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Submission To The Queensland Taskforce On Organised Crime Legislation (Inquiry Area 5), Terry Goldsworthy Apr 2016

Submission To The Queensland Taskforce On Organised Crime Legislation (Inquiry Area 5), Terry Goldsworthy

Terry Goldsworthy

In response to a request from the Executive Director of the Commission the following submissions provide Dr. Goldsworthy’s responses as they relate to each term of reference:

1. If provisions in the 2013 legislation are effectively facilitating the successful detection, investigation, prevention and deterrence of organised crime

2. If provisions in the 2013 legislation are effectively facilitating the successful prosecution of individuals

3. If the 2013 legislation strikes an appropriate balance between ensuring the safety, welfare and good order of the community and protecting individual civil liberties, including in relation to the anti‐association provisions in the 2013 legislation

4. How …


"Immigrants Are Not Criminals": Respectability, Immigration Reform, And Hyperincarceration, Rebecca Sharpless Dec 2015

"Immigrants Are Not Criminals": Respectability, Immigration Reform, And Hyperincarceration, Rebecca Sharpless

Rebecca Sharpless

Scholars and law reformers advocate for better treatment of immigrants by invoking a contrast with people convicted of a crime. This Article details the harms and limitations of a conceptual framework that relies on a contrast with people—citizens and noncitizens—who have been convicted of a criminal offense and proposes an alternate approach that better aligns with the racial critique of our criminal justice system. Noncitizens with a criminal record are overwhelmingly low-income people of color. While some have been in the United States for a short period of time, many have resided in the United States for much longer. Many …


In Loco Aequitatis: The Dangers Of "Safe Harbor" Laws For Youth In The Sex Trades, Brendan M. Conner Dec 2015

In Loco Aequitatis: The Dangers Of "Safe Harbor" Laws For Youth In The Sex Trades, Brendan M. Conner

Brendan M. Conner

The author provides the first critical analysis of safe harbor laws, which rely on custodial arrests to prosecute or divert youth arrested for or charged with prostitution related offenses under criminal or juvenile codes to court supervision under state child welfare, foster care, or dependency statutes. This subject is a matter of intense debate nationwide, and on January 27, 2015 the House of Representatives passed legislation that would give preferential consideration for federal grants to states that have enacted a law that “discourages the charging or prosecution” of a trafficked minor and encourages court-ordered treatment and institutionalization. Nearly universally lauded, …


Salvaging ‘Safe Spaces’: Toward Model Standards For Lgbtq Youth-Serving Professionals Encountering Law Enforcement, Brendan M. Conner Dec 2015

Salvaging ‘Safe Spaces’: Toward Model Standards For Lgbtq Youth-Serving Professionals Encountering Law Enforcement, Brendan M. Conner

Brendan M. Conner

The concept of “safe space” for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (“LGBTQ”) young people is one traditionally applied to educators’ responsibilities to create safe havens for LGBTQ students, by creating space for dialogue and addressing name-calling, bullying and harassment. The term is increasingly used in advocacy to reform the child welfare system, particularly in the areas of adopting safer foster care and group home placement, housing classification procedures, and in sensitizing youth-serving professionals. Rarely is an equivalence drawn between reform efforts and the obligation of youth-serving professionals to uphold the legal rights of their clients and increase safety from …


Starr, Singleton, And The Prosecutor's Role, David Sklansky Dec 2015

Starr, Singleton, And The Prosecutor's Role, David Sklansky

David A Sklansky

This article discusses the lessons contained in States v. Singleton and the system that has been adopted for investigating and prosecuting high executive officers. After describing Singleton and the tumult it triggered in Part I of this Article, Part II returns to the Starr Referral and poses a question that may at first seem idle: what distinguishes Starr's promises to Lewinsky in exchange for her testimony from the efforts he charges the President made to help find her a job? Part III of the Article broadens the focus. It argues there has been a general failure to think rigorously about …


Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been A Sociologist, Barry Krisberg Dec 2015

Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been A Sociologist, Barry Krisberg

Barry A Krisberg

No abstract provided.


Not Your Father's Police Department: Making Sense Of The New Demographics Of Law Enforcement, David Sklansky Dec 2015

Not Your Father's Police Department: Making Sense Of The New Demographics Of Law Enforcement, David Sklansky

David A Sklansky

No abstract provided.


The Criminal Law And The Luck Of The Draw, Sanford Kadish Dec 2015

The Criminal Law And The Luck Of The Draw, Sanford Kadish

Sanford Kadish

No abstract provided.


How The Justice System Fails Us After Police Shootings, Caren Morrison Dec 2015

How The Justice System Fails Us After Police Shootings, Caren Morrison

Caren Myers Morrison

No abstract provided.


Out Of The Shadows: The Rise Of Domestic Violence In Australia, Terry Goldsworthy, Matthew Raj Oct 2015

Out Of The Shadows: The Rise Of Domestic Violence In Australia, Terry Goldsworthy, Matthew Raj

Matthew Raj

Once a hidden crime, domestic violence has in recent years emerged as a mainstream criminal justice issue in Australia. Cases such as Queensland man Gerard Baden-Clay’s murder of his wife Allison and the death of Luke Batty in Victoria at the hands of his father have attracted unprecedented media attention and put the spectre of domestic violence firmly back in the spotlight. But how prevalent is domestic violence and what is the cost to Australian society?


Rethinking Criminal Law Theory: New Canadian Perspectives In The Philosophy Of Domestic, Transnational, And International Criminal Law, François Tanguay-Renaud, James Stribopoulos Oct 2015

Rethinking Criminal Law Theory: New Canadian Perspectives In The Philosophy Of Domestic, Transnational, And International Criminal Law, François Tanguay-Renaud, James Stribopoulos

François Tanguay-Renaud

In the last two decades, the philosophy of criminal law has undergone a vibrant revival in Canada. The adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has given the Supreme Court of Canada unprecedented latitude to engage with principles of legal, moral, and political philosophy when elaborating its criminal law jurisprudence. Canadian scholars have followed suit by paying increased attention to the philosophical foundations of domestic criminal law. Because of Canada's leadership in international criminal law, both at the level of the International Criminal Court and of specific war crimes tribunals, they have also begun to turn their attention to …


Unsettled Legacy: Thirty Years Of Criminal Justice Under The Charter, Benjamin Berger, James Stribopoulos Sep 2015

Unsettled Legacy: Thirty Years Of Criminal Justice Under The Charter, Benjamin Berger, James Stribopoulos

Benjamin L Berger

After thirty years, what effect has the Charter had on the justness of the Canadian criminal justice system? This thought-provoking collection of essays by a group of leading criminal law scholars explores that very question, critically examining the ways in which the Charter has shaped Canadian criminal law and its administration. Edited by Professors Benjamin L. Berger and James Stribopoulos of Osgoode Hall Law School, these essays offer insight into every facet of the Charter's influence over how crimes are defined, investigated and prosecuted. The result is an invaluable resource for scholars, practitioners and judges interested in criminal justice in …


Criminal Law And Procedure: Cases And Materials, 10th Edition, Kent Roach, Benjamin Berger, Patrick Healy, James Stribopoulos Sep 2015

Criminal Law And Procedure: Cases And Materials, 10th Edition, Kent Roach, Benjamin Berger, Patrick Healy, James Stribopoulos

Benjamin L Berger

Building on Martin Friedland's acclaimed and innovative course materials, this new edition of Criminal Law and Procedure provides a valuable teaching tool for introductory courses on criminal law and criminal justice. Students are provided with an overview of the entire criminal process, from police investigation to sentencing.


Shredded Fish Redux, Robert Sanger Apr 2015

Shredded Fish Redux, Robert Sanger

Robert M. Sanger

The Yates case, in which certiorari had been granted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit had been discussed in a previous column of Criminal Justice. The article was entitled “Shredded Fish” because the sea captain in Yates was prosecuted under the document shredding provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for destroying fish. That case has now been decided by the United States Supreme Court in Yates v. United States, on February 25, 2015. The case involves the rule of lenity as well as a discussion of overcriminalization.


Promoting Diversity In The Criminal Justice System, R. Michael Cassidy Apr 2015

Promoting Diversity In The Criminal Justice System, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

The decisions of grand juries in Missouri and New York not to indict police officers responsible for shooting unarmed black men has sparked intense debate in this country about racial disparities in our criminal justice system.  Turning this public outcry into meaningful reform will not be easy.  But if public confidence in law enforcement is going to be strengthened, one important step is to make sure that the most powerful actors in our criminal justice system mirror the racial composition of the communities they represent.


Science Is Not Waiting For The Courts, Robert Sanger Mar 2015

Science Is Not Waiting For The Courts, Robert Sanger

Robert M. Sanger

The Forensic Science Community and the federal government are moving far beyond the courts in an effort to improve the quality of scientific evidence and expert testimony in the courts. Major events in forensics have caused a top to bottom reconsideration of what should count as expert testimony. Last month, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) convened the first set of meetings of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC). This is a forward-looking approach to forensic science.

The first OSAC meetings were held on February 16 and 17, 2015, at …


Blind Justice, Andrea Lyon Mar 2015

Blind Justice, Andrea Lyon

Andrea D. Lyon

No abstract provided.


Confronting Cops In Immigration Court, Mary Holper Feb 2015

Confronting Cops In Immigration Court, Mary Holper

Mary Holper

Immigration judges routinely use police reports to make life-altering decisions in noncitizens’ lives. The word of the police officer prevents a detainee from being released on bond, leads to negative discretionary decisions in relief from removal, and can prove that a past crime fits within a ground of removability. Yet the police officers who write these reports rarely step foot in immigration court; immigration judges rely on the hearsay document to make such critical decisions. This practice is especially troubling when the same police reports cannot be used against the noncitizen in a criminal case without the officer testifying, due …


The Implications Of Incorporating The Eighth Amendment Prohibition On Excessive Bail, Scott Howe Dec 2014

The Implications Of Incorporating The Eighth Amendment Prohibition On Excessive Bail, Scott Howe

Scott W. Howe

In its opinion in McDonald v. City of Chicago, 130 S.Ct. 3020 (2010), concerning the incorporation of the Second Amendment, the Supreme Court included a footnote that listed the Eighth Amendment prohibition on excessive bail as one of the incorporated Bill of Rights protections. Oddly, the Court had never incorporated the bail clause or even explained what protections it conferred. While strange, these circumstances provide a rare opportunity to reason backward from incorporation to the meaning of the incorporated provision. And by pursuing those backward implications, the paper offers novel arguments about the proper understanding of the bail clause.

I …


Deselecting Biased Juries, Scott W. Howe Dec 2014

Deselecting Biased Juries, Scott W. Howe

Scott W. Howe

Critics of peremptory-challenge systems commonly contend that they inevitably inflict “inequality harm” on many excused persons and should be abolished. Ironically, the Supreme Court fueled this argument with its decision in Batson v. Kentucky by raising and endorsing the inequality claim sua sponte and then purporting to solve it with an approach that preserved peremptories. This Article shows, however, that the central problem is something other than inequality harm to excused persons. The central problem is the harm to disadvantaged litigants when their opponents use peremptories to secure a one-sided jury. This problem can arise often—whenever a venire is slanted …


On The Very Idea Of Transitional Justice, Jens Ohlin Dec 2014

On The Very Idea Of Transitional Justice, Jens Ohlin

Jens David Ohlin

The phrase "transitional justice" has had an amazingly successful career at an early age. Popularized as an academic concept in the early 1990s in the aftermath of apartheid's collapse in South Africa, the phrase quickly gained traction in a variety of global contexts, including Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Cambodia, and Sierra Leone. A sizeable literature has been generated around it, so much so that one might even call it a sub-discipline with inter-disciplinary qualities. Nonetheless, the concept remains an enigma. It defines the contours of an entire field of intellectual inquiry, yet at the same time it hides more than it illuminates. …


Crime Labs And Prison Guards: A Comment On Melendez-Diaz And Its Potential Impact On Capital Sentencing Proceedings, John Blume, Emily Paavola Dec 2014

Crime Labs And Prison Guards: A Comment On Melendez-Diaz And Its Potential Impact On Capital Sentencing Proceedings, John Blume, Emily Paavola

John H. Blume

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees a criminal defendant the right "to be confronted with the witnesses against him." Four years ago, in Crawford v. Washington, the United States Supreme Court held that this right bars the admission of testimonial hearsay statements against criminal defendants, regardless of whether or not the statements fall within an evidentiary hearsay exception. It was a decision that other courts later described as a "bombshell," a "renaissance," and "a newly shaped lens" through which to view the Confrontation Clause. The case generated an extensive amount of discussion among legal commentators. Since its …


Juvenile Offenders: Life Without Parole (Lwop), Term Of Years And A Reasonable Opportunity For Release, Robert Sanger Sep 2014

Juvenile Offenders: Life Without Parole (Lwop), Term Of Years And A Reasonable Opportunity For Release, Robert Sanger

Robert M. Sanger

A juvenile offender (a person who committed an offense before the age of 18 years) can be tried as an adult and will be subject to adult punishments, with some restrictions. Juveniles cannot be executed and they cannot be mandatorily confined to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Justice Kagen of the United States Supreme Court stated for a majority of the Court in Miller v. Alabama, that a mandatory life sentence for a juvenile violates the 8th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution. In other words, life without hope should be unconstitutional for juveniles.

Prosecutors have …


Attitude Structures Of Different Ethnic And Age Groups Concerning Police, Peggy Sullivan, Roger Dunham, Geoffrey Alpert Aug 2014

Attitude Structures Of Different Ethnic And Age Groups Concerning Police, Peggy Sullivan, Roger Dunham, Geoffrey Alpert

Roger G. Dunham Dr.

No abstract provided.


The Punishment Of Dixie Shanahan: Is There Justice For Battered Women Who Kill?, Leigh Goodmark May 2014

The Punishment Of Dixie Shanahan: Is There Justice For Battered Women Who Kill?, Leigh Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

No abstract provided.


A Troubled Marriage: Domestic Violence And The Legal System, Leigh Goodmark May 2014

A Troubled Marriage: Domestic Violence And The Legal System, Leigh Goodmark

Leigh S. Goodmark

The development of a legal regime to combat domestic violence in the United States has been lauded as one of the feminist movement’s greatest triumphs. But, Leigh Goodmark argues, the resulting system is deeply flawed in ways that prevent it from assisting many women subjected to abuse. The current legal response to domestic violence is excessively focused on physical violence; this narrow definition of abuse fails to provide protection from behaviors that are profoundly damaging, including psychological, economic, and reproductive abuse. The system uses mandatory policies that deny women subjected to abuse autonomy and agency, substituting the state’s priorities for …


International White Collar Crime And Deferred Prosecution Agreements, Lucian Dervan Dec 2013

International White Collar Crime And Deferred Prosecution Agreements, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

In October 2013, the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section (“ABA CJS”) convened its 2nd annual International White Collar Crime conference in London, United Kingdom. In an auditorium filled almost to capacity, audience members representing practitioners, corporations, enforcement agencies, and academia listened intently to discussions regarding a myriad of topics, including enforcement trends, international internal investigation strategies, and global whistleblower incentives. The large audience and strong interest in the subject of the conference reiterated the growing importance of matters related to international white collar crime in an ever-increasingly globalized business environment.

One of the topics that drew much discussion in …


Rate Of False Conviction Of Criminal Defendants Who Are Sentenced To Death, Samuel Gross, Barbara O'Brien, Chen Hu, Edward Kennedy Dec 2013

Rate Of False Conviction Of Criminal Defendants Who Are Sentenced To Death, Samuel Gross, Barbara O'Brien, Chen Hu, Edward Kennedy

Edward H. Kennedy

The rate of erroneous conviction of innocent criminal defendants is often described as not merely unknown but unknowable. There is no systematic method to determine the accuracy of a criminal conviction; if there were, these errors would not occur in the first place. As a result, very few false convictions are ever discovered, and those that are discovered are not representative of the group as a whole. In the United States, however, a high proportion of false convictions that do come to light and produce exonerations are concentrated among the tiny minority of cases in which defendants are sentenced to …


The Dilemmas Of Excessive Sentencing: Death May Be Different But How Different?, Michael Meltsner Dec 2013

The Dilemmas Of Excessive Sentencing: Death May Be Different But How Different?, Michael Meltsner

Michael Meltsner

No abstract provided.


The Federal Death Penalty And The Constitutionality Of Capital Punishment, Scott W. Howe Dec 2013

The Federal Death Penalty And The Constitutionality Of Capital Punishment, Scott W. Howe

Scott W. Howe

The federal death penalty results in few executions but is central to the larger story of capital punishment in the United States. The explanation for its importance lies with its role in resolving the permissible uses of the death penalty under the Eighth Amendment. In the last decade, federal statutes governing the federal death penalty seem to have exerted outsize influence with the Court in its development of “proportionality” doctrine, the rules by which the Justices confine the use of capital punishment under the Constitution. In rejecting capital punishment for retarded offenders, juvenile offenders and child rapists, the Court in …