A highlight of our trip every year is the time we get to spend with Justice Aharon Barak and his wife Judge Elika Barak. Justice Barak is the former President of the Israeli Supreme Court, hailed as the father of Israel’s constitutional revolution and even cited by Justice Elena Kagan as one of her judicial … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2015: Day Three (almost done)–Dinner at the Baraks
One of the ways we learned about Israeli society was to spend a few nights at a kibbutz. A kibbutz is a collective community, traditionally based in agriculture, that was the way many Israelis used to live. Even though the kibbutz life was outside the comfort zones of some students initially, hanging out in the … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2015 (and some April Fools Fun): The Kibbutz
From our friends at the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program comes an announcement of an art contest (available at http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/hnmcp/hnmcp/news/2015-hnmcp-art-contest/). Any original artwork reflecting themes of conflict resolution or peacemaking welcome, with prize money and a place on the walls of Harvard going to the winner. TOTH Sara del Nido.
In one of the more emotional and difficult tours on the trip, we visited Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum and home to the International Institute of Holocaust Research. The museum itself houses hours of historical footage, video interviews, and artifacts, including the famous Hall of Names, a memorial dedicated to remembering each and every person killed … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2015–Day Three: Yad Vashem
On Monday morning, we were off for a quick stop at the open air market at Machane Yehuda and then a tour of the Supreme Court. And then we had the distinct treat of our own personal tour of Lifta, a destroyed Palestinian village since 1948 right on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Leading our tour … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2015–Day Three: Daphna Golan and Lifta
Yesterday the AP reported that prosecutors in Nashville, Tennessee “made sterilization of women part of plea negotiations at least four times in the past five years.” The cases all seemed to involve mistreatment or neglect of children and some involved seriously mentally ill defendants. The article makes it clear that these are just the known … Continue reading Disgraceful Example of Hard Bargaining in Plea Bargaining
Jennifer asked for my thoughts on the apology of a Louisiana prosecutor for his role in convicting an innocent man in a death penalty case. The apology is powerful. He states, in part, “In 1984, I was 33 years old. I was arrogant, judgmental, narcissistic and very full of myself. I was not as interested … Continue reading A few thoughts on a Prosecutor’s Apology
Late in the evening on Sunday, March 8, we met with Gershon Baskin and Riman Barakat. This was our last (official) meeting of a long day involving talks about peace and conflict resolution, and it way it was, as student Kelsey Mader called it, “the perfect way to end.” The rest of Kelsey’s recap follows: … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2015–Day Two (Last One!): Gershon Baskin and IPCRI
Even though we were not in the comforts of Marquette University Law School, I had to put the students back a classroom during a few stops on our trip. The first classroom experience came at Hebrew University, in a class led by Professor Avi Kluger, an expert in listening. (and the title of this blog … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2015–Day Two (Still!): Getting Handsy at Hebrew University
Apology letter to the Shreveport Times here. I would love to hear more about what Cynthia and my other criminal law / apology scholars think about this development. Are we seeing more evidence in the mainstream media that the public might be open to talking more frankly about such travesties of justice and the need … Continue reading Former DA admits he was wrong
