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Wrongful Convictions And Punitiveness: Measuring Student's Attitudes On Erroneous Felony Convictions, Shayna Lancaster Oct 2011

Wrongful Convictions And Punitiveness: Measuring Student's Attitudes On Erroneous Felony Convictions, Shayna Lancaster

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to better understand the attitudes towards wrongful convictions and levels of punitiveness among college students who may work in the criminal justice field in the future. It attempts to replicate Robert Ramsey and James Frank's 2007 study "Wrongful Conviction - Perceptions of Criminal Justice Professionals Regarding the Frequency of Wrongful Conviction and the Extent of System Errors." Instead of surveying criminal justice professionals, this study's sample is on-campus undergraduate classes in criminal justice and political science for the spring 2010 semester at Old Dominion University using a survey that operationalizes punitiveness with a series …


Is Justice Available To All? Indigent Defense In Michigan, Barbara K. Lanning Apr 2011

Is Justice Available To All? Indigent Defense In Michigan, Barbara K. Lanning

Honors Theses

Does Michigan’s public defense system operate in accordance with the decisions made by the Supreme Court in cases like Gideon v. Wainwright, Powell v. Alabama, and Argersinger v. Hamlin? If not, how can we reform the system? The right to counsel for those accused of a crime in the United States is a constitutional right. After the decision issued in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) the federal government mandated that all states were responsible for providing representation for indigent defendants. The states provide these services either through public defender programs, appointment of court cases to private attorneys, or through contracts with …


The Supreme Court: A Decade Of Opinion, Matthew A. Bahleda Apr 2011

The Supreme Court: A Decade Of Opinion, Matthew A. Bahleda

Honors Theses

Conventional wisdom would have us believe that the Bush v. Gore (2000) decision marked a large change in public approval of the Supreme Court. To analyze this claim, a series of landmark cases for the years 2000-2010 will be reduced to a data set that will allow for the observation of specific variables and the roles each variable may play in determining the change in public opinion. From there, conclusions are made that substantively explicate the relations between the indicated relevant variables and the change in opinion. Ultimately, the Bush v. Gore decision is found to have not had the …


Predictors Of Pre-Dispositional Juvenile Detention: Race Gender And Intersectionality, Jennifer Lee Gebler Apr 2011

Predictors Of Pre-Dispositional Juvenile Detention: Race Gender And Intersectionality, Jennifer Lee Gebler

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This research examines disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in a court service unit (CSU) in Virginia which has been implementing the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) program since 2005. Using three years of intake data, the study also explores the impact of race and gender on the likelihood of receiving pre-dispositional secure detention. Finally, using intersectionality theory, the study analyzes the joint impact of being non-white and female on the pre-dispositional detention outcome. In this CSU, non-whites were found to be overrepresented in secure detention indicating the presence of DMC. In the multivariate model, race was not found to be a …


Comparing And Contrasting The Constitutional Approaches Of Justice Scalia And Justice Breyer Through The Pending Supreme Court Case Schwarzenegger V Entertainment Merchants Association, Katherine E. Moran Ms. Jan 2011

Comparing And Contrasting The Constitutional Approaches Of Justice Scalia And Justice Breyer Through The Pending Supreme Court Case Schwarzenegger V Entertainment Merchants Association, Katherine E. Moran Ms.

CMC Senior Theses

The aim of this thesis is to explore the differences and similarities between Justice Antonin Scalia’s textualist approach to interpreting the Constitution and Justice Stephen Breyer’s Living Constitution approach (also called the evolutionist approach) by applying these disparate legal theories to Schwarzenegger v Entertainment Merchants Association, a case currently pending before the Supreme Court whose resolution centers on the interpretation of the First Amendment. The textualist approach relies primarily on interpreting the original meaning of the text of the Constitution, and attempting to decide cases in a way that is faithful to an amendment’s words as written (Rossum et …