Hiding Behind The Cloak Of Invisibility: The Supreme Court And Per Curiam Opinions, Ira P. Robbins
May 2012
Hiding Behind The Cloak Of Invisibility: The Supreme Court And Per Curiam Opinions, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
Per curiam--literally translated from Latin to "by the court"-is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as "[a]n opinion handed down by an appellate court without identifying the individual judge who wrote the opinion." Accordingly the author of a per curiam opinion is meant to be institutional rather than individual, attributable to the court as an entity rather than to a single judge The United States Supreme Court issues a significant number of per curiam dispositions each Term. In the first six years of Chief Justice John Roberts’ tenure, almost nine percent of the Court full opinions were per curiams. The prevalence …
Magistrate Judges, Article Iii, And The Power To Preside Over Federal Prisoner Section 2255 Proceedings, Ira P. Robbins
Dec 2001
Magistrate Judges, Article Iii, And The Power To Preside Over Federal Prisoner Section 2255 Proceedings, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
In 1968, Congress enacted the Federal Magistrates Act to enhance judicial efficiency in the federal courts. Since then, some judicial functions delegated to magistrate judges have been challenged on constitutional grounds: while federal district judges, appointed pursuant to Article III of the United States Constitution, are protected with life tenure and undiminishable salary, thereby enhancing judicial independence, federal magistrate judges, appointed pursuant to Article I, have no such protection. The most recent major challenge to magistrate judge authority came in 2001, when the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in United States v. Johnston, decided that referral …
Concurring In Result Without Written Opinion: A Condemnable Practice, Ira P. Robbins
Nov 2000
Concurring In Result Without Written Opinion: A Condemnable Practice, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
No abstract provided.
Privatization Of Prisons: An Analysis Of The State Action Requirement Of The Fourteenth Amendment And 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Ira P. Robbins
Dec 1987
Privatization Of Prisons: An Analysis Of The State Action Requirement Of The Fourteenth Amendment And 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
Introduction: The privatization of prisons raises important issues with respect to liability in suits brought by inmates. If a private company operates the prison, the state likely will be directly involved in some aspects of prison life, such as using force when necessary or making quasi-judicial decisions, but it may not be directly involved in the day-to-day operation of the institution. This dichotomy of involvement may lead to con- fusion over responsibility and accountability when a violation of rights is alleged to have occurred. When a private party, as opposed to a government employee, is charged with abridging rights guaranteed …
Attempting The Impossible: The Emerging Consensus, Ira P. Robbins
Dec 1985
Attempting The Impossible: The Emerging Consensus, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
Impossible attempts are situations in which an actor fails to consummate a substantive crime because he is mistaken about attendant circumstances. Professor Robbins divides mistakes regarding circumstances into three categories: mistakes of fact, mistakes of law, and mistakes of mixed fact and law. Courts and commentators disagree primarily over the identification and treatment of mixed fact law cases. Professor Robbins surveys each category of mistake. He then examines the objective, subjective, and hybrid approaches to dealing with the mixed fact/law category. The objective approach requires an objective manifestation of the actor's intent before conviction is allowed. The subjective approach permits …
Jurisprudence "Under-Mind": The Case Of The Atheistic Solipsist, Ira P. Robbins
Dec 1977
Jurisprudence "Under-Mind": The Case Of The Atheistic Solipsist, Ira P. Robbins
Ira P. Robbins
Nearly thirty years have passed since the publication of Professor Lon L. Fuller's The Case of the Speluncean Explorers, in which a fictional court expounded upon the manifold ways in which certain harsh necessities, externally imposed upon common people, can test the rules of the criminal law. The instant case is not in- tended to parody the Speluncean Explorers, but rather to complement it with the inverse theme: the singular defendant is a psychologically extraordinary individual existing in a relatively mundane environment. The Atheistic Solipsist provides the opportunity for consideration of the ways internal forces of great intensity can shape …
