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The “Especially Heinous” Aggravator: Sharpshooter Bonuses Do Not Belong In Capital Sentencing Law, Taylor Lopa

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

In capital cases, the jury is often left with the onerous decision about whether to impose the death penalty. To help jurors make sentencing decisions, judges will instruct them on how to apply the law. As one juror summarized, “[The judge told us] that we were to make our decision on the basis of his instructions and the law, not what we felt, not what we thought ought to be.” Because of jury instructions like this, jurors know that they must base sentencing decisions on the law rather than their personal beliefs. But what happens when the law itself …

‘They Did Not Have To Burn My Sister Alive’: Causes And Distribution By State Of Dowry Murder In India, Peter Mayer

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Dowry, the money, goods, property, or gifts given by the bride’s family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage, is a common custom in South Asia. Although it is illegal to demand—or offer—a dowry in India, it is a nearly universal custom in many parts of the country. If, after marriage, a husband’s family feels that the wife’s dowry was insufficient, they may harass or inflict other forms of domestic violence on her to put pressure on her family to provide an additional dowry. At its most extreme, this violence may lead to the murder of …

Murders In The German Sex Trade: 1920 To 2017, Manuela Schon, Anna Hoheide

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This research report is the result of collecting and evaluating data on cases of homicides and attempted homicides in the German sex trade from 1920-2017. The findings show violence against prostituted women and the attitudes of the sex buyers who commit most of the violent acts against the women. The report discusses the media coverage of murder cases, complication of cases, and a critique of methods of criminal evaluation by the police. From 1920 to 2017, 272 victims of murder and attempted murder were identified. Liberalization of prostitution occurred in 2002. From then until 2017, there is a decrease in …

Criminal Liability For Murder In The Avesta, K. Abzalova

Review of law sciences

In this article, the author analyzes the features of criminal liability for premeditated murder according to Avesta. The author notes that premeditated murder was considered a grave sin. At the end of the article, the corresponding conclusions were drawn.

The Legal Fiction Of The Right To Defense In The Colombian Criminal Justice System, Manuel Iturralde

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

In the first section of the article, I will discuss Omar's case to show why he did not have a fair trial, and particularly how his rights to access to justice and to defense were infringed, both by the public defense he was provided and by the judges that decided his case.

In the second section, I will show that Omar's case is a tellingillustration of the features of the Colombian criminal justice system, which systematically and disproportionately sentences and imprisons marginalized and poor people-in great measure because they lack the financial resources to pay for better and more motivated …

Due Process People V. Scott (Decided June 5, 1996)

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Due Process Court Of Appeals

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Overdose/Homicide Epidemic, Valena E. Beety

Georgia State University Law Review

This Article explores the lack of regulation of coroners, concerns within the forensic science community on the reliability of coroner determinations, and ultimately, how elected laypeople serving as coroners may influence the rise in drug-induced homicide prosecutions in the midst of the opioid epidemic.

This Article proposes that the manner of death determination contributes to overdoses being differently prosecuted; that coroners in rural counties are more likely to determine the manner of death for an illicit substance overdose is homicide; and that coroners are provided with insufficient training on interacting with the criminal justice system, particularly on overdose deaths. Death …

Sadomasochism: Descent Into Darkness, Annotated Accounts Of Cases, 1996-2014, Robert Peters

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

A collection of accounts of sadomasochistic sexual abuse from news reports and scholarly and professional sources about the dark underbelly of sadomasochism and the pornography that contributes to it. It focuses on crimes and other harmful sexual behavior related to the pursuit of sadistic sexual pleasure in North America and the U.K. It is intended to be a resource to educate people about how sadomasochism can lead to harmful and even deadly sadistic sexual behavior.

Criminal Law And Procedure, Aaron J. Campbell

University of Richmond Law Review

This article aims to give a succinct review of notable criminal

law and procedure cases decided by the Supreme Court of Virginia

and the Court of Appeals of Virginia during the past year. Instead

of covering every ruling or rationale in these cases, the article

focuses on the "take-away" of the holdings with the most

precedential value. The article also summarizes noteworthy

changes to criminal law and procedure enacted by the 2017 Virginia

General Assembly.

