Law

April 9, 2013

April 1, 2013

No one in Baltimore has more power to enforce the law than Police Commissioner Anthony Batts and State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein.  Commissioner Batts has been in the job since November; State’s Attorney Bernstein just over two years. 

Sheilah talks with both of them.

March 29, 2013

0329lines_extra.mp3

A federal appeals court has reversed a Baltimore judge’s ruling on Maryland’s handgun permitting law, saying the state can insist an applicant show “good and substantial reason” to carry a gun.

Today marks the golden anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, Gideon v Wainwright, that affirmed the Sixth Amendment right of all criminal defendants, including the indigent, to counsel. A look back at Gideon and the defense of the poor, plus the effort to provide “civil Gideon” for those who cannot afford a lawyer.

The Justice Policy Institute, a Washington-based organization that supports lowering the nation's incarceration rate, says five states have reduced youth confinement by more than 50 percent over the last decade. What practices did they implement to achieve these results, and what's being done in Maryland? Our guests: Spike Bradford, senior research analyst for the Justice Policy Institute; and Scott Beal, executive director of community services for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Gale E. Rasin, recently retired, shares her observations and experiences about juries with Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, author of "Why Jury Duty Matters: A Citizens Guide to Constitutional Action." Ferguson is professor of law at the David A. Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia

March 13, 2013

In 1950, Baltimore city banned the use of lead paint in homes. But, city residents, of whom children and pregnant women are the most affected, are still being poisoned by the lead paint that was applied more than sixty years ago.

March 4, 2013

Responsibility to become an activist.mp3

Sawsan on arriving in Baltimore.mp3

Untreated mentally ill people are more likely to be arrested, more likely to be incarcerated and more likely to commit another crime after release. In this hour of Midday on the Law, Judge Gale E. Rasin talks about the Baltimore Circuit Court's special effort to reduce violent offenses by providing defendants with community-based treatment instead of incarceration or probation. With Baltimore attorney Jim Astrachan.