Law Commons^™

The Long Road Back, Brooke Williams

Capstones

This project is a documentary film about the criminal case of Lorenzo Johnson. Johnson was convicted of a murder in the mid-90s and sentenced to life imprisonment in the state of Pennsylvania. Johnson has always maintained his innocence. In 2012, a federal appeals court sided with Johnson and released him. He returned to his home state of New York to speak out against wrongful convictions. However, less than 6 months later, the Supreme Court decided Johnson's original conviction should be upheld and he was forced to return to prison to serve the remainder of his life without the possibility of …

The Defend Trade Secrets Act Of 2015, S. 1890, H.R. 3326, 114th Congress (2015), Joseph K.C. Doukmetzian

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Alternative Restrictions Of Sex Offenders' Social Media Use & The Freedom Of Speech, Norah M. Sloss

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Barber V. State, 131 Nev. Adv, Op. 103 (December 31, 2015), Ronni N. Boscovich

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court considered an appeal from a district court conviction. The Court reversed the Eighth Judicial District Court’s judgment of conviction, pursuant to a jury verdict of burglary and grand larceny. The juvenile court retains jurisdiction over Barber because the legislation did not include language regarding jurisdiction stripping or dismissal requirements. However, the Court reversed the judgment because the prosecution presented insufficient evidence to support Barber’s conviction.

State V. Boston, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 98 (Dec. 31, 2015), Nancy Snow

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court considers an appeal from a district court order granting a post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Specifically, the Court considered whether the holding in Graham applies when an aggregate sentence imposed against a juvenile defender convicted of more than one nonhomicide offense is the equivalent of a life-without-parole sentence. The Court held that it does.

Gonzalez V. State, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 99 (Dec. 31, 2015), Chelsea Stacey

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court, sitting en banc, determined that by failing to answer questions from the jury that suggested confusion on a significant element of the law, failing to give an accomplice-distrust instruction, and by not bifurcating the guilt phase from the gang enhancement phase the district court violated the defendant’s right to a fair trial.

Explaining Crimmigration In Indonesia: A Discourse Of The Fight Against People Smuggling, Irregular Migration Control, And Symbolic Criminalization, Anugerah Rizki Akbari

Indonesia Law Review

Controlling migration in the world's largest archipelago brings various challenges to Indonesian authorities that differ from other countries. The difficulties become even more complicated since Indonesia has been known as the most favorite transit country for people who want to migrate to Australia due to its strategic geographical location, which is situated between the continents of Asia and Australia and between the Pacific and Indian oceans. Following this, the decision of choosing the mechanism of criminal law to deal with irregular migration from the start leads Indonesia to its acknowledgment as a country who is vulnerable to the trend of …

What Does Recent Neuroscience Tell Us About Criminal Responsibility?, Uri Maoz, Gideon Yaffe

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

A defendant is criminally responsible for his action only if he is shown to have engaged in a guilty act—actus reus (eg for larceny, voluntarily taking someone else’s property without permission)—while possessing a guilty mind—mens rea (eg knowing that he had taken someone else’s property without permission, intending not to return it)—and lacking affirmative defenses (eg the insanity defense or self-defense). We therefore first review neuroscientific studies that bear on the nature of voluntary action, and so could, potentially, tell us something of importance about the actus reus of crimes.Then we look at studies of intention, perception of …

Newsroom: Logan On 2015'S Record Settlements, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

Also available @ http://law.rwu.edu/story/logan-2015s-record-settlements

Justice In America: Diverting The Mentally Ill, Matthew J. D'Emic

City University of New York Law Review

No abstract provided.

