Saturday, December 21

Tag: court

Prosecutors are increasingly – and misleadingly – using rap lyrics as evidence in court
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IN OTHER NEWS, Journalism

Prosecutors are increasingly – and misleadingly – using rap lyrics as evidence in court

Rapper Darrell Caldwell, better known to fans as Drakeo the Ruler, was on his way to stardom. Hailed as one of the most original rappers to emerge from Los Angeles in a generation, he had garnered hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, tens of millions of views on YouTube and the attention of media outlets like SPIN, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. Now he’s on trial for his life, and prosecutors are planning to do what they’ve done to hundreds of other accused hip-hop artists: Use his own lyrics as evidence against him. Because my research centers on African American literary and musical traditions – with a particular emphasis on hip-hop culture – I was asked by the defense to testify as an expert witness in Drakeo’s first trial. This is work I’m called to do qu...
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Curtis Flowers freed court ruled racial bias
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IN OTHER NEWS

Curtis Flowers freed court ruled racial bias

Judge grants Mississippi man bail after six trials for same crime ended in mistrials or were overturned. A Mississippi man whose murder conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court for racial bias was released from custody on Monday for the first time in 22 years. Curtis Flowers walked out of the regional jail in the central town of Louisville hours after a judge set his bond at $250,000. A person who wanted to remain anonymous posted $25,000, the 10 percent needed to secure Flowers's release, said his lawyer Rob McDuff. "It's been rough," Flowers said. "Taking it one day at a time, keeping God first - that's how I got through it." When asked another question, Flowers sighed, smiled and tossed his hands in the air. "I'm so excited right now, I can't even th...
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IN OTHER NEWS

Texas appeals court blocks Rodney Reed execution

Reed, convicted of the 1996 rape and killing of Stacey Stites, had been scheduled to be executed next Wednesday. Supporters rally to stop the execution of Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed outside the governor's mansion in Austin, Texas [Paul Weber/AP Photo] Texas's highest criminal appeals court on Friday stopped the execution of inmate Rodney Reed, whose conviction is being questioned by new evidence in his case. The stay of execution by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals came just hours after the state's parole board unanimously recommended a 120-day reprieve for Reed. The board rejected Reed's request to commute his sentence to life in prison. Bryce Benjet, a lawyer with the Innocence Project, which is representing Reed, said a reprieve was critical ...
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IN OTHER NEWS

5 game-changing Supreme Court cases to watch that could challenge Black people’s rights for years to come

This week the Supreme Court went back into session, kicking off what’s expected to be one of the most divisive and controversial terms in recent history. Everything from guns to abortion rights is on the docket, and America will get to see the impact of the addition of Trump-appointee Brett Kavanaugh. Although judges are expected to be politically impartial, Kavanaugh’s contentious confirmation hearing after being accused of sexual assault, left him charging Democrats with unfairly going after his character. Now, some experts are bracing for a possible “conservative revolution,” after the court overturned two precedents (a highly unusual move) last term, and President Donald Trump has successfully appointed 150 judges to lifetime seats on the bench (whoever told said your vote didn’t mat...
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IN OTHER NEWS

US court tosses black man’s murder conviction over racial bias

Supreme Court tosses out Curtis Flowers's conviction in sixth trial of 1996 murders, citing racial bias. Curtis Giovanni Flowers, left, listens to testimony in his third capital murder trial [Winona Times/Dale Gerstenslager/AP Photo] The United States Supreme Court on Friday threw out the murder conviction and death sentence for a black man in Mississippi because of a prosecutor's efforts to keep African Americans off the jury. The defendant already has been tried six times and now could face a seventh trial. The removal of black prospective jurors deprived inmate Curtis Flowers of a fair trial, the court said in a 7-2 decision written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The long record of Flowers's trials stretching back more than 20 years shows District Attorney...
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LAW ENFORCEMENT

Paris court jails two police in high-profile rape case

After a jury trial in Paris, two French police officers were found guilty on Thursday of raping a Canadian tourist in 2014. Both on Thursday received seven-year prison terms. The case has attracted widespread attention. Emily Spanton, 39, who has waived her right to anonymity, met officers Antoine Quirin and Nicolas Redouane, 40 and 49, at an Irish pub. They worked for the Brigade de Recherche et d’Intervention, an elite anti-gang unit tasked with investigating serious offending, and offered Spanton a late night tour of the famed police headquarters at 36 Quai des Orfèvres. CCTV captured their arrival at the building, entering at 0:40 after Spanton smoked a cigarette; she departed in tears, without her tights, and carrying her shoes at 2:00. In between, she testified, she was gang raped ...
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SOCIAL JUSTICE, VIDEO REELS

Does #MeToo Have the Power to Take Down a Supreme Court Nominee?

In 1991, Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her and was vilified for her testimony. How might Christine Blasey Ford fare against Brett Kavanaugh in the age of #MeToo? The #MeToo movement does not exist to change the minds of misogynists—male or female. It is not about standing up, waving our arms, and screaming, “Hey, this violence happens to our bodies all the time and you should care!” For misogynists, the commonality of sexual harassment and assault of women is evidence that women who demand justice are hysterical and self-seeking, driven by personal vendettas, or a desire for fame or money. We are seeing this play out between U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a research psychologist who alleges Kavanaugh attempte...
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Court upholds removal of cross-shaped monument on public land in Md.
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Journalism

Court upholds removal of cross-shaped monument on public land in Md.

A federal appeals court is standing by a ruling that calls for the removal or destruction of a cross-shaped, 40-foot monument on public land that has towered over a busy intersection for nearly 100 years. In a closely divided vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit refused to reconsider an earlier decision that found government funding for the 40-foot-tall memorial in suburban Prince George’s County, Maryland, to be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. The 8-6 vote drew passionate dissents from several judges who said it puts other monuments on public grounds nationwide at risk. The case could end up before the Supreme Court, which has not provided clear guidance about displays of religion on government land. Supporters of the Peace Cross, who say it is a secular tr...
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IN OTHER NEWS

How Ciara and Future’s Relationship Turned So Sour They Ended Up in Court

Ciara may have flipped the restart button on her personal life, finding companionship and new love with NFL star Russell Wilson.But her past with Future is not as far behind her as she would prefer.The singer and her ex-fiancé, with whom she shares custody of their almost 2-year-old son, Future Zahir Wilburn, have been in and out of court for over a month, the two now having spent more time at odds than they spent engaged.Where did it all go so wrong? Couples break up all the time and manage to refrain from tearing each other up on social media. (Well, at least couples break up sometimes and avoid all that. Admittedly it's becoming increasingly rare.)Ciara and Future, however, enjoyed only a short time of happily engaged bliss before they were, first, working on their relationship and, sho...
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