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University of Nebraska Omaha
Samuel Walker is professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha and the author of In Defense of American Liberties: A History of the ACLU. He is a former ACLU board member.
PROFILE
Samuel Walker
Guest
FROM Samuel Walker
To the Point
The ACLU when free speech turns violent "I may hate what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." Some version of that old saying could be the motto of the American Civil Liberties Union. Most recently, it sued to protect the rights of white racists to rally in Charlottesville -- but since the protest turned deadly, there's been a backlash. Even some ACLU members have resigned, and the organization's on the defensive about the limits of free speech. Are America's constitutional protections too broad? Do they conflict with the right to bear arms? We hear about rules in Germany where free speech led to tyranny.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Justice Department investigation finds police bias in Baltimore A Justice Department investigation has found that the Baltimore Police Department has routinely discriminated against black citizens for years. The report issued Wednesday comes after a yearlong investigation following the death of Freddie Gray in April, 2015. Baltimore isn’t the only department that’s been investigated for biased policing by the Obama administration. Since 2000, the Department of Justice has scrutinized almost two dozen police forces around the country. How does Baltimore compare? And have reforms improved policing?
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KCRW Features
Can LA County fix its voting issues before November? Election Day is less than five weeks away. Maybe voting will go off without a hitch. But over the past 10 years, elections in Los Angeles County have been marred by problems that have led to a lot of voter confusion at the polls. In the first of a two part series, KCRW’s Saul Gonzalez looks at recent breakdowns in L.A. County’s elections, and how election officials plan to solve them with a massive election modernization program.
To the Point
The Kavanaugh Factor and the Midterm Elections Republicans have secured their long-term goal: a right-wing majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. There are conflicting expectations for rulings on abortion, immigration, voting rights--and the powers of both the White House and Congress. In this divided nation, public trust in the rule of law is also at stake. How will the bitter battle over Brett Kavanaugh impact next month’s midterm elections?