Articles in this Issue

1. Attacking the False Confession: Advocacy in the State Forum

   Wrongful convictions stemming from false confessions and a growing field of false confession research have paved the way for greater public understanding of factors that lead to false confessions. The authors explore the underlying causes of false confessions and the importance of state-level reform.

   Rebecca Brown, Michelle Feldman, Nigel Quiroz, and Marguerite Sacerdote

2. COVID-19’s Next Victim? The Rights of the Accused

   What is the best way to resume in-person proceedings as courts reopen after closures stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic? Defendants have a right to be physically present in the courtroom. How can courts ensure a fair and constitutional process going forward?

   Dubin Research and Consulting

3. COVID-19’s Next Victim? The Rights of the Accused

   What is the best way to resume in-person proceedings as courts reopen after closures stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic? Defendants have a right to be physically present in the courtroom. How can courts ensure a fair and constitutional process going forward?

   Dubin Research and Consulting

4. Cross Country: You should have been told

   The “you should have been told” technique offers experts a way to concede their errors while protecting their self-image by blaming others.

   Larry Pozner

5. Suppressing Surreptitious DNA Samples in a Criminal Case

   “Surreptitious DNA sample” refers to the collection and analysis of DNA from a person without the person’s knowledge and without coercion. For example, the police may swab a suspect’s DNA from a discarded cigarette. Oded Oren outlines an argument for suppressing the DNA information extracted from the analysis of surreptitiously obtained DNA rather than suppression of the DNA itself or the physical object from which it was obtained.

   Oded Oren