Episode 68: Evaluating Procedural Fairness in Court and on Zoom
Self-represented litigants primarily measure procedural justice by whether they had a voice, were listened to, and were treated fairly in court. Do these basic marks of overall satisfaction differ between the mode in which the hearing took place though? This week’s Proof Over Precedent episode features an interview with justice reform consultant Emily LaGratta and Nathanael Player, former director of the Utah State Court Self-Help Center, about a study looking at litigants’ perception of fairness in their respective experiences with either remote or in-person court.
Episode 67: Capital Jury Selection’s Hidden Biases
Serving as a juror fulfills one’s civic duty to ensure a system of checks and balances in the U.S. In capital cases, however, “death qualification” ensures that prospective jurors opposed to the death penalty will not have the opportunity to perform this civic duty. This week’s Proof Over Precedent episode features a “Student Voices” interview with Megan Byrne of the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project to discuss the shortcomings of less diverse juries due to race, gender, and religious differences. It also looks at a capital case in Kansas in which the courts examined the problems associated with death qualification and the death penalty overall.
Episode 66: Heirs’ Property’s Fragile Hold on Land Ownership and Justice
Just because an individual may own property, does not guarantee that the person may keep that property—that’s the warning stemming from this week’s podcast episode featuring an interview with Dr. Kara Woods, research analyst at Alcorn State University’s National Policy Research Center. Issues may arise from heirs property—co-owned land in which the name of the original, and now deceased, owner is still on the deed. Land loss due to heirs property issues affects groups disproportionately by race and class, and the policy protections against it are inconsistent across states. The ensuing legal hurdles mark a barrier that some families cannot overcome. One takeaway: Communicate with your family members!