Moultrie V. State, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 93 (Dec. 24, 2015), Cassandra Ramey

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court of Appeals determined that the district court did not abuse its discretion by allowing the State to file an information by affidavit more than 15 days after the preliminary examination concluded, when the justice court committed an “egregious error,” and “the defendant was discharged but not prejudiced by the delay.” Further, the Court defines “egregious error” as when “a charge was erroneously dismissed or a defendant was erroneously discharged based on a magistrate’s error.” Due to the justice court’s egregious errors in the preliminary examination that resulted in appellant’s discharge, the Court found that the district court was …

Berry V. State, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 96 (Dec. 24, 2015), Brittany L. Shipp

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The issue before the Court was an appeal from a district court order dismissing a post-conviction petition for writ of habeas corpus. The Court reversed and remanded holding that the district court improperly discounted the declarations in support of the appellant’s petition, which included a confession of another suspect, whom the petitioner implicated as the real perpetrator at trial. The Court held that these declarations were sufficient to merit discovery, and an evidentiary hearing on Petitioner Berry’s gateway actual innocence claim.

Newell V. State Of Nevada, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 97 (December 24, 2015), Douglas H. Smith

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The holding of State v. Weddell is extended. Responding with deadly force to the commission of a felony per NRS § 200.160 is justified only when the person poses a threat of serious bodily injury. Short of such a threat, the amount of force used must be reasonable and necessary under the circumstances.

Flaws In The Justice System: Examining The Angel Cordero Case, Rose C. Itzcovitz

Capstones

This article examines a case in criminal law that started 17 years ago and has yet to be resolved. Despite a plethora of mounting evidence, including a confession, more than a dozen witnesses, a proven false alibi, impeaching evidence against police and DNA evidence, Bronx-born Angel Cordero's conviction has yet to be overturned. The article breaks down what went wrong in the initial trial, discusses Cordero's multiple appeals and takes a broader look at what needs to change in today's judicial system.

Protecting Victims Of Domestic Assault: Upholding The Use Of Uncounseled Tribal Court Domestic Assault Convictions To Establish Federal Habitual Domestic Assault Charges, Joanna Adu

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Trending @ Rwu Law: Carl Bogus's Post: 'Should We Be Afraid? Absolutely. But Not Only Of Crazed Jihadists...', Carl Bogus

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.

Ensuring Insurance: Adequate And Appropriate Coverage For Brady Claims In Illinois, Joe Delich

Northwestern University Law Review

The increase in wrongful conviction litigation has engendered a number of new doctrinal problems. This Note examines the existing rules governing insurance coverage for wrongful-conviction-related torts, in particular, due process claims for Brady violations. It then explores the rationale for the continuous trigger doctrine in the asbestos context, and argues that wrongful conviction claims call for a similar approach due to comparable latency concerns. There is a particular focus on Illinois law due to the state’s prevalence of wrongful conviction litigation and recent shifts in the law governing insurance triggers for malicious prosecution.

Under School Colors: Private University Police As State Actors Under § 1983, Leigh J. Jahnig

Northwestern University Law Review

Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, individuals may sue those who violate their constitutional rights while acting under color of state law. The Supreme Court has held that private actors may act under color of state law, and may be sued under § 1983 in some circumstances. However, courts have not been consistent in determining whether private university police forces act under color of state law. Private universities often maintain police forces that are given extensive police powers by state statutes but are controlled by private entities. Some courts have looked directly to the state statutes that delegate police power, but …

48. Valence, Implicated Actor, And Children's Acquiescence To False Suggestions, Kyndra C. Cleveland, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

‘Emaciated’ Defense Or A Trend To Independence And Equality Of Arms In Internationalized Criminal Tribunals?, Richard J. Wilson

Richard J. Wilson

No abstract provided.

Overcoming Overcriminalization, Stephen Smith

Stephen F. Smith

The literature treats overcriminalization (and, at the federal level, the federalization of crime) as a quantitative problem. Legislatures, on this view, have simply enacted too many crimes, and those crimes are far too broad in scope. This Article uses federal criminal law as a basis for challenging this way of conceptualizing the overcriminalization problem. The real problem with overcriminalization is qualitative, not quantitative: federal crimes are poorly defined, and courts all too often expansively construe poorly defined crimes. Courts thus are not passive victims in the vicious cycle of overcriminalization. Rather, by repeatedly interpreting criminal statutes broadly, courts have taken …

