Law Commons^™

The Culture Of Mass Incarceration: Why "Locking Them Up And Throwing Away The Key" Isn't Working And How Prison Conditions Can Be Improved, Melanie M. Reid

Melanie M. Reid

No abstract provided.

"Immigrants Are Not Criminals": Respectability, Immigration Reform, And Hyperincarceration, Rebecca Sharpless

Rebecca Sharpless

The Emerging Neoliberal Penality: Rethinking Foucauldian Punishment In A Profit-Driven Carceral System, Kevin Crow

Kevin Crow

In Loco Aequitatis: The Dangers Of "Safe Harbor" Laws For Youth In The Sex Trades, Brendan M. Conner

Brendan M. Conner

Dying To Appeal: The Long-Lasting And Ineffective Appeal Process Of The Death Sentence, Marlene Brito

Marlene Brito

The appeal process for death sentences in Florida must be revised to correct the ineffectiveness that is currently in place. The long-lasting procedure allows inmates to indefinitely delay their execution and live via the appeal process for over fifteen years because the statute does not provide a definite time limit. The comment discusses the death penalty in the United States, the jury override law and its consequences, the appeal process itself, and proposes an amendment to section 921.141, Florida Statutes.

Designing Trial Avoidance Procedures For Post-Conflict, Civil Law Countries: Is German Absprachen An Appropriate Model For Efficient Criminal Justice In Afghanistan?, Nasiruddin Nezaami

Nasiruddin Nezaami

In Afghanistan, overflow of court dockets and lengthy trials persist despite recent reforms effected through a new Criminal Procedure Code. The new Code has solved some of the problems that existed prior to its ratification; however, it has failed to establish adequate trial avoidance procedures. This problem is further compounded by the dissatisfaction of parties with trial outcomes. This article suggests that Afghanistan could address both issues by adopting a mechanism similar to German Absprachen as an appropriate case disposing procedure, enabling party consensus, helping courts decrease their dockets, and reducing the length of trials. This analysis is not only …

Is Capital Punishment Immoral Even If It Does Deter Murder?

Thomas Kleven

After years of inconclusive debate, recent studies purport to demonstrate that capital punishment does indeed deter murder, perhaps to the tune of multiple saved lives for each person executed. In response to these studies, Professors Sunstein and Vermeule have argued that since capital punishment leads to a net savings of innocent lives, it may be morally required on consequentialist grounds. I argue, even assuming the validity of the studies, that capital punishment cannot be justified in the United States in the current historical context for reasons of justice that trump consequentialist considerations. Mine is not an argument that capital punishment …

Can An Oil Pit Take A Bird?: Why The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Should Apply To Inadvertent Takings And Killings By Oil Pits, Monica B. Carusello

Monica B Carusello

No abstract provided.

In Case Of Confession, Andrea Lyon

Andrea D. Lyon

No abstract provided.

Find The Cost Of Freedom: The State Of Wrongful Conviction Compensation Statutes Across The Country And The Strange Legal Odyssey Of Timothy Atkins, Justin Brooks, Alexander Simpson

Justin P Brooks

Tim Atkins was wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit and spent 23 years in prison. Although compensation statutes like California's have admirable goals, Tim Atkins's case fell through some substantial cracks that prompted the Authors to write this Article. As two of the many lawyers who have worked on Tim's case over the years, it has been an incredibly frustrating journey to see him denied compensation after all that has been done to prove his innocence. California's statute is flawed and is being misinterpreted, just as other compensation statutes are flawed and misinterpreted around the country. This …

Equal Access To Evidence: The Case For The Defense Use Of Immunity For Essential Witnesses, Andrea Lyon

Andrea D. Lyon

No abstract provided.

The Preliminary Hearing: A Necessary Part Of Due Process, Andrea Lyon

Andrea D. Lyon

No abstract provided.

The Not So Great Writ: Constitution Lite For State Prisoners, Ursula Bentele

Ursula Bentele

Examination of the universe of cases in which the Supreme Court has recently reversed grants of federal habeas relief by circuit courts by issuing summary, per curiam opinions reveals some disturbing patterns. Substantively, the opinions continue the Court’s narrow interpretation of what law has been so clearly established that state courts must abide by its constitutional principles. Moreover, any rejection of a constitutional claim must be upheld unless there is no possibility that fairminded jurists could disagree with that determination. In terms of process, the summary reversals are issued in response to petitions for review by wardens, when the petitioners …

Sentencing Pregnant Drug Addicts: Why The Child Endangerment Enhancement Is Not Appropriate, Monica Carusello

Monica B Carusello

No abstract provided.

Crime And Punishment, A Global Concern: Who Does It Best And Does Isolation Really Work?, Melanie M. Reid

Melanie M. Reid

Thinking Globally, Policy Locally: A Plan For Decentralized Law Enforcement In Côte D’Ivoire, __ J. Of Int’L Bus. & L. __ (Forthcoming 2015), Hugh Mundy

Hugh Mundy

During a 2009 speech in Ghana, President Barack Obama said, “Africa doesn’t need strongmen. It needs strong institutions.” Obama credited Ghana’s “impressive rates of growth” to the country’s “repeated peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections.” Free elections and non-violent power transfers, he said, “may lack the drama of the twentieth century’s liberation struggles” but “will ultimately be more significant.” Last July, the president expressed similar sentiments during a highly anticipated trip to Kenya. Côte d’Ivoire offers a stark example of the instability wrought when an unseated leader refuses to cede power. Once hailed as …

Government Secrets: The Public's Misconceptions Of The Snowden Disclosures, Melanie M. Reid

Melanie M. Reid

No abstract provided.

