Professor Points out Problems, Pitfalls of Police Profiling Practices
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University of Michigan Law School University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository Res Gestae Law School History and Publications 2003 Vol. 54, No. 7, November 25, 2003 University of Michigan Law School Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.law.umich.edu/res_gestae Part of the Legal Education Commons Recommended Citation University of Michigan Law School, "Vol. 54, No. 7, November 25, 2003" (2003). Res Gestae. Paper 126. http://repository.law.umich.edu/res_gestae/126 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School History and Publications at University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Res Gestae by an authorized administrator of University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. e�tae STUDENT NEWSPAPER oF mE UNIVERSI1Y OF MicHIGAN LAw ScHooL November25, 2003 �inre 1950 Vol. 54 No.7 Professor Points ou t Problems, Pitfalls of Police Profiling Practices By Sarah Rykowski "How do we meet this challenge?" other groups, from society, and l\ Harris, the leading national authority on eventually from the law itself. acial profiling on the part of racial profiling, asked hisaudience. "You law enforcement isn't [have to] look at what we knew about "It eats into the confidence that this necessarily an error borne out profiling before 9/11 and ask what it group must have in social institutions," of racism-it's simply used as a short cut means now." Harris said. "It reaches into society as a to stop crime. Officers apply race as one whole as society discovers it. The group of several factors to determine which Harris argued that, because of the begins to disbelieve, to distrust police people are more likely to be involved in "built-in assumption that blacks and once they become aware of it. There is the criminal activity. Whether or feeling that you can't trust not this policy works is an these institutions. You can't entirely different issue, one trust the law." David A. Harris tackled in his "Driving While Black; And the law, as Harris put Profiles in Injustice" lecture it, is "the glue that holds on September 19, 2003 at the society together. That's why law school. you are law students. That's why you are here today." According to Harris, author of "Profiles in So does racial profiling Injustice: Why Racial really do the job? Does it Profiling Cannot Work," really cut crime and benefit published in 2002, "What's society? In order to determine happening when race the effectof racial profiling on becomes a cue, the eyes of law enforcement, one needs law enforcement are drawn data. And data, particularly away from what's really in this area, is in extremely important: behavior. It not short supply. However, using only doesn't make sense, it actually Latinos are more crime prone, [officers] a study done on the NYPD by Columbia, hurts." use race as a targeting characteristic. [The theeffects of racial profiling are apparent. police] think it's the right way to catch Prior to the events of September 11, the bad guys and help people. It's guilt The information compiled by the 2001, most Americans would have agreed by association of an entire group." NYPD kept track of stops and frisks by with Harris. Post-September 11, however, officers,and a form was filed out for each feelings have changed. This guilt by association, however, stop, including the basis of the stop leads to the alienation of that group from Continued on Page 27 2 l\es �estae 25 .1R.obember2003 3Res ®estae A Ticket to Ride, Edi!Or in Chief Andy Daly Straight to the Big House Managing Editor: Jessie Grodstein Kennedy By .Jessie Grodstein The closest that the University comes Kennedy to bestowing its permission to sell a Executive Editor: student ticket is through the "validation" John Fedynsky or the bargain basement scheme. With this system, a student can price of $19.50 a ticket, get "friends and family" into the stadium University of Michigan on game day by paying a $25 flat fee. That Contributing Editors: i stu s ave the option of purchasing $25 buys the student a halogramed, D.C. Lee, Andrew Cattell, a season's worth of home games. The Te chnicolor sticker, while conveniently Sharon Ceresnie. Rebecca Chavez, opportunity comes as soon as the allowing the University to recoup some Sara Klettke MacWilliams, admission letter arrives, when one is but of the revenue from these tickets. Michael Murphy, Matt Nolan, a wee pup of a Wolverine. The same Jana Kraschnewski, $19.50 buys access to a Houston, Notre For those in need of further guidance Sarah Rykowski, Seth A. Drucker Dame or Ohio State game; "quality of on how to use the validation method, game" plays no part in the pricing. And those in charge of the