Digital Commons Network^™

Anti-Lgbt Legislation In Florida: A Prime Example Of States Mentally Harming Lgbt Youth, Kyla Tinsley

Northern Illinois University Law Review

While there has been a growing societal acceptance of LGBT individuals throughout the decades, anti-LGBT bills and laws within the states are on the rise—in particular, bills against LGBT youth. The most famous anti-LGBT law currently in place is Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law. The prevalence and inconsistent application of such legislation raises constitutional questions surrounding the rights of LGBT youth, as well as the negative effects the legislation has had on LGBT youth’s mental health and their perception of the legal system they are supposed to trust in and rely on. This Article discusses the impact state anti-LGBT …

Illinois’S Marijuana Madness: A Protectionist Scheme Of An Illegal Market In The Shadow Of The Constitution, Alec C. Moehn

Northern Illinois University Law Review

From prohibition to legalization, Marijuana has had a storied legal history in the United States, but its story is not quite over. A new gray area is coming to the forefront of the legal field: Marijuana is illegal federally but legal in many states. This Note discusses how some states, including Illinois, are operating in that gray area to better their political and economic goals, but the Constitution places a barrier to do so with the Dormant Commerce Clause. States are not free to discriminate against other states or out-of-state economic actors, and Illinois does just that with the Cannabis …

On Bringing Alternative Methods To Legal Research Instruction, Tanya M. Johnson

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Legal research is typically taught in a predictable, traditional way, but this doctrinal approach does not provide the skills and techniques needed for research in support of social justice efforts. This essay discusses a legal research course that I teach called Research for Social Justice, which incorporates critical and alternative methodologies that are not usually taught in legal research classes. After describing the content of the course, I focus on explaining what alternative legal research would entail, including a discussion of some alternative methods and strategies that I teach in my course with the goal of introducing students to a …

Jane Crow Constitutionalism, Evan D. Bernick

Northern Illinois University Law Review

On June 24, 2022 The United States Supreme Court issued its decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization; overturning Roe v. Wade, and destroying fifty years of precedent to protect the constitutional right to abortion in the United States. This overturning sets a dangerous, new precedent that reinforces the State’s control of reproduction, and criminalizes a woman’s right to choose, with very few exceptions. In states like Mississippi, Black women are already experiencing the highest rates of maternal mortality, incarceration, and poverty.

This article posits that Dobbs operates to maintain a racialized and gendered underclass, and names this phenomenon …

Comment: Instilling Ordered Procedure In Assessing Motions For Reduced Sentences Under Section 404 Of The First Step Act, Michael C. Vega

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Comment discusses the lack of ordered procedure in assessing motions brought pursuant to § 404 of the First Step Act of 2018. For nearly a quarter century, federal cocaine sentencing subjected crack-cocaine offenses dealing in one-hundredth the quantity of drug to the same statutory penalty as powder-cocaine offenses. This disparate treatment of drug offenses impacted primarily African Americans. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the disparity but applied only prospectively. Section 404 of the First Step Act made certain provisions of the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive. In the ensuing years, the federal courts have disagreed on the precise …

Comment: The Unjust Side Of Civil Asset Forfeiture In Illinois: Innocent Victims And Corrupted Incentives, Sarah Farwick

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Under the broad scope of modern civil asset forfeiture, law enforcement agencies routinely deprive citizens of their property without ever formally charging them with a crime. This system diminishes the ideal values of American justice, yet the Supreme Court has long held that civil asset forfeiture is constitutional, leaving prospects of judicial reform unlikely. Therefore, it is crucial that individual states take action to protect their citizens by abolishing the use of civil asset forfeiture. In 2017, the Illinois General Assembly attempted to reform its civil asset forfeiture system, but upon close analysis and application of the statute, it is …

A New Approach To Felony Murder In Illinois, Jason M. Cieslik

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In August of 2019, six teenagers drove to a rural area of Lake County, Illinois, in a stolen vehicle with the intention of burglarizing vehicles. Startled, the homeowner retrieved his gun, went out on the porch, and observed one of the teens approaching him, with what the homeowner determined to be a weapon. The homeowner fired his gun and killed one of the teens. The remaining five teens were charged with felony murder. At the time of this incident, Illinois applied the “proximate-cause theory” to felony murder. In response, the General Assembly amended the felony-murder rule with the intent to …

