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The Docket: 10/15

By Mark Obbie

Unlike the rest of the university, I took Columbus Day off, which means I missed my Monday deadline. Thankfully, the rest of the profession has picked up for my slack, giving us some powerful examples of legal journalism this week:Eyewitnesses often are a crucial part of crime investigations, but how reliable are they? The Dallas Morning News looked at robbery trials in Dallas County over two years and found a disquieting reliance on eyewitness testimony, even when corroborating evidence was weak. The Chicago Tribune points to another big hole in the legal system: low conviction rates for domestic violence cases. In Cook County, only 17% of 19,000 such cases resulted in a conviction, leaving victims with little reason to resort to the judicial process for protection. And finally: the Supreme Court justice picked up the pen. Shadows fell on his face. He clenched his fist. Chief Justice John Roberts has raised eyebrows with a dissent from a denial of review, in which two paragraphs give the best mystery writers a run for their money. (Okay, maybe it's not that good, but it's still better than his recollection of Bob Dylan lyrics.)-- Rohan Mascarenhas

Full post as published by Lawbeat on October 15, 2008 (boomark / email).