Law Commons^™

Legalized Lynch Mobs In The 21st Century: Racial Improprieties In The Death Penalty, Betsy A. Daniller

Betsy A Daniller

No abstract provided.

The Dangerousness Of The Status Quo: A Case For Modernizing Civil Commitment Law, Daniel A. Moon

Daniel C Moon

The states, private healthcare organizations, and those with psychiatric disorders are poorly served by the vague “dangerousness” standard endorsed by the United States Supreme Court in O’Connor v. Donaldson, as well as the state statutes that adhere to the high bar set in its holding. This paper explores involuntary civil commitment from a variety of perspectives in order to highlight these issues and to identify where improvements can be made. Specifically, this article proposes that the American Law Institute or the American Bar Association promulgate model rules intended to correct the system’s shortcomings and protect the various interested parties.

Lights, Camera, Arrest: The Stage Is Set For A Federal Resolution Of A Citizen's Right To Record The Police In Public, Taylor R. Robertson

Taylor R Robertson

Grab your cellphone, press the record button, and amaze your friends!

No advertisement like this exists in real life, of course, because the action is already universally automatic—it needs no encouragement or instruction. But aim the camera at the police and you could be arrested and face up to fifteen years in prison under some eavesdropping or wiretapping laws simply for recording the police in public speaking at volumes audible to any unassisted ear. While wiretapping laws were originally intended to protect citizens from the snooping detective, some states have effectively turned these laws into government protection from the watchful …

U.S. Institutionalized Torture With Impunity: Examining Rape And Sexual Abuse In Custody Through The Icty Jurisprudence, Allison Rogne

Allison Rogne

It is a well-established principle, both domestically and internationally, that rape is torture when suffered as part of confinement. It is also well documented, both domestically and internationally, that rape is rampant in U.S. prisons. And it is well established, both domestically and internationally, that those who torture should not do so with impunity, that that impunity is an affront to civilization and the human rights principles to which we all strive. And yet, in U.S. prisons, shocking numbers of women are systematically raped and sexually abused by those that would rehabilitate them. Female prisoners are victims of vaginal and …

The Issue Is Being Intersex: The Current Standard Of Care Is A Result Of Ignorance, And It Is Amazing What A Little Analysis Can Conclude., Marla J. Ferguson

marla j ferguson

The Constitution was written to protect and empower all citizens of the United States, including those who are born with Disorders of Sex Development. The medical community, as a whole, is not equipped with the knowledge required to adequately diagnose or treat intersex babies. Intersex simply means that the baby is born with both male and female genitalia. The current method that doctors follow is to choose a sex to assign the baby, and preform irreversible surgery on them without informed consent. Ultimately the intersex babies are mutilated and robbed of many of their fundamental rights; most notably, the right …

Women At The Forefront: An Examination Of The Disproportionate Exposure Of Mothers To Liability Under Parental Responsibility Laws, Portia Allen-Kyle

Portia Allen-Kyle

This Note discusses the social and legislative affinity for parental responsibility laws in response to juvenile delinquency and victimization and examines the discriminatory impact of such laws on mothers. This Note argues two-fold that: 1) the mere existence of parental responsibility statutes perpetuates “mother blaming” and disproportionately exposes mothers to liability and are thus discriminatory in their effect, and 2) the use of vicarious, strict liability for parents is ineffective and inappropriate in affecting juvenile behavior. Section I provides a discussion about the history of parental responsibility laws and argue the symbolic purpose of many parental responsibility laws. Section II …

Presumed Imminence: Judicial Risk Assessment In The Post-9/11 World, Avidan Cover

Avidan Cover

Court opinions in the terrorism context are often distinguished by fact finding that relates to risk assessment. These risk assessments‑inherently policy decisions‑are influenced by cultural cognition and by cognitive errors common to probability determinations, particularly those made regarding highly dangerous and emotional events. In a post-9/11 world, in which prevention and intelligence are prioritized over prosecution, courts are more likely to overstate the potential harm, neglect the probability, and presume the imminence of terrorist attacks. As a result courts apt to defer to the government and require less evidence in support of measures that curtail civil liberties. This Article takes …

Speech Along The Atrocity Spectrum, Gregory S. Gordon

Gregory S. Gordon

In the abstract, speech may have much intrinsic value with its power to facilitate democracy, self-actualization, and good will. But, in certain contexts, it can also be quite deleterious, spawning division, ignorance, and hatred. Within the crucible of atrocity, speech may be similarly Janus-faced. Its power to prevent mass violence is indubitable. But its capacity for enabling mass violence is similarly unquestionable. So the issue arises: when and how may speech work for good or ill in relation to atrocity? This Article grapples with that question. And, in doing so, it finds that the relationship between speech and atrocity should …

Contextual Expectations Of Privacy, Andrew Selbst

Andrew Selbst

Fourth Amendment search jurisprudence is nominally based on a “reasonable expectation of privacy,” but actual doctrine is detached from society’s conception of privacy. Courts rely on various binary distinctions: Is a piece of information secret or not? Was the observed conduct inside or outside? While often convenient, none of these binary distinctions can adequately capture the complicated range of ideas encompassed by “privacy.” Privacy theorists have begun to understand that a consideration of social context is essential to a full understanding of privacy. Helen Nissenbaum’s theory of contextual integrity, which characterizes a right to privacy as the preservation of expected …

Timeless Trial Strategies And Tactics: Lessons From The Classic Claus Von Bülow Case, Daniel M. Braun

Daniel M Braun

In this new Millennium -- an era of increasingly complex cases -- it is critical that lawyers keep a keen eye on trial strategy and tactics. Although scientific evidence today is more sophisticated than ever, the art of effectively engaging people and personalities remains prime. Scientific data must be contextualized and presented in absorbable ways, and attorneys need to ensure not only that they correctly understand jurors, judges, witnesses, and accused persons, but also that they find the means to make their arguments truly resonate if they are to formulate an effective case and ultimately realize justice. A decades-old case …

Revisiting Colorado V. Connelly: The Problem Of Fase Confessions In The Twenty-First Century, Dan Harkins

Dan Harkins

This paper analyzes how the current constitutional test formatted in Colorado v. Connelly no longer sufficiently excludes unreliable confessions from being admitted into evidence at trial. In the last twenty years, a multitude of psychological studies have demonstrated that people confess to crimes they did not commit for a wider range of reasons than are recognized by the Connelly inquiry. This paper analyzes this phenomenon and examines potential methods (both inside and outside the constitutional standard) for preventing these confessions from reaching juries at trial.

Against Juvenile Sex Offender Registration, Catherine L. Carpenter

Catherine L Carpenter

Against Juvenile Sex Offender Registration Catherine L. Carpenter* Abstract Imagine if you were held accountable the rest of your life for something you did as a child? This is the Child Scarlet Letter in force: kids who commit criminal sexual acts and who pay the price with the burdens and stigma of sex offender registration. And in a game of “how low can you go?,” states have forced children as young as nine and ten years old onto sex offender registries, some with registration requirements that extend the rest of their lives. It is both unremarkable and true that children …