Campus Announcements

Why Didn't the Grand Juries Indict in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner Homicides? The Ferguson and Staten Island Cases
Tung Yin, Professor, Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College

In two high-profile incidents from late last year, confrontations between police officers and African-American suspects resulted in the deaths of those suspects as a result of lethal force. As details emerged through eyewitness accounts and, in the Staten Island case through a video recording, civil rights groups and media members began to question the legality of the use of lethal force. Both local district attorneys presented the cases to grand juries, which had the option of indicting the responsible police officers for murder or manslaughter but ultimately declined to do so. What are grand juries, and why does our legal system use them? Are they suitable for determining whether police officers should stand trial and if not, what alternatives are there?

Tung Yin has been a law professor for more than 12 years, including the last five and a half at Lewis & Clark Law School. He teaches courses in criminal procedure, federal criminal law, national security law, and terrorism and the law. He has published over 30 articles in law journals, several book chapters and book reviews, and numerous newspaper editorials. Before teaching law, he served as a law clerk for federal judges and then practiced law for three and a half years with the Los Angeles law firm Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, specializing in white collar criminal defense and employment law. He earned his Bachelor's degree from the California Institute of Technology and a master's degree in journalism and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. For questions contact Caitlin Bergeon, Program Manager for the Office for Institutional Diversity.

Tags

Featured