Criminal law professor at the University of North Carolina. Director of the Prosecutors and Politics Project (@ppp_unc). Author of "Punishment Without Trial."
Chapel Hill, NC
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Incredibly excited to announce that I've been awarded a Fulbright to study at the Australian National University in spring 2024.
I'll be conducting research for my new book project on criminal sentencing in common law countries.
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Carissa Byrne Hessick retweeted
Here's a fake study: a claim, among over 100 Princeton faculty, zero donated to Republican candidates in 2023-2024.
Doesn't pass the smell test...my remedial homework for this team is to go to FEC.gov and find the 22 donors I found there. thecollegefix.com/nearly-100…
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Carissa Byrne Hessick retweeted
Even without the pedophilia, Dennis Hastert's legacy will be the Hastert rule for the House GOP. That alone meant that John Boehner would not pass the bipartisan Gang of 8 immigration reform bill.
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Those who are looking for a substantive evaluation of how the DA handled the Cornell rape allegations are in luck. The Sentencing Matters Substack has an interview with a former sex crimes prosecutor. She is unimpressed with how the Tompkins County DA has handled this case. . .
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To be clear, I don't know whether insulation from public opinion *is* what we want from our prosecutors. And I don't think that there is an easy answer to this question at all. In fact, it's because I think these questions are so difficult that I started @ppp_unc
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In any event, as I said. The interview is worth reading. It can be found here: sentencing.substack.com/p/as…
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Carissa Byrne Hessick retweeted
It would be pretty bad if Congress could kick out all the minority members on a party line vote every 2 years.
It's actually very pathetic and not funny at all that @timburchett doesn't see the irony of trying to block Chevalier from being seated because she said she used the flag as a napkin.
If disavowing the Constitution is disqualifying, he should be expelled from the House.
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Carissa Byrne Hessick retweeted
In part, it is because I have come to see the value of bureaucracy. We complain about it. But someone, somewhere, needs the dull technical skill to know how cold fish products must be stored, or which weedkillers must be banned on behalf of the bees. That is part of civilisation.
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Lady next to me at the airport who is quietly and slightly off-key singing along to all of the random 80s and 90s song they are playing in the terminal—I’m here for it.
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I find it remarkable how many Americans insist that Joe Biden was somehow directing the prosecution of Trump, even though Jack Smith was appointed as special counsel and thus guaranteed a significant amount of independence and insulation.
I look at this differently. He's showing a rival that he won't forget a slight (and trying to jail Trump for life was worse than anything Trump has done to Biden). Today we laugh together at a man who crossed me. Tomorrow I'll nail your ass to my wall if you cross me. Let's eat.
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Carissa Byrne Hessick retweeted
Tenth Circuit conference tonight: Justice Gorsuch says he's worried about antisemitism among young people today. Repeatedly emphasizes the US is a creedal nation.
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Carissa Byrne Hessick retweeted
To commemorate Dolly Parton on 9/25 (aka 9 to 5 Day) @NC_Governor issues a proclamation. Today is henceforth Dolly Parton's The Imagination Library Day of Reading. #ncpol
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I really appreciate when reporters include information about how Supreme Court decisions have changed the law without sensationalizing it. This is an accessible and accurate description of what the Supreme Court has done to federal anti-corruption law.
New: In late 2024, FBI investigators had enough evidence to launch a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins. Then Trump was reelected and eviscerated the FBI and DOJ teams handling public corruption probes. propub.li/4yLLwaF
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Fascinating story about a state legislature's decision to fund federal prosecutors despite an apparent need for more state prosecutors.
An example of national partisanship trumping ordinary federalism incentives? Or payback for local corruption prosecutions?
NC lawmakers beef up US attorneys’ staffs, leave Wake DA with no new prosecutors newsobserver.com/news/local/…
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