Fundamental First Amendment Principles, David L. Hudson Jr., Jacob David Glenn

Northern Illinois University Law Review

First Amendment law is highly complex, even labyrinthine. But, there are fundamental principles in First Amendment law that provide a baseline for a core understanding. These ten fundamental principles are: (1) the First Amendment protects the right to criticize the government; (2) the First Amendment abhors viewpoint discrimination and often content, or subject-matter discrimination; (3) the First Amendment protects a great deal of symbolic speech or expressive conduct; (4) the First Amendment protects a great deal of offensive and even repugnant speech; (5) the First Amendment does not protect all forms of speech; (6) the First Amendment often depends upon …

Tattoo Recognition Technology Is Gaining Acceptance As A Crime-Solving Technique, Samuel D. Hodge, Jr., John Meehan

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Tattoos offer a wealth of information gleaned through a simple visual examination. This visualization can help police evaluate the tattoo’s location, design, colors, and any other physical characteristics to identify the person captured on video surveillance. Tattoos are also helpful in identifying a corpse where more traditional tools such as facial features or fingerprints are unsuitable. Conventional databases, such as fingerprints, facial images, DNA profiles, and dental records, are of limited use if the victim or culprit does not have a profile on record. A person’s tattoos, however, are frequently recognized by many people, whether a family member, acquaintance, co-worker, …

Stepping Towards Justice: The Case For The Illinois Constitution Requiring More Protection Than Not Falling Below “Cruel And Unusual” Punishment, Andrea D. Lyon, Hannah J. Brooks

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In these tumultuous times, when our nation is trying to not only navigate a global pandemic, but also actually reckon with its long history of institutional racism, mass incarceration, and devastation of poor communities and communities of color, the cry for criminal justice reform is loud and getting louder, particularly regarding sentencing, and it is time for Illinois to require its courts to commit to doing more in accordance with our constitution. In this article, the authors examine the legislative and constitutional history of Illinois, the effects of a series of recent decisions made in the context of the sentencing …

Global Innovation Law, P. Sean Morris

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Article is about opening up a debate on global innovation law. The Article argues that a new hybrid area of transglobal law has emerged in the past decade due to the rise of various disruptive and technological challenges to law beyond the state. As such, the Article argues that global innovation law is a new field that encapsulates the dynamics of law making and regulatory governance in how law operates in a transglobal environment. With the rapid changes in law and regulation to meet the demands of the global economy--the interaction of law and these changes at the domestic …

Executive Privilege Or Punishment? The Need To Define Legitimate Invocations And Conflict Resolution Techniques, Mark P. Doherty

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This comment describes justifications for the doctrine of executive privilege and then examines various arguments against its legitimacy and use. This comment then reflects on several historical invocations of the privilege and the ensuing public, political, and judicial reactions. Finally, the author suggests that Congress implement guidelines for legitimate invocations of the executive privilege and outlines an effective system to safeguard this constitutional executive prerogative.

Neonaticide: Less Than Murder?, James J. Dvorak

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This comment examines the crime of infanticide. The comment includes a brief history of infanticide and an explanation of how the crime is treated in common law countries. A comparison of the United States and other common law countries leads the author to suggest that the United States should adopt an infanticide statute similar to that of other common law countries.

No Longer Free To Offend: Involuntary Civil Commitment Statutes For Sexual Predators Create The Basis For A Uniform Act, Lisa A. Wilson

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This comment examines the progression of involuntary civil commitment statutes for repeat sex offenders beginning in the 1930's and moving into the 1990's in terms of statutory changes and improvements. This comment also illustrates why these involuntary commitment statutes are the best solution to curb sexual predation with an eye towards the ultimate protection of the public. Finally, this comment stresses the need for a uniform act designed to incorporate those aspects of the currently existing sex predator statutes which best protect the community from repeat sex offenders.

