News Roundup

I can’t recall if I’ve mentioned it before on this blog, but I was on the debate team in high school and college, and I coach a high school debate team now. I’ve coached several students who went on to debate for Harvard, two of whom won collegiate national championships and one of whom won a world championship, a rare feat for an American debater. So I was pretty surprised to read this article from The Guardian, which reports that a team of New York prison inmates defeated a team of Harvard debaters a couple of weeks back. Kudos to the inmates. I know from experience that those Harvard kids are sharp.

In other news:

Justices drift left as they age. FiveThirtyEight.com recently posted this article, which uses statistical analysis to suggest that Justices, especially those appointed by Republicans, tend to become more liberal as they age. As the article puts it, “[a] typical justice nominated by a Republican president starts out at age 50 as an Antonin Scalia and retires at age 80 as an Anthony Kennedy. A justice nominated by a Democrat, however, is a lifelong Stephen Breyer.”

New death penalty poll in North Carolina. A new poll by High Point University found that 72% of North Carolina residents believe that the death penalty is warranted in at least some cases. The poll is attracting some national attention. For example, Crime and Consequences argues here that the poll asks a better question than Gallup’s death penalty poll. The High Point University folks essentially asked respondents “are there any crimes for which you believe people should receive the death penalty?”

Volkswagen case turns criminal. Everyone knows by now that Volkswagen built millions of diesel vehicles that included software designed to cheat on emissions tests. Civil suits are rolling in, record regulatory fines are essentially certain to be imposed, and now the criminal justice machinery is gearing up. CNN reports here that German police raided Volkswagen headquarters looking for incriminating documents. If Volkswagen personnel in the United States were aware of the software, it’s easy to imagine criminal charges here, too.

New supplement to Arrest, Search, and Investigation in North Carolina now available. The School of Government’s popular treatise on search and seizure law has a new cumulative supplement, available here for $25. Note that the AOC has purchased copies for judges, magistrates, prosecutors, and PDs and will distribute them throughout the month of October.