Digital Commons Network^™

Criminalizing The Undocumented: Ironic Boundaries Of The Post-September 11th ‘Pale Of Law.’, Daniel Kanstroom

Daniel Kanstroom

The general hypothesis put forth in this Article is that well-accepted historical matrices are increasingly inadequate to address the complex issues raised by various U.S. government practices in the so-called “war on terrorism.” The Article describes certain stresses that have recently built upon two major legal dichotomies: the citizen/non-citizen and criminal/civil lines. Professor Kanstroom reviews the use of the citizen/non-citizen dichotomies as part of the post-September 11th enforcement regime and considers the increasing convergence between the immigration and criminal justice systems. Professor Kanstroom concludes by suggesting the potential emergence of a disturbing new legal system, which contains the worst features …

2011 Legislative Summary, Assembly Committee On Public Safety

California Assembly

MEMBERS:
Tom Ammiano, Chair
Steve Knight, Vice Chair
Gilbert Cedillo, Member
Curt Hagman, Member
Jerry Hill, Member
Holly J. Mitchell, Member
Nancy Skinner, Member

COMMITTEE STAFF:
Gregory Pagan, Chief Counsel
Gabriel Caswell, Counsel
Milena N. Blake, Counsel
Sandy Uribe, Counsel
Stella Y. Choe, Counsel

Sue Highland, Committee Secretary
Elizabeth V. Potter, Committee Secretary

Judicial Integrity: A Call For Its Re-Emergence In The Adjudication Of Criminal Cases, Robert M. Bloom

Robert M. Bloom

A court can invalidate or rectify certain kinds of offensive official action on the grounds of judicial integrity. In the past, it has served as a check on overzealous law enforcement agents whose actions so seriously impaired due process principles that they shocked the bench’s conscience. The principle not only preserves the judiciary as a symbol of lawfulness and justice, but it also insulates the courts from becoming aligned with illegal actors and their bad acts. The 1992 case of U.S. v. Alvarez-Machain, however, may have signaled a departure from past practices. This article reviews current Supreme Court cases and …

Reconsidering Spousal Privileges After Crawford, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

In this article the author explores how domestic violence prevention efforts have been adversely impacted by the Supreme Court’s new “testimonial” approach to the confrontation clause. Examining the Court’s trilogy of cases from Crawford to Davis and Hammon, the author argues that the introduction of certain forms of hearsay in criminal cases has been drastically limited by the court’s new originalist approach to the Sixth Amendment. The author explains how state spousal privilege statutes often present a significant barrier to obtaining live testimony from victims of domestic violence. The author then argues that state legislatures should reconsider their spousal privilege …

Toward A More Independent Grand Jury: Recasting And Enforcing The Prosecutor’S Duty To Disclose Exculpatory Evidence, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

This Article analyzes the Supreme Court’s decision in Williams, in which the Court struck down an attempt by the Tenth Circuit to impose an obligation on federal prosecutors to disclose substantial exculpatory evidence to the grand jury. The author discusses the contours of this case and the ethical underpinnings of a prosecutor’s disclosure obligations before the grand jury, and sets forth a new framework for consideration of such issues.

Unanswered Questions Of A Minority People In International Law: A Comparative Study Between Southern Cameroons & South Sudan, Bernard Sama Mr

Bernard Sama

The month July of 2011 marked the birth of another nation in the World. The distressful journey of a minority people under the watchful eyes of the international community finally paid off with a new nation called the South Sudan . As I watched the South Sudanese celebrate independence on 9 July 2011, I was filled with joy as though they have finally landed. On a promising note, I read the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon saying “[t]ogether, we welcome the Republic of South Sudan to the community of nations. Together, we affirm our commitment to helping it meet its …

The Politics Of Exclusion In California's Marijuana Reform Movement, Brooke Mascagni

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Decade After Drug Decriminalization: What Can The United States Learn From The Portuguese Model?, Jordan Blair Woods

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Again And Again We Suffer: The Poor And The Endurance Of The "War On Drugs", Brian Gilmore

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

What Would It Look Like If We Cared About Narcotics Trafficking? An Argument To Attack Narcotics Capital Rather Than Labor, Mark Osler

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Law enforcement actions should be judged by a simple measure: are they solving a problem? After all, we Americans loathe the loss of freedom and the spending of tax dollars, and we should never take away citizens' freedom and money unless there actually is a problem being solved. Illegal narcotics are a problem, but we aren't solving it. Narcotics trafficking and use lead to violence, undermine productivity,' and rip apart the social fabric of families and communities. Despite much attention to these issues, drug use in this country continues at high levels, even among children.2 We have failed, and it …

Playing Well With Others -- But Still Winning: Chief Justice Roberts, Precedent, And The Possibilities Of A Multi Member Court, William D. Araiza

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Obama's Failed Attempt To Close Gitmo: Why Executive Orders Can't Bring About Systemic Change, Erin B. Corcoran

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Urgent Reform 'In The Name Of Our Children': Revamping The Role Of Disproportionate Minority Contact In Federal Juvenile Justice Legislation, Atasi Satpathy

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Disproportionate minority contact ("DMC") has plagued the United States juvenile justice system for decades, but federal legislation has lacked the clarity and guidance to battle this affliction. A strong partnership must exist between state and federal entities in order to directly target DMC and thereby decrease the appallingly disproportionate number of minority children who come into contact with the juvenile justice system. This Note discusses the problem of DMC, identifies state and private efforts to combat the crisis, and indicates deficiencies in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act as well as its reauthorization bill, S. 678. The Note urges …

State V. Harden: Muddying The Waters Of Self-Defense Law In West Virginia, Devin C. Daines