Blind Leading The "Colorblind": The Evisceration Of Affirmative Action And A Dream Still Deferred, Amy L. Knickmeier

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The age of race-conscious remedial programs is coming to its demise. This Comment analyzes the application of the Fourteenth Amendment to school desegregation decrees and affirmative action programs in higher education. Furthermore, the Comment addresses the progressively hostile attitude exemplified by the judiciary toward such programs when Constitutional violations are absent. Finally, this Comment argues that racism continues to extensively influence societal views and behaviors. Therefore, until more viable and effective solutions to racism are implemented, race-conscious affirmative action plans must survive. Consequently, the Supreme Court ought to mandate a lenient standard of review to race-based remedial programs in higher …

The Future Of The Exclusionary Rule: An Alternative Analysis For The Adjudication Of Individual Rights, Benjamin A. Swift

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The benefits accrued through the use of computer and technological advances unfortunately sometimes infringe upon personal liberties. This comment examines the range and scope of the Exclusionary Rule in those instances when computer or technological errors supply improper evidence about individuals to police. The author focuses on the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Evans, and then places Evans in its context in criminal procedure jurisprudence.

The Unconventional Equal Protection Jurisprudence Of Jury Selection, Joel H. Swift

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This article traces the development of equal protection jurisprudence as it has been applied to one aspect of the criminal justice system, to wit, selection of juries. It demonstrates that the United States Supreme Court's approach has been inconsistent with conventional equal protection doctrine in two ways. Unlike conventional doctrine, which requires proof of subjective intent to discriminate to make out a prima facie case, the Court has found that the mere use of a jury selection process that has a proven statistically disparate negative impact on the selection of African-American jurors is sufficient to establish a prima facie violation …

The "Impartial" Jury And Media Overload: Rethinking Attorney Speech Regulations In The 1990s, Katrina M. Kelly

Northern Illinois University Law Review

As a growing number of attorneys seek and receive more media attention during trials, the days in which jurors judge a case's merits based solely on what they have heard in the courtroom are quickly fading. The author discusses the present state of Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 3.6, which regulates attorney speech, and examines the difficulties courts have faced in applying the provision. The solution to the attorney speech problem likely lies in a revised standard in which jurors are not required to completely leave their personal beliefs outside the jury room.

Designing A "System For Idiots": An Analysis Of The Impracticality Of Davis V. United States On Ambiguous Waivers Of The Right To The Presence Of Counsel, William G. Worobec

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This article explains the United States Supreme Court holding that police, upon a suspect's equivocal reference to their Fifth Amendment right to the presence of counsel during interrogation, are no longer required to clarify the suspect's true intent. The author contends the majority was erroneous in holding equivocal waivers to be equivalent to clear waivers, and that the decision could not be reconciled with Miranda and its progeny. The Court has impermissibly placed the burden of a mastery of the law on the less knowledgeable suspect, and consideration need be given to existing lower court proposals, or a modification thereof …

Parity And The Litigation Of Private Property Rights In The United States And Germany: Evidence In Support Of Chemerinsky's Litigant Rights Principle, Timothy L. Gartin

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This article reviews the stalemate in the parity debate as to whether state courts are functionally interchangeable in their likelihood to protect federal constitutional rights in general and private property rights in particular. The article then summarizes Professor Chemerinsky's litigant choice principle as a means for resolving the debate. A comparison with the German judicial system yields support for the litigant choice principle.

The Obviously Impossible Attempt: A Proposed Revision To The Model Penal Code, Kyle S. Brodie

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This article discusses the problems posed by attempt crimes which have no chance of succeeding (often called "obviously impossible attempts"). Impossibility has largely been abolished as a defense to attempt crimes, so the obvious impossibility of an attempted crime is legally irrelevant in determining whether or not it should be punished. Even so, the author contends that many of the reasons attempt crimes are punished do not apply to obviously impossible attempts. The author's proposed solution is to add an element of "reasonableness" to the definition of attempt crimes.

