Just in time for the start of the NFL football season with preseason in August, 2018, the issue of the players’ kneeling during the national anthem begins a new again. Recently, the Miami Dolphins owners stated that the team intends to punish players who kneel or otherwise protest during the national anthem with up to a four game suspension and fines, according to documents obtained by USA Today. However, the team owner later retracted the statement and proposed plans for suspension or penalties. The local media covered the Dolphins intentions before there was the retraction. Meanwhile the New York jets took the opposite approach by emphatically stating the opposite of no intention to fine players for their right to peaceful protest under the First Amendment. Previously, the NFL intended to institute a policy of sanctions and requiring that players stand for the anthem—before the NFL Players Association (“NFLPA”) filed a grievance. The filing of the grievance resulted in … [Read more...] about A Study in Patriotism: Trump versus Colin Kaepernick
criminal justice
Freddie Gray’s Friend To Get Jail while Officers Cases in Limbo
On March 29, Allen Bullock will receive a jail sentence pursuant to a plea deal entered in Baltimore Circuit Court on February 29. Nineteen year old Allen Bullock was charged in April of last year with eight counts of rioting, disorderly conduct and malicious destruction of property following the death of Freddie Gray, his friend. Bullock is seen in a photograph standing on top of a police car smashing a windshield with a cone during a protest. No one was hurt. Bullock says the death of his friend, Gray, got the best of him. Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s office offered Bullock more than 9 years if he would plead guilty. Bullock and his attorney, J. Wyndal Gordon, declined that plea deal. Over nine years in jail for, in essence, busting a police car window—are you kidding me? As a former prosecutor, that doesn’t sound fair and just to me. Obviously, the Baltimore State’s Attorney Office wants to make an example of Bullock but for what reason, I’m not … [Read more...] about Freddie Gray’s Friend To Get Jail while Officers Cases in Limbo
Why Cameras are Needed in the Courtroom
On Wednesday August 12, Minnesota’s Supreme Court approved a pilot program to commence in November allowing cameras in criminal court rooms but only in sentencing hearings. The new rule changes the precondition that all parties consent. Much of the work of our criminal justice system occurs long before a trial or plea bargain. Cameras are needed inside courts to bring about necessary changes in the criminal justice system. The recent police shootings of unarmed minorities sparked the call by many for police to wear body cameras to show how events unfold. Body cameras only speak to one part of the equation. The other part is what happens inside courtrooms across America. As a former prosecutor and now trial lawyer, I see the need for allowing cameras in all court rooms. Most court room proceedings are open to the public. Those proceedings that are already open to the public present no harm in allowing further transparency with cameras. The use of cameras … [Read more...] about Why Cameras are Needed in the Courtroom
Justice League NYC at Justice Department Seeks Answers
Justice League NYC activists traveled on Monday to the Department of Justice to rally and bring awareness to the lives of women of color killed while in police custody with no clear answers from the Department of Justice or local police officials. The small but diverse group demanded answers in the Sandra Bland case and a host of others, including Raynette Turner, Kindra Chapman, Joyce Curnell, Sarah Lee Circle Bear, Ralkina Jones and other unnamed and unknown women of color. Speakers spoke about a national emergency and rejected the idea that these women dying while in police custody are individual incidents. Sandra Bland at 28 years old died in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas on July 13 after a traffic stop for failing to signal she was changing lanes. Her death while ruled a suicide leaves more questions than answers. While jail guards state that Bland may have had a prior attempt suicide, jail guards made no attempt to keep her safe. Native American Sarah … [Read more...] about Justice League NYC at Justice Department Seeks Answers
AG Eric Holder Announces Strides in Sentencing
On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder spoke at the Press Club in D.C. and gave what may be one of his last speeches before stepping down. He announced that there have been quantitative strides in his actions taken to reform criminal sentencing in America. Holder realized very early on that the criminal disparities in sentencing in drug cases resulted in African Americans being sentenced to higher sentences and to mandatory minimums. Attorney General Holder stated, “For years prior to this administration, federal prosecutors were not only encouraged – but required – to always seek the most severe prison sentence possible for all drug cases, no matter the relative risk they posed to public safety. I have made a break from that philosophy.” Data compiled by the U.S. Sentencing Commission shows that the efforts made by Holder have helped to dramatically reduce mandatory minimums and to reserve higher and harsher sentencing to more serious offenders. Attorney General Holder’s approach … [Read more...] about AG Eric Holder Announces Strides in Sentencing