Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 61 - 83 of 83

Full-Text Articles in Law

From Free Trade To Prohibition: A Critical History Of The Modern Asian Opium Trade, Alfred W. Mccoy Jan 2000

From Free Trade To Prohibition: A Critical History Of The Modern Asian Opium Trade, Alfred W. Mccoy

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The article begins by exploring America's current war on drugs and how it represents a misuse of its power and misperception of the global narcotics trade. It continues and puts forth that Asia's opium production may soon increase to levels that will defeat the war on drugs now being waged by the United State and United Nations and goes into the the extent of Opium production in Asia. It then looks at a history of Opium trade, including the era which began prohibition and then the cold war, which began the expansion of the Asian opium trade. The article then …


Thinking About Drug Law Reform: Some Political Dynamics Of Medicalization, Fredrick Polak Jan 2000

Thinking About Drug Law Reform: Some Political Dynamics Of Medicalization, Fredrick Polak

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The article begins by stating that many people believe that medicalization offers the most reasonable approach to drug policy because it offers a dignified approach to treatment of addicts. However, it risks being a form of repression itself because it may define abstinence as the only acceptable treatment outcome. The article then explores the position of the medical profession in drug policy. It then looks at the negative political and social aspects and consequences of an abstinence-directed medicalization policy. The article concludes by stating that if abstinence is always the treatment goal then medicalization will be even less voluntary and …


Is Our Drug Policy Effective, Jefferson M. Fish Jan 2000

Is Our Drug Policy Effective, Jefferson M. Fish

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The article begins by stating that the time has come for a reexamination of our drug policy. It continues by discussing the two day conference "Is Our Drug Policy Effective?" "Are There Alternatives?" organized by several committee's. Because of space constraints, the article mainly delves into two topics, certain substances both licit and illicit with regard to both their physiological effects and the policies governing them, and also the disproportionate emphasis placed by the war on drugs on combating marijuana. The article then gives summaries of the speakers at the conference. These include: Objectives of our drug policy, overviews of …


Street Stops And Broken Windows: Terry, Race, And Disorder In New York City, Jeffrey Fagan, Garth Davies Jan 2000

Street Stops And Broken Windows: Terry, Race, And Disorder In New York City, Jeffrey Fagan, Garth Davies

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article explores patterns of police "stop and frisk" activity across New York City neighborhoods. While “Broken Windows” theory may account for higher stop and frisk activity for “quality of life” crimes, the authors suggest neighborhood characteristics like racial composition, poverty levels, and extent of social disorganization are strong predictors of race- and crime-specific stops. The authors consider whether street-stops in various neighborhoods comply with the Terry standard of reasonable suspicion as insight into the social and strategic meaning of policing. Their empirical evidence suggests policing focuses on policing poor people in poor places. Their strategy departs from "Broken Windows" …


Extra! Extra! Read All About It: What A Plaintiff "Knows Or Should Know" Based On Officials' Statements And Media Coverage Of Police Misconduct For Notice Of A § 1983 Municipal Liability Claim, Jenny Rivera Jan 2000

Extra! Extra! Read All About It: What A Plaintiff "Knows Or Should Know" Based On Officials' Statements And Media Coverage Of Police Misconduct For Notice Of A § 1983 Municipal Liability Claim, Jenny Rivera

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The article argues that the Second Circuit's recent decisions in Clinton v. City of New York and Monzon v. City of New York reduce the effectiveness of a §1983 claim against a municipality. The article highlights that the element of subjectivity required to determine the accrual period of a §1983 claim restricts the utility of the claim because it adopts a cultural standard at odds with a racialized societal reality. The author discusses whether consideration of plaintiffs' testimony, statements of state and local police officials, and media coverage of municipal and state employee actions should factor into determining the accrual …


Why Did People Stop Committing Crimes? An Essay About Criminology And Ideology, George L. Kelling Jan 2000

Why Did People Stop Committing Crimes? An Essay About Criminology And Ideology, George L. Kelling

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This essay considers the sharp decline in crime that was observed in 1994 in New York City and across the nation. The author suggests that crime reduction in various areas must be understood in a local context. This article discusses the steps New York City took prior to the observed crime reduction. The essay then discusses how urban renewal projects, weakening institutional control of youth behavior, and highly centralized facilities and strategies of law enforcement may have contributed to the violence of the 1980's. The author concludes that bad social policies contributed to elevated the crime rate and improvement of …


Why Civil Rights Lawsuits Do Not Deter Police Misconduct: The Conundrum Of Indemnification And A Proposed Solution, Richard Emery, Ilann Margalit Maazel Jan 2000

Why Civil Rights Lawsuits Do Not Deter Police Misconduct: The Conundrum Of Indemnification And A Proposed Solution, Richard Emery, Ilann Margalit Maazel

