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Selected Works

1996

Criminal Law

Articles 1 - 14 of 14

Full-Text Articles in Law

Criminal Procedure: Examples And Expanations, Robert Bloom, Mark Brodin Oct 2013

Criminal Procedure: Examples And Expanations, Robert Bloom, Mark Brodin

Robert Bloom

No abstract provided.

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3. The Relevance Ratio: Evaluating The Probative Value Of Expert Testimony In Child Sexual Abuse Cases., Thomas D. Lyon, Jonathan J. Koehler Aug 1996

3. The Relevance Ratio: Evaluating The Probative Value Of Expert Testimony In Child Sexual Abuse Cases., Thomas D. Lyon, Jonathan J. Koehler

Thomas D. Lyon

It is hard to overstate the importance of expert testimony in American courtrooms. Much of this testimony concerns scientific matters that are beyond the ken of ordinary experience.  In cases where scientific matters play a central role, jurors may give substantial weight to expert testimony or even treat it as dispositive.  Standards pertaining to the admissibility of scientific testimony are critical to the outcome in many trials.

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1. The Law And Psychology Of The Child Witness. (Review Of The Book Child Witnesses: Fragile Voices In The American Legal System, By L. S. Mcgough. ), Thomas D. Lyon Jul 1996

1. The Law And Psychology Of The Child Witness. (Review Of The Book Child Witnesses: Fragile Voices In The American Legal System, By L. S. Mcgough. ), Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

McGough's goal is to summarize the developmental psychological research relevant to children's capacities as witnesses and to make recommendations for how the courts should receive children's testimony. In her review, she concludes that children under the age of 12 are deficient: They encode less detail, they fantasize more, they confuse fantasy with reality, they incorporate script based knowledge into their memory, and they are suggestible, both because they acquiesce to authority and because their memory is susceptible to external influence.

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3. The Effect Of Threats On Children’S Disclosure Of Sexual Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon Jul 1996

3. The Effect Of Threats On Children’S Disclosure Of Sexual Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Do abused children refuse to disclose their abuse because they have been threatened by their perpetrators? In Jeopardy in the Courtroom: A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony, a book that many believe may have a substantial impact on child witness law and practice, Professors Stephen Ceci and Maggie Bruck argue that there is little empirical basis for this "professional `lore"' (Ceci & Bruck, 1995, pp. 300-301).

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2. Assessing Children's Competence To Take The Oath: Research And Recommendations., Thomas D. Lyon Apr 1996

2. Assessing Children's Competence To Take The Oath: Research And Recommendations., Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

With all of the attention paid to children's performances as witnesses once on the stand, their ability to qualify to take the stand has been relatively neglected. Most courts require that in order to testify, a witness must first take the oath. In its most simple form, an oath is a promise to tell the truth. Taking the oath presupposes that one understands what it means to tell the truth, and that one appreciates one’s obligation to tell the truth when promising to do so. If a young child does not understand the difference between the truth and lies, or …

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Case & Statute Comments, "Public Education And Crime: Supreme Court Backs States' Rights, R. Michael Cassidy Dec 1995

Case & Statute Comments, "Public Education And Crime: Supreme Court Backs States' Rights, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

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Criminal Procedure: Examples And Expanations, Robert Bloom, Mark Brodin Dec 1995

Criminal Procedure: Examples And Expanations, Robert Bloom, Mark Brodin

Robert M. Bloom

No abstract provided.

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Keynote Address: Political And Social Misconception Fueling The Death Penalty, David Bruck Dec 1995

Keynote Address: Political And Social Misconception Fueling The Death Penalty, David Bruck

David I. Bruck

No abstract provided.