Castration As An Alternative To Incarceration: An Impotent Approach To The Punishment Of Sex Offenders, Kari A. Vanderzyl

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Although recognized as an acceptable form of punishment in other cultures, castration as a punitive measure has traditionally found limited support in the United States. This comment examines the use of castration as a form of punishment, tracing the procedure from its origins in the eugenics movement in the early twentieth century to the recent popularity of chemical castration as an alternative to incarceration for sex offenders. The comment discusses constitutional challenges to the castration of sex offenders and addresses the economic and social policy considerations implicated by the practice. The author concludes that castration represents an unconstitutional and ineffective …

Commercial Speech Suffers A First Amendment Blow In United States V. Edge Broadcasting Co., Tara Lavery

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This note examines the United States Supreme Court decision upholding the federal anti-lottery statutory scheme as constitutional under the First Amendment. The author contends that the Court disregarded precedent which established intermediate scrutiny as the standard of review when determining the constitutionality of restrictions on commercial speech. The Court utilized a mere rationality review, by deferring to legislative policies that at one time served an important interest, but no longer substantiate a complete ban on the free flow of truthful commercial information.

Minnesota V. Dickerson: "Plain Feel" And The Expansion Of Terry To Allow Warrantless Seizures Of Non-Weapon Contraband, Mark D. Walton

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This note examines the United States Supreme Court decision accepting a "plain feel" analogue to the plain view doctrine. The author contends that this is an improper expansion of Terry v. Ohio that will result in routine warrantless personal searches for non-weapon contraband.

Some Economic Aspects Of Crime In The United States, Joseph A. Martellaro

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This article focuses on the economic aspects of crime in the United States, specifically analyzing crimes which are committed by persons upon other persons and against property. The author notes that NAFTA may result in an increased influx of crime due to increased activity between the United States, Canada and Mexico. The article proceeds to analyze the economic aspects of criminal behavior by examining the probability of success via "Risk-Factors." The article examines the enormous cost of crime in the United States, and concludes that the monetary awards of crime will continue to result in an increase in criminal activity, …

Entrapment And Jacobson V. United States: "Doesn't The Government Realize That They Can Destroy A Man's Life?", Leslie G. Bleifus

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This note examines the United States Supreme Court decision finding that the criminal defendant had been entrapped by the government as a matter of law. The author contends that the Court's disposition of this case was not consistent with precedent and concludes that the decision was an implicit application of the due process defense.

Edmonson V. Leesville Concrete Co.: Reasoned Or Result Oriented Jurisprudence?, Frederick V. Olson

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This note examines the United States Supreme Court decision finding a private litigant's use of peremptory challenges to exclude jurors on account of race in a civil case constituted "state action" and violated the excluded jurors' equal protection rights. The author examines the Court's decision and concludes that the finding of "state action" was not based on reasoned jurisprudence.

Discriminatory Regulation Of Trial Publicity: A Caveat For The Bar, Joel H. Swift

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In Gentile v. State Bar of Nevada the United States Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a widely adopted professional regulation covering attorney discussion of pending criminal cases. The Court's conclusion was based in large part on a perceived risk of discriminatory enforcement against defense counsel. This article demonstrates that the Court's concern about discriminatory enforcement is supported by the empirical evidence. Extensive studies of disclosures in criminal cases demonstrate that an attorney trial publicity problem exists, and is substantially one of improper prosecutorial publicity. Nevertheless, the attention of the organized bar and its enforcement of disciplinary rules on trial publicity have …

Harmful Error: Arizona V. Fulminante And The Expansion Of The Harmless-Error Rule, Shawn O. Miller

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In Arizona v. Fulminante, the United States Supreme Court held that coerced confessions that are erroneously admitted at trial are now subject to the harmless-error rule. The Court's holding is a radical departure from precedent. Consequently, this note examines this precedent and the Fulminante decision. The author concludes that Fulminante has created inconsistency within the area of law dealing with coerced confessions, increased the possibility of unfair trials, and narrowed defendants' due process rights.

Aids In Jail, Howard Messing

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The first American institution forced to face the AIDS epidemic and which served as a testing ground for institutional responses to AIDS was the jail. The response of the jail systems and the case law surrounding these responses discussed in this article will be informative in shaping and reviewing the responses of other institutions to the AIDS crisis.