Back in Black

The U.S. Supreme Court opens a new term today, and of course there is a new face in the line-up as Justice Sonia Sotomayor begins her tenure after replacing retired justice David Souter.

There will be several cases of interest to criminologists before the Court this session:

The court is also taking on the issue of gun rights again. Last year, the court declared for the first time that the constitutional right to bear arms is an individual right that puts some limits on federal laws and regulations. Specifically, the court struck down a total ban on handguns in the District of Columbia.

This term, in a case involving a Chicago gun ban, the court examines whether the same limits apply to state and local laws.

In the criminal law field, two cases from Florida test whether it is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a minor to life in prison without parole for crimes that do not involve a death.

One case involves a 13-year-old sentenced to life in prison without parole for sexual battery. The other case involves a 17-year-old sentenced to life after violating his probation for an earlier armed robbery.

As for white-collar criminal law, the court will examine the federal law that allows business executives to be prosecuted for depriving shareholders of their honest services — and similarly allows prosecutors to bring charges against public officials for depriving citizens of their honest serves.

At least one justice, Antonin Scalia, has suggested that the expansive phrase "honest services" invites abuse by headline-grabbing prosecutors, because it's so broad that no citizen can know what conduct is illegal.

Have a thought about the criminal law (or other) cases before the SCOTUS this term? Let us know in the comments!

P.S. Like the post title? Here's a little AC/DC to kick off your Monday!

Weekend Musical Fun

I posted this on my Facebook page, but I wanted to post it here, too, because it's so darn cool. As you kick off your weekend, take a second to marvel at humans' innate understanding of music. It truly is our universal language. Enjoy! (h/t EW)

Bobby McFerrin at the World Science Festival 2009

Fun Viral Videos for Your Wednesday

When time allows, I've got a few crime-related stories I'm looking forward to posting about. In the meantime, I wanted to quickly share two great viral videos I recently came across (neither of which, by the way, is the Susan Boyle video, though I watched that one a trillion times like everyone else on the planet).

First up, an economics less in a minute-and-a-half, courtesy of one funny guy and lots of pennies:



That's something else, isn't it?

(via the Daily Dish)

Depressed by the sight of all those pennies representing our national debt? Then I suggest watching this feel-good video, which features several hundred dancers surprising the passengers in an Antwerp, Belgium train station with a (seemingly) impromptu dance to "Do-Re-Me" from The Sound of Music. Seriously, just try not to smile:

You can find some commentary on why this video is so much fun to watch here and here.

(via...my dad!)

Happy Wednesday, all!

Friday CJ Funnies, Part II: More Musical Madness

Pop quiz, hotshot: how many different theories of juvenile delinquency can you identify in the following clip?

Feminists Don't Have a Sense of Humor

I am going to show this video in every one of my Gender & Crime classes from now on. And maybe in every class I teach regardless of topic. Either way, this is the most fun (and catchy!) send-up of feminist stereotypes I have ever seen. (Lyrics are below the clip; thanks to Feministing for brightening my day.)

“Mother of Pearl” – Nelllie McKay

Feminists don't have a sense of humor (tsk tsk tsk)
Feminists just want to be alone (boo hoo hoo hoo!)
Feminists spread vicious lies and rumor
They have a tumor on their funny bone

They say child molestation isn't funny (ha ha ha ha)
Rape and degradation’s just a crime (lighten up, ladies!)
Rampant prostitution, sex for money (what's wrong with that?)
Can't these chicks do anything but whine?

Dance break!

Da da da da da da da da da
Da da da da da da da da da (woo hoo!)
Da da da da da da da da (yeah, take it off!)
Da-da-da da da da da da da dum

They say cheap objectification isn't witty (it's hot!)
Equal work and wages worth the fight (sing us a new one)
On demand abortion, every city (okay, but no gun control!)
Won't these women ever get a life?

Feminists don't have a sense of humor (poor Hillary)
Feminists and vegetarians (make mine a Big Mac!)
Feminists spread vicious lies and rumor
They’re far too sensitive to ever be a ham
That's why these feminists just need to find a man!

