Unfair and Arbitrary

Here are some links related to Nathanson's article outlining the problems in the U.S. legal system:

• Here's a decent overview article on measuring the reliability of the justice system. How often do courts convict the wrong person? 
• Brandon Garrett researched 250 cases in which DNA evidence overturned wrongful convictions.  His book is Convicting the Innocent.  One of his big points is just how unreliable eyewitness memory can be. 
• Most of us don't realize just how much of our memories are complete fabrications. In other words, our memory doesn't work the way we think it does.
• Studies show that arbitrary factors often influence verdicts, such as a defendant's attractiveness, or accent, or willingness to smile, or display of emotion in the courtroom.  
• And judges aren't above such biases: judges' verdicts are influenced by all sorts of weird factors, like the time of the day the verdict is made.
• Another big problem is the two-tiered court system: we seem to have one set of rules for the wealthy and powerful, and another set of rules for the rest of us.