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The Riddles of Harmless Error and Habeas Corpus – Part II

Today the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Brown v. Davenport, No. 20-826 (transcript here; audio here). The issue in this case involves the standard of review federal habeas courts must apply when reviewing a state court’s determination of harmless error. Davenport was partially shackled during his trial for first-degree murder. On direct appeal, the state appellate courts found …

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Liberals Lie While People Die

In recent years the gap between fact and fiction in American journalism has become so wide that articles citing completely false “facts” are routinely featured in once-respected news sources.  One recent example is a September 29 article in the San Francisco Examiner by Opinion Editor Gil Duran.  The piece focuses on the tragic September 4 sexual assault and murder of …

Lenient Release Policies Get an Eight Year-Old Killed

You don’t need to look far to see the foreseeably gruesome results of criminal justice “reform” policies.  Among the favorites for “reformers” are an end to cash bail, probation instead of jail, and revocation hearings, if any, that are understanding for “technical” violations. All three policies were at work in the latest child murder in Prince George’s County, Maryland, just …

FBI 2020 Crime Data Shows Increase in Homicides and Aggravated Assaults

Today the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) released preliminary findings of their soon to be released annual report, Crime in the United States: 2020. While the final publication has not yet been released, the data can be accessed through the Crime Data Explorer. Additionally, publications from prior years are accessible online. The preliminary data revealed that violent crime is up …

Public Order is Gone in California

A Canadian woman visiting Los Angeles got a first hand look at the everyday violence happening in the nation’s largest “woke” city earlier this month.  Carl Samson of NextShark reports that Jennifer Chen was sitting alone waiting for a friend in her car in a parking lot near Beverly Hills at 4:25 p.m. on September 15,  when a middle aged …

Bad Policies, Not Racism or Covid-19, Are Causing the Spike in Murder

A good example of the mainstream media narrative regarding the unprecedented surge in homicides, which started last year and has continued unabated this year, is this June article from the Washington Post which reported that racist police,  inequality and the economic and social impact of the pandemic are the root causes.   “Experts have attributed the increase to a variety …