Digital Commons Network^™

Advocating Socio-Economic Justice: Some Experiences Of The Icc-India Campaign And The Potential For A Law Clinic, Saumya Uma

Dr. Saumya Uma

Book Review: Negotiating The Labyrinth: Disability And The Queensland Justice System By Dan Toombs, Jodie O'Leary

Jodie O'Leary

No abstract provided.

Victim Impact Statements And Sentencing, Sam Garkawe

Associate Professor Sam Garkawe

Legislation allowing for victim impact statements ('VIS') to be presented during sentencing hearings has been introduced into the criminal justice systems of most common law nations, notwithstanding many reservations from defence lawyers and civil libertarians. Despite such legislation being widespread throughout the common law world, the use of VIS remains controversial. The main purpose of this article is to utilise basic sentencing principles in order to critically analyse the question of whether, and if so, to what extent, VIS are relevant to an offender's sentence. In such cases adequate procedural safeguards need to be instituted to ensure that offender's rights …

Meeting The Challenges Faced By Girls In The Juvenile Justice System: Testimony Before The Healthy Families And Communities Subcommittee Of The U.S. House Of Representatives Education And Labor Committee, Francine T. Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

Testimony by Francine T. Sherman, Clinical Professor and Director, Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project at Boston College Law School before the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee, on March 11, 2010, at 10:00 AM. More information about the hearing, including an archived webcast, is available at http://edworkforce.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=193429.

The Federal Common Law Of Crime, Robert C. Palmer

Robert T. Palmer, PhD

No abstract provided.

‘Emaciated’ Defense Or A Trend To Independence And Equality Of Arms In Internationalized Criminal Tribunals?, Richard J. Wilson

Richard J. Wilson

No abstract provided.

International Justice Marks Its Fifteenth Anniversary: A Preliminary Assessment Of The Icty’S Impact In Serbia, Diane Orentlicher

Diane Orentlicher

No abstract provided.

Conference Highlight-Northstar Award: Spotlight On Angela Davis , Jamin Raskin, Cynthia Jones

Cynthia E. Jones

No abstract provided.

The People V. Orenthal James Simpson: Race And Trial Advocacy, Angela Davis

Angela J Davis

This chapter focuses on the trial story behind the high profile case of People v. Orenthal James Simpson. As the author points out, the Simpson case focused attention on some of the most important issues in the criminal justice system, including class and race disparities, DNA evidence, and police perjury. The author here focuses on the issue of race--its significance in the trial and how it affected the advocacy of the lawyers. She discusses the emotional conflicts over race within the defense and prosecution teams and compares and contrasts the approaches that each side ultimately decided to take. The author …

Justice In New England, Daniel Medwed

Daniel S. Medwed

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Barriers: Public Health Strategies For Expanding Drug Treatment In Communities, Ellen M. Weber

Ellen M. Weber

States around the country have begun to adopt programs to divert drug offenders from jails and prisons to community-based drug treatment services. For this strategy to succeed, local officials will need to expand the availability of outpatient and residential treatment programs and address the barriers to siting treatment services, the most significant of which are community opposition and government zoning policies that facilitate community resistance. Civil rights laws, including the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA), prohibit zoning discrimination against persons with histories of alcoholism and drug dependence and provide a solid legal foundation for …

Teaching Tips: Personal Criminal History Analysis Paper, Gordon Crews, Angela Crews

Angela Crews

Students often have difficulty visualizing the practical application of criminological theory. The following activity assists instructors to develop students‘ abilities in evaluating behaviors and determining the theoretical perspectives that potentially could be used to explain those behaviors. It also is designed to assist students in comprehending how their own experiences impact their views on law-violating behavior and its etiology. This exercise facilitates students‘ awareness of how their beliefs about the causes of law-violating behavior inevitably impact their beliefs about potential solutions or responses to this type of behavior. Eventually, students unfailingly begin to realize the artificial dichotomy between us, as …

When The Cheering (For Gideon ) Stops: The Defense Bar And Representation At Initial Bail Hearings, Douglas Colbert

Douglas L. Colbert

This article suggests that the absence of representation at the beginning of a State criminal prosecution must come to a screeching halt. The criminal defense bar should take a leadership role and dedicate Gideon's anniversary to making certain that an accused's right to the effective assistance of counsel begins at the initial bail hearing. Indeed, guaranteeing vigorous representation should be the defense bar's number one priority.