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This essay argues that indemnification of police officers found liable in civil suits works against deterring officers from future misconduct. The essay explains how the existing indemnification scheme results in tax payers funding these judgments and settlements and explains the mechanisms surrounding representation of a defendant officer and the city's indemnification of a decision. The author suggests a solution that allows for compensation of plaintiffs and deterrence of officers. Under the proposed solution, judges should always allow compensation for plaintiffs but should consider the officer's prior history of misconduct, the disciplinary measures taken against such misconduct, and the defendant's ability …


How Do We Reduce Crime And Preserve Human Decency? The Role Of Leadership In Policing For A Democratic Society, Benjamin B. Tucker Jan 2000

How Do We Reduce Crime And Preserve Human Decency? The Role Of Leadership In Policing For A Democratic Society, Benjamin B. Tucker

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This essay cautions that the successes in crime reduction cannot be sustained unless police-community relations improve. The essay discusses progress and development in law enforcement, documents the innovative rise in community policing, and concludes with suggestions on how to improve police-community tension, particularly tension between law enforcement and minority communities.


Rebellious Or Regnant: Police Brutality Lawyering In New York City, Jessica A. Rose Jan 2000

Rebellious Or Regnant: Police Brutality Lawyering In New York City, Jessica A. Rose

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The author encourages progressive lawyers of New York City to adopt a more rebellious form of practice to combat police brutality while empowering the client and community. This comment analyzes legal representation of New York police brutality victims through the perspective of Professor Gerald Lopez's theory of rebellious lawyering. The comment first describes rebellious lawyering and includes criticism and discussion of other related theories. Next, the author discusses leading methods of representation used in New York City in police brutality cases and the regnant and rebellious characteristics of each method. The author finds that a more creative and rebellious method …


Law And Disorder: Is Effective Law Enforcement Inconsistent With Good Police-Community Relations?, William J. Bratton, Andrew G. Celli, Paul Chevigny, Johnnie L. Cochran Jan 2000

Law And Disorder: Is Effective Law Enforcement Inconsistent With Good Police-Community Relations?, William J. Bratton, Andrew G. Celli, Paul Chevigny, Johnnie L. Cochran

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This roundtable discusses crime reduction and police-community relations. Professor Chevigny asserted that violation of rights is an unacceptable trade-off for more effective law enforcement and advocated problem-solving policing. Commissioner Bratton discussed the compatibility of civil liberties and civil police and his work as commissioner. Attorney Lynch discussed the federal government's role in handling law enforcement as it relates to community relations by discussing the cases the federal government handles and the federal government 's powers and abilities in this area. Mr. Celli discussed the Attorney General Office's study of the New York City Police Department, theories behind the New York …


The Role Of The Law Guardian In A Custody Case Involving Domestic Violence, Nancy S. Erickson Jan 2000

The Role Of The Law Guardian In A Custody Case Involving Domestic Violence, Nancy S. Erickson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

A law guardian for a child has an extremely difficult job, one that arguably requires a higher degree of diligence than that of an attorney representing a competent adult. Yet, under New York law, the role of the law guardian for a child involved in a custody is not clearly defined. When domestic violence is involved, the law guardian's role becomes crucial. The role of the law guardian for a child in a custody case involving domestic violence has been expanded as a result of the enactment of chapter 85 of the 1996 Laws of New York. This article outlines …


Weighing The Domestic Violence Factor In Custody Cases: Tipping The Scales In Favor Of Protecting Victims And Their Children, Kim Susser Jan 2000

Weighing The Domestic Violence Factor In Custody Cases: Tipping The Scales In Favor Of Protecting Victims And Their Children, Kim Susser

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Many new laws and policies are emerging in the area of domestic violence. In 1994, the Legislature passed the Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act- a complete overhaul of laws dealing with domestic violence in both the civil and criminal arean. The Legislature declared that domestic violence is now a crime. It is unfortunate that batterers are not always consider criminals when they seek custody of their children. If convicted of a stranger crime, courts are known to accord weight to the batterer's criminal history. When the victim is the child's mother, it seems to be another story. All …


Domestic Violence As A Factor In Custody Determinations In New York State, Hon. Judith J. Gische Jan 2000

Domestic Violence As A Factor In Custody Determinations In New York State, Hon. Judith J. Gische

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In 1996, the New York State Legislature mandated that rial courts consider the effect of domestic violence in child custody and visitation disputes. In 1998, the legislature amended the law to provide that, under most circumstances, a person convicted of murdering a child's parent shall be denied custody and visitation. The amendment was in response to a growing national trend to give greater attention to the serious effect domestic violence has on children. While the law now conveys the seriousness with which the legislature view domestic violence, many problems inherent in resolving custody and visitation disputes involving domestic violence still …


