MetaFilter posts tagged with legalsystem

28 seconds. Living to write about it.

kneecapped — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:15:21 -0800

Ex Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant (previously previously previously) reveals struggle with alcoholism, and his thoughts on cyclist's death in new memoir, 28 Seconds. CBC radio "The Current" interview, and CTV tv interview. Allan Sheppard, the deceased's father, asks people to scrutinize Bryant's story.

The Brain on Trial.

Eideteker — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:43:18 -0800

The Brain on Trial. Advances in brain science are calling into question the volition behind many criminal acts. A leading neuroscientist describes how the foundations of our criminal-justice system are beginning to crumble, and proposes a new way forward for law and order.

"We may someday find that many types of bad behavior have a basic biological explanation—as has happened with schizophrenia, epilepsy, depression, and mania."

[Charles Whitman] requested in his suicide note that an autopsy be performed to determine if something had changed in his brain—because he suspected it had. "I talked with a Doctor once for about two hours and tried to convey to him my fears that I felt [overcome by] overwhelming violent impulses. After one session I never saw the Doctor again, and since then I have been fighting my mental turmoil alone, and seemingly to no avail." Whitman’s body was taken to the morgue, his skull was put under the bone saw, and the medical examiner lifted the brain from its vault. He discovered that Whitman’s brain harbored a tumor the diameter of a nickel. This tumor, called a glioblastoma, had blossomed from beneath a structure called the thalamus, impinged on the hypothalamus, and compressed a third region called the amygdala. The amygdala is involved in emotional regulation, especially of fear and aggression. . . . Whitman’s intuition about himself—that something in his brain was changing his behavior—was spot-on.

Doing Time For Acquitted Crimes

Appropriate Username — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:25:03 -0800

If you have been charged with multiple crimes and not convicted on all charges, the judge may increase your sentence based on 'acquitted conduct', the crimes for which you were not convicted. This policy is beginning to get a lot more attention due to Jim Caron, writing to a U.S. District Court judge as 'Juror No. 6' and recently highlighted by articles in the Washington Post and the Washington Times. His offense at the idea that his work as a juror had been nullified by this policy has opened a can of worms with all sorts of people who view this "in terms of defendant's rights versus government interests." Too late for Mr. Caron, a distinguished agricultural economist with the USDA, who died suddenly last year.

Quel horreur...

pwedza — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 17:12:41 -0800

The French do some things well and, well, some things not so well. (see)

Billy Jean's not my lover.

kablam — Tue, 18 Jun 2002 07:47:17 -0800

Billy Jean's not my lover. Should non-fathers pay child support to someone else's children? More states are saying "no."

Is our legal system asleep at the wheel?

Fofer — Sat, 15 Jun 2002 07:02:43 -0800

Is our legal system asleep at the wheel? A Michigan auto dealership that failed to complete the title transfer on a car involved in a fatal accident has been hit with a $12 million jury verdict.

God's Justice and Ours.

Ty Webb — Wed, 12 Jun 2002 09:49:15 -0800

God's Justice and Ours. Justice Antonin Scalia writes on capital punishment in First Things: "In my view, the major impetus behind modern aversion to the death penalty is the equation of private morality with governmental morality. This is a predictable (though I believe erroneous and regrettable) reaction to modern, democratic self–government."

DeCSS Trial Begins Today.

Doug — Mon, 17 Jul 2000 12:00:36 -0800

DeCSS Trial Begins Today. Today is 2600's day in court. This trial deserves more media attention than it's been getting.