I’m pleased to announce the second event in Felician University’s ongoing series on Race and Criminal Justice in America, “Police Stops: What Are Your Rights? What Should You Do?”

The event features two speakers, Maria Lopez-Delgado and John E. Link. Maria is a 2013 graduate of Felician University (a philosophy major, by the way) and 2016 graduate of UNC School of Law; she currently works for the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender. John is an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice at Felician, where he teaches Criminology and Criminal Law; he was until recently Chief of Police in Clifton, New Jersey. I’ll be serving as moderator. 

The idea behind the event is to highlight two different but related perspectives on police stops–the constitutional/procedural rights we have in such a stop, and the right way to think about and act during such a stop, given police expectations of cooperation. Maria will be focusing on the first issue from a legal standpoint; John will be focusing on the second issue from a police standpoint. The hope is to provide a sort of extended FAQ on how to handle the stressful situation (for all involved) of being stopped by the police.

Secondarily, it’ll be interesting to see whether what Maria says coheres with what John says. In other words, it’s an interesting question whether constitutional criminal procedure is consistent with expectations by the police of the de facto (or even de jure) requirements of compliance during a stop. My own hunch is that the two things are not consistent, whether as a matter of law or as a matter of perceived legality, and that the inconsistency helps explain the frequency of adverse outcomes during such stops.

The event will take place on Thursday, November 10, 7-8:30 pm in the main auditorium of the Education Commons Building on Felician University’s Rutherford campus (227 Montross Ave., Rutherford, New Jersey 07070). All are invited and welcome. There is no fee, but all are asked to register at the door. Light refreshments will be served. For further information, please contact Irfan Khawaja at khawajai at felician dot edu.

The event is co-cosponsored by the Felician University Committee for Leadership and Social Justice, the University’s Pre-Law Program, the Department of Criminal Justice, and the UN Fellows Program.