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A Pro-Death, Self-Fulfilling Constitutional Construct: The Supreme Court’S Evolving Standard Of Decency For The Death Penalty, Susan Raeker-Jordan Dec 1995

A Pro-Death, Self-Fulfilling Constitutional Construct: The Supreme Court’S Evolving Standard Of Decency For The Death Penalty, Susan Raeker-Jordan

Susan Raeker-Jordan

In recent Eighth Amendment decisions applying the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause to substantive challenges to the death penalty, a plurality of the United States Supreme Court has favored employing only the "evolving standards of decency" test of constitutionality, purportedly because it is an objective measurement of cruelty and unusualness. The Article will show, however, that contrary to the assertions of some Court members, the indicia for ascertaining the evolving standard of decency are far from objective. Rather, the evidence gleaned from he "objective indicia" of legislative enactments and jury sentencing behavior can be and has been rigged to favor …

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New Federalism And Constitutional Criminal Procedure: Are We Repeating The Mistakes Of The Past?, James W. Diehm Dec 1995

New Federalism And Constitutional Criminal Procedure: Are We Repeating The Mistakes Of The Past?, James W. Diehm

James W. Diehm

More than thirty years have passed since the United States Supreme Court made these observations in the landmark case of Mapp v. Ohio." The Court, no doubt, thought it was putting an end to the wrenching problems that developed since it laid the groundwork for the exclusionary rule in Boyd v. United States in 1886. Although the merits of the exclusionary rule have been debated for many years and will be debated for years to come, the advent of the exclusionary rule raised important issues of federalism that were not resolved easily.

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Uncertain Privacy: Communication Attributes After The Digital Telephony Act, Susan Freiwald Dec 1995

Uncertain Privacy: Communication Attributes After The Digital Telephony Act, Susan Freiwald

Susan Freiwald

This article argues that the coming tide of electronic Federal law protects the privacy of transmitted communications under a two-tiered system. The actual contents of communications occupy the first tier, where they enjoy fairly effective protection against disclosure. Communication attributes encompass all of the other information that can be learned about a communication, such as when and where it occurred, to whom and from whom it was sent and how long it lasted. They occupy a lowly second tier, where the protections against disclosure are weak, ambiguous and in some cases non-existent. This bifurcated system becomes increasingly untenable as advances …

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2. Medical Evidence Of Physical Abuse In Infants And Young Children., Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth E. Gilles, Lary Cory Dec 1995

2. Medical Evidence Of Physical Abuse In Infants And Young Children., Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth E. Gilles, Lary Cory

Thomas D. Lyon

Determining whether a young child's injuries are due to physical abuse is often extremely difficult. Frequently, the child is nonverbal, and there are no witnesses other than the caretakers that are suspected of abuse. Expert medical opinion is often necessary to diagnose abuse. However, the process by which physicians diagnose physical abuse is something of a mystery to many attorneys, even to those who routinely handle such cases. The medical literature is often impenetrable to those without special training, leading attorneys to defer to expert opinion without fully understanding the basis for such opinion. This is unfortunate. Without understanding the …

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Medical Investigation Of Suspects By The Police, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee Dec 1995

Medical Investigation Of Suspects By The Police, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

Although medical examinations and samples taken from suspects' bodies in the course of police inquiries often lead to the discovery of important evidence, Singapore criminal procedure does not appear to empower the police to carry out such medical investigations. Neither does it safeguard the interests of suspects. It is submitted that the Criminal Procedure Code and other statutes should be brought up to date with modern science.

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George Bush's America Meets Dante's Inferno: The Americans With Disabilities Act In Prison, Ira P. Robbins Dec 1995

George Bush's America Meets Dante's Inferno: The Americans With Disabilities Act In Prison, Ira P. Robbins

Ira P. Robbins

Introduction: The conditions in America's correctional facilities have long been cause for concern. Even those who do not advocate a comfortable quality of life for inmates recognize that basic problems such as overcrowding, inmate violence,' inadequate staffing,2 and increasing costs of building and maintaining prisons have approached crisis levels. Meanwhile, the prison population continues to swell. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the United States Department of Justice, the number of prisoners incarcerated at state and federal prisons annually has grown at a rate of 8.4% in recent years.'

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