Current Research
I am continuing my pursuit of the "white whale" of our criminal justice system—what happens to innocent people who are mistakenly accused. Having already looked at wrongful convictions by trial or plea, I'm now analyzing data from 400 jury trials to see whether trials that end in acquittals share common characteristics. Some very preliminary findings have already been published but much more remains to be done. It turns out that factors consistent with innocence — the defendant and another person testify on his behalf, the lack of a criminal record, a refusal to plead on the grounds that he is innocent — all help predict whether a case will end in a conviction or an acquittal. On another front, I am also still surfing through the documents gathered in connection with tobacco litigation examining the role of lawyers and litigation in the tobacco wars.
Recent Publications
My preliminary analysis of the acquitted innocent appears in "Lost Innocence: Speculation and Data about the Acquitted," 42 American Criminal Law Review 1167 (2005). I've also reported on the first 100 years or so of the law school's certiorari clinic in "Report from the Certiorari Clinic: Reflection on Routine Capital Cases," 3 Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 201 (2005).
My research on tobacco and public health has appeared as "Junking Good Science: Undoing Daubert through Cross-Examination and Argument" (with Lori Stickler) in 96 American Journal of Public Health 33-37 (2006); "Pure Smoke: Products Liability, Innovation, and the Search for the Safe Cigarette," in 7 Tulane Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property 1 (2005); and "Public Health vs. Court-Sponsored Secrecy" (with Anthony Robbins), forthcoming in Law and Contemporary Problems.
Most Interesting Case
State of Georgia v. William Moore, a capital case that I litigated (with the assistance of legions of Northeastern students) from 1979 through 1990 when Moore was commuted (and ultimately released the following year). Billy Moore has become a lecturer on the death penalty, and has spoken to classes at Northeastern virtually every year since his release.
Best Book Read in the Past Year
I really liked Saturday by Ian McEwan, and White Teeth and On Beauty by Zadie Smith. On the non-fiction front, Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is an illuminating look at a fascinating life (apparently, you can't like both Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, and Chernow likes Alexander Hamilton).
Favorite Thing to do When Not at the Law School
The two Gs — grandchildren and golf.
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