Law Commons^™

The Carceral Home, Kate Weisburd

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In virtually all areas of law, the home is the ultimate constitutionally protected area, at least in theory. In practice, a range of modern institutions that target private life—from public housing to child welfare—have turned the home into a routinely surveilled space. Indeed, for the 4.5 million people on criminal court supervision, their home is their prison, or what I call a “carceral home.” Often in the name of decarceration, prison walls are replaced with restrictive rules that govern every aspect of private life and invasive surveillance technology that continuously records intimate information. While prisons have always been treated in …

Canada's Integrity Regime: The Corporate Grim Reaper, Jessica Tillipman, Samantha Block

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In 2019, SNC-Lavalin made global headlines after it was revealed that the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, had interfered in the prosecution of the company for the bribery of Libyan officials. Although the scandal was primarily viewed as political, it also highlighted flaws in Canada’s Integrity Regime; specifically, the regime’s unworkable and draconian approach to debarment. This Article will address the pressing need in Canada to modify its debarment remedy and enact a system that more effectively protects the government’s interests. To illuminate the current issues facing Canada’s Integrity Regime, this Article will begin by examining Canada’s debarment system, outlining …

Race And The Criminal Law Curriculum, Cynthia Lee

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This chapter briefly sketches a few places in the substantive criminal law curriculum where law professors can include discussion of race to enrich students’ understanding of the law. These include racially based jury nullification, the void-for-vagueness doctrine, hate crimes and the actus reus requirement, voluntary manslaughter and the defense of provocation, involuntary manslaughter, rape, the doctrine of self-defense, the “Black rage” defense, and the “cultural defense.” The chapter also discusses the Guerilla Guides to Law Teaching project, which suggests that criminal law professors introduce the concept of abolition of the carceral state as a framework through which students can “question …

Criminal Law: Cases And Materials, Cynthia Lee, Angela Harris

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This casebook addresses the fundamental topic of criminal law. It examines how various justifications define their criminal offenses, as well as the basic elements common to crimes in the Anglo-American tradition. This casebook includes extensive discussion of the elements of, and defenses against, particular crimes such as murder, rape, and burglary.

The authors also examine criminal law’s role within the American legal system. In doing so, the casebook introduces readers to the interplay between criminal law and issues of morality. As such, the authors approach criminal law as a system of cultural meaning, and more specifically, Anglo-American criminal law as …

Criminal Law And The Pursuit Of Equality, Donald Braman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article argues that, to make their vision of justice a reality, egalitarians need to change both their focus and their tactics with respect to criminal law. The tragedy of contemporary criminal justice is not that individual rights are too narrowly construed, but that those living in disadvantaged communities are injured both by crime and counter-productive law enforcement. The remedies that egalitarians have historically looked to - remedies articulated within the framework of individual rights - are poorly suited to address the systematic reproduction of inequality that results.

First, egalitarians will need to shift their focus from the racially motivated …

Improper Use Of The Trial Judge As Voucher: Improper Use Of Plea Agreements To Vouch, Stephen A. Saltzburg

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

These articles discuss United States v. Harlow, 444 F.3d 1255 (10th Cir. 2006), in connection with: (1) whether a prosecutor acts improperly when he or she uses the trial judge to vouch for the credibility of prosecution witnesses; and (2) the impermissible use of plea agreements to vouch for the credibility of a witness.

Trial Tactics: Reverse Rule 404(B) Evidence: Parts I And Ii, Stephen A. Saltzburg

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Defendants have the same right to offer Rule 404(b) evidence as prosecutors, and they are not required to give pretrial notice under the Federal Rules of Evidence. When defendants offer this evidence, they attempt to prove that someone else is guilty of the crime attributed to them. This often is referred to as reverse Rule 404(b) evidence. Some defense evidence will be admitted - indeed the Confrontation Clause or Compulsory Process Clause may require admission in some cases - but not all defense evidence will be admitted. The issue is where to draw the line between admissible and inadmissible evidence. …

Families And The Moral Economy Of Incarceration, Donald Braman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This chapter examines the moral economy of incarceration from the perspective of one family. Derrick and Londa's story, neither one of flagrant injustice nor triumph against the odds, shows a family facing addiction, the criminal justice system's response to it, and the mixture of hardship and relief that incarceration brings to many families of drug offenders. Stories like theirs are almost entirely absent from current debates over incarceration rates and accountability. Indeed, the historical lack of the familial and community perspective of those most affected by incarceration can help to explain the willingness of states to accept mass-incarceration as a …

Policing Women: Moral Arguments And The Dilemmas Of Criminalization., Naomi R. Cahn

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This essay concerns the peculiar dilemmas of criminalization for women. I explain the ways in which women are policed, ranging from the monitoring of motherhood to the criminalization of prostitution. This policing may be through the criminal law, civil law, or more subtly, through cultural attitudes that devalue women's work yet simultaneously encourage women to do that work. Hence, I argue that in order to sensitize, reform, and change the criminal justice system, it is critical to consider women's needs.

This essay also pays special attention to the impact of the criminal justice system on children. Specifically, I examine the …