Op-Ed Writer

Tamar R. Birckhead:

An associate professor of law and the Interim Director of Clinical Programs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She mostly focuses on issues relating to juvenile justice policy and reform, criminal law and procedure, indigent criminal defense, and the criminalization of poverty.
More info on her...

She's written several op-ed articles on many different websites.
For example:

The Chicago Bureau
The Nation.
The Huffington Post (where you can also get updates on her, email her, etc.)

Twitter!~

Political Cartoon Having to do With Criminal Law and Justice

Reaction to Reading/Analyzing Pre-20th Century Documents

At first, I felt worried that I had to deal with documents such as the English Declaration of Rights of 1689 and the American Declaration of Independence. Although, after reading through the first couple lines I found that there was actually a lot that I understood.

There were a couple phrases and words that left me completely lost, but it's nothing a couple definitions couldn't fix. After dealing with these two documents, I feel a little more comfortable reading pre-20th century documents. Nevertheless, I still feel nervous about analyzing these documents because I always feel like I'm misinterpreting everything.

 

Wish me luck

Effects of the Government Shutdown

The government shutdown will luckily not be affecting criminal law and justice in any way. Military operations, criminal investigations, law enforcement, and other agency functions that protect national security and ensure human safety are exempt from the shutdown. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Marshals Service will all continue to run and so shall the Transportation Security Administration at airports.

Charlotte police kill unarmed man who may have been running to them for help

North Carolina police officer slips up and causes grief and disappointment among the friends and family in a man's life...



A police in North Carolina was charged with voluntary manslaughter after shooting a man, Jonathan Ferrell, who was running towards them, probably seeking help after a car accident. A woman had called just before the incident, saying that some man was trying to break and enter her house and since Ferrell fit the description, the police decided to take action. Though, the police did not have the lawful right to act and shoot during the situation.

Read the full article on http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/justice/north-carolina-police-shooting/index.html?hpt=ju_c1