April 12, 2016

#TheSyndromeFilm: Shaken Baby Syndrome Documentary and Wrongful Convictions

We are pleased to join investigative reporter Susan Goldsmith and filmmaker Meryl Goldsmith in announcing that their powerful film on shaken baby syndrome, “The Syndrome” will be available everywhere on video on demand starting April 15, 2016. iTunes, DirecTV, In Demand (cable outlets), Amazon Instant and so many more are all distributing the film.

An estimated 1,000 innocent people are currently incarcerated based on doctors diagnosing shaken baby syndrome, a child abuse theory that has been disavowed as “junk science.” The prosecutions, false allegations and devastation of innocent peoples’ lives continues even as the science has dissolved.

Several years ago, in England, the prosecution re-examined a series of its shaken baby convictions and re-evaluated its policies and procedures for handling such cases. Interestingly, the new wrongful conviction integrity unit in the LA County District Attorney’s Office told California Public Radio that they plan to review shaken baby cases.

Related Readings:

The Syndrome, Apple iTunes.
The Syndrome, Facebook.
Tara Haelle, Doctors Devise a Better Way to Diagnose Shaken Baby Syndrome, NPR North Carolina (Jul. 29, 2015).
Samantha Adams, Shaken Baby Syndrome and Wrongful Convictions, Innocence Project of Florida: Plain Error (Mar. 30, 2015).
Innocence Project, Washington Post In-Depth Investigation: Shaken Baby Syndrome, (Mar. 23, 2015).
California Innocence Project, Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Jae C. Hong, LA County’s New Wrongful Conviction Unit Flooded with Hundreds of Innocence Claims, 89.3KPCC (Nov. 13, 2014).
Innocence Project, Shaken Baby Cases To Be Reviewed, (Aug. 11, 2014).
James Ross Gardner, The Trouble with Shaken Baby Syndrome, Seattle Met (Apr. 2, 2014).
Anthony DiPietro, Battle of Experts: Controversy in Shaken Baby Case Set for NY Court, Pace Criminal Justice Blog (Feb. 14, 2014).
Steve Orr, Judge Orders Special Hearing in Shaken Baby Case, Democrat & Chronicle (Jan. 24, 2014).
Steve Orr, Watchdog Report: Shaken-Baby Science Doubt Grows, Democrat & Chronicle (June 29, 2013).
Gary Craig, Watchdog Report: Shaken-Baby Triad Still Rules in New York Courts, Democrat & Chronicle (June 30, 2013).

March 2, 2015

In Memoriam: Monroe Henry Freedman, April 10, 1928 – February 26, 2015

As many of you may know, Monroe H. Freedman died on February 26, 2015. His funeral was held yesterday, March 1, 2015 and his obituary is available at this link.

Criminal practitioners of all stripes owe a tremendous debt to Prof. Freedman. He was a dean, a scholar, a writer, an outspoken defender of civil rights and liberties. But for our community, what he really did was to provide intellectual and moral legitimacy to ethical criminal advocacy. Without his integrity, intelligence, and courage, criminal defense lawyers would still be accused of being no better than hired guns, having no moral compass. He legitimized zealous criminal advocacy by grounding it in law, ethics, and morality; and by his own intelligence and integrity. By doing so, he improved the quality of criminal litigation on both sides of the aisle. He inspired generations of law students and lawyers to do better with pride. His generous and open assistance to students, other professors, lawyers – to anyone who sought his help – was absolutely unique. He made us all better and he made the system better.

Related Readings:

Prof. Freedman’s Biography (at Hofstra Law)
Prof. Freedman’s Publications (at Hofstra Law)
Prof. Freedman’s Scholarly Publications (at Hofstra Law Scholarly Commons)

Tagged: criminal advocacy

#TheSyndromeFilm: Shaken Baby Syndrome Documentary and Wrongful Convictions

In Memoriam: Monroe Henry Freedman, April 10, 1928 – February 26, 2015

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