The Death Penalty In The Twenty-First Century , Stephen B. Bright, Edward Chikofsky, Laurie Ekstrand, Harriet C. Ganson, Paul D. Kamenar, Robert E. Morin, William G. Otis, Jasmin Raskin, Ira P. Robbins, Diann Rust-Tierney, Charles F. Shilling, Andrew L. Sooner, Ronald J. Rabak, David V. Drehle, James Wootton

Ira P. Robbins

No abstract provided.

The Prosecutor As Minister Of Justice: Preaching To The Unconverted From The Post-Conviction Pulpit, Daniel S. Medwed

Daniel S. Medwed

This Article, which is part of a symposium on prosecutorial ethics, urges for a fuller realization of the minister of justice ideal for prosecutors in the post-conviction process where the factual innocence of a criminal defendant is in question. Specifically, to truly effectuate the minister of justice goal, prosecutors should take a more active part in rectifying wrongful convictions by considering the formation of internal post-conviction review boards or "innocence units" geared toward ferreting out potential wrongful convictions and assisting in presenting them to courts. Part I of this Article discusses the minister of justice ideal for prosecutors, as articulated …

Beyond Biology: Wrongful Convictions In The Post-Dna World, Daniel S. Medwed

Daniel S. Medwed

Post-conviction DNA testing first exonerated an innocent prisoner nearly twenty years ago. During this period, we have learned many lessons from the 200 subsequent DNA exonerations, including insight into the factors that led to those wrongful convictions at trial and the procedural obstacles that can make it difficult for inmates whose cases contain biological evidence to procure DNA testing after conviction. Yet, as I have often written in the past, these exonerations are just the tip of the proverbial innocence iceberg. As a threshold matter, very few criminal investigations result in the collection of biological evidence whatsoever; over time, moreover, …

The Zeal Deal: Prosecutorial Resistance To Post-Conviction Claims Of Innocence, Daniel Medwed

Daniel S. Medwed

This Article analyzes the institutional and political factors deterring prosecutors from accepting the possible legitimacy of post-conviction innocence claims and formulating creative responses to them. Specifically, the institutional culture of most prosecutors' offices treasures convictions; an attorney's conviction rate may serve as a barometer of that person's stature within the organization and a key factor in determining that person's chances for internal advancement. This professional incentive for prosecutors to obtain and maintain convictions may be bolstered by profound psychological and personal bases for believing in the soundness of the verdicts and pragmatic reasons for discounting the possibility that there may …

Misdemeanors, Alexandra Natapoff

Alexandra Natapoff

Smuggling Of Asylum-Seekers And Criminal Justice, Vladislava Stoyanova

Vladislava Stoyanova

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the legal implications for asylum-seekers flowing from their resort to falsified documents as a method of gaining access to the territory of asylum countries. Article 31(1) of the Refugee Convention is supposed to act as a shield against punishment for illegal entry. However, the paper identifies four issues relating to the application of Article 31 which make the functioning of the shield difficult. The first issue relates to the procedure of applying Article 31 and in particular the interrelationship between the refugee status determination procedure and the criminal procedure initiated as a …

The Proscription Of Incorporated Law Practices (Ilps) In Nigeria: The Legal And Constitutional Issues Arising, Abdullahi Saliu Ishola

Abdullahi Saliu Ishola

This paper critically examines the legality and constitutionality of the provision of Rule 5 sub-rule (5) of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2007 (the Rules), prohibiting the practice of law in Nigeria as a corporation. The appraisal is done on the scales of the provisions of Sections 40 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended (the Constitution), providing for rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly and freedom from discrimination, respectively; on one hand, and, Section 18 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), allowing any two or …

The Newest Jim Crow And The Incarceration Of Black Males, Edward Earl Bell

Dr. Edward E. Bell

Black males are in jail. Are "we" to blame? The New Jim Crow is alive.

