On today’s episode, we get a Supreme Court update from Sarah and not one but two entire Ted Talks from David. They cover a very obscure (yet interesting!) constitutional case, and then discuss two viral stories--one involving an elementary school and juvenile justice system in Tennessee, the other involving an absurd act of unfairness at Yale Law School. Our hosts talk poverty and privilege in the same pod. Oh, and Sarah winds it all up with a discussion of laches and estoppel that you don't want to miss.
Show Notes:
-ProPublica “Black Children Were Jailed for a Crime That Doesn’t Exist. Almost Nothing Happened to the Adults in Charge.”
The TN judge sounds like an American real-life Dolores Umbridge
I really appreciate the discussion here about the two-tiered justice system, which is absolutely real and especially glaring in certain communities. (I also grew up in a small town, and I always say it was a great education in the ways of power and influence.) And I agree that people need to pay a lot more attention to local government. It's worth noting, though, that re the Rutherford County case, the incident covered in the ProPublica article did get significant press at the time. I live in the region (though not in that county) and was certainly aware of it. The reality of the two-tiered justice system is not just that some people are allowed to remain blissfully unaware of the wrong done; it's that those wrongs are done with the implicit consent of many of them. More people than we'd like to believe are all too ready to buy the idea that an insanely punitive and racist justice system keeps them safe. I see an awful lot of ridicule heaped on the "defund the police" crowd but almost none directed at the cult of cop worship, which is every bit as real and arguably much crazier. Come to small-town Tennessee and count the number of thin blue line flags and bumper stickers. Go into any local Facebook group and watch the outraged pushback to *any* complaint about abusive policing. This is the mentality that allows people like Judge Davenport and her cronies to operate without interference.