Escaping the Long Arm of the Law? Racial Disparities in the Effect of Failure-to-Pay License Suspension

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sian Mughan ◽  
Joanna Carroll
Keyword(s):  
2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Degli Esposti ◽  
Douglas J Wiebe ◽  
Jason Gravel ◽  
David K Humphreys

Establishing whether specific laws impact rates of firearm homicide in adolescents is critical for identifying opportunities to reduce preventable adolescent death. We evaluated Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, enacted October 2005, using an interrupted time series design from 1999 to 2017. We used segmented quasi-Poisson regression to model underlying trends in quarterly rates of adolescent (15–19 years) firearm homicide in Florida and disaggregated by race (Black/White). We used synthetic and negative controls (firearm suicide) to address time-varying confounding. Before Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, the mean quarterly rate was 1.53 firearm homicides per 100 000 adolescents. Black adolescents comprised 63.5% of all adolescent firearm homicides before and 71.8% after the law. After adjusting for trends, the law was associated with a 44.6% increase in adolescent firearm homicide. Our analysis indicates that Florida’s Stand Your Ground is associated with a significant increase in firearm homicide and may also exacerbate racial disparities.


Author(s):  
Roger J.R. Levesque

This chapter presents the overall conclusion that emerges from the book, which is that empirical findings may play a role in shaping legal responses to segregation and diversity in schools, but the bulk of current research increasingly becomes irrelevant. The legal system and researchers appear to be moving in opposite directions in what they identify as problematic and what to do about it. This chapter sorts through the lessons learned about the legal system’s evaluation of empirical research. It highlights the problematic nature of legal approaches, which now focus on remaining neutral/color-blind with regard to racial disparities. It then details how the legal system can better benefit from research that addresses racial and ethnic disparities.


Author(s):  
Christopher Muller ◽  
Daniel Schrage

This article examines the relationship between two facets of mass imprisonment—its novel comparative and historical scale and its pervasiveness in the lives of African Americans—and surveys respondents’ beliefs about the harshness of the courts, and bias in the courts or among police. Analyses of national survey data show that as states’ incarceration rates increased, so too did the probability that residents believed that courts were too harsh. However, while white Americans’ opinions about the courts were sensitive to changes in the white incarceration rate, African Americans’ opinions were not sensitive to changes in the African American incarceration rate. African American respondents who had been to prison or who had a close friend or family member who had been to prison were more likely to attribute racial disparities in incarceration to police bias and bias in the courts. The article concludes with a discussion of the possible consequences of declining trust in the law for the future of American punishment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 72-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Leslie ◽  
Mary Casper

“My patient refuses thickened liquids, should I discharge them from my caseload?” A version of this question appears at least weekly on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Community pages. People talk of respecting the patient's right to be non-compliant with speech-language pathology recommendations. We challenge use of the word “respect” and calling a patient “non-compliant” in the same sentence: does use of the latter term preclude the former? In this article we will share our reflections on why we are interested in these so called “ethical challenges” from a personal case level to what our professional duty requires of us. Our proposal is that the problems that we encounter are less to do with ethical or moral puzzles and usually due to inadequate communication. We will outline resources that clinicians may use to support their work from what seems to be a straightforward case to those that are mired in complexity. And we will tackle fears and facts regarding litigation and the law.


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