www.mgoblue.com Web Site Editor: the tickets themselves are all printed with website provide a (helpful?) example: "On Steve Boender the same blue and maize patterns; an Thursday you find out that you need to Ohio State ticket doesn't come encrusted study and cannot attend Saturday's game, Artist: with diamonds or rimmed in gold. but your roommate's brotheris looking for Philip Weintraub a ticket. Your roommate can validate the So what makes some students think ticket on Friday so his or her brother can that they can unload these tickets for at use the ticket." Res Gestae is published biweekly during the school year by students of the University of least $150? Michigan Law School. Opinions expressed in Interestingly enough, there is no bylined articles are those of the authors and do As frequent visitors to the Law mention of the fact that you can charge not necessarily represent the opinions of the School's classifiedlist are well aware, the your roommate's brother ten times face editorial staff. Articles may be reprinted with out permission. provided that the author and Res days leading up to the November 22 value when "giving" him the ticket. Gestae are credited and notified. Ohio State kick-off saw a groundswell of postings advertising spare tickets. Most But shouldn't the simple laws of supply Res Gestae welcomes submissions. Please place students didn't name their prices, instead and demand dictate that the tickets should all articles. columns. or opinion pieces in the Res Gesrae pendaflexlocated on the third floor willing to let the free market dictate a rightly fall in the hands of the highest of Hutchins Hall across from the faculty ticket's value. ("Aamace" promised the bidders? Subjective value placed on an mailroom. Submissions may be made on 3.5" "best offerby noon Friday" would have Ohio State ticket does in fact raise its price disk or via email (preferably as an MS Word the ticket, while"Rshill" pressed readers, (or cost) above the $19.50 face value. attachment). Res Gestae reserves the right to edit all submissions in the interest of space. "make me an offer I can't refuse.") Along with the ticket, a buyer gets to witness an historic Big Ten rivalry, one Mailino address: Yet Michigan law clearly prohibits the where bowl eligibility is determined. And, Res Gestae sale of a ticket "at a price in excess of the with admission into the Big House, the University of Michigan Law School 625 South State St. amount set forth on the ticket." Mich. buyer even has the opportunity to be part Ann Arbor. Ml 48109 Comp. Laws §750.465. The law provides of the "largest crowd watching a live Phone: (734) 936-2574 for one exception, the rare instance in football game anywhere in America." which the person selling the ticket "has Web Site Address: http://www.law.umich.edu/ the written permission of the owner or Not to mention that the bargaining goes JournalsandOrgs/rg/ manager of the event or place where the both ways. Ssadighi,who started out with � event occurs." So, have the law-abiding a $200 asking price, admitted his folly and 116 Legal Research (near the Law School Student Senate office) students at the Law School been granted came back to the bargaining table with the this exception? following: "OK, so I had a hard time [email protected] Continued on Page 21 ------------------���===�es==@=e=st=a=e======25=�=o=u=�� ==er=2=00= 3=======�=====· ====3�11 Robert Ru bin Welcomed at 2003 Dean's Special Lecture By John Fedynsky Throughout his speech, Rubin referred booming 1990s. Particularly, Rubin 1L to deeper analysis in his book. His light criticized tax cuts that should have been ights, cameras and a standing hearted and at times frequent sales temporary and focused on those more room only crowd in Honigman pitches elicited laughter, particularly likely to spend. Auditorium welcomed Robert when he said that purchasers of 100 of Rubin on Tuesday, November 11. The his books "get a free toaster." The economic outlook, according to former Secretary of the Treasury for the Rubin, is good until about the second Clinton Administration and current Despite inherent uncertainty, Rubin quarter of next year. President Bush's director and chairman of the executive said that good and bad policy choices stimulus packages, homeland security committee of Citigroup, Inc. visited the exist and that much depends on those spending, and other factors will drive Law School to deliver the 2003 Dean's that growth, though Rubin noted Special Lecture. concerns about unemployment. The "big question"according to Rubin is, once the After brief remarks by Dean Evan stimulus runs its course, "will the Carninker, Assistant Professor Michael recovery continue and be self Barr, a relatively new member of the sustaining?" faculty and a former colleague of Rubin's at Treasury, formally introduced Rubin.