Why Democracy?
Why Democracy? The number of people claiming that the American governmental system is broken and that it is impossible to fix is growing. Anti-democratic rhetoric is now common. On Twitter, Facebook and other social media, people routinely claim that our founders created a republic, not a democracy, while others express support for rolling back democratic
Don’t Have An Attorney? Go to Jail!
Would an ‘Island of Honesty’ Protect Flint, MI from Future Poisoning?
Would an ‘Island of Honesty’ Protect Flint, MI from Future Poisoning? The people of the City of Flint Michigan were poisoned. There is no evidence that this was intentional; rather Flint’s citizens were treated like numbers in an accountant’s ledger, where spending the least money was thought to be the best decision. It was when
The Nuts and Bolts of Drug Testing – Part I – Justice Speaks Podcast More than 2,300,000 Americans are currently incarcerated, about a quarter of these for drug offenses[1]. Additionally, 80% of those in our prisons are either addicted to or abusing drugs[2]. Currently 40 states operate prison systems that are above 90% capacity; of those
Hospital Liability: Understanding the Issues
Hospital Liability: Understanding the Issues Hospital liability arises from two separate and distinct sources. The first comes from malpractice committed by medical staff and the second arises from the negligence of administrative staff. The legal theories behind these two sources of litigation are different and can cause confusion for hospital administrators. While a hospital’s liability
The Role of the Judge: Procedural Fairness and Drug-Treatment Courts
The Role of the Judge: Procedural Fairness and Drug-Treatment Courts The factors that make up a successful Drug Treatment Court (DTC) are diverse, but the emerging research demonstrates, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the interaction between a judge and a participant is central to that success[1]. The bond between participant and judge is not solely
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution As almost every American has learned from watching a myriad of police shows, a person charged with a crime has the right to an attorney and if that person cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for them. Contrary to the television shows, the language about the
Drug Courts: The Criminal Justice System Rolls the Rock, Part 2 – Justice Speaks Podcast (Part One of this interview can be found here.) In this podcast, Judge Brian MacKenzie (Ret) continues his interview with Judge Michael Haley (Ret.) about his upcoming article to be published in the Journal of Public Interest Law entitled “
Voting Rights: Precious Right Protected by the Courts – Justice Speaks Podcast Voting represents the very essence of a democracy and in the last week or so several courts have struck down restrictions on this basic right. In this podcast episode, Judges Peggy Hora (Ret.) and Brian MacKenzie (Ret.) discuss the recent court decisions involving one of
A Perspective on the Syrian Refugee Crisis From Istanbul
A Perspective on the Syrian Refugee Crisis From Istanbul I was recently invited by the Turkish Association of Judicial Unity, (YBD) to be an observer at an international symposium on the Syrian refugee crisis. It was arranged in cooperation with the law schools of Istanbul and Ankara Universities, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights
