Law Commons^™

Walking With Shadows And Phantoms: The Presumption Of Innocence And Bail Determinations, Davis Badger Anderson

Buffalo Law Review

One-hundred and twenty-eight years after “the Supreme Court of the United States had an opportunity to clear up the confusion and ambiguity that hang[s] over the common talk about the presumption of innocence,”1 the confusion persists. This lingering confusion is at its most stringent in federal bail determinations where, despite legislative intent, precedent, and logic to the contrary, it is invoked to discount the weight of the evidence against the defendant in deciding what conditions will secure presence at trial or safety to the community. Furthermore, the presumption’s path from an instrument of proof to its status as a right …

Focusing Presidential Clemency Decision-Making, Paul J. Larkin Jr.

Buffalo Law Review

The Article II Pardon Clause grants the President authority to award clemency to any offender. The clause contains only two limitations. The President cannot excuse someone from responsibility for a state offense, nor can he prevent Congress from impeaching and removing a federal official. Otherwise, the President’s authority is plenary. The clause authorizes the President to grant clemency as he sees fit, but the clause does not tell him when he should feel that way.

Historically, Presidents have generally used their authority for legitimate reasons, such as freeing someone who was wrongfully convicted, who is suffering under an unduly onerous …

The Complexities Of Conscience: Reconciling Death Penalty L Aw With Capital Jurors’ Concerns, Meredith Martin Rountree, Mary R. Rose

Buffalo Law Review

Jurors exercise unique legal power when they are asked to decide whether to sentence someone to death. The Supreme Court emphasizes the central role of the jury’s moral judgment in making this sentencing decision, noting that it is the jurors who are best able to “express the conscience of the community on the ultimate question of life or death.” Manylower courts nevertheless narrow the range of admissible evidence at the mitigation phase of a capital trial, insisting on a standard of legal relevance that interferes with the jury’s ability to exercise the very moral judgment the Supreme Court has deemed …

Roper’S Unfinished Business: A New Approach To Young Offender Death Penalty Eligibility, Nichole M. Austin

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

"The Angels That Surrounded My Cradle": The History, Evolution, And Application Of The Insanity Defense, Eugene M. Fahey, Laura Groschadl, Brianna Weaver

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reimagining The Death Penalty: Targeting Christians, Conservatives, Spearit

Buffalo Law Review

This Article is an interdisciplinary response to an entrenched legal and cultural problem. It incorporates legal analysis, religious study and the anthropological notion of “culture work” to consider death penalty abolitionism and prospects for abolishing the death penalty in the United States. The Article argues that abolitionists must reimagine their audiences and repackage their message for broader social consumption, particularly for Christian and conservative audiences. Even though abolitionists are characterized by some as “bleeding heart” liberals, this is not an accurate portrayal of how the death penalty maps across the political spectrum. Abolitionists must learn that conservatives are potential allies …

Progressive Punitivism: Notes On The Use Of Punitive Social Control To Advance Social Justice Ends, Hadar Aviram

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Lawful Searches Incident To Unlawful Arrests: A Reform Proposal, Mark A. Summers

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Crafted From Whole Cloth: Reverse Stash-House Stings And The Sentencing Factor Manipulation Claim, Molly F. Spakowski

Buffalo Law Review

Kenneth Flowers is currently serving a mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months imprisonment stemming from a conviction of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine. While the ten-year prison sentence is very real, the five-kilograms of cocaine is not, and never was. Mr. Flowers was caught-up in one of the elaborate and overused “reverse stash-house sting” operations employed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”).

Mr. Flowers’ story is one of many similar cases resulting from the government operation conducted by the ATF known as a reverse stash-house sting operation. The …

Decarcerating America: The Opportunistic Overlap Between Theory And (Mainly State) Sentencing Practice As A Pathway To Meaningful Reform, Mirko Bagaric, Daniel Mccord

Buffalo Law Review

Criminals engender no community sympathy and have no political capital. This is part of the reason that the United States has the highest prison population on earth, and by a considerable margin. Incarceration levels grew four-fold over the past forty years. Despite this, America is now experiencing an unprecedented phenomenon whereby many states are now simultaneously implementing measures to reduce prison numbers. The unusual aspect of this is that the response is neither coordinated nor consistent in its approach, but the movement is unmistakable. This ground up approach to reducing prison numbers suffers from the misgiving that it is an …

Thank You All The Same, But I’D Rather Not Be Seized Today: The Constitutionality Of Ruse Checkpoints Under The Fourth Amendment, Nadia B. Soree

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

You Have The Right To Remain Thirteen: Considering Age In Juvenile Interrogations In J.D.B. V. North Carolina, Nicole J. Ettlinger

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Forging Links And Renewing Ties: Applying The Principles Of Restorative And Procedural Justice To Better Respond To Criminal Offenders With A Mental Disorder, Thomas L. Hafemeister, Sharon G. Garner, Veronica E. Bath

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Understanding New York's "Mode Of Proceedings" Muddle, Gary Muldoon

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Right To Refuse And The Obligation To Comply: Challenging The Gamesmanship Model Of Criminal Procedure, Margaret Raymond

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Confrontation Clause And The Search For Truth In Criminal Trials, Philip Halpern

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Exclusionary Rule: Not The "Expressed Juice Of The Woolly-Headed Thistle", Keith A. Fabi

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Section 3142(E) Of The 1984 Bail Reform Act: Rebuttable Presumption Or Mandatory Detention?, Evan Shapiro

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Informers Revisited: Government Surveillance Of Domestic Political Organizations And The Fourth And First Amendments, Dolores A. Donovan

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hypnotically Refreshed Testimony: In Support Of The Emerging Majority And People V. Hughes, Paul G. Harnisch

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Government Intrusion Into The Attorney-Client Relationship: An Interest Analysis Of Rights And Remedies, Philip Halpern

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judicial Control Of Prosecutorial Discretion In Pretrial Diversion Programs, William Helmer

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Double Jeopardy: An Illusory Remedy For Governmental Overreaching At Trial, Mary J. Fahey

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Speedy Trial Act: Conflict Among The Circuits, Dennis P. Koeppel

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Constitutional Guarantees And Protection Of Defendants' Rights: The Case Of New York, 1960-1978, Peter J. Galie

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bordenkircher V. Hayes: Prosecutorial Discretion During Plea Bargaining, Alan M. Wishnoff

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Factors Affecting The Plea-Bargaining Process In Erie County: Some Tentative Findings, Karen Gorbach Rebrovich

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Comparative Criminal Procedure: A Plea For Utilizing Foreign Experience, Rudolf B. Schlesinger

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Domestic Intelligence Informants, The First Amendment And The Need For Prior Judicial Review, Martin L. Perschetz

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Scientific Evidence In Criminal Cases; Scientific And Expert Evidence In Criminal Advocacy, Ronald J. Allen

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.