Copy of Events
Upcoming Events
Past Events
2023
Chantal's 7/19 Test 2
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. Dr. Jessica Simes is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University. Her work contributes to sociological research on racial inequality, mass incarceration, the conditions of prison confinement, and the social structure of cities. Her book, Punishing Places: The Geography of Mass Incarceration, applies a unique spatial analysis to mass incarceration in the United States.
2023
Chantal's 7/19 Test 2
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. Dr. Jessica Simes is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University. Her work contributes to sociological research on racial inequality, mass incarceration, the conditions of prison confinement, and the social structure of cities. Her book, Punishing Places: The Geography of Mass Incarceration, applies a unique spatial analysis to mass incarceration in the United States.
2023
Chantal's 7/19 Test
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. Dr. Jessica Simes is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University. Her work contributes to sociological research on racial inequality, mass incarceration, the conditions of prison confinement, and the social structure of cities. Her book, Punishing Places: The Geography of Mass Incarceration, applies a unique spatial analysis to mass incarceration in the United States.
2023
Chantal's Test 2
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. Dr. Jessica Simes is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University. Her work contributes to sociological research on racial inequality, mass incarceration, the conditions of prison confinement, and the social structure of cities. Her book, Punishing Places: The Geography of Mass Incarceration, applies a unique spatial analysis to mass incarceration in the United States.
2023
Chantal's Test 2
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. Dr. Jessica Simes is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University. Her work contributes to sociological research on racial inequality, mass incarceration, the conditions of prison confinement, and the social structure of cities. Her book, Punishing Places: The Geography of Mass Incarceration, applies a unique spatial analysis to mass incarceration in the United States.
Chantal's Test 2
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. Dr. Jessica Simes is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University. Her work contributes to sociological research on racial inequality, mass incarceration, the conditions of prison confinement, and the social structure of cities. Her book, Punishing Places: The Geography of Mass Incarceration, applies a unique spatial analysis to mass incarceration in the United States.
2022
Novel Justice | Punishing Places by Jessica Simes
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. Dr. Jessica Simes is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University. Her work contributes to sociological research on racial inequality, mass incarceration, the conditions of prison confinement, and the social structure of cities. Her book, Punishing Places: The Geography of Mass Incarceration, applies a unique spatial analysis to mass incarceration in the United States.
2022
Novel Justice | Profit and Punishment by Tony Messenger
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His book, Profit and Punishment: How America Criminalizes the Poor in the Name of Justice, is a call to arms, shining a light on a two-tiered system invisible to most Americans. Join us for a conversation and Q&A with Messenger about his work.
2022
Their Own Words: The Impact of the Death Penalty in America
Virginia is the most recent state to abolish the death penalty, but capital punishment is still authorized in 27 states, by the federal government and the U.S. military. There are numerous studies and advocates to point to why the death penalty should be abolished nationwide, but the people who are sentenced to death are the ones who can speak best about the true impact of such punishment. Join the Wilson Center for Science and Justice for a discussion with George Wilkerson, who is currently serving on death row in North Carolina, and Tessie Castillo, an international journalist specializing in criminal justice, drug policy, and social issues. The two were co-authors of the book, Crimson Letters, Voices from Death Row, which is a collection of personal essays from four incarcerated men, including Wilkerson.
2022
National Opioid Litigation Explained
North Carolina Department of Justice Deputy General Counsel Daniel Mosteller and Senior Policy Counsel Steven Mange join the Wilson Center for Science and Justice to discuss the state of national litigation about opioids. In 2021 NC Attorney General Josh Stein announced a $26 billion settlement with opioid distributors and a manufacturer. Dr. Marvin Swartz moderates.
2021
Duke Law | Ending the Criminalization of Mental Illness
For over a decade, Judge Leifman, Associate Administrative Judge in the Miami-Dade County Court, 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida, has worked with stakeholders to reform how the criminal legal system interacts with individuals with mental illnesses. With his colleagues he has developed a unique diversion model, the "Miami Model," that is a model for reducing violence, unnecessary arrests, and inappropriate incarceration among persons with mental illness. The model encourages recovery, reduces stigma, and gives individuals hope. In this panel discussion, Judge Leifman and Justin Volpe from his program will present their approach to diversion. Dr. Marvin Swartz moderates.
2021
Novel Justice | The Behavioral Code: Benjamin van Rooij & Adam Fine
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. Benjamin van Rooij writes about why people obey or break the law. Adam Fine, Ph.D., is a professor of criminology and criminal justice as well as law & behavioral sciences at Arizona State University. Their book, The Behavioral Code: The Hidden Ways the Law Makes Us Better or Worse, is Freakonomics for the law-the revolutionary behavioral science insights into how the law fails to reduce misbehavior. Join us for a conversation and Q&A with Rooij and Fine about their work. Moderated by Jennifer Teitcher.
