Law Commons^™

Justice In The Time Of Terror, Sharon L. Davies

Michigan Law Review

On my drive into work recently I found myself behind a Ford pickup truck and noticed its bumper sticker: "When the going gets tough, I get a machine gun." Not a doctor. Not a counselor or mediator. Not a shelter for cover. Not the wisdom of a favored advisor or a proven friend. But a machine gun. How odd, I thought, to prefer a weapon incapable of identifying with any precision, any careful thought, where the enemy of the wielder of it might actually be hidden. A weapon as apt to injure non-targets as targets. A weapon mindless of its …

Hearing The Danger Of An Armed Felon- Allowing For A Detention Hearing Under The Bail Reform Act For Those Who Unlawfully Possess Firearms, Matthew S. Miner

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article advocates an interpretation of the Bail Reform Act that affords courts the ability to hold detention hearings in gun crime cases to evaluate defendants' potential danger to the community. According to an interpretation advanced by some courts, gun possession offenses do not constitute "crimes of violence" within the meaning of the Act and therefore those charged with such crimes, even ifth ey have a prior felony conviction, are not subject to pre-trial detention. Arguing against this approach, the Article looks to the Bail Reform Act, the relevant federal case law, and the alarming statistics concerning the growing use …

Justice Beyond Borders: A Comparison Of Australian And U.S. Child-Sex Tourism Laws, Karen D. Breckenridge

Washington International Law Journal

In 1996, an estimated one million children were sexually exploited in Asia. "Sex tourists" who travel to Asia from developed countries, including Australia and the United States, contribute to the demand for child prostitutes. A decade ago, Australia and the United States passed laws in an attempt to combat child-sex tourism. Over the past decade, the laws of both countries have had limited success. In 2003, the United States enacted the PROTECT Act. The PROTECT Act, nearly identical to Australia's Crimes (Child Sex Tourism) Amendment Act, allows for the prosecution of child-sex tourists and child-sex tour organizers, based on sexual …

Neonaticide: When The Bough Breaks And The Cradle Falls, Shannon Farley

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unraveling Ring V. Arizona: Balancing Judicial Sentencing Enhancements With The Sixth Amendment In Capital Punishment Schemes, Daren S. Koudele

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Criminal Defendants Deemed Incapable To Proceed To Trial: An Evaluation Of North Carolina's Statutory Scheme, Jennifer L. Morris

Campbell Law Review

This Comment will first address North Carolina's statute governing incapacity to proceed to trial. Next, this Comment will turn to the purpose and need for involuntary commitment, followed by a discussion of and explanations for the correlation between mental illness and criminal incarceration. This Comment will then present some suggestions for statutory revision of the existing North Carolina statute and will conclude with a brief discussion of funding issues.

North Carolina's (F)(1) Mitigating Circumstance: Does It Truly Serve To Mitigate?, Ashley P. Maddox

Campbell Law Review

The purpose of this article is to bring awareness to the misapplication of North Carolina's (f)(1) mitigating circumstance. Part II provides the legal development of the Eighth Amendment in the United States Supreme Court. Part III provides a background on North Carolina's death penalty scheme. Part IV addresses North Carolina law on mitigating circumstances. Finally, Part V provides analogous situations in the criminal law of North Carolina where the same acts admitted under the (f)(1) mitigating circumstance are treated as "significant", including The Structured Sentencing Act, The Habitual Offender Act, and the submission of the (e)(3) aggravating circumstance and the …

Felony Jury Sentencing In Practice: A Three-State Study, Nancy J. King, Rosevelt L. Noble

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Court's recent decision in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), has prompted renewed interest in sentencing by jury in non-capital cases. Yet jury sentencing in felony cases remains one of the least understood procedures in contemporary American criminal justice. This Article looks beyond idealized visions of jury sentencing to examine for the first time how felony jury sentencing actually operates in three different states-Kentucky, Virginia, and Arkansas. Dozens of interviews with prosecutors, defenders, and judges, as well as an analysis of state sentencing data, reveal that this neglected corner of state criminal justice provides a unique window …

"No Provincial Or Transient Notion": The Need For A Mistake Of Age Defense In Child Rape Prosecutions, Jarrod F. Reich

Vanderbilt Law Review

Suppose a state legislature enacted a law making any theft a crime punishable by twenty years' imprisonment. Within this law was a provision precluding an accused from introducing evidence that he unwittingly took property to which he was not entitled. Suppose further that after this law was enacted, an elderly woman hung her black coat in a restaurant's lobby and, upon leaving, mistakenly retrieved another's black coat. Under the hypothetical statute, her mistake could neither hinder the prosecution's case against her nor be asserted by her as a defense. By inadvertently taking another's coat from a crowded restaurant, the woman …

"The Insiders" For Gambling Lawsuits: Are The Games "Fair" And Will Casinos And Gambling Facilities Be Easy Targets For Blueprints For Rico And Other Causes Of Action?, John Warren Kindt