Making Room For Juvenile Justice: The Supreme Court's Decision In Montgomery V. Louisiana, Chelsea S. Gumaer

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

Temporal Arbitrariness: A Back To The Future Look At A Twenty-Five-Year-Old Death Penalty Trial, Mary Kelly Tate

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Court Of Appeals Of New York, People V. Cahill, Annette Thompson

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

County Court, Rockland County, People V. Clark, Lauren Tan

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Court Of Appeals Of New York, People V. Grice, Michael Elkin, Patrick Foster

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Appellate Division, Fourth Department, People V. Cortes, Jennifer Feldman

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Supreme Court, Kings County, People V. Miller, Courtney Weinberger

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Supreme Court, Kings County, People V. Chapman, Kerri Grzymala

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Supreme Court, Bronx County, People V. Paul, Adam D'Antonio

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Cain Rose Up Against His Brother Abel And Killed Him": Murder Or Manslaughter?, Irene Merker Rosenberg, Yale L. Rosenberg

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Court Of Appeals Of New York - Polito V. Walsh, William Pike

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Errol Morris, “A Wilderness Of Error”: Provocative But Unpersuasive, Richard C. Cahn

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Confronting The Confrontation Clause: Addressing The Unanswered Question Of Whether Autopsy Reports Are Testimonial Evidence - People V. Hall, Bailey Ince

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Certainty In A World Of Uncertainty: Proposing Statutory Guidance In Sentencing Juveniles To Life Without Parole., Sonia Mardarewich

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

In Miller v. Alabama, the United States Supreme Court held that mandatory life sentences without parole imposed upon juveniles was unconstitutional. The Court reasoned that the sentence was cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The Court, however, did not hold it was unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile to life without parole if there was “transferred intent” or “reckless disregard.” Nonetheless, the Court effectively abolished state discretion and required sentencing courts to consider an offender’s youth and attendant characteristics as mitigating circumstances. The Court, however, did not specify what sentencing guidelines should dictate. Thus, states are now …

Appellate Division, Fourth Department - People V. Buchanan, Jacqulyn Vann

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Provocation Manslaughter As Partial Justification And Partial Excuse, Mitchell N. Berman, Ian P. Farrell

William & Mary Law Review

The partial defense of provocation provides that a person who kills in the heat of passion brought on by legally adequate provocation is guilty of manslaughter rather than murder. The defense traces back to the twelfth century and exists today, in some form, in almost every U.S. state and other common law jurisdictions. But long history and wide application have not produced agreement on the rationale for the doctrine. To the contrary, the search for a coherent and satisfying rationale remains among the main occupations of criminal law
theorists.

The dominant scholarly view holds that provocation is best explained and …

Murder And The Mmpi-2: The Necessity Of Knowledgeable Legal Professionals, Tracy O'Connor Pennuto

Golden Gate University Law Review

Part I of this Comment discusses the basic structure and purpose of the MMPI-2, the development and evolution of the MMPI into the MMPI-2, and reliability and validity issues. Part II provides a basic understanding of the correct administration, scoring, and interpretation of the MMPI-2 and describes standards for expert testimony. Part III presents a historical overview of the use of the MMPI-2 in court. The different types of cases in which the MMPI-2 is used are discussed along with the many applications of its use. Part IV describes the legal standards of admissibility of scientific evidence in court and …

People V. Davis: California's Murder Statute And The Requirement Of Viability For Fetal Murder, Julie N. Qureshi

Golden Gate University Law Review

In People v. Davis, the California Supreme Court held that the viability of a fetus is not required for a murder conviction under California Penal Code section 187(a). The Davis court ruled that the third-party killing of a fetus with malice aforethought is murder under California's murder statute so long as the state can show that the fetus has progressed beyond the embryonic stage of seven to eight weeks. This decision overturned eighteen years of California appellate court holdings.

The Impact Of Civilian Aggravating Factors On The Military Death Penalty (1984-2005): Another Chapter In The Resistance Of The Armed Forces To The Civilianization Of Military Justice, Catherine M. Grosso, David C. Baldus, George Woodworth

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In 1984, the U.S. Armed Forces amended its capital punishment system for death eligible murder to bring it into compliance with Furman v. Georgia. Those amendments were modeled after death penalty legislation prevailing in over thirty states. After a brief period between 1986 and 1990, the charging decisions of commanders and the conviction and sentencing decisions of court martial members (jurors) transformed the military death penalty system into a dual system that treats two classes of death eligible murder quite differently. Since 1990, a member of the armed forces accused of a killing a commissioned officer or murder with a …

Criminal Law And Procedure, Michael T. Judge, Stephen R. Mccullough

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.