State Courts

Courts Must Lead in the Crisis of Addiction

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Vol. 104 No. 1 (2020) | A Clearer View

Last year, more Americans died of opioid overdoses than of many cancers, gunshot wounds, or even car crashes. In fact, by at least one metric, the epidemic is more dire […]

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Connecticut Court House

Sitting on the Bench: My Adventures in a Connecticut Court

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Vol. 104 No. 1 (2020) | A Clearer View

Fellow judges, I highly recommend keeping a diary of your daily adventures in the courthouse. It would be hard to make up stories that are better than the reality of […]

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preparing for a pandemic

Preparing Courts for a Pandemic

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Vol. 104 No. 1 (2020) | A Clearer View

As the coronavirus emerged around the globe early this year, it quickly began to affect every facet of society and government, including state courts. Unlike in prior instances of mass […]

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Judging Eyewitness Evidence

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Vol. 104 No. 1 (2020) | A Clearer View

Eyewitness evidence, in which a witness visually identifies the culprit, is a staple of criminal investigations. But its fallibility is notorious. As the National Academy of Sciences explained in an […]

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Distinguishing Between Reliable and Unreliable Eyewitnesses

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Vol. 104 No. 1 (2020) | A Clearer View

Increasing research shows that eyewitness confidence at the time of the initial identification can be a strong predictor of accuracy under appropriate lineup identification conditions.1 In such conditions, police show […]

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The Creation and Conclusions of the Third Circuit Task Force on Eyewitness Identifications

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Vol. 104 No. 1 (2020) | A Clearer View

In 2016, the Third Circuit sat en banc to hear the case of Commonwealth v. Dennis.1 Little did the court realize the sustained impact this single appeal would have on […]

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A Clearer View: The Impact of the National Academy of Sciences Report on Eyewitness Identification

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Vol. 104 No. 1 (2020) | A Clearer View

Six years ago, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) convened a panel of experts to consider the problem of eyewitness identification. Eyewitnesses have long played a significant role in […]

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Assessing Risk: The Use of Risk Assessment in Sentencing

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Vol. 103 No. 2 (2019) | Pay NCAA athletes?

Judges are using risk assessment instruments in criminal cases more than ever before. Their role is increasingly prominent at all stages of the criminal justice system, including policing, pretrial detention, […]

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After Uniqueness: The Evolution of Forensic Science Opinions

After Uniqueness: The Evolution of Forensic-Science Opinions

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Vol. 102 No. 1 (2018) | Forensic Fail

Big changes are occurring in forensic science, particularly among experts who compare the patterns found in fingerprints, footwear impressions, toolmarks, handwriting, and the like. Forensic examiners are reaching conclusions in […]

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Boxed In: Does the Prospect of Re-Selection Influence Judicial Decision Making?

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Vol. 103 No. 3 (2019) | Fees, Fines, and Bail

When Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer was given the opportunity to write on a topic of her choosing as part of Duke Law’s Master of Judicial Studies program, she gravitated […]

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