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Impeding Reentry: Agency And Judicial Obstacles To Longer Halfway House Placements, S. David Mitchell

Faculty Publications

Part I of this article details the Bureau of Prisons' rules and policies governing inmate placement, including the most recent iteration. Part II examines Chevron27 and the Bureau of Prisons' extraordinary justification exception rule. Part III turns to the threshold matter of obtaining judicial access to challenge the Bureau of Prisons' new rule, with Part III.A arguing that the federal courts should relax their standards when faced with exceptions to the exhaustion requirement and Part III.B arguing for the adoption of a federal public importance exception to the mootness doctrine. The article concludes that these changes will further Congress' dual …

Bullycide In American Schools: Forging A Comprehensive Legislative Solution, Jason A. Wallace

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Statement Of David E. Aaronson In Support Of Hb 1075 To Repeal The Death Penalty, David Aaronson

David Aaronson

No abstract provided.

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word: The Fair Sentencing Act Of 2010, Crack, And Methamphetamine, Kyle Graham

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Report On Offense Grading In New Jersey, Paul H. Robinson, Rebecca Levenson, Nicholas Feltham, Andrew Sperl, Kristen-Elise Brooks, Agatha Koprowski, Jessica Peake, Benjamin Probber, Brian Trainor

All Faculty Scholarship

The University of Pennsylvania Criminal Law Research Group was commissioned to do a study of offense grading in New Jersey. After an examination of New Jersey criminal law and a survey of New Jersey residents, the CLRG issued this Final Report. (For the report of a similar project for Pennsylvania, see Report on Offense Grading in Pennsylvania, http://ssrn.com/abstract=1527149, and for an article about the grading project, see The Modern Irrationalities of American Criminal Codes: An Empirical Study of Offense Grading, http://ssrn.com/abstract=1539083, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (forthcoming 2011).) The New Jersey study found serious conflicts between the relative grading …

The Collateral Consequences Of Juvenile Publicity: What The Montana Legislature Has Overlooked In The Youth Court Act, Sarah Montana Hart

Sarah Montana Hart

This article discusses what the Montana Legislature should do in order to remedy some unforeseen effects of keeping Youth Court proceedings public.

Chapter 219: Chelsea's Law, Kevin Walkow

McGeorge Law Review

No abstract provided.

Chapter 30: Correcting A Drafting Error In California's Latest Dui Law, Michael Malone

McGeorge Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reforming Adult Felony Probation To Ease Prison Overcrowding: An Overview Of California S.B. 678, Jessica K. Feinstein

Jessica Feinstein

This article provides a holistic examination of California’s groundbreaking Community Corrections Performance Incentives Act, S.B. 678, passed in 2009 in response to California’s prison crisis. S.B. 678 seeks to create stable funding for county probation departments to implement evidence-based practices by shifting resources from the state prison budget to county probation. Probation is the most frequently imposed form of criminal sentence in California—nor is it limited to the least serious offenders. Estimates of the state’s adult probation population range from roughly 325,000 to 350,000. The article illuminates the goals and mechanisms of S.B. 678 and the challenges facing its implementation. …

Mandatory Minimum Sentences In Utah: Does The Punishment Fit The Crime?, Braden W. Johnson

Braden W Johnson

An analysis concerning the effect that Congress' Comprehensive Crime Control Act had on state imposed mandatory minimum sentences, and considering the pros and cons with shifting this judicial responsibility onto the legislature.

How House Bill 2063 And The Expansion Of Access To Protective Orders Could Have Saved Yeardley Love's Life, Amy Weiss

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

Battered women often face an uphill battle in the legal system. In the 2011 session, the Virginia General Assembly added a new tool to these women's arsenal.o An amended version of House Bill 2063 sponsored by Delegate Rob Bell (R- Albemarle) passed the House and Senate unanimously on February 26, 2011. This paper will examine Virginia protective order law before the enactment of House Bill 2063, how Yeardley Love's death was a catalyst for reform of the law, how the law will change under House Bill 2063, and possible future developments in legislative reform that could further help victims of …

Notable Bills Of The 2011 General Assembly

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

House and Senate Bills from the 2011 General Assembly

Do Sex Offender Registration And Notification Laws Affect Criminal Behavior?, J. J. Prescott, Jonah E. Rockoff

Articles

Sex offenders have become the targets of some of the most far-reaching and novel crime legislation in the U.S. Two key innovations in recent decades have been registration and notification laws which, respectively, require that convicted sex offenders provide valid contact information to law enforcement authorities, and that information about sex offenders be made public. Using the evolution of state law during the 1990s and 2000s, we study how registration and notification affect the frequency of reported sex offenses and the incidence of such offenses across victims. We find evidence that registration reduces the frequency of sex offenses by providing …

Making Language Access To Health Care Meaningful: The Need For A Federal Health Care Interpreters' Statute, Alvaro Decola

Journal of Law and Health

This Note will argue that there are strong public policy, and legal and equity considerations for Congress to enact a federal statute to address the inadequacies of the current policies and regulations pertaining to language access to health care. The issue has become a significant one throughout the United States, given the influx of LEP (Limited English Proficiency) Americans navigating the health care system. Part II of this writing discusses the existing federal laws dealing with language access and the hurdles faced by LEP individuals in bringing legal action, because of existing case law on the subject. Part II also …

But That Is Absurd! Why Specific Absurdity Undermines Textualism, Linda Jellum

Articles

No abstract provided.

Blowing Out All The Candles: A Few Thoughts On The Twenty-Fifth Birthday Of The Sentencing Reform Act Of 1984, J. C. Oleson

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.