Radio Curious discusses the grand jury verdict to not indict a white police officer in the killing of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo, with James A. Cohen, law professor at Fordham University Law School in New York City.
Barry Vogel, Attorney and Counselor, is the Host and Producer of Radio Curious. Christina Aanestad is the Assistant Producer.
The shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18 year old black teenager, in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9, 2014, by a since retired white Ferguson, Missouri, police office, Darren Wilson, is the subject of this, the first of two Radio Curious interviews devoted to this topic.  Our guest is Law Professor James A. Cohen, who has tried over 100 criminal jury trials and teaches criminal law and related topics at Fordham University Law School in New York City.  Professor Cohen and I review the spoken testimony, the written police reports and medical reports presented to the St. Louis, Missouri, grand jury, by District Attorney Robert McCulloch.  His office exclusively organized and presented that evidence, which âwith some exceptions,â according to Prosecutor McCulloch, was âmade publicâ shortly after he announced that the grand jury failed to return criminal charges against former Officer Wilson, on November 24, 2014. All the evidence presented to this Grand Jury is available on our website, www.radiocurious.org.  When Professor Cohen and I visited by phone on December 5, 2014, we created a context for what occurred when the Ferguson Grand Jury met between August 20, and November 21, 2014. We began our conversation with a brief history of grand juries, originally organized in England to protect the people from wonton acts of the King.  The books that Professor Cohen recommends are those written by Anders Ericsson: âThe Road To Excellence: The Acquisition of Expert Performance in the Arts and Sciences, Sports, and Gamesâ and âDevelopment of Professional Expertise: Toward Measurement of Expert Performance and Design of Optimal Learning Environments.â Â
Radio Curious is a half-hour, weekly, long-form interview program, now in it's 24th year. We interview people on a curiously wide variety of topics about life and ideas. Our website is www.radiocurious.org. If your station airs Radio Curious please let us know curious@radiocurious.org, we will add you to our list of syndicate stations. We also welcome questions, feedback and program ideas. Radio Curious 280 N. Oak St. Ukiah, Ca 95482. (707) 462-6541.
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