Overcoming Overcriminalization, Stephen Smith

Stephen F. Smith

The literature treats overcriminalization (and, at the federal level, the federalization of crime) as a quantitative problem. Legislatures, on this view, have simply enacted too many crimes, and those crimes are far too broad in scope. This Article uses federal criminal law as a basis for challenging this way of conceptualizing the overcriminalization problem. The real problem with overcriminalization is qualitative, not quantitative: federal crimes are poorly defined, and courts all too often expansively construe poorly defined crimes. Courts thus are not passive victims in the vicious cycle of overcriminalization. Rather, by repeatedly interpreting criminal statutes broadly, courts have taken …

Consent To Harm, Vera Bergelson

Vera Bergelson

This article continues conversation about consent to physical harm started in Vera Bergelson, The Right to Be Hurt: Testing the Boundaries of Consent, 75 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 165 (2007).

Intentionally injuring or killing another person is presumptively wrong. To overcome this presumption, the perpetrator must establish a defense of justification. Consent of the victim may serve as one of the grounds for such a defense. This article puts forward criteria for the defense of consent.

One element of the proposed defense is essential to both its complete and partial forms ¨C that consent of the victim be rational and …

Reflexiones Jurídicas Sobre El Atentado Contra Juan Pablo Ii A La Luz Del Debido Proceso.®, Daniel Fernando Gómez Tamayo

Daniel Fernando Gómez Tamayo

¿Qué sentido tiene que la oficial americana inculpe a un musulmán de un ilícito que posiblemente no cometió? ¿Qué sentido tiene generar un conflicto con los musulmanes, si la Santa Sede mantiene un diálogo interreligioso, respetuoso y pacífico con los musulmanes?

Newsroom: The Jail Trap: Mass Incarceration In Ri, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Amicus Brief In Terrance Williams V Pennsylvania, Lawrence J. Fox

Amicus Briefs

No abstract provided.

Schools Fail To Get It Right On Rap Music, Andrea L. Dennis

Popular Media

School officials treat rap music as a serious threat to the school environment. Fear and misunderstanding of, as well as bias against, this highly popular and lucrative musical art form negatively shape their perspectives on this vital aspect of youth culture.

As a result, students who express themselves through rap music in a way that challenges the schoolhouse setting risk the possibility of suspension, permanent exclusion and referral to the criminal justice system.

The ongoing case of Taylor Bell is the latest and most complex battleground on which this issue is playing out.

Crawford's Last Stand? What Melendez-Diaz V. Massachusetts Means For The Confrontation Clause And For Criminal Trials, Elizabeth Stevens

ConLawNOW

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts heralds a dramatic change for Confrontation Clause jurisprudence and for most criminal trials. Crawford v. Washington held that “testimonial” statements were admissible only if the accused had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness. Melendez-Diaz applied this rule to forensic evidence, holding that certificates of analysis – used in a drug trail to prove the nature and weight of the proscribed substances, and sworn to and signed by the analysts who performed the tests – are testimonial.

This article analyzes Melendez-Diaz’s implications for the Court’s Confrontation Clause jurisprudence and for the …

Criminal Law And Common Sense: An Essay On The Perils And Promise Of Neuroscience, Stephen J. Morse

All Faculty Scholarship

This article is based on the author’s Barrock Lecture in Criminal Law presented at the Marquette University Law School. The central thesis is that the folk psychology that underpins criminal responsibility is correct and that our commonsense understanding of agency and responsibility and the legitimacy of criminal justice generally are not imperiled by contemporary discoveries in the various sciences, including neuroscience and genetics. These sciences will not revolutionize criminal law, at least not anytime soon, and at most they may make modest contributions to legal doctrine, practice, and policy. Until there are conceptual or scientific breakthroughs, this is my story …

Written Testimony On Correctional Oversight Of The Nys Doccs, Michael B. Mushlin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

I am testifying today on behalf of both myself and my co-chair Michele Deitch, who has submitted written testimony for your consideration. My comments here reflect both the key points in her testimony as well as some of my own thoughts about the importance of external oversight and comments about the critical role played by the Correctional Association of New York, the failure of the State Commission on Correction to provide meaningful regulation of New York’s prisons, and the need to improve access by the media to the public and to the state’s prisons.