Criminal Justice

As Black Lives Matter protests spread across the world, Australia must also confront the very present racism of how Indigenous people are treated by police.

If tear gas is a substance that is "evil in itself" (malum in se), why can police use tear gas on protesters? Just war theory provides criticism.

While the vast majority of protests have been peaceful, those that aren't challenge us in ways that require further investigation.

We need greater legal resources for identifying and acknowledging the various forms racial violence takes.

Are the conditions inmate find themselves in during the pandemic consistent with the purpose incarceration is meant to serve?

By what right can government officials prohibit worshipers from the physical and public practice of their faith?

Prisons are a hotbed for spreading infectious disease, and we've changed policies to accommodate this fact. But these changes should also make us reconsider how they function in normal circumstances.

The decision by prosecutors to lay blame at the social workers door paints an unrealistic and overly simplistic picture.

The case of Rodney Reed raises a number of troubling issues from the public's impact on procedural fairness to retrial's claim to justice.

Lee Boyd Malvo's appeal asks the Supreme Court to explain the bounds of what cruel and unusual punishment - what it does, and does not, mean.

Schreiber's case highlights the ambiguity surrounding terms like "death" and "life without parole."

The Amber Guyger case treads familiar ground regarding the legitimacy of "Stand Your Ground" laws invoking proportionality, necessity, and self-defense. How do events like this challenge traditional justifications?

A criminal record is an enormous obstacle to obtaining employment or housing. The strategy we choose for addressing this problem says a lot about our attitude toward the prospects of rehabilitation.

Are fines an appropriate punishment when the wealthy attempt to purchase social, political, and economic advantage at others' expense?

Our forensic methods aren't as objective as we assume, and the role prejudice is allowed to play undermines the legitimacy of our criminal justice system.

What is the moral and legal value of contractual promises of non-disclosure? Is it ever ethical to break our word?

The Supreme Court has refused to protect physician-assisted suicide at the federal level, but the number of states with aid-in-dying legislation is growing. What are the legal principles and moral values at play?

Should it be revealed that our actions are not as autonomous as we assume them to be, how might this impact our conception of punishment and desert?

The divergence between the concepts of justice and fairness can easily be seen in prosecutors' different explanations of their relationship to the law.

Nationalist rhetoric and policies are gaining traction, emboldening others to follow suit, and undermining our collective commitment to human rights.