Law Commons^™

Role-Based Policing: Restraining Police Conduct “Outside The Legitimate Investigative Sphere”, Eric J. Miller

ExpressO

The last quarter of a century has produced a growing legitimacy crisis in the criminal justice system arising from profound and familiar differences in race and class. The same tactics used to win the War on Crime also harassed and intimidated the very people policing was supposed to protect, sending disproportionate numbers of young minority men and women to prison as part of War On Drugs.

In this article, I take up challenge of social norms theorists who advocate empowering police and local communities through a variety of traditional and newly minted public order offenses. My claim is that the …

The Lessons Of People V. Moscat: Confronting Judicial Bias In Domestic Violence Cases Interpreting Crawford V. Washington, David Jaros

All Faculty Scholarship

Crawford v. Washington was a groundbreaking decision that radically redefined the scope of the Confrontation Clause. Nowhere has the impact of Crawford and the debate over its meaning been stronger than in the context of domestic violence prosecutions. The particular circumstances that surround domestic violence cases 911 calls that record cries for help and accusations, excited utterances made to responding police officers, and the persistent reluctance of complaining witnesses to cooperate with prosecutors -- combine to make the introduction of "out-of-comment statements" a critical component of many domestic violence prosecutions. Because domestic violence cases are subject to a unique set …

Citizen's Satisfaction With The Police, Kim Barshanet Baskerville

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research project is to examine three competing models of citizen satisfaction with the police: 1) citizen characteristics, 2) citizen experience with the police, and 3) citizen quality of life issues. Data were taken from Criminal Victimization and Perceptions of Community Safety in 12 Cities, 1998. The relationship between citizen satisfaction and the three models were tested by examining different types of contact between police and citizens, race, age, gender, and quality of life, which was measured by satisfaction with neighborhood and satisfaction with city. In addition, an item labeled disorder, which takes into consideration acts of …

Differential Police Treatment Of Domestic And Nondomestic Assaults, Gina Michelle Sajko

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The current study examines the effects of type of assault and victim gender on police response. Victim accounts of domestic and nondomestic assaults in the San Diego region were examined. This study found that domestic assaults were significantly less likely to result in arrest than nondomestic assaults. Female victims of domestic assaults were more likely to receive police referrals to outside agencies. Assaults with victim injury were more likely to result in arrest for domestic assaults, and within the sample as a whole. The gender of the victim had no effect on arrest.

Bougainville Community Crime Trends: A Survey Of Crime In Arawa And Buka, Mark Findlay, Gerard Guthrie, Fiona Hukula, James Laki

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The fundamental difference in the role of the state in the recent histories of Arawa and Buka is critical to understanding community attitudes to crime and policing. In Arawa, the state was entirely absent for over 10 years during the civil war and community-based agencies provided the sole source of authority and social control. In Buka, the state remained in control in difficult circumstances. The peace process was based around indigenous dispute resolution techniques and now a role for the state is being gradually reintroduced into post-conflict Bougainville, including of policing services to Arawa. The differences in the recent histories …

The Ku Klux Klan Act And The Civil Rights Revolution: How Civil Rights Litigation Came To Regulate Police And Correctional Officer Misconduct., Alan W. Clarke

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Modern civil rights litigation stems from the Ku Klux Klan Act, otherwise known as the Civil Rights Act of 1871. Congress codified this Act in the United States Code under Section 1983 of Title 42. No other law is more central to present day police and correctional officer accountability. The Civil Rights statute effectuates broad constitutional protections set in place in the aftermath of the Civil War. Congress designed this Act to change over time and intertwine with a continuing history of expanding rights. Section 1983 provides a remedy to any person who experienced another person, acting under the color …

Discrimination In Sentencing On The Basis Of Afrocentric Features, William T. Pizzi, Irene V. Blair, Charles M. Judd

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article does not challenge the prior research on sentencing discrimination between racial categories that found no significant difference in sentences given to similarly-situated African Americans and Whites. In fact, in the jurisdiction investigated- Florida- no discrimination between African Americans and Whites was found in the sentences imposed on defendants, looking only at racial category differences. Rather, the research suggests that in focusing exclusively on discrimination between racial groups, the research has missed a type of discrimination related to race that is taking place within racial categories: namely, discrimination on the basis of a person's Afrocentric features. By Afrocentric features, …

Legislative Oversight Of Police: Lessons Learned From An Investigation Of Police Handling Of Demonstrations In Washington, D.C., Mary M. Cheh

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

There are various ways to oversee police behavior including internal discipline, civilian review boards, civil law suits, and criminal prosecutions. These are important tools but an equally important but less examined mechanism is legislative oversight, and, in particular, the legislative investigation. A legislature may choose to review police policies concerning the use of surveillance, informants and undercover operatives, the implementation of community policing, the use of force, eradication of gang activity, and perhaps most prominently in the post 9/11 world, counter terrorism initiatives. All of these matters involve policy decisions at the departmental level and not actions taken at the …

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.

Policing Post-9/11, Robert J. Louden

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This paper therefore is an attempt to consider post-September 11 law enforcement activities in the context of organized policing in America. Many concepts and procedures used as illustrations have been undertaken by various police agencies. This demonstrates how previously accepted police practices may be changed in part by reaction to crisis legislation or other influences. New York City programs may or may not serve as benchmarks for other agencies. In these times of threat and response some important factors about preparing police for role change became apparent. First, there is a need to specify the new reality and determine what …

Fordham Urban Law Journal - Essay- Local Policing In A Post - 9/11 World

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The era following September 11, 2001 will be remembered as the golden age of law enforcement, the age of a bold paradigm shift inspired by the great challenges we face. It is instructive first to reflect on the old paradigm: as law enforcement agencies, we moved like swimmers in different lanes, all going the same direction with the same mission, yet also working by and for ourselves. Each criminal justice agency dealt with its own issues, staying—for the most part—in its own lane. Then, 9/11 changed everything. Indeed, it is our turn to be the greatest generation. Just as World …