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Archive: October 2021

National Harm from Suspending Licenses in Response to Unpaid, Unaffordable Court Fines and Fees

October 7, 2021

By Annie Han

Driving is critical for many people in North Carolina. North Carolinians need to drive to work, to take their children to school, and to complete other everyday tasks like grocery shopping and attending to their health. But, … Continue Reading →

Duke Professor Co-Authors Washington Post Opinion Piece About ‘Broken’ Policing System

February 8, 2021

John Rappaport and Ben Grunwald are no strangers to writing about flaws in the American policing system – you may recognize their bylines from their research last year about wandering officers, a coin they termed for police officers who were … Continue Reading →

What Prisons Could Still Do to Save Lives

September 18, 2020

By Deniz Ariturk

Six months after the first nationwide shutdown, US prisons and jails continue to be top COVID hot spots. Case numbers have continued to increase rapidly in prisons even as they plateaued nationwide in early summer, and new … Continue Reading →

Postdoc Karima Modjadidi Headed to RTI after Duke CSJ Fellowship

August 18, 2020

Last week was Post-doctoral Fellow Karima Modjadidi’s last at the Duke Law Center for Science and Justice, and soon she will start working at the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in Durham.

Modjadidi has been a fellow at the Center for … Continue Reading →

Meet This Summer’s Duke CSJ Student Interns, Fellows

August 4, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t slowed down the six students who worked with the Duke Center for Science and Justice this summer.

The summer fellowships and internships at the Center provide students an opportunity to learn new information and hone their … Continue Reading →

Book Review – Lethal State: A History of the Death Penalty in North Carolina

July 31, 2020

The following book review of Lethal State: A History of the Death Penalty in North Carolina by author Seth Kotch was written by Duke Center for Science and Justice Director Brandon Garrett and posted on the Rutgers Newark site.

Today, … Continue Reading →

NC Lawmakers to Gov. Cooper: It’s Time to Release Ronnie Long

July 30, 2020

Fourteen North Carolina lawmakers from across the state are urging Gov. Roy Cooper to commute Ronnie Long’s sentence – he is represented by Jamie Lau at Duke Law School’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic.

Long, a Black man who is now 64, … Continue Reading →

Report: Justice System Must Improve Quality of Forensic Science for Courtroom Presentation

July 24, 2020

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 … Continue Reading →

Indy Week Publishes Powerful Letter to Cooper About COVID-19 in Prisons After Faye Brown’s Death

July 22, 2020

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 … Continue Reading →

U Penn Law Faculty Discusses Pretrial Improvements at CSJ Crim Works in Progress

July 21, 2020

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 … Continue Reading →

UNC SOG Recruiting Police Departments for New Citation Project

July 20, 2020

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 … Continue Reading →

Washington Post Weighs in on New Bill About Suspended Driver’s Licenses

July 20, 2020

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 … Continue Reading →