courts

California Fights Order to Reduce Prison Overcrowding at Supreme Court

by Cara November 30, 2010

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court takes up the issue of prison overcrowding in California — or, specifically, the judicial order that California must release 46,000 inmates from its overcrowded prisons within two years. For those not familiar with this order issued last year, a little bit of background: At issue is whether the special three-judge [...]

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Rape Charges Are Dropped in Relation to Victim Who Threatened Suicide on Courthouse Roof

by Cara November 12, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of sexual violence, rape apologism, and suicide. Last week, I wrote about a Seattle case in which a 21-year-old woman threatened suicide from the top of a courthouse. The woman was scheduled to testify that day against the man who allegedly raped her for years as a child. The person expected [...]

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Rape Charges Dropped After 14-Year-Old Accuser Commits Suicide

by Cara November 11, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of suicide, sexual violence, rape apologism, victim-blaming, and bullying. Near Detroit, rape charges have been dropped against 18-year-old Joseph Tarnopolski, following the suicide of his 14-year-old alleged victim Samantha Kelly. A 34th District Court judge dismissed a rape case against an 18-year-old man who was charged with having sex with a [...]

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Victim Threatens Suicide After Plans For Alleged Rapist to Directly Question Her In Court

by Cara November 5, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of suicide, childhood sexual violence, domestic violence, and confronting one’s rapist. Yesterday, a truly terrifying even took place at a Seattle courthouse when the accuser in a rape case, who was set to testify that afternoon, made her way to the roof of the building, where she stayed and threatened to [...]

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Woman Faces Likely Deportation Because She Filed a Domestic Violence Report

by Cara November 2, 2010

Last year, a woman named Maria Bolanos called the police during a domestic dispute with her partner, hoping that they would protect her. Now, as a result of that phone call and the subsequent interaction with police, because she is an immigrant who is undocumented, it is probable that she will be deported soon. Last [...]

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Media Employ Tabloid Tactics to Report on Rape Allegations Against Candidate

by Cara October 30, 2010

Trigger Warning for descriptions of sexual violence, rape apologism, and homophobia David King, the Republican candidate for Wisconsin Secretary of State, has been accused of raping an unconscious woman and impregnating her, days before Tuesday’s election. It’s no big surprise that the media has run with such a story in a salacious and gossipy manner, [...]

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Man Who Tried to Force Woman Into Abortion at Gunpoint Charged with Attempted Murder of Fetus

by Cara October 26, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of intimate partner violence and attempted forced abortion. On October 6, Dominic Holt-Reid allegedly pulled a gun on his pregnant girlfriend Yolanda Burgess and forced her against her will to drive to an abortion clinic for a scheduled abortion she no longer wanted to have. Thankfully, she was able to slip [...]

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Women’s Re-entry Court Program Provides Alternatives to Prison for Non-Violent Offenders

by Cara October 19, 2010

Today, the LA Times has a really interesting profile on the Second Chance Women’s Re-entry Court program, a rehabilitation program and alternative to incarceration for women who commit non-violent crimes. The program is one of the first in the nation to focus on women in the criminal justice system: Thirty miles east of Tynan’s courtroom, [...]

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Canadian Court Overturns Ruling that Rape Victim Must Remove Niqab to Testify

by Cara October 15, 2010

In Canada in 2007, a woman who has been identified in the press as N.S. accused her uncle and cousin of molesting her as a child. The case was taken to a preliminary hearing, where N.S., a Muslim woman, was ordered to remove her niqab — a face veil that leaves the eyes visible — [...]

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Prosecutors Decline to Bring Rape Charges Against Two Michigan State Basketball Players

by Cara October 1, 2010

Trigger Warning for descriptions of rape and discussions of rape apologism within the legal system. On this blog, I talk an awful lot about how poorly victims of rape are routinely treated by police officers throughout the process of reporting their assaults. Sadly, they’re not the only ones who engage in rape apologism and victim-blaming, [...]

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