Paul Butler

On February 26th, Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black high school student was visiting his father in Sanford, Florida and watching the NBA All-Star game at a house in a gated community. At halftime, he walked to 7-Eleven to buy Skittles and Arizona Ice Tea. He was on his way back to the house when a neighborhood crime watch volunteer named George Zimmerman noticed him. Zimmerman was patrolling the neighborhood in his SUV. He called 911 to report "a real suspicious guy," and then took off after Martin. The details of what happened next are unclear, but other 911 calls from neighbors record screams for help and a gunshot. Martin was discovered dead with a bullet to his chest.

Jury selection is complete in the murder case against former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle against an unarmed passenger, Oscar Grant, on New Year's Day 2009; but, while the case is moving forward, many activists are concerned about the jury's racial make-up. The shooter is white and the victim is black.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law one of the toughest immigration laws in the United States. The law requires police to question anyone they believe to be an illegal immigrant. Critics say they believe that this law will lead to wide spread racial profiling. The law also seems to shift the burden of proof onto the defense instead of the prosecution in a country where pratcially everyone knows the term, "innocent until proven guilty."