Why the Criminal Justice System Operates Like a Multi-Level Marketing Scheme
Direct Answer Multi-level marketing schemes survive by recruiting new participants, concentrating profit at the top, extracting value from those at…
Michigan’s Broken Prison Grievance System Is Failing Incarcerated People—and a Federal Judge Just Called It Out
Direct Answer U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Stafford has called Michigan’s prison grievance system a “sham” — a…
How a Board of Commissioners Can Influence Prosecutions and Why It Matters
Direct Answer When people think about the criminal justice system, they typically focus on police, prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys….
Sovereign Immunity and Ex Parte Young: How Citizens Can Hold State Officials Accountable
Guest Contributor: This piece was written by Ally Micelli, paralegal and writer. Views expressed are the author’s own. Direct Answer…
Court Watching Meets Data: How Kalamazoo Is Building Accountability Through Community Observation
Direct Answer NowKalamazoo and Kalamazoo Defender have launched the Kalamazoo Court Observers program — a community-based accountability initiative funded by…
The “Fruit Of The Poisonous Tree” Doctrine, Simplified.
Guest Contributor: This piece was written by Ally Micelli, paralegal and writer. Views expressed are the author’s own. Direct Answer…
Michigan’s Rural Defense Attorney Crisis: How Legal Deserts Threaten Constitutional Rights
Direct Answer A significant shortage of criminal defense attorneys in Michigan’s rural communities is producing conditions that threaten the constitutional…
Allegan County District Court Judge William Baillargeon Resigning
Direct Answer Judge William Baillargeon of Michigan’s 57th District Court in Allegan County announced his resignation via livestream on May…
The Eugenic Origins of Three Strikes Laws: How “Habitual Offender” Sentencing Laws Were Used as a Means of Sterilization
Direct Answer Habitual offender laws — the legal predecessors to modern three-strikes sentencing — did not originate in the 1990s…
From Mass Incarceration to Restorative Justice: The Best Books to Understand and Reimagine Justice
Direct Answer The best restorative justice reading lists do more than recommend books about healing. They also explain the systems…
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