Criminal defense

Published on: January 24, 2018

Book: “Blind Injustice: A Former Prosecutor Exposes the Psychology and Politics of Wrongful Convictions,” by Mark Godsey

By Laura Orr

Nation book review: “Why Does Our Justice System Fight So Hard to Keep Innocent People Behind Bars? Mark Godsey was a “prosecutor’s prosecutor” who didn’t think there were any innocent people in prison. Then he began supervising his law school’s Innocence Project, and realized his assumptions were all wrong” by Joshua Holland, in The Nation, January 24, 2018:

Excerpt:

“In the criminal-justice system romanticized by Hollywood films, those convicted of crimes are generally guilty. And a protagonist need only prove that someone’s been wrongly imprisoned to get them freed by a judiciary that values truth and justice….

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Published on: June 22, 2016

How a Prison Inmate Became a Jailhouse Lawyer and Changed the System (New Yorker)

By Laura Orr

Home Free: How a New York State prisoner became a jailhouse lawyer, and changed the system,” by Jennifer Gonnerman, in: New Yorker, A Reporter at Large, June 20, 2016 issue.
“Derrick Hamilton was wrongfully convicted of murder, and spent more than two decades trying to prove his innocence…. He started spending time in the library, and eventually taught himself enough criminal law to become one of the most skilled jailhouse lawyers in the country….” [Link to New Yorker article.]

Hat tip to Longform.

Published on: April 5, 2016

Oregon Innocence Project: Two Views of the Constitution, Criminal Prosecution, and Criminal Defense

By Laura Orr

The Oregonian / OregonLive published these two articles:

“Oregon Innocence Project misses mark in notorious murder (OPINION),” by John Foote, March 29, 2016, Clackamas County District Attorney. (Internet Archive copy.)

“Why Oregon Innocence Project has raised questions about notorious murder case (OPINION),” by Steve Wax, April 5, 2016, Legal Director of Oregon Innocence Project, a program of Oregon Justice Resource Center. (Internet Archive copy.)

Published on: January 8, 2016

Oregon CLE: Continuing Debate Over the Sequential Lineup

By Laura Orr

The Oregon Innocence Project is presenting this CLE, scheduled for Feb. 5, 2016:

Continuing Debate Over the Sequential Lineup

“Presented by Oregon Innocence Project and featuring Professor Daniel Reisberg.

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Published on: February 20, 2015

Beyond February 14th: Love, Adultery, and Madness in American History

By Laura Orr

If you think you live in the most interesting of times, you are not reading enough history – or not reading the right wild and crazy stories that make reading history so absorbing and enlightening. The Library of Congress has marvelous history in small bites blog posts, like this one:

“Love, Adultery, and Madness,” February 13, 2015 by Robert Brammer, Law Library of Congress

Excerpt: “It is often said that love can drive you mad. As further evidence, take the 19th Century case that is said to have introduced the defense of temporary insanity in American jurisprudence. This case resulted from an affair between the wife of a member of Congress and one of Francis Scott Key’s sons….” [Link to full blog post.]