Da da da da da da da da da da.

I'm Dennis Kucinich, and I approve this message.

Friday CJ Funnies: Razzle Dazzle 'Em

I was thinking the other day about how long it's been since I've seen a stage production. Given my love of musical theatre, this is most distressing to me. So, I decided that this Friday CJ Funny would come courtesy of the Great White Way.

Originally I wanted to post ""The Crime of the Century" from Ragtime, a terrific menage-a-trois-and-murder-themed song from one of my all-time favorite musicals. ("Oh! Oh!/Harry's a jealous man/Bang! Bang!/That was the end of Stan!") Alas, I could not find a video of the Broadway cast performing this number, though I did find this clip of a summer theatre group performing it so you can at least hear the song.*

Instead, I decided to post a different (but equally great) menage-a-trois-and-murder-themed song from another one of my favorite shows: ""We Both Reached for the Gun" from Chicago. A synopsis for those who (gasp!) are unfamiliar with the plot:

Chorus girl Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger, here in the 2002 movie version) has murdered her lover and hired slick, handsome defense attorney Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) to represent her. At a press conference, Billy spins an alternate (and false) version of the murder in which Roxie acted in self-defense (because, you know, she and her ex "both reached for the gun"). This number is staged as a ventriloquist act in which Billy supplies the words coming from the mouth of his "dummy," Roxie. Naturally, the gullible press corps -- powerless before Billy's substantial charm -- gleefully laps up his story.

So please enjoy the clip, but be warned: you'll be singing this song for the rest of the day. Oh yes! Oh yes! Oh yes, oh yes! Oh yes! Oh yes! Oh yes, you will!

*To get a taste of just how amazing Ragtime is, watch the Broadway cast perform the show's opening number at the 1998 Tony Awards (at which it won Best Original Score) here.

Just Nod if You Can Hear Me...

My goodness, the blog's been quiet lately! Perhaps a fun little exercise will entice some of you away from your end-of-semester duties long enough to comment here?

The good folks over at scatterplot also endured a bit of a blogging dry spell recently, broken by belle lettre's post requesting readers' favorite songs about sociology. I have shamelessly stolen borrowed this idea for use here.

So, tell me: Do you have any good songs that illustrate criminological topics/theories/concepts? (Velma hinted about this very topic a few months ago, and I seem to recall that Patch was working on compiling such a list at one time. Is that still true, Patch?)

Me? I'd say that pretty much the entire discography of Johnny Cash is relevant to criminologists. In fact, on my mental list of "things I'd like to write a published article about after I am tenured," the relevance of Johnny Cash's music to the study of crime is at the top of my list. (This paper even has a working title: "The Man in Black: Popular Culture's Foremost Criminologist".) A small sample, by topic:

Murder/Capital Punishment:
"25 minutes to Go"
"Joe Bean"
"Long Black Veil"

Incarceration:
"Folsom Prison Blues"
"I Got Stripes"
"San Quentin"
"Starkville City Jail"

Drug Abuse:
"Cocaine Blues"

Domestic Violence
"Delia's Gone"
(and, of course, "Cocaine Blues")

And those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head!

OK, so now it's your turn: what's your favorite criminological song? It can be pop, rock, country, hip-hop, Broadway -- whatever springs to mind. (And feel free to link to the lyrics and/or video on YouTube if one is available.) Perhaps if we get enough good suggestions we can create a compilation CD!

P.S. Speaking of music, hopefully everybody got the reference in the post title...

Get Back to Work!

Welcome back. I didn't get any nominations for great articles for 2007, and I am looking for suggestions as I update my syllabi. I also plan on playing a bit more music in my classes as that seemed to work last semester (I only tried it twice).

Here is the video from one of my favorite songs of 2007. I know it is a cheesy representation of the struggles of young black males in the inner city, and that most mainstream rap music is marketed to people like me. That said, I hear a lot of similar sentiments in the song to those raised by offenders in our jail interviews*.



For those looking for a more scholarly representation of the code of the street, look to this video of germantown avenue the inspiration and context of Anderson's work.

*I have an article coming out on this topic and I will share results soon.