There has been a significant reckoning in the US on the issue of police use of force and police reform in the last few years. Some support solutions which would aim to reduce police use of force overall while others believe we must begin by holding those officers who use force improperly accountable for their actions. In today’s episode of Measured…

In this episode of Measured Justice, we’re talking about the Academy for Justice’s newest initiative, Rethinking Crime and Violence. This initiative serves to comprehensively explore and reconcile violent crime and its role in the criminal justice system. The Academy for Justice has formed a Blue-Ribbon Committee made up of leading scholars, drawn …

In this episode of Measured Justice, we'll be discussing criminal justice reform at the twilight of marijuana prohibition, and, in particular, securing the release of those incarcerated for non-violent marijuana related offenses. The issue has received increased attention given the sea change in state and local marijuana law occurring across the na…

This episode of Measured Justice is a bit different from the others. On Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, The Academy for Justice, in partnership with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and the Tempe Police Department, hosted an event for local high school students titled, The TALK! “Your Voices, Your Choices”: Candid conve…

A diverse group of practitioners and scholars recently gathered for a working-group process to create the Miscarriages of Justice: Litigating Beyond Factual Innocence Guide. The hope is that this Guide will provide post-conviction litigators, conviction integrity prosecutors, judges, legislators, and wrongly convicted individuals themselves with in…

Measured Justice is excited to launch a new series – Leaders and Legends of Criminal Justice Reform – where we will be speaking with those who have paved the way and led the charge in trying to make positive changes to how our criminal justice system works. Last week we posted our inaugural episode to this series where we spoke with Pat Nolan, Dire…

Measured Justice is excited to launch a new series – Leaders and Legends of Criminal Justice Reform – where we will be speaking with those who have paved the way and led the charge in trying to make positive changes to how our criminal justice system works. In this inaugural episode, we speak with Pat Nolan, Director Emeritus of the American Conser…

In this episode of Measured Justice, we take a deep dive into victims’ rights, an area of the criminal justice system that can sometimes get lost in the shuffle when talking about reform. All states, the District of Columbia, and most U.S. territories have statutory or constitutional provisions that ensure rights and protections for victims of crim…

In December 2020, Notre Dame Law School Professor Stephen F. Smith, wrote a post-election update for the Academy for Justice detailing how he saw criminal justice efforts playing out in the newly elected Biden Administration over the next four years. In this episode of Measured Justice, we spoke with Professor Smith to see where we are at two years…

In this episode of Measured Justice, we take a look at behavioral jurisprudence, or the hidden behavioral forces that drive society’s reactions and responses to the law. The discussion is based off of the book The Behavioral Code and we are joined by its authors, Benjamin van Rooij, Professor of Law and Society and Director of Research at the Unive…

Today on this podcast episode we talk about FREE BUT NOT FREE, post-conviction work. We are joined by Lindsay Herf, Executive Director of The AZ Justice Project, Karen Smith, Senior Litigation Counsel for the AZ Justice Project, and Chris Tapp, who served 20 years in prison in Idaho for a crime he did not commit (was ultimately fully exonerated). Y…

When Academy for Justice Deputy Director Valena Beety first became a federal prosecutor, her goal was to protect victims, especially women, from cycles of violence. What she discovered was that not only did prosecutions often fail to help victims, they frequently relied on false information, forensic fraud, and police and prosecutor misconduct. See…

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. Since 1949, the United States has observed the month of May as Mental Health Awareness Month to raise awareness and educate the public about mental illnesses, the realities of living with these conditions, and strategies for attaining mental health and wellness. In th…

April is Second Chance Month which begs the question - second chances or second opportunities? This podcast dives into the background of second chance month, explores legislation and various second chance proposals, and provides context for the landscape of clemency in light of new awareness. In this episode our hosts Erik Luna and Ashley Oddo are …

Discriminatory and aggressive policing has socialized a generation of Black teenagers to fear, resent, and resist the police. In the book The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth, Author and Georgetown University Law Professor Kristin Henning draws upon 25 years of experience representing Black youth in Washington, D.C.’s juvenil…

Today on this podcast episode, we’re talking about criminal justice in Indian County. We’ll hear from 3 leaders and scholars in Indian County to discuss this important topic. We’re fortunate to be joined byAddie Rolnick, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Professor of Law at University of Nevada Las Vegas Law School and Faculty Director of thei…

Did you know Arizona is the first state to eliminate peremptory challenges? In this episode, MEASURED JUSTICE invites lawyers to discuss Batson and peremptory challenges.Von Legalease Podcast

In this episode, MEASURED JUSTICE invites legal experts to discuss Batson and peremptory challenges.Von Legalease Podcast

Join us for our podcast spinoff launch for MEASURED JUSTICE, covering criminal justice reform topics in America. For our first episode, we discuss issues in prison which precipitated the Dignity Act and similar legislation across the country.Guests: Kurt Altman, State Director in Arizona and New Mexico for Right on Crime, Owner and Principal of Kur…

Today's podcast episode features leaders in reforming accountability for police who use excessive or deadly force against civilians. They each have proposed statutory reforms, which have been adopted in this past year. We're joined by Professor Cynthia Lee at the George Washington University Law School, Professor Catherine Smith at the University o…

In partnership with ASU Law's Academy for Justice, we covered an episode on Forensic Evidence reform and what that looks like in our criminal justice system. Our guests for this episode are Lindsay Herf (Executive Director of the Arizona Justice Project), Sandra Thompson (Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Justice Institute), and Brandon…

Back in 2019 Legal Ease Podcast produced an episode on bankruptcy law in the marijuana business, where Judge Dan Collins and ASU Law Professor Laura Coordes spoke on the matter. At the beginning of this year in January we got word from Judge Collins that our episode reached Guam and specifically the ears of Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood. We…

Throughout 2020, Legal-Ease Podcast produced episodes with partner ASU Law's Academy for Justice, covering COVID-19 and its impact across communities.This episode discusses COVID-19's impact on Black communities, and the conversation navigates key history, vaccination, and steps toward building trust. We welcome guests Dr. Akilah A. Jefferson Shah …

In partnership with the Academy for Justice, we covered an episode on “The Controlled Substances Act at 50 Years”, which was a wonderful conference held at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in February 2020 before quarantine. The timing for this episode couldn’t be better, as there is an ongoing national discussion on War on Drugs, the Opioi…

In partnership with the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law's Academy for Justice, we interviewed both candidates for Maricopa County Attorney — Allister Adel and Julie Gunnigle — on their stances on criminal justice topics.Here is current Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel's interview.Von Legalease Podcast