Name: Flawed Convictions By Deborah Tuerkheimer (Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law)
SKU: 9780199913633
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Flawed Convictions Summary

Flawed Convictions: "Shaken Baby Syndrome" and the Inertia of Injustice by Deborah Tuerkheimer (Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law)

The emergence of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) presents an object lesson in the dangers that lie at the intersection of science and criminal law. As often occurs in the context of scientific knowledge, understandings of SBS have evolved. We now know that the diagnostic triad alone does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an infant was abused, or that the last person with the baby was responsible for the babys condition. Nevertheless, our legal system has failed to absorb this new consensus. As a result, innocent parents and caregivers remain incarcerated and, perhaps more perplexingly, triad-only prosecutions continue even to this day. Flawed Convictions: Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Inertia of Injustice is the first book to survey the scientific, cultural, and legal history of Shaken Baby Syndrome from inception to formal dissolution. It exposes extraordinary failings in the criminal justice systems treatment of what is, in essence, a medical diagnosis of murder. The story of SBS highlights fundamental inadequacies in the legal response to science dependent prosecution. A proposed restructuring of the law contends with the uncertainty of scientific knowledge.

Flawed Convictions Reviews

Deborah Tuerkheimer's Flawed Convictions is a brilliant and timely book that meticulously presents a clear, comprehensive, and thoughtful analysis of the evolution of "shaken baby syndrome" homicide prosecutions, their impact on innocent caregivers, and the failure of the American legal system to self-correct in the face of staggering evidence of its biases and errors. It is a shocking indictment of how one form of junk science has led to scores of wrongful convictions and destroyed hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent lives and families. Tuerkheimer provides important historical context, a framework for understanding the roots of the problem as well as its persistence, and a roadmap out of the current quagmire. Flawed Convictions is an invaluable book that, well-heeded, will help prevent future miscarriages of justice. * Richard A. Leo, Dean's Circle Research Scholar and Professor, University of San Francisco School of Law *
Flawed Convictions is a brave and eye-opening expose of the wrongful convictions of innocent caregivers in the death of a child based on 'shaken baby syndrome' (SBS). With meticulous research and gripping excerpts from police interrogations and criminal trials, Deborah Tuerkheimer traces the disturbing progression of SBS, from the scientific origins of the diagnosis to its role as a prosecution paradigm in child homicide cases. She uncovers major flaws in the criminal justice system, and offers a variety of reforms that have the potential to end the misuse of SBS, while reminding us of the reluctance of prosecutors to admit they were wrong. Flawed Convictions is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding how grave errors occur in the criminal justice system and what it will take to correct them. * Dorothy Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law & Sociology, and Sadie & Raymond Pace Alexander Professor of Civil Rights, University of Pennsylvania *
Law professor Deborah Tuerkheimer's new book, Flawed Convictions: "Shaken Baby Syndrome" and the Inertia of Injustice, comprehensively and neatly describes the evolution of the SBS medical hypothesis-how it emerged, became entrenched in both the medical and legal communities, then unraveled under the scrutiny of evidenced-based medicine, shifted in form but still persists-and the problematic ways it is used in criminal cases. The book takes a hard and honest look at the issues that increasingly divided doctors and challenge the legal system's ability to adapt to the changing medical and scientific evidence upon which the legal system is increasingly dependent. * Keith A. Findley and Barry Scheck, American Bar Association Criminal Justice Magazine *

About Deborah Tuerkheimer (Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law)

Deborah Tuerkheimer is a Professor of Law at Northwestern University School of Law. From 2009 to 2014 she was Professor of Law at DePaul University College of Law. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard College and her law degree from Yale. After clerking for the Alaska Supreme Court, Professor Tuerkheimer served for five years as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office, where she specialized in domestic violence and child abuse prosecution.

Acknowledgments ; Introduction ; Chapter One: A Medical Diagnosis of Crime ; The Prosecution Paradigm ; The Lure of Blame ; Chapter Two: Complications ; Scrutiny ; The New SBS ; Doubtful Convictions ; Chapter Three: The Triad Endures ; Today's SBS ; Child Abuse Specialization ; Prosecutorial Certainty ; Staying Power ; Chapter Four: Trials ; Deciding Guilt ; Case on Trial ; Chapter Five: Missed Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Error ; A Legal Perspective on Differential Diagnosis ; Anatomy of a Missed Diagnosis ; Chapter Six: Confessions ; Non-Confession Confessions ; Unreliable Confessions ; Inside the Interrogation Room ; Chapter Seven: Fluky Justice ; Acquittals ; Dismissals ; No-Arrest Cases ; Chapter Eight: Guilty Pleas ; A System in Flux ; When Innocents Plead Guilty ; The Meaning of Lopsided Pleas ; Chapter Nine: The Limits of Judicial Review ; Sufficiency Challenges ; Collateral Attack ; Chapter Ten: Reform ; Improving Medical Outcomes ; Upstream Innocence Protection ; Downstream Innocence Protection ; INDEX

Additional information

Sku

NPB9780199913633

ISBN 13

9780199913633

ISBN 10

0199913633

Title

Flawed Convictions: "Shaken Baby Syndrome" and the Inertia of Injustice by Deborah Tuerkheimer (Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law)

Author

Deborah Tuerkheimer (Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law)

Condition

New

Binding type

Hardback

Publisher

Oxford University Press Inc

Year published

2014-05-15

Number of pages

320

Prizes

N/A

Cover note

Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.

Note

This is a new book - be the first to read this copy. With untouched pages and a perfect binding, your brand new copy is ready to be opened for the first time

Flawed Convictions Deborah Tuerkheimer (Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law)

Flawed Convictions by Deborah Tuerkheimer (Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law)

Summary

Flawed Convictions Summary

Flawed Convictions: "Shaken Baby Syndrome" and the Inertia of Injustice by Deborah Tuerkheimer (Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law)

Flawed Convictions Reviews

About Deborah Tuerkheimer (Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law)

Table of Contents

Additional information

Customer Reviews - Flawed Convictions