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Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Law
Revenge Of Mullaney V. Wilbur: United States V. Booker And The Reassertion Of Judicial Limits On Legislative Power To Define Crimes, The, Ian Weinstein
Faculty Scholarship
This article offers a historically grounded account of the twists and turns in the Supreme Court's sentencing jurisprudence from the end of World War II to the Court's stunning rejection of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The doctrinal shifts that have roiled this area of the law can best be understood as the Court's effort to respond to the changing political and social landscape of crime in America. In the mid 1970's, legislative activity in the criminal law was largely focused on Model Penal Code influenced recodification. In that era, the Supreme Court took power from an ascendant judiciary and gave …
Historical Roots Of Regional Sentencing Variation, The Symposium, Ian Weinstein
Historical Roots Of Regional Sentencing Variation, The Symposium, Ian Weinstein
Faculty Scholarship
I am a law professor and a criminal defense lawyer, not a historian. It is with some trepidation that I stand before you to suggest that our very persistent regional sentencing variations have roots in the political struggles of Reformation England and the cultures of the subgroups that populated the first American colonies. I rely upon others for the historical proof, as you will see, but I think I do have standing to argue to you that we should consider whether or not there is room, even in federal sentencing, to account for deeply embedded regional variations in our basic …
Criminal Law In A Post-Freudian World, Deborah W. Denno
Criminal Law In A Post-Freudian World, Deborah W. Denno
Faculty Scholarship
Freudian psychoanalytic theory has greatly influenced the modern definition of criminal culpability. Indeed, much of the language of key criminal statutes, cases, and psychiatric testimony is framed by psychoanalytic concepts. This impact is particularly evident in the Model Penal Code's mens rea provisions and defenses, which were developed in the 1950s and 1960s, a time of Freudian reign in the United States. For contemporary criminal law, however, this degree of psychoanalytic presence is troublesome. Freudian theory is difficult to apply to group conflicts and legal situations, and the theory emphasizes unconscious (rather than conscious) thoughts. The rising new science of …
Sexual Minorities, Criminal Justice, And The Death Penalty, Michael B. Shortnacy
Sexual Minorities, Criminal Justice, And The Death Penalty, Michael B. Shortnacy
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This Article addresses the biases confronting sexual minorities in the legal system. The author calls upon the legal community including bar associations, judicial councils and conferences, and law schools to recognize that bias against sexual minorities exists and they should devote sufficient resources to allow for comprehensive study of this problem and for the education of the bar and the public. Furthermore, the Article points out that this bias against sexual minorities among key players in the legal system may actually be a factor in the imposition of the death penalty. The author points out the inattention this bias against …
Policing The Police: The Role Of The Courts And The Prosecution, Steven Zeidman
Policing The Police: The Role Of The Courts And The Prosecution, Steven Zeidman
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This Article focuses on how, and whether, the component parts of the courts - judges, court administrators, and prosecutors - promote justice by actively and critically monitoring or overseeing the police. The author focuses on one of the most common forms of police corruption facing the criminal justice system - what has been termed "falsifications" which includes testimonial perjury, documentary perjury and falsification of police records. The author reflects on what judges and prosecutors have done to combat this form of police corruption and offers ways in which the actors within the criminal justice system can be more effective.