Interrogating Racial Violence

This symposium essay constructs a theory of police racial violence that is based upon the social psychology of contemporary bias. Our examination of this violence through the lens of the mind sciences reveals that it is an inevitable and foreseeable consequence of current policing strategies and culture, even in the absence of institutional and individual racial animus. These practices, such as stops and frisks, create an environment that nurtures the unconscious racial biases and self-threats that can lead even consciously egalitarian officers to be more likely to use force disproportionately against Black suspects relative to suspects of other races. This Essay argues that if the state is to take seriously the project of protecting citizens from violence, then it must contend with the role of both unconscious racial biases and self-threats in producing racially disparate violence. Although one way to achieve this is to change existing legal doctrines to account for the pernicious effects of these psychological processes, our focus is examining ways to transform current policing strategies to better protect citizens from racial violence

Implicit Racial Bias in Public Defender Triage

Despite the promise of Gideon, providing “the guiding hand of counsel” to indigent defendants remains unmanageable, largely because the nation’s public defender offices are overworked and underfunded. Faced with overwhelming caseloads and inadequate resources, public defenders must engage in triage, deciding which cases deserve attention and which do not. Although scholars have recognized the need to develop standards for making these difficult judgments, they have paid little attention to how implicit, i.e., unconscious, biases may affect those decisions. There is reason to suspect that unconscious biases will influence public defender decisionmaking due to generations of racial stereotypes specific to stigmatized groups and crime. This Essay urges legal scholars and practitioners to consider how implicit biases may influence the rationing of defense entitlements and suggests ways to safeguard against the effects of these unconscious forces

Laryngeal Subsite Analysis of Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis (Wegener’s)

Wegener’s granulomatosis; Laryngeal manifestations; Subglottic stenosisGranulomatosi de Wegener; Manifestacions de la laringe; Estenosi subglòticaGranulomatosis de Wegener; Manifestaciones de la laringe; Estenosis subglóticaObjective To analyze specific intralaryngeal findings associated with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Study Design Retrospective chart review. Setting Tertiary referral center. Methods A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients diagnosed with GPA who were evaluated at the laryngology division of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary between January 2006 and September 2019. Results Forty-four patients (14 male, 30 female) were evaluated for laryngeal pathology. The mean age at onset was 48 years. Nine patients (21%) were identified with only vocal fold disease, 11 (25%) with subglottic disease, and 8 (18%) with disease at the glottis and subglottis (transglottic). The remaining 16 patients (36%) had a normal airway upon examination although they presented with laryngeal symptoms. Patients with glottic disease had statistically significantly lower voice-related quality of life scores than patients with isolated subglottic stenosis. Conclusions Although laryngeal manifestations of GPA is often described as a subglottic disease presenting with respiratory symptoms, subsite analysis show that only 25% of patients had subglottic disease alone, with similar rates of glottic disease alone. Laryngeal subsites have different epithelial mucosa, function, and physiology, and understanding the specific sites of involvement will determine symptoms and enable better analysis of the underlying mechanisms of disease. Glottic disease is associated with a reduction in vocal fold motion and voice changes. Subglottic involvement presents more frequently with airway symptoms. Further research is necessary to better define the specific regions of laryngeal involvement in patients diagnosed with GPA