The Voice(s) of the Children

Originally Appearing in AAPL Newsletter, January 2019, Vol. 44, No. 2 Leo Szilard, a well-known physicist and inventor, who was born in Budapest and educated in Berlin, achieved fame in the United States. He invented the linear accelerator, cyclotron and electron...

It Happened in the Southwest

On Thursday May 31, 2018, at 5:20 PM, it was 97° in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Steven Pitt, 59, a well-known forensic psychia­trist in Maricopa County, was leaving his office. (I had visited him there about three years ago. His office bespoke his unwavering dedication to...

In Re Gault – Half-a-Century Old

On February 14, 1912, when Robert Taft was president, Arizona became the last territory to join the continental United States. Statehood had followed decades of violence among white settlers, Mormons, Mexicans and Native Americans. They fought over growing cotton....

Kratom – Arizona and Beyond

Darren (not his real name) is a 19-year-old freshman at an Ivy League School. He attended private schools and was always a straight-A student. He was involved in extracurricular activities and had good friends. He stayed away from students using drugs and alcohol. He...

Miranda at 50

MIRANDA  AT  50 – The Story of Ernesto Miranda & The Miranda Warning “You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and to have...

Kindertransport: Southern Italian Style

Originally Appearing in AAPL Newsletter, April 2017, Vol. 42, No. 2 Reggio Calabria sits on the edge of Italy’s “boot,” the Strait of Messina separating it from Sicily. The region has a 3,500-year history, first inhabited by Phoenicians, Trojans, Mycenaeans, and other...

The “Bully” Pulpit

Originally Appearing in AAPL Newsletter, January 2017, Vol. 42, No. 1 Craig was 18 years old when he became a frequent visitor on an Internet chat line, only reached by going into the “dark web” via a secret portal. There he met two young teenage girls in another...

Asperger Syndrome Gets a Bad Rap

Originally Appearing in AAPL Newsletter, January 2014, Vol. 39, No. 3 Hans Asperger might be surprised by the trajectory of the dis-order that bears his name. (Or, perhaps, bore his name, as it would now be called Autism Spectrum Disorder – Level 1, far less...