the JustPod The Criminal Justice Section of the ABA

Send us a Text Message.The right to counsel in criminal cases is, by now, well established in a series of United States Supreme Court precedents. And yet, local jurisdictions have for too long found themselves under-resourced, and out-gunned in their quest to provide not just constitutionally sufficient and competent representation, but excellent representation—free of charge to indigent criminal defendants. Pennsylvania, until as recently as December 2023, was one of only two states in ...

Send us a Text Message.Confessions by criminal defendants are regarded as the most powerful evidence of guilt. So why would an innocent person confess to a crime they did not commit? That question and the troubling issue of false confessions is at the heart of the research of Professor Saul Kassin, the author of Duped: Why Innocent People Confess – and Why We Believe Their Confessions. Professor Kassin is the distinguished Professor of Psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice an...

Send us a Text Message.The prospect of long-term solitary confinement, being housed alone in custody for months and sometimes even years, is daunting for criminal defendants and their counsel. In May 2023, two public interest organizations, The Italian Association Antigone and the Israeli organization, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, proposed the International Guiding Statement on Alternatives to Solitary Confinement. We are pleased to have with us two guests: Professor Keramet Reiter &am...

Send us a Text Message.On September 26, 2020, then-President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court. Upon confirmation, Justice Barrett took the seat of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had passed away one week before Justice Barrett's nomination. Writing in the Fall 2023 issue of the Criminal Justice Magazine, Daniel Kaplan observes that Justice Barrett's voting pattern in the court's criminal cases has been notably Scalia-esque. That's perhaps not ...

Send us a Text Message.Our guest is Professor Lucian Dervan, the founding Director of the Plea Bargaining Institute and a Professor of Law and Director of Criminal Justice Studies at Belmont University College of Law in Nashville, TN. Professor Dervan is co-chair of the ABA's Criminal Justice Section Plea Bargaining Taskforce and co-author of the forthcoming book, "The Cost of Bargains: Reflections and Recommendations" from the Section's Plea Bargaining Task Force.Read the Fourteen Prin...

Send us a Text Message.Larry Krasner is a former criminal defense and civil rights lawyer who has become one of the most high profile inner city District Attorneys to lead the city prosecutor’s office of any major city. He has made waves for his controversial—and some would say progressive—policy positions on hot button issues like mass incarceration, decriminalization of minor drug possession, police misconduct, and wrongful convictions. He was first elected as District Attorney for Philadel...