almost three years of work, the New York State Legislature has passed our bill allowing charitable bail funds.  This is a big step toward alleviating one of the more tragic consequences of poverty in the criminal justice system--being forced to plead guilty because you can't … [Read more...] about New Yorkers Get Charitable Bail Funds

Given my libertarian views, it's not suprising that I don't entirely enjoy reading blogs by prosecutors. Even those who aren't rabid law-and-order true believers still rub me the wrong way on certain subjects. For example, I've been reading Mark Pryor's D.A. Confidential blog for years. He's a good writer -- see his Holding Hands With Evil series for a taste -- and he … [Read more...] about Why Prosecutor Blogs Are Less Fun

I like to think I know a thing or two about the excesses of the war on drugs, but I had no idea that the legal situation in Florida was this ugly: Florida will remain one of the only two states in the country that sends people to prison on drug possession charges without first proving the person knew what they were carrying was illegal. In a decision that will assure thousands … [Read more...] about Florida Court Makes it Easier to Unknowingly Commit Crimes

Some criminal defense bloggers are skeptical of the supposedly high reliability of DNA evidence. Since almost every other form of forensic testing is based on shaky scientific foundations, they figure it's only a matter of time until DNA falls too. I don't share their skepticism, at least not about the basic principles of DNA profiling. Other forensic sciences -- blood … [Read more...] about When DNA Evidence Doesn’t Prove Much