Experts available to comment on police shooting, protests

The following UW–Madison experts can comment on the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha and the ensuing protests. In addition to those below, more experts can be found on the UW–Madison Experts page.

Keith Findley, Assistant Professor of Law. Findley is an expert on criminal appeals, post-conviction review and wrongful convictions. Kenosha-related topics include:

Role of video in criminal cases
Police use of deadly force or violence
Investigation into police officer’s actions on the job
rights of victims and their families in actions involving police force
anything related to SE Wisconsin regarding race, crime, etc.

Contact: kafindle@wisc.edu

Linda Greene is the Evjue-Bascom Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is an expert in civil procedure, civil rights, constitutional law, legislation and sports. Kenosha-related topics include:

The intersection of sports and equality
Police use of deadly force or violence
History of deadly force and link to unrest and protest
Federal role in police reform
Ballot box responses including progressive prosecutors
rights of victims and families in actions involving police force

Contact: linda.s.greene@wisc.edu

Ralph Grunewald is Assistant Professor, Department of English; Center for Law, Society & Justice. He is an expert on Expert on criminal justice (American and comparative), juvenile justice, legal storytelling, and law and literature.

Grunewald says, “The shooting of Jacob Blake comes almost exactly three months after the killing of George Floyd. In these three months, public protests and many legislative and social initiatives addressed issues of systemic and individual racism and police accountability. But as much as holding officers accountable helps to provide a sense of justice, it does not save lives because it does not affect how officers go into unclear situations and deal with conflict. What affects police behavior is training based on principles of de-escalation and proportionality.”

Contact: grunewald@wisc.edu

Ion Meyn is a professor of law. He teaches Civil Procedure, civil rights, wrongful convictions, race and the law, and trial advocacy. His scholarship examines race and class-based disparities that inform differences between civil and criminal procedure. Kenosha-related topics include:

Role of video in criminal cases
Police use of deadly force or violence
Investigation into police force or officer on the job

Contact: meyn@wisc.edu

David Schwartz is Foley & Lardner-Bascom Professor of Law. He is an expert on Expert on U.S. Constitutional Law and history, and the constitutional implications of American politics; procedural and evidence law. His Kenosha-related topics include:

police use of deadly force or violence
rights of protesters and free speech
governor’s power to call the national guard
federal and state power to deal with the pandemic.