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An Ounce Of Prevention: Why The Innocence Movement Should Focus On Proscriptive Pre-Conviction Measures Instead Of Abolition Of The Death Penalty, Rhiannon M. Hartman
An Ounce Of Prevention: Why The Innocence Movement Should Focus On Proscriptive Pre-Conviction Measures Instead Of Abolition Of The Death Penalty, Rhiannon M. Hartman
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
When eyewitnesses identify defendants as perpetrators during criminal trials, juries almost always return a guilty verdict. Unfortunately, researchers consistently find that eyewitness identification is inherently inaccurate and unreliable. The Supreme Court of the United States acknowledged the broad scope of the problem as early as 1967, when it referenced Edwin M. Borchard's famous study of wrongful convictions, stating, "the vagaries of eyewitness identification are well-known; the annals of criminal law are rife with instances of mistaken identification."' Since Borchard's 1932 study, there has been no remedy for the problem of wrongful conviction based on mistaken identification. In Samuel Gross's study …
Dividing Lives: How Deporting Legal And Illegal Immigrants With United States-Born Children Is Separating Families And Why United States And International Laws Are Failing Families, Anna-Liisa Jacobson
Dividing Lives: How Deporting Legal And Illegal Immigrants With United States-Born Children Is Separating Families And Why United States And International Laws Are Failing Families, Anna-Liisa Jacobson
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This Article explores the current immigration laws causing mixed immigration status families to become separated and analyzes what the role of the United States government should be in solving this crisis. Part II discusses the current crisis occurring when families are separated due to factors such as deportation. Part III analyzes the changes brought by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ("IIRIRA") and how these changes have negatively impacted immigrant families. Part IV examines the increasing number of deportations due to changes in the penalties for crimes committed by immigrants. Part V explores the legal protections …
Taking Aim At The Virginia Triggerman Rule: A Commentary On House Bill 2358, Anisa Mohanty
Taking Aim At The Virginia Triggerman Rule: A Commentary On House Bill 2358, Anisa Mohanty
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This Comment will examine the legislative history of the triggerman rule in Virginia in Part I. Part II will explore the justifications and criticisms of an expansion to the triggerman rule. Part III will present a short study of American jurisprudence with respect to the death penalty and non-triggermen. Finally, Part IV will discuss the future implications for Virginia's criminal justice system if the expansion to the triggerman rule eventually becomes law.
Table Of Contents, Scott St. Amand
Table Of Contents, Scott St. Amand
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
The Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest is pleased to present our annual fall issue. This issue focuses on the widespread implications of criminal law and procedure and the way it is both affected by and affects our society and its mores. The issue is divided into two parts: three articles written by independent authors, and two comments by University of Richmond Students.
Injury-In-Fact, Justice-In-Fiction: Toward A More Realistic Definition Of Injury In The Context Of Unenforced Criminal Laws, Jason R. Lafond
Injury-In-Fact, Justice-In-Fiction: Toward A More Realistic Definition Of Injury In The Context Of Unenforced Criminal Laws, Jason R. Lafond
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This article argues that the "prosecution or the credible threat of prosecution" standard endorsed by the Supreme Court of the United States to analyze standing in challenges to criminal laws is too narrow. Part I seeks to counter the notion of unenforced criminal laws as "dead words" and "harmless empty shadows" by reviewing recent research from multiple disciplines, including psychology, sociology, and economics, which shows that unenforced laws have as strong an effect on individuals and society as prosecution or the threat of prosecution. Part II traces the history and rationale of the notion of standing and the requirement of …
"You Think He Got Shot - Did You Maybe Shoot Him By Accident?": Linguistic Manipulation Of The Communicatively Immature During Police Interrogations, Kathryn C. Donoghue
"You Think He Got Shot - Did You Maybe Shoot Him By Accident?": Linguistic Manipulation Of The Communicatively Immature During Police Interrogations, Kathryn C. Donoghue
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
It is undeniable that "punishment of the innocent makes a mockery of the law." Police who linguistically coerce false confessions from communicatively immature suspects mock the criminal justice system by evading accountability and convicting the vulnerable. This paper documents how common linguistic strategies directed at certain vulnerable groups have the potential to elicit false confessions. Part II reviews linguistic strategies routinely employed by trained interrogators. Part III then explores how mentally challenged and juvenile suspects, otherwise known as communicatively immature groups, are more susceptible to deceptive linguistic strategies. Part IV discusses how interrogators learn to extract confessions, while Part V …
Eternal Law: The Underpinnings Of Dharma And Karma In The Justice System, Shiv Narayan Persaud
Eternal Law: The Underpinnings Of Dharma And Karma In The Justice System, Shiv Narayan Persaud
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
To understand a social system, it is important to have some knowledge of the structure and principles governing that system. The principles, when applied to the system, help in arriving at a better understanding of the underlying forces that operate dynamically to hold the system together. As the core values of a society change, the system must be able to adapt and reformulate its governing principles in order to compensate. When the system can no longer adapt to change and progress, it cries out for replacement. In light of the foregoing, this article further seeks to examine the universal principles …
The Chill Bill: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act Of 2007 And The Forgotten Dangers To The First Amendment, Hank Gates
The Chill Bill: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act Of 2007 And The Forgotten Dangers To The First Amendment, Hank Gates
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This comment will address whether the Hate Crimes Prevention Act is unconstitutionally overbroad in violation of the First Amendment because it threatens to chill protected speech. Part II will outline the text of the House Bill 1592 as passed by the House of Representatives. Part III will outline the United States Supreme Court's overbreadth doctrine in its current form and the Supreme Court's major decisions on hate crime legislation in the past. Part IV will evaluate the potential dangers that the Act, in its current form, poses to protected speech. Ultimately, this comment concludes that Congress can draft hate crimes …
Lowering The Bar: In Re Van Orden And The Constitutionality Of The 2006 Amendments To Missouri's Sexually Violent Predator Act, Lauren Standlee
Lowering The Bar: In Re Van Orden And The Constitutionality Of The 2006 Amendments To Missouri's Sexually Violent Predator Act, Lauren Standlee
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
Given the public's fear and anxiety regarding sex offenders, especially those who target children, society is predisposed to lock them up and throw away the key. To avoid reproach, however, our society must trust in our judicial processes and involuntarily commit only those who are found to be sexually violent predators beyond a reasonable doubt. Furthermore, the judicial system must unconditionally release sexually violent predators when they are deemed to no longer pose a danger to themselves or to others. The methods by which our society commits and holds such individuals implicate not only their behavior but also our own, …
Entry And Service Of Protective Orders In Virginia: Are You Really Protected, Susheela Varky
Entry And Service Of Protective Orders In Virginia: Are You Really Protected, Susheela Varky
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
According to the Virginia Department of State Police, there has been a legislative effort in 2008 and 2009 over the past two years to ensure that essential data from protective orders1 is entered into the Virginia Criminal Information Network ("VCIN") immediately upon the order's issuance. While data entry may seem like a dull topic, the following story highlights the dire significance of this seemingly mundane task.