Nsa And Dea Intelligence Sharing: Why It's Legal And Why Reuters And The Good Wife Got It Wrong, Melanie M. Reid

Melanie M. Reid

The recent disclosures of secret U.S. government surveillance programs have brought to the forefront how intelligence agencies should manage the gathering and analysis of intelligence collected and when and how best to pass that information on to law enforcement. What is first collected for national security purposes can now potentially be used in a criminal trial. Law enforcement agents are said to utilize “parallel construction” to hide the original source which initiated the criminal investigation and develop their own evidence independent from this original source. Since the “wall” between intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies fell down post-9/11 and intelligence …

Nsa And Dea Intelligence Sharing: Why It's Legal And Why Reuters Got It Wrong, Melanie M. Reid

Melanie M. Reid

No abstract provided.

Clear And Simple Deportation Rules For Crimes: Why We Need Them And Why It's Hard To Get Them, Rebecca Sharpless

Rebecca Sharpless

Every Juror Wants A Story: Narrative Relevance, Third Party Guilt And The Right To Present A Defense, John H. Blume, Sheri L. Johnson, Emily C. Paavola

Sheri Lynn Johnson

On occasion, criminal defendants hope to convince a jury that the state has not met its burden of proving them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by offering evidence that someone else (a third party) committed the crime. Currently, state and federal courts assess the admissibility of evidence of third-party guilt using a variety of standards. In general, however, there are two basic approaches. Many state courts require a defendant to proffer evidence of some sort of direct link or connection between a specific third-party and the crime. A second group of state courts, as well as federal courts, admit evidence …

Every Juror Wants A Story: Narrative Relevance, Third Party Guilt And The Right To Present A Defense, John H. Blume, Sheri L. Johnson, Emily C. Paavola

John H. Blume

On occasion, criminal defendants hope to convince a jury that the state has not met its burden of proving them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by offering evidence that someone else (a third party) committed the crime. Currently, state and federal courts assess the admissibility of evidence of third-party guilt using a variety of standards. In general, however, there are two basic approaches. Many state courts require a defendant to proffer evidence of some sort of direct link or connection between a specific third-party and the crime. A second group of state courts, as well as federal courts, admit evidence …

The Intellectual Disability Facade, Megan Bibliowicz

Megan Bibliowicz

No abstract provided.

The Illusory Eighth Amendment, John F. Stinneford

John F. Stinneford

Although there is no obvious doctrinal connection between the Supreme Court’s Miranda jurisprudence and its Eighth Amendment excessive punishments jurisprudence, the two are deeply connected at the level of methodology. In both areas, the Supreme Court has been criticized for creating “prophylactic” rules that invalidate government actions because they create a mere risk of constitutional violation. In reality, however, both sets of rules deny constitutional protection to a far greater number of individuals with plausible claims of unconstitutional treatment than they protect. This dysfunctional combination of over- and underprotection arises from the Supreme Court’s use of implementation rules as a …

The Opioid-Dependent Criminal: Improving The Criminal Justice System To Account For Their Needs, Courtney Priolo

Courtney E Priolo

Over the past twenty-five years national concern over the drug-crime relationship has been increasing. This increase has led to growth of criminal justice penalties as opposed to therapeutic approaches such as medication-assisted treatment, resulting in an expansion of the drug-involved criminal justice population. Individuals who are opioid-dependent are vulnerable at the time of arrest, and at the time of their initial detention due to their chemical dependence and impairment of their neurocognitive functioning. The denial of medication to inmates in order to alleviate withdrawal symptoms is stigmatizing, punishing, and potentially life-threatening. This article argues that medication-assisted treatment for the criminal …

The Criminal Practitioner's Guide To Understanding The New York Securities Laws And Penal Law Scheme To Defraud, John C. Henry

John C. Henry

No abstract provided.

Setting The Standard: A Critique Of Bonnie's Competency Standard And The Potential Of Problem-Solving Theory For Self-Representation At Trial, E. Lea Johnston

E. Lea Johnston

In Indiana v. Edwards, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment permits a trial court to impose a higher competency standard for self-representation than to stand trial. The Court declined to specify the contents of a permissible representational competence standard, but cited with support the construct of adjudicative competence developed by Professor Richard Bonnie. While Bonnie's proposal may provide an appropriate framework for evaluating the competence of represented defendants' decisions, it is at most a starting point for defining the capacities needed for self-representation at trial. This Article begins by exposing three reasons why Bonnie's approach is …

Investigating And Trying A Homicide Case, Andrea Lyon

Andrea D. Lyon

No abstract provided.

The Negative Effects Of Capital Jury Selection, Andrea Lyon

Andrea D. Lyon

No abstract provided.

Hannibal At The Gate: Border Kids, Drugs, And Guns – And The Mexican Cartel War Goes On, Arthur Rizer

Arthur L. Rizer III

This article argues that the current cartel war in Mexico represents a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States. Some have estimated Mexico, one of the United States’ closest allies, has lost more than 60,000 people in its drug war. That is approximately a murder every hour related to cartel violence. Some experts claim the death toll has been greatly soft-pedaled, with the government reducing violence by simply not reporting it, and that the actual death toll is over 100,000. These numbers do not even include the nearly 40,000 Americans who die each year from …