News

Duke Center for Science and Justice Executive Director Tom Maher spoke Tuesday to the Governor’s Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice. The group, which has been working for at least a month, made its first recommendations last week to improve bias within the criminal justice system, and they held a public hearing for […]

The North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice adopted three new recommendations Friday, including a duty to intervene and report for law enforcement officers, a prohibition of neck holds for law enforcement officers, and a North Carolina Supreme Court requirement of an assessment of ability to pay before levying fines and fees. […]

Duke Center for Science and Justice Director Brandon Garrett will moderate an event Saturday exploring the merits, issues, and trade-offs of defunding-to-reallocate budget initiatives. Defund the Police movements have been around a long time, but have emerged again more prominently and recently in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd. Panelists will discuss the […]

Is forensic science in the courtroom as trustworthy as it seems? Not always, according to a new report co-authored by Duke Center for Science and Justice Research Director William Crozier. “Faulty forensic science sometimes makes its way into the courtroom where jurors must evaluate its credibility,” the report abstract states. “But at least two factors […]

Ninety-eight people who are incarcerated in a federal prison in this country have died from COVID-19 in the past four months, and North Carolina is bearing the brunt of those losses with 25 deaths out of the Butner Federal Correctional Complex. There have also been six deaths in state-run prisons in North Carolina. Save for […]

This week’s Duke Center for Science and Justice Crim Works in Progress webinar featured a presentation by Paul Heaton on his work about how enhanced public defense can improve pretrial outcomes and reduce racial disparities. Heaton, Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a Senior Fellow and Academic Director of the Quattrone Center, […]

Police chiefs across the state have been invited to participate in a pilot program run by the UNC School of Government’s Criminal Justice Innovation Lab (CJIL) and the NCACP: The Citation Project, which seeks to improve policing practices through implementation and rigorous evaluation of a model citation in lieu of arrest policy. Last week, the North Carolina […]

The Washington Post editorial board weighed in recently about the unfair practice of suspending driver’s licenses over nonpayment of court fines and fees, calling the policy “self-defeating” to public safety. Last week, the Senate introduced the bipartisan Driving for Opportunity Act to create incentives to stop debt-based driver’s license suspensions. Read more about the pros of […]