2021
Novel Justice | Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining Is a Bad Deal by Carissa Hessick
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. Carissa Hessick is the Ransdell Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she also serves as the director of the Prosecutors and Politics Project. Her book, Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining Is a Bad Deal, a provocative and timely exploration of how plea bargaining prevents true criminal justice reform and how we can fix it. Moderated by Brandon Garrett. Sponsored by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice.
2021
Journalism’s Impact on the Criminal Legal System
Journalism is one of the most powerful mediums in storytelling, education and shining a light on systemic injustices. Criminal justice reporting, in particular, can be crucial to bridging a gap between those who have experienced the system and those who have not. Journalists covering this beat educate the masses about complex legal systems and processes, and often bring to the forefront underrepresented issues. Join us for a roundtable discussion with renowned journalists who cover the criminal legal system. Speakers are Emily Bazelon, a staff writer at New York Times Magazine, author and a lecturer in law, senior research scholar in law, and Truman Capote Fellow at Yale Law School; Madeleine Baran, an investigative reporter for APM Reports and the host and lead reporter of the podcast In the Dark; Liliana Segura, an award-winning investigative journalist at The Intercept; and Carlos Ballesteros, a reporter at Injustice Watch. Moderated by Melissa Boughton. Sponsored by the Wilson Center and co-sponsored by the Criminal Law Society.
2021
Learning from the Henry McCollum and Leon Brown Exonerations
Henry McCollum and Leon Brown were intellectually disabled teenagers (brothers) when they were coerced into confessing to a murder they didn't commit and sentenced to death. They spent 31 years in prison before DNA testing proved their innocence, and by the time of their release in 2014, Henry had served the longest death row sentence in North Carolina. Join the Wilson Center for Science and Justice for a discussion with Ken Rose, former director of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, attorney and death penalty abolitionist, and David Maxwell, a Duke Law alum ('14) and attorney at Hogan Lovells. Rose will talk about his role in helping to exonerate McCollum and Brown, and Maxwell will discuss his role in winning the largest-ever jury verdict in a wrongful conviction case for the brothers. They'll both speak about what can be learned from McCollum's and Brown's exonerations.
2021
Novel Justice | A Pattern of Justice by David Sklansky
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. David Sklansky is the Stanley Morrison Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and faculty co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center. His book, A Pattern of Violence: How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice, reveals how inconsistent ideas about violence, enshrined in law, are at the root of the problems that plague our entire criminal justice system-from mass incarceration to police brutality.
2021
Advances in Programs for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals
Wilson Center for Science and Justice hosts an expert panel discussion about frontline programs for individuals returning from incarceration and how they can support re-entry with healthcare and peer support. This event focuses on meeting program clients' behavioral health needs. Panelists are Shira Shavit, MD, Executive Director of the Transitions Clinic Network (TCN) out of San Francisco; Joseph Calderon, Senior Community Health Worker with TCN; Evan Ashkin, MD, Director of the North Carolina Formerly Incarcerated Transition (FIT) Program; and Tommy Green, NC FIT Program Lead Community Health Worker (CHW) and the Orange County CHW. These experts have direct involvement with development and practice in frontline programming, both nationally and in NC. Dr. Allison Gilbert, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, moderates.
2021
Mental Illness and the Criminally Accused
The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law hosts a roundtable discussion about people with mental illnesses who are criminally accused and found incompetent to proceed in the criminal legal system. Topics include how competency restoration poses a challenge and costly management problem for state mental health and criminal legal systems; alternative pathways to community reentry for this population; the ethical-legal aspects; how mental health authorities and policymakers in different states are (or aren't) dealing with it, and what should be done. Panelists are Dr. Reena Kapoor, from Yale School of Medicine; Dr. Debra Pinals, from University of Michigan Law and Medicine; W. Lawrence Fitch, from University of Maryland Francis King Cary School of Law; and Dr. William Fisher, who works with the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. Dr. Jeffrey Swanson from Duke School of Medicine moderated.
2021
Fitch and Swanson on Civil Commitment
Civil commitment and the mental health care continuum: Historical trends and principles for law and practice. Jeffrey Swanson is Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. Larry Fitch is a lawyer on the faculty of the University of Maryland, where he teaches classes on mental health law in the Law School and lectures in the forensic psychiatry fellowship program in the Medical School.
