Can New Instructions for New Times Change Old Habits?

By Robin SaxFace it; juries think that a crime occurs and is reported, investigated, filed, prosecuted, deliberated, and sentenced in one hour.  Judges have been so concerned about outside influences in cases that they have resorted to sequestering juries, to granting change of venue motions, and to admonishing jurors to consider only the evidence in front of them.  It is routine practice (and even law) for judges to instruct...

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Fallen Heroes - May They Rest in Peace?

by Donna PendergastThe United States Supreme Court will consider a landmark case in their next court term beginning in October. They will hear the case of a Maryland man whose slain soldier son's funeral was targeted for picketing by the Topeka, Kansas, based Westboro Baptist Church and its leader Fred Phelps.The zealot church was comprised mostly of Phelps' 13 children -- 11 of whom are attorneys; one son is said to be estranged from the family...

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Murder and the Politician

by Diane FanningOn Monday morning in Alabama, Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine sat in his usual spot for the county commission meeting.  No one really cared what he thought about the road plans for U.S. 98 on the agenda.  They just wanted to know why he was walking free among them.In mid-May, a grand jury delivered a bill of indictment alleging that Nodine should be removed from office on charges of willful...

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Red Letter Day for Etan's Family

by Lisa R. Cohen On Tuesday I called Stan Patz. "Hi," I said. "Am I the first of the legions of annoying media calling you today to check in?"Patz is the father of Etan Patz, the famous missing six-year-old who disappeared 31 years ago Tuesday, the day now marked as National Missing Children's Day. He vanished during a two-block walk from his downtown New York home to the school bus stop. His mother (above, with Etan) kissed him goodbye on the...

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Special Treatment for Police and Military: Where Do We Draw The Line?

by Katherine ScardinoHouston is, once again, the location of a highly publicized trial involving police officers. Bellaire Police Sergeant Jeff Cotton was charged with aggravated assault here in Harris County in connection with an incident that occurred in 2008. At around 2 a.m. on December 31, 2008, Robbie Tolan, 23, and his cousin, Anthony Cooper, were returning to their home in upscale Bellaire after enjoying a late night run to Jack-in-the-Box....

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What's a Nice Girl Like You....Doing in Prostitution?

by Pat BrownIf you are anywhere near my age of 54, you graduated high school in the the '70s, and you will remember Donna Summer's disco hit, Bad Girls, a great dance song that you couldn't get out of your head. The lyrics focused on girls who got into street prostitution; this is pretty much the only kind of prostitution many of us were familiar with, girls in hot pants, net stockings and high heels leaning in cars on "The Corner."Bad girlstalking...

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The Impact of the Victim's Statement

by Diane DimondImagine being in a room with the person who murdered your child. How would you react? What would you want to say to the killer?Every day,  grieving families congregate in courtrooms to watch justice meted out to those who’ve robbed them of their loved ones. Before sentence is passed upon the convicted, judges offer family members a chance to give a “victim’s impact statement.” It’s the most dramatic, heart wrenching moment of...

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A history of violence

 by Kathryn Casey"As a close family member to the killer, in his defense the act he committed was and is not expected. We tried to get him help but as a grown man there is only so much a person can do to help someone. Now he has destroyed so many people’s lives. Our hearts do go out to the other families. We have never been on this side of the law, and we have so much mixed emotions. Ralph has a lot of good in him. It's shocking to many people...

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