Race And The Doctrine Of Self Defense: The Role Of Race In Determining The Proper Use Of Force To Protect Oneself, Richard Klein

Richard Daniel Klein

No abstract provided.

8. Child Witnesses And The Confrontation Clause., Thomas D. Lyon, Julia A. Dente

Thomas D. Lyon

Ten Questions With Beau James Brock, Pamela Labbe

Beau James Brock

Interview of Beau James Brock published in the Baton Rouge Bar Association legal journal, Around the Bar.

Rethinking Self-Incrimination, Voluntariness, And Coercion, Through A Perspective Of Jewish Law And Legal Theory, Samuel J. Levine

Samuel J. Levine

No abstract provided.

Juror First Votes In Criminal Trials, Stephen P. Garvey, Paula Hannaford-Agor, Valerie P. Hans, Nicole L. Mott, G. Thomas Munsterman, Martin T. Wells

Paula L Hannaford-Agor

Our analysis of the voting behavior of over 3,000 jurors in felony cases tried in Los Angeles, Maricopa County, the District of Columbia, and the Bronx reveals that only in D.C. does a juror's race appear to relate to how he or she votes. African-American jurors in D.C. appear more apt to vote not guilty on the jury's first ballot in cases involving minority defendants charged with drug offenses. We find no evidence, however, that this effect survives into the jury's final verdict.

After The Crash: Citizens' Perceptions Of Connective-Tissue Injury Lawsuits, Valerie P. Hans, Nicole Vadino

Valerie P. Hans

Even though automobile accident cases comprise a substantial portion of the state jury trial caseload, the humble automobile case has attracted minimal scholarly attention. However, many members of the public believe that whiplash, a connective-tissue or soft-tissue injury from auto accidents, is oftentimes fraudulent. To explore public perceptions, a national survey included a scenario experiment that varied types of minor injuries from an automobile accident. As predicted, the plaintiff who experienced a bone fracture was seen as more likely to be suffering a real injury than a plaintiff who reported suffering from a connective-tissue injury. The fracture was also viewed …

Taking A Stand On Taking The Stand: The Effect Of A Prior Criminal Record On The Decision To Testify And On Trial Outcomes, Theodore Eisenberg, Valerie P. Hans

Valerie P. Hans

This article uses unique data from over 300 criminal trials in four large counties to study the relations between the existence of a prior criminal record and defendants testifying at trial, between testifying at trial and juries' learning about a criminal record, and between juries' learning about a criminal record and their decisions to convict or acquit. Sixty percent of defendants without criminal records testified compared to 45 percent with criminal records. For testifying defendants with criminal records, juries learned of those records in about half the cases. Juries rarely learned about criminal records unless defendants testified. After controlling for …

Juror First Votes In Criminal Trials, Stephen P. Garvey, Paula Hannaford-Agor, Valerie P. Hans, Nicole L. Mott, G. Thomas Munsterman, Martin T. Wells

Valerie P. Hans

Our analysis of the voting behavior of over 3,000 jurors in felony cases tried in Los Angeles, Maricopa County, the District of Columbia, and the Bronx reveals that only in D.C. does a juror's race appear to relate to how he or she votes. African-American jurors in D.C. appear more apt to vote not guilty on the jury's first ballot in cases involving minority defendants charged with drug offenses. We find no evidence, however, that this effect survives into the jury's final verdict.

The Relation Between Punitive And Compensatory Awards: Combining Extreme Data With The Mass Of Awards, Theodore Eisenberg, Valerie P. Hans, Martin T. Wells

Valerie P. Hans

This article assesses the relation between punitive and compensatory damages by combining two data sets of extreme awards with state court data from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) for 1992, 1996, and 2001. One data set of extreme awards consists of punitive damages awards in excess of $100 million from 1985 through 2003, gathered by Hersch and Viscusi (H-V); the other includes the National Law Journal's (NLJ) annual reports of the 100 largest trial verdicts from 2001 to 2004. The integration of these data sets provides the most comprehensive picture of punitive damages in American civil trials to …