Podcast: The aftermath of Ferguson for the legal system
The year of 2014 could be remembered as a turning point in the debate over race and criminal justice reforms. Two shocking events – the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York – have led to a furious national dialogue about the legal system deals with police involved incidents.
Brown died in August after a confrontation with Officer Darren Wilson. Garner passed away in July after he was placed in a choke hold by Officer Daniel Pantaleo.
Brown and Garner were black; the officers are white; and in both incidents, grand juries declined to indict the officers.
In the aftermath of public protests about the decisions, a spirited public debate has also focused on long-range legal issues. For example, the nature of the grand jury system, and a tendency for police officers to not be indicted in similar incidents, is now under scrutiny.
And what about the now prevalent use of body cameras on police after last summer’s incidents? What constitutional issues do the cameras present for officers – and anyone who comes in contact with them?
To discuss these issues and the broader topic of race and criminal justice, we’ve called on two leading experts on this complicated subject.
Tracey L. Meares is the Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Before arriving at Yale, she was Max Pam Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Studies in Criminal Justice at the University of Chicago Law School.
Paul Butler is Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Professor Butler researches and teaches in the areas of criminal law, race relations law, and critical theory.
Our Jeffrey Rosen leads the discussion about these complicated issues in a podcast you can listen to in the player below, or at the following link: Download this episode (right click and save)
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