The Social Justice Distinguished Speaker Series, co-founded by Shari R. Berkowitz and Jennifer Sumner, assistant professors in Criminal Justice Administration at the California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), is delving deep into miscarriages of justice in the criminal justice system by hosting two nationally recognized experts. Steven Drizin, clinical professor of law and assistant dean of the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, will speak about juvenile false confessions on May 2 on the fifth floor of the University Library South Wing. Drizin is the post-conviction attorney for Brendan Dassey. Dassey's case has drawn international attention due ... Read More
Criminal Justice
Social Justice Speaker Series Welcomes Memory Distortion Expert Elizabeth Loftus
The first of two Social Justice Distinguished Speaker Series lectures planned for spring at California State University, Dominguez Hills will take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 5 in the University Library South Wing fifth floor event space. Centered on the theme of miscarriage of justice, the series welcomes Elizabeth Loftus, distinguished professor of social ecology and professor of law at the University of California, Irvine, speaking on "The Fiction of Memory." Social Justice Distinguished Speaker Series Dr. Elizabeth Loftus "The Fiction of Memory" Tuesday, April 5 • 4:30 to 6 p.m. Considered the most eminent female psychologist of the 20th century, Loftus is the ... Read More
Preventing Campus Violence Forum Promotes Vigilance at CSUDH
As the University Police Department carries out its more proactive and campus-inclusive approach to law enforcement, California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) is benefitting from its lowest crime rate in decades, but the campus community must still remain on guard in an era of increased campus violence. To lend a hand to the department's 20 sworn officers and 15 civilian employees, CSUDH encouraged a group of nearly 300 now well-informed observers during the “Understanding and Preventing Campus Violence” forum on March 2 to keep a look out for signs of suspicious behavior that could lead to violent acts. Along with identifying individuals who may have a propensity toward ... Read More
Shari Berkowitz and her colleagues discover that sleep deprivation increases risk of false confession
Shari R. Berkowitz, an assistant professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), and her fellow researchers provide the first empirical evidence that sleep deprivation increases the risk an innocent person will falsely confess to an act of wrongdoing. Berkowitz and her colleagues published their paper “Sleep deprivation and false confessions,” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Berkowitz assisted in designing the experiment, creating the research materials, and writing the paper. The researchers' breakthrough study found that after a single request, the odds of participants providing a false admission were 4.5 times higher if they had ... Read More
First-Year Seminar introduces freshmen to rigors of upper-division course work
Yesenia Cardenas, a freshman at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) who plans to be fully entrenched in the study of criminal justice in a couple years, is already gaining the experience and exposure to the rigors of upper-division curricula in the university's new First-Year Seminar program. Launched in fall 2015, the program is a “re-imagining of the university 101 course” for students to experience discipline-specific lecture that encourages debate and student engagement during class and activities. Taught by full-time faculty with doctorate degrees who are active in their fields, the program provides freshmen a learning experience similar to upper-division study in ... Read More
