The Children Act and Courts on Screen

Guest: Eric Jensen, Professor of International Law, BYU J. Reuben Clark Law School Florida’s very close Senate and Governor’s races were finally settled this week after a messy round of recounts that resulted in one key election official resigning. President Trump claimed, without evidence, that voter fraud had taken place in those races. But what about Russian interference? Heading into the mid-terms top US security officials warned Russia was actively trying to disrupt the election.

Guest: Jack Nichols, Photographer and Extreme Ironing Record Holder Perched on the edge of a waterfall, dangling upside down on a climbing wall, straddling a tree trunk thirty feet up – there has to be an easier way to get your shirt pressed. But “extreme ironing” isn’t just about getting the wrinkles out. It’s about the challenge – and the great photo opp. Photographer Jack Nichols specializes in stunning capturing hard-to-reach landscapes and he usually brings an iron along, too. He’s got the North American record for lowest-elevation extreme ironing.

Guest: Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, New York University When someone with lots of followers on Instagram posts about some awesome new weight loss tea that’s #sponsored, we know to view the endorsement skeptically. But when a respected nutritional researcher publishes a study in a journal that finds health benefits related to chocolate or almonds or kale or pomegranates, well that’s legit, right?

Guest: Thomas Aiello, Associate Professor of History, Valdosta State University. Author of “Jim Crow’s Last Stand: Nonunanimous Criminal Jury Verdicts in Louisiana” The power of juries in America. We know they’re an important part of the criminal justice system. We know that when you get called to jury duty, you have to go. And you probably know that you’re charged with a serious crime, a jury of 12 people will have to come to a unanimous decision in order to convict you. But actually, that’s not true in Oregon. It’s the only state that does not require a unified jury to convict someone of a felony. Louisiana was in the same boat until just a few weeks ago when voters decided to require a unanimous verdict in felony criminal trials.

Guest: Ilya Somin, Professor of Law, George Mason University Most states require a jury to come to a unanimous decision in order to convict someone of a serious crime. There’s a long-delayed correction to Louisiana’s old racially driven jury law. There is little-known power that juries hold. What would you do if you were sitting on a jury and you felt strongly that the law itself was unjust – or that the punishment was too severe? It turns out juries have a solution in their toolkit. It’s called jury nullification – which simply means that a jury can return a “not guilty” verdict if they object to the law itself or to the severity of the likely sentence.