COVID Comes to America – 2020 September 28, 2020 – The duty of any leader, whether a CEO, president, or school superintendent, is to protect the interests of those they represent – whether it’s shareholders or members, school children and teachers, or the American public. Just as a parent has…
July 25, 2020 – In the thick of the night, crowds of protestors chant and sing for social justice, most are peaceful, albeit some infiltrate the crowds and vandalize the city. But peaceful protestors should not be punished for the acts of those who break the law. But, the First…
July 3, 2020 – If you are tired of hearing the same old news day in and day out, if you are tired of hearing the well-worn axiom “fake news,” if you are tired of listening to incoherent tirades and personal self-aggrandizement – you are not alone. Since January of…
June 19, 2020 – Today is a day of remembrance and reflection on how African-Americans were enslaved by those who we often exalt as founders of our nation and of our Constitution – but we rarely look to the darker side of American history – the enslavement of countless numbers…
June 18, 2020 – A widely unexpected turn of events has led the US Supreme Court to uphold Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as “DACA” since the Trump Administration had taken affirmative action to get rid of DACA to begin the process of deporting 700,000 kids brought to the…
June 7, 2020 – As the epicenter of the George Floyd killing, the state of Minnesota has a lot to deal with: systemic racism, and police brutality. But what about the law itself? The charges against Derek Chauvin, the former officer whose knee-in-the-neck maneuver is literally the killing tactic heard…
May 30, 2020 – Minnesota is literally on Fire and Derek Chauvin is the cause. The former police officer arrested George Floyd, handcuffed him, later pinning him to the ground with his knee on his neck. During this time, three other officers looked on while Floyd pleaded to breathe. The…
May 28, 2020 – If anyone is opposed to state-sponsored mandates, time is of the essence. This is an immediate call to action must happen Now! The Massachusetts state legislature is moving forward on two Bills (Senate Bill 2359 and the corresponding House Bill 4096) that would critically circumscribe the…
Discussion on Sexual Assault, Recent Judgments & #MeToo – how the Legal System is all too often more friendly to the ‘alleged’ perpetrator than the victim. Attorney Murphy discusses cases she has been involved where Judge’s trample on the rights of victims, censoring the words they use to describe their assault, making it impossible to describe their ordeal. She describes real cases litigated, including against a judge who ordered the victim to not use ‘certain words’ to describe her brutal unrelenting rape. Clearly, judicial overreach to stifle a victim’s First Amendment Right to choose her words, her speech in a public forum – a court of law. Justice itself is bare if a victim can be ordered to only speak of her ordeal in palatable terms – and not describe what the perpetrator had actually done to her. It is axiomatic, that to get a just result – the ability of the victim to tell her story without judicial censorship and bias is critical for a jury to reach a just result.
A fascinating story that unfortunately, is not out of character with the US judicial system – treating women as second-class citizens, and elevating abusers, and minimizing the effect upon the victim.
Attorney Wendy Murphy. She is a former prosecutor now working as a “victim advocate” and “impact litigator” to assist abused women and children – bringing change to how the courts, legislators, and the public view violence against women and children. She has written numerous briefs in both federal and state courts on Sexual Assault, to violations of Civil & Constitutional Rights – taking place on College Campuses & in the Workplace. Many of her cases and issues are of first impression (never before litigated) in MA and around the nation. She is an adjunct professor of sexual violence law at New England Law – Boston, and often appears as a legal analyst for a variety of news outlets including CNN, PBS & Fox News.
Her book, And Justice for Some is a riveting compendium of insights as a prosecutor as well as a victim advocate – on how lawyers and judges let dangerous criminals go free.
Guest: Dr. Daniel Breen, J.D., PhD,
Professor Breen is a Lecturer of Legal Studies at Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts. He holds a J.D. in Law from the University of Georgia, and a Ph.D. in American History from Boston College.
