What Is The Meaning Of Like: The First Amendment Implications Of Social-Media Expression, Ira P. Robbins
Dec 2012
What Is The Meaning Of Like: The First Amendment Implications Of Social-Media Expression, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
Everywhere the Internet goes, new legal problems are sure to follow. As social media expands and infiltrates our daily lives, society must grapple with how to extend the law to modern situations. This problem becomes increasingly pressing as more and more of our social interactions take place online. For example, Facebook has become a colossal gathering place for friends, families, co-workers, frenemies, and others to disseminate their ideas and share information. Sometimes Facebook replaces old institutions; other times it augments them. Where once a neighbor would show allegiance to a political candidate by staking a sign on the front lawn, …
"Bad Juror" Lists And The Prosecutor's Duty To Disclose, Ira P. Robbins
Dec 2011
"Bad Juror" Lists And The Prosecutor's Duty To Disclose, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
Prosecutors sometimes use what are known as "bad juror" lists to exclude particular citizens from jury service. Not only does this practice interfere with an open and fair jury-selection process, thus implicating a defendant's right to be tried by a jury of his or her peers, but it also violates potential jurors' rights to serve in this important capacity. But who is on these lists? And is a prosecutor required to disclose the lists to defense counsel? These questions have largely gone unnoticed by legal analysts.
This Article addresses the prosecutor's duty to disclose bad-juror lists. It reviews the …
Ghostwriting: Filling In The Gaps Of Pro Se Prisoners’ Access To The Courts, Ira P. Robbins
Oct 2010
Ghostwriting: Filling In The Gaps Of Pro Se Prisoners’ Access To The Courts, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
Compared with other litigants, pro se prisoners are at an inherent disadvantage when they try to vindicate their rights. They lack many of the resources enjoyed by non-prisoner litigants. They have limited finances and limited access to legal-research materials. Even if they had such access, their illiteracy would lessen its effectiveness. Moreover, many attorneys are unwilling or unable to undertake full representation of prisoner litigants. As a result, pro se prisoners struggle to navigate the complex legal system, often losing their cases on procedural grounds before ever reaching a decision on the merits.
This Article argues that, in order to …
Lessons From Hurricane Katrina: Prison Emergency Preparedness As A Constitutional Imperative, Ira P. Robbins
Oct 2010
Lessons From Hurricane Katrina: Prison Emergency Preparedness As A Constitutional Imperative, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters ever to strike the United States, in terms of casualties, suffering, and financial cost. Often overlooked among Katrina's victims are the 8,000 inmates who were incarcerated at Orleans Parish Prison (OPP) when Katrina struck. Despite a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, these men and women, some of whom had been held on charges as insignificant as public intoxication, remained in the jail as the hurricane hit, and endured days of rising, toxic waters, a lack of food and drinking water, and a complete breakdown of order within OPP. When the inmates …
Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger And The Law, Ira P. Robbins
Mar 2008
Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger And The Law, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
The middle finger is one of the most commonly used insulting gestures in the United States. The finger, which is used to convey a wide range of emotions, is visible on streets and highways, in schools, shopping malls, and sporting events, in courts and execution chambers, in advertisements and on magazine covers, and even on the hallowed floor of the United States Senate. Despite its ubiquity, however, as a number of recent cases demonstrate, those who use the middle finger in public run the risk of being stopped, arrested, prosecuted, fined, and even incarcerated under disorderly conduct or breach of …
Anthrax Hoaxes, Ira P. Robbins
Sep 2004
Anthrax Hoaxes, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
INTRODUCTION: "[Y]ou are a disgusting piece of dirt."' Judge Steven Shutter, a county judge in South Florida, used these words to describe a twenty- four-year-old woman whom he labeled a terrorist2 and who was condemned by the media.3 Aside from name-calling, Judge Shutter raised the woman's bail from $3,500 to $25,000 when he learned the nature of the offense, 'just in case" the woman might be able to afford the lower bond.4 Given the strength of Judge Shutter's animosity toward her, one might assume that Yasmin Kassima Sealey- Doe had provided assistance to the terrorists who attacked the World Trade …
Without Charge: Assessing The Due Process Rights Of Unindicted Co-Conspirators, Ira P. Robbins
Dec 2003
Without Charge: Assessing The Due Process Rights Of Unindicted Co-Conspirators, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
The grand jury practice of naming individuals as unindicted co-conspirators routinely results in injury to reputations,lost employment opportunities, and a practical inability to run for public office. Yet, because these individuals are not parties to a criminal trial, they have neither the right to present evidence nor
the opportunity to clear their names. Thus, Professor Robbins argues that the practice violates the Fifth Amendment guarantee that “[n]o person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law[.]” While prosecutors may offer many justifications to support the practice of naming
unindicted co-conspirators, these reasons …
Magistrate Judges, Article Iii, And The Power To Preside Over Federal Prisoner Section 2255 Proceedings, Ira P. Robbins
Dec 2001
Magistrate Judges, Article Iii, And The Power To Preside Over Federal Prisoner Section 2255 Proceedings, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
In 1968, Congress enacted the Federal Magistrates Act to enhance judicial efficiency in the federal courts. Since then, some judicial functions delegated to magistrate judges have been challenged on constitutional grounds: while federal district judges, appointed pursuant to Article III of the United States Constitution, are protected with life tenure and undiminishable salary, thereby enhancing judicial independence, federal magistrate judges, appointed pursuant to Article I, have no such protection. The most recent major challenge to magistrate judge authority came in 2001, when the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in United States v. Johnston, decided that referral …
The Revitalization Of The Common-Law Civil Writ Of Audita Querela As A Post-Conviction Remedy In Criminal Cases: The Immigration Context And Beyond, Ira P. Robbins
Dec 1991
The Revitalization Of The Common-Law Civil Writ Of Audita Querela As A Post-Conviction Remedy In Criminal Cases: The Immigration Context And Beyond, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
Introduction: An alien lawfully enters the United States in 1972. He gets a job, gets married, and becomes a productive worker in the community. He is subsequently convicted of a felony, such as making false statements on a loan application. As a result, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) brings deportation proceedings against him. The individual will seek any means possible to vacate the conviction, in order to stay in this country.' This Article explores whether the writ of audita querela. primarily used to provide post-judgment relief in civil cases at common law, can be used to challenge criminal …
