One of the most frequent and recognizable lines in any television police drama is the line that begins: "You have the right to remain silent." This is not just a Hollywood trope; it comes from real life. The entire speech, in which criminal suspects are informed of...
Month: August 2015
Probation is deceptively difficult for some first-time offenders
Many individuals with no prior criminal record get arrested and charged with a crime because of a careless mistake or a temporary lapse in judgment. Perhaps they drove a friend home after having a few glasses of wine, not realizing that they were impaired.For certain...
The unconscious bias problem in criminal justice: Part II
In our post last week, we began a discussion about a major problem with our nation's criminal justice system. It is largely predicated on fair trials and impartial jurors, but the techniques used to achieve these values are often antithetical to what we now understand...
The unconscious bias problem in criminal justice: Part I
As human beings, many of us like to think of ourselves as rational and reasonable. We make decisions based only on facts, uninfluenced by emotion or bias. Unfortunately, a growing body of research continues to prove that this simply isn't true.The problem is...