Mercer Law Review

As the insider Jeffrey Wigand came forward to rattle the U.S. tobacco industry, insiders within the U.S. and Australian gambling establishments began to go public as the twenty-first century began. By 2002 government officials, scholars, and social activists who were experts on the gambling industry believed that some of the next big industry lawsuits would be targeted at gambling facilities. Gambling opponents argued that casinos and gambling facilities fueled gambling addiction and pursued players who had gambling addiction problems, even after those players complained to the gambling facility and asked to be banned. Casino owners maintained that their industry was …

A Custodial Suspect's Right To The Assistance Of Counsel – The Ambivalence Of Israeli Law Against The Background Of American Law, Rinat Kitai

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Holding Virtual Child Pornography Creators Liable By Judicial Redress: An Alternative Approach To Overcoming The Obstacles Presented In Ashcroft V. Free Speech Coalition, Daniel W. Bower

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Which Crime Is It? The Role Of Proportionality In Recidivist Sentencing After Ewing V. California, Richard H. Andrus

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Federal Court Adjudication Of State Prisoner Claims For Post-Conviction Dna Testing: A Bifurcated Approach, Dylan Ruga

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Undoubtedly, there are innocent people in prison. Moreover, it is probable that the wrongly convicted, if given a chance to conduct DNA testing on evidence used against them at trial, could establish their innocence. […]

Part II of this Comment will examine the reasoning behind recent circuit court decisions concerning prisoners’ rights to post-conviction genetic testing. I will explain that a bifurcated approach is the appropriate paradigm for reviewing these claims and demonstrate why three of the four circuit courts erred in their analyses. This part also will review the Supreme Court decisions cited by the circuit courts and …

Lay Participation In The Japanese Justice System, Kent Anderson, Mark Nolan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Authors introduce and critique Japan's proposed quasi-jury or lay assessor system (saiban-in seido). The proposed mixed-court will have judges and lay people deciding together both guilt and sentences in serious criminal cases. Its proponents have promised that the lay assessor system will produce better justice in the courts and a more democratic society for Japan. The Authors first expose the competing interests in the lay assessor drafting process, examining their subtly but importantly varied proposals. Second, the Authors historically review lay participation in Japan, arguing that it has failed to deliver better justice and more democracy because the existing …

Sell V. United States: Is Competency Enough To Forcibly Medicate A Criminal Defendant, John R. Hayes

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

The Substitution Of Words For Analysis And Other Judicial Pitfalls: Why David Sattazahn Should Have Received Double Jeopardy Protection, David Chu

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

The Supreme Court's Excessive Deference To Legislative Bodies Under Eighth Amendment Sentencing Review, James J. Brennan

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Criminal Law And Criminology: A Survey Of Recent Books, Bard R. Ferrall

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Learning Lessons From India: The Recent History Of Antiterrorist Legislation On The Subcontinent, Manas Mohapatra

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Book Review

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

No Means No: Withdrawal Of Consent During Intercourse And The Continuing Evolution Of The Definition Of Rape, Matthew R. Lyon

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Victims' Rights Amendment…Who Is The Real Victim?, Alexis Reed

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

To Prosecute Or Not To Prosecute: The Dilemma Posed By Pregnancy And Substance Abuse, Eileen D. Collins

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Senate Passes Legislation Geared Towards Improving Treatment Of Mentally Ill Offenders, Michelle Lammers

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

America's War On Drugs And Guns: The Detriments Of The Possessionstandard In The Context Of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, Christan C. Rhoton

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

America's "War on Drugs" has resulted in federal legislation and sentencing guidelines that provide harsh penalties for crimes involving both drugs and guns. In particular, Title 18, Section 924(c)(1)(A) of the United States Code, which applies specifically to guns in the context of drug-related offenses, establishes mandatory punishments, ranging from five years to ten years imprisonment, depending upon the defendant's use or possession of the firearm. Congress amended Section 924 to include the term "possession" several years after the United States Supreme Court's decision in Bailey v. United States. The United States Supreme Court interpreted the "use" requirement of Section …

Fighting Black Market And Oily Water: The Department Of Justice's National Initiatives To Combat Transnational Environmental Crime, Jim Rubin, Shata Stucky

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Obstructing Justice: The Rise And Fall Of The Aedpa

San Diego Law Review

From 1994 through as late as August 2001, the United States intelligence community1

received information that terrorists had seriously contemplated using airplanes as instruments for carrying out international terrorist attacks.2

This method of attack was clearly “discussed in terrorist circles,” yet community analysts demonstrated little effort to strategically counter such terrorist groups. Moreover, in 1998, U.S. intelligence received specific information that “a group of unidentified Arabs planned to fly an explosive-laden plane from a foreign country into the World Trade Center.” In July 2001, senior government officials were warned of “a significant terrorist attack against U.S. and/or Israeli interests in …

Remaining Silent: A Right With Consequences, 38 J. Marshall L. Rev. 649 (2004), Jeffrey D. Waltuck

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

David Pays For Goliath's Mistakes: The Costly Effect Sarbanes-Oxley Has On Small Companies, 38 J. Marshall L. Rev. 671 (2004), Nathan Wilda

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.