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Full-Text Articles in Law

Regulatory Crime: Solutions, Lucian Dervan Dec 2012

Regulatory Crime: Solutions, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

On November 14, 2013, Professor Dervan was called to testify before the United States House of Representatives' Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force. Available here is his written testimony. In his written testimony, Professor Dervan examines the phenomenon of over-criminalization, particularly in the regulatory area, and offers several recommended solutions for Congressional adoption. First, he recommends the adoption of a default rule for mens rea. Second, he recommends the adoption of a default rule applying mens rea to all material elements of an offense. Third, he recommends the codification of the Rule of Lenity. Finally, along with some additional …


White Collar Over-Criminalization: Deterrence, Plea Bargaining, And The Loss Of Innocence, Lucian Dervan Dec 2012

White Collar Over-Criminalization: Deterrence, Plea Bargaining, And The Loss Of Innocence, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

Overcriminalization takes many forms and impacts the American criminal justice system in varying ways. This article focuses on a select portion of this phenomenon by examining two types of overcriminalization prevalent in white collar criminal law. The first type of over criminalization discussed in this article is Congress’s propensity for increasing the maximum criminal penalties for white collar offenses in an effort to punish financial criminals more harshly while simultaneously deterring others. The second type of overcriminalization addressed is Congress’s tendency to create vague and overlapping criminal provisions in areas already criminalized in an effort to expand the tools available …


The Innocent Defendant’S Dilemma: An Innovative Empirical Study Of Plea Bargaining’S Innocence Problem, Lucian Dervan, Vanessa Edkins Dec 2012

The Innocent Defendant’S Dilemma: An Innovative Empirical Study Of Plea Bargaining’S Innocence Problem, Lucian Dervan, Vanessa Edkins

Lucian E Dervan

In 1989, Ada JoAnn Taylor was accused of murder and presented with stark options. If she pleaded guilty, she would be rewarded with a sentence of ten to forty years in prison. If, however, she proceeded to trial and was convicted, she would likely spend the rest of her life behind bars. Over a thousand miles away in Florida and more than twenty years later, a college student was accused of cheating and presented with her own incentives to admit wrongdoing and save the university the time and expense of proceeding before a disciplinary review board. Both women decided the …