Law & Order: Special Valentine’s Unit

Forget the roses. This Valentine’s Day nothing says “Be mine!” better than one of Brandon Bird’s cool Law & Order-themed cards. Throw in a box of chocolates and a cheeky I ‘Huang’ to be with you t-shirt and you’re good to go.

And if the romance cools, you can always let Fred Thompson break the news to your soon-to-be former flame.

p.s. You can see more of Brandon’s work at brandonbird.com.
Administrator @ February 5, 2010
Great Bastards of History

In our True Stories of Law & Order books, Juré and I wrote about some of the biggest bastards in the annals of crime. Now, Juré has moved on to a different type of “bastard”—people burdened with the stigma of being born illegitimately who still managed to put their thumbprint on history. While some of the men and women in her new book seem to have been nice enough bastards, some fit the bill in both senses of the word.
So check out her new book. It’s called Great Bastards of History: True and Riveting Accounts of the Most Famous Illegitimate Children Who Went on the Achieve Greatness and it’s great.
—Kevin Dwyer
Dwyer @ January 15, 2010
Juvenile Justice
Crime & Justice, Law (In No Particular Order) Comments (0)

Truffaut takes us to juvvy in his classic The 400 Blows
In the past decade we’ve heard a lot about juvenile super predators—sociopathic kids that allegedly pose a danger to us all. Of course, there are kids who kill, but they are the exceptions. The reality is that most juvenile offenders commit non-violent misdemeanors such as vandalism, petty theft, and property damage. Most juveniles are tried in juvenile court.
Juvenile courts are now part and parcel of our criminal justice system. But this was not always so. Before the 18th century, juveniles–some as young as seven years old—as were tried in adult criminal courts in the United States. Those juveniles found guilty were given adult sentences.
It wasn’t until 1899 that the first court for juveniles was established. Based in Chicago, Illinois, this juvenile court was inspired by parens patriae—the doctrine that held that the state was responsible for the parenting of any child or individual in need of protection. Gradually, the rest of country followed Illinois’ lead; by 1945, all 50 states had adopted juvenile courts.
The implementation of juvenile courts saved most young offenders from being prosecuted in adult criminal courts. Juveniles who committed especially heinous crimes, or who were thought to be beyond redemption, were transferred to adult courts. The Juvenile Court Act required that the court examine the offender’s record and personal situation before determining where the juvenile should be adjudicated.
Fio @ January 9, 2010