2021
Novel Justice | The Feminist War On Crime by Aya Gruber
Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students. Aya Gruber is Professor of Law at the University of Colorado Law School. Her book, The Feminist War on Crime: the Unexpected Role of Women's Liberation in Mass Incarceration, documents the failure of the state to combat sexual and domestic violence through law and punishment. Join us for a conversation and Q&A with Gruber about her work. Wilson Center Director Brandon Garrett is host.
2021
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is a community-based diversion approach with the goals of improving public safety and public order and reducing unnecessary justice system involvement of people who participate in the program. A panel of experts discussed their work and experience with LEAD. They are Lisa Daugaard, Director of the Public Defender Association; Reed Baer, Deputy Chief of Police of the Hickory Police Department in North Carolina; and Charlton Roberson, a peer support specialist from Fayetteville's LEAD program. Allison Robertson, Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke, and Melissia Larson, LEAD Coordinator at North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, moderated.
2021
Autopsy of a Crime Lab | Exploding the Myth of Fingerprint Infallibility with Sharia Mayfield
Brandon Garrett, the L. Neil Williams Professor of Law at Duke University School of Law and Director of the Wilson Center for Science and Justice, discusses his recent book: "Autopsy of a Crime Lab Exposing the Flaws in Forensics." Sharia Mayfield discusses the myth of fingerprint infallibility. This video was filmed and edited by Pitch Story Lab, the student-run creative agency at Duke University.
2021
Autopsy of a Crime Lab | Wrongful Convictions
Brandon Garrett, the L. Neil Williams Professor of Law at Duke University School of Law and Director of the Wilson Center for Science and Justice, discusses his recent book: "Autopsy of a Crime Lab Exposing the Flaws in Forensics." Keith Harward discusses his release after his wrongful conviction involving bad forensics. This video was filmed and edited by Pitch Story Lab, the student-run creative agency at Duke University.
2021
Autopsy of a Crime Lab | An Interview with Itiel Dror
Brandon Garrett, the L. Neil Williams Professor of Law at Duke University School of Law and Director of the Wilson Center for Science and Justice, discusses his recent book: "Autopsy of a Crime Lab Exposing the Flaws in Forensics." Itiel Dror, a cognitive neuroscientist, discusses how bias affects forensics methods. This video was filmed and edited by Pitch Story Lab, the student-run creative agency at Duke University.
2021
Autopsy of a Crime Lab | Dispelling the myth of a perfect forensic match
Brandon Garrett, the L. Neil Williams Professor of Law at Duke University School of Law and Director of the Wilson Center for Science and Justice, discusses his recent book: "Autopsy of a Crime Lab Exposing the Flaws in Forensics." This video was filmed and edited by Pitch Story Lab, the student-run creative agency at Duke University.
2021
Autopsy of a Crime Lab
Duke Law Professor and Wilson Center Director Brandon Garrett's new book, Autopsy of a Crime Lab, Exposing the Flaws in Forensics, is the first to catalog the sources of error and the faulty science behind a range of well-known forensic evidence, from fingerprints and firearms to forensic algorithms. This video documents a roundtable discussion about the book and its findings with Garrett; Erin Murphy, Norman Dorsen Professor of Civil Liberties at New York University School of Law; Edward Cheng, the Hess Chair in Law at Vanderbilt Law School; and Jennifer Mnookin, Dean, Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Professor of Law, and Faculty Co-Director of Program on Understanding Law, Science and Evidence at UCLA Law.
2021
A Blueprint for Bail Reform
Duke Law professor and Wilson Center Director Brandon Garrett and Sandra Guerra Thompson, professor of law and director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center, discuss their work as independent monitors for a landmark bail reform settlement in Texas. This settlement could become a national model for cash bail reform. The discussion is followed by a Q & A.
2021
Community Re-entry for the Formerly Incarcerated
Formerly incarcerated individuals face many barriers when re-entering their communities. Learn more about those barriers and the programs successfully addressing them, and hear from formerly incarcerated individuals who have experienced trying to re-enter society. The roundtable for this event includes Alice Marie Johnson, a criminal justice reform advocate and former federal prisoner pardoned by former President Donald Trump; Dontae Sharpe, a North Carolina exoneree who now works at Forward Justice; and Elenore Wade, who teaches as a Visiting Associate Professor of Clinical Law & Friedman Fellow at The George Washington University Law School's Prisoner & Reentry Clinic. The panel is followed by a Q&A. Wilson Center Director Brandon Garrett moderates.
