Media Library

  • Webinar: Understanding McGirt v. Oklahoma: Tribal Sovereignty and Federal Courts

    In McGirt v. Oklahoma, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the boundaries of the Muscogee Creek Nation and resolved jurisdictional questions about crimes committed in Indian Country. An expert panel discusses this historic decision and explores its implications for tribal sovereignty, federal courts, and the right to counsel.

  • Webinar: Innovations in Rural Prosecution

    Across the country, in all types of jurisdictions, prosecutors are adding their voices to the call for criminal justice reform. Offered as part of the STAR Justice series, this panel features prosecutors from STAR areas discussing their problem-solving initiatives and procedural justice innovations.

  • Featuring Brittany K. Barnett, SMU Dedman School of Law 2011, award-winning attorney, author, and entrepreneur, this event focused on the buried alive crisis in the United States, leaving hundreds of thousands of nonviolent inmates serving life sentences. The talk featured her acclaimed memoir, "A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom" and her fierce call to action about the urgency of now. The Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center is excited to present "Doing the Work, Vol. 2," a series of presentations exploring racial and criminal justice. These presentations will foster a deeper discussion of key criminal justice issues of the day related to the personal, intellectual, and community work of change. This presentation in the "Doing the Work" Series is presented by the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center, SMU Dedman School of Law, and the Mustang Bar Law Alumni Association in partnership with the Offices of Diversity & Inclusion and Public Service.  

  • Listen to Deason Center Director Pamela Metzger discuss COVID-19 and the urgency of vaccinating the incarcerated on NPR's All Things Considered with Host Ari Shapiro.


  • Maybell Romero presented "A Lowball Defense" as part of the Deason Center's Criminal Justice Reform Workshop Series for works-in-progress on Wednesday, December 2, 2020. Maybell Romero is currently an Associate Professor of Law at Northern Illinois University College of Law and will be joining Tulane Law School as the Felder-Fayard Associate Professor starting in Fall 2021.

  • Deason Center Director Pamela R. Metzger and Consulting Statistician Greg Guggenmos discuss their paper, COVID-19 and the Ruralization of U.S. Criminal Court System with other scholars on Ipse Dixit.

  • Justin Murray presented "Policing Procedural Reform in Lower Courts" as part of the Deason Center's Criminal Justice Reform Workshop Series for works-in-progress on Wednesday, November 4, 2020. Justin Murray is an Associate Professor of Law at the New York Law School.

  • Professor Jenia Turner presented "Remote Criminal Justice" as part of the Deason Center's CJR Workshop Series for works in progress on Wednesday, October 21, 2020. Jenia Turner is a Robert G. Storey Distinguished Faculty Fellow, a Gerald J. ford Research Fellow, and an A.A. Ware Centennial Professor in Criminal Law at the SMU Dedman School of Law.

  • This conversation examined the challenges of providing indigent defense services in rural areas of the United States where lawyers are scarce and long distances separate courts, law offices, and jails. Deason Center researchers Dr. Andrew Davies and Dr. Victoria Smiegocki discussed their research on the topic with criminal defense attorneys working in rural areas.

  • Listen to Director Pamela Metzger discuss changes in criminal justice trends from COVID-19 and what these technological adaptations may mean for criminal procedure.

  • This webinar explores strategies and initiatives to recruit, train, and retain STAR criminal justice practitioners. Lawyers describe their own journeys to STAR criminal practice and join researchers in a discussion of best practices for greening STAR legal deserts.

  • Crises expose flaws in our criminal legal systems. This program explores how Hurricane Katrina launched public defense reforms and asks whether the COVID-19 pandemic can spark similar changes.

  • On the 15th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, this program addresses incarceration during times of crisis. The program compares the plight of prisoners who were incarcerated during Katrina with those incarcerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and explores strategies for release and reform.

  • On the Ipse Dixit podcast, Dr. Andrew Davies discusses his article, Gideon in the Desert: An Empirical Study of Providing Counsel to Criminal Defendants in Rural Places. Dr. Davies describes the challenge of providing counsel to rural defendants and identifies traits associated with rural counties that are more successful in meeting the Sixth Amendment's mandate.

  • Listen to Deason Center Director Pamela Metzger discuss how COVID-19 exacerbates the initial appearance crisis.

  • Listen to Pamela Metzger discuss why people disappear in jail for days, weeks, or months without seeing a judge or attorney with Brian L. Frye on .