2021
Novel Justice | Evaluating Police Uses of Force by Seth Stoughton
Seth W. Stoughton is an Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law and an Associate Professor (Affiliate) in the university's Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. His book, Evaluating Police Uses of Force, explores a critical but largely overlooked facet of the difficult and controversial issues of police violence and accountability: how does society evaluate use-of-force incidents? This video records a conversation and following Q&A with Stoughton about his work. Wilson Center Director Brandon Garrett moderates. Novel Justice is a book event series hosted by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. We invite authors to discuss recently published criminal justice books and to engage in Q&A with faculty and students.
2021
Six Trials and 23 Years: Curtis Flowers Talks Justice with the Wilson Center
Curtis Flowers is a Mississippi man who was tried six times for the same crime and whose case was the subject of Season 2 of the APM Reports podcast "In the Dark". He spent nearly 23 years behind bars and endured six trials and four death sentences for four murders he has always maintained he did not commit. Flowers' case was one of three that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2016 were to be remanded to lower courts to be reviewed for evidence of racial bias in jury selection. Flowers participates in this event with his attorney, Henderson Hill, to discuss his years-long saga and the injustices of a system zeroed in on convicting him.
2021
Alternatives to Police Response to Behavioral Crises
Police have become the de facto first responders to behavioral health crises despite rarely receiving adequate training to safely and effectively handle the situation. The consequences of this are reflected in the disproportionate number of people with mental illnesses and substance use disorders killed by police every year and held in jails and prisons. A panel of experts - Dr. Tracie Keesee, Co-founder and Senior Vice President of Justice Initiatives at the Center for Policing Equity; Timothy Black, Director of Consulting for White Bird Clinic; and Christy E. Lopez, Professor from Practice at Georgetown Law - discuss alternatives to police responses when it comes to behavioral health crises. Dr. Marvin Swartz, from Duke Health, moderates.
2021
Ben Finholt | Describes the Just Sentencing Project to the Wilson Center for Science and Justice
Ben Finholt, Director, Just Sentencing Project with NC Prisoner Legal Services, summarizes the organization's mission and work to the Wilson Center. He spoke with students working with the Wilson Center during Spring 2021.
2020
30 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act: A look at the past, present and future
This year marks the 30th anniversary of President George H.W. Bush signing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. A panel of experts joined us for a Q&A exploring the past, present and future of the ADA and how and the extent to which it has increased access to services for an entire generation. Dr.Marvin Swartz moderated the panel: Jennifer Mathis, Deputy Legal Director and Director of Policy and Legal Advocacy of the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; John Petrila, Senior Executive Vice President of Policy of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute; and Holly Stiles, Litigation Counsel, of Disability Rights NC.
2020
Wilsons 4 Justice
A celebration of the renaming of the Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law to honor a generous donation from alumnus and philanthropist Derek Wilson. The event features a keynote roundtable with renowned ProPublica and New York Times Magazine journalist Pamela Colloff, Texas parolee Joe Bryan and Duke Law rising 3L Sarah Champion, who worked on an amicus brief in Bryan's case.
2020
Punishment without Crime: A Book Panel Discussion with Alexandra Natapoff
A panel discussion of Alexandra Natapoff's book, "Punishment Without Crime: How Our Massive Misdemeanor System Traps the Innocent and Makes America More Unequal, with Prof. Natapoff; Adam Gershowitz, professor at William & Mary Law School; Eisha Jain, visiting professor at Duke Law; and Vikrant Reddy, senior research fellow at the Charles Koch Institute. Professor Brandon Garrett moderates.
2019
Rachel Elise Barkow: Prisoners of Politics
Professor Rachel Barkow discusses her new book, Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration. Rachel Elise Barkow is the Segal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy and Faculty Director, Center on the Administration of Criminal Law at NYU.
2019
When They See Us: A Conversation with Two of the Exonerated Five
At the launch event for the Duke Center for Science and Justice, Yusef Salaam and Raymond Santana, two members of the Exonerated Five, tell their stories to a Duke Law audience. They are the subjects of the Netflix series "When They See Us," which focuses on the conviction and later exoneration of Mr. Salaam, Mr. Santana and three others in the infamous Central Park jogger case.
2019
Driver's License Suspensions in North Carolina
Professor Brandon Garrett and Daniel Bowes of the North Carolina Justice Center lead a discussion of driver's license suspensions in North Carolina. Also speaking are individuals who have had their driver's license suspended about how the experience affected their lives.
2019
Getting Forensics Right
What are the stakes when forensics go wrong? Keith Harward tells his story: he was exonerated by DNA testing, but spent 33 years in prison in Virginia for a murder he did not commit, based on multiple erroneous bite mark comparisons. Peter Neufeld, co-founder and co-director of the Innocence Project joins in the conversation. M. Chris Fabricant, who directs special litigation for the Innocence Project, moderates. Prof. Brandon Garrett introduces the panel.