Stopping New Yorkers' Stalkers: An Anti-Stalking Law For The Millennium, Demetra M. Pappas Jan 2000

Stopping New Yorkers' Stalkers: An Anti-Stalking Law For The Millennium, Demetra M. Pappas

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This essay concerns itself with some of the legislative responses to stalking in New York and examines some of the specific anti-stalking provisions of the Clinic Access and Anti-Stalking Act of 1999, recently signed by New York Governor George Pataki. The author interviews Senator Michael A.L. Balboni, Assemblyman Scott Stringer, and the Assemblyman's former Legislative Director Rob Hack, who were all heavily involved in getting the legislation passed, offering a unique perspective.


Understanding The Victim: A Guide To Aid In The Prosecution Of Domestic Violence, Jennice Vilhauer Jan 2000

Understanding The Victim: A Guide To Aid In The Prosecution Of Domestic Violence, Jennice Vilhauer

Fordham Urban Law Journal

As one of the most prevalent crimes in the country, domestic violence is one of the most frequently handled cases for prosecutors across the nation. Despite their commonality, however, domestic violence cases can raise the anxiety level of even the most experience prosecutors. There are several causes of such anxiety. First, domestic violence cases are often plagued by evidentiary problems that occur when a victim does not desire prosecution. Second, even in states where mandatory prosecution laws have been enacted, it can still be difficult to successfully prosecute a case when a victim is hostile, uncooperative and acting in direct …


Gender Difference In Perceiving Violence And Its Implication For The Vawa's Civil Rights Remedy, Renee L. Jarusinsky Jan 2000

Gender Difference In Perceiving Violence And Its Implication For The Vawa's Civil Rights Remedy, Renee L. Jarusinsky

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The enactment of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 was viewed as "a potential vehicle of empowerment" for women, and was a long-awaited morve toward gender equality in the United States. By enacting the VAWA, Congress emphatically expressed a strong commitment to curb and attack the pervasiveness of sex-based violence. In practice, however, the civil rights remdy has fallen short. In the few VAWA cases brought under the civil rights remedy, the "crime of violence" requirement has been interpreted in such a narrow way that it strips the remedy of any effect. While there is confusion as to …


The First Amendment, The Right Not To Speak And The Problem Of Government Access Statutes, Anna M. Taruschio Jan 2000

The First Amendment, The Right Not To Speak And The Problem Of Government Access Statutes, Anna M. Taruschio

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The dual principles of promoting the marketplace of ideas and protecting individual autonomy lie at the core of the First Amendment. When the government assumes an affirmative role by opening opportunities for public speech, it places individuals' negative liberties, such as the right not to speak, at risk. This conflict cannot be avoided by analyzing compelled speech outside of the First Amendment; the autonomy promised by the Bill of Rights and repeatedly affirmed by Supreme Court jurisprudence protects the right not to speak. Scholars, jurists, and practitioners therefore should pay close attention to the right not to speak when the …


The Criminalization Of Child Welfare In New York City: Sparing The Child Or Spoiling The Family?, Alison B. Vreeland Jan 2000

The Criminalization Of Child Welfare In New York City: Sparing The Child Or Spoiling The Family?, Alison B. Vreeland

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The trend in child welfare has been to err on the side of protection, often considered erring on the side of the child. While this approach may have been appropriate to overcome a long history of State abstinence from involvement in the family domain, it has been under-inclusive in protecting the child's fundamental right to a parent-child relationship. A delicate balance must be struck between family autonomy and State intervention. This balance is best achieved in the family court when the child's best interest is represented and the family is addressed as a whole. Under traditional criminal procedure, which focuses …


Protection Of Domestic Violence Victims Under The New York City Human Rights Law's Provisions Prohibiting Discrimination On The Basis Of Disability, Marta B. Varela Jan 2000

Protection Of Domestic Violence Victims Under The New York City Human Rights Law's Provisions Prohibiting Discrimination On The Basis Of Disability, Marta B. Varela

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article analyzes the need to create a new protected class of domestic violence victims to shield them from discrimination in employment. The Article examines arguments for and against proposed legislation to revise the human rights law governing disability, section 8-107 of the New York City Administration Code. The Article concludes that this legislation is unnecessary because the law already provides sufficient protection to domestic violence victims without requiring that victims disclose their domestic violence status to their employers.


Civil Rights Law In Transition: The Forty-Fifth Anniversary Of The New York City Commission On Human Rights Jan 2000

Civil Rights Law In Transition: The Forty-Fifth Anniversary Of The New York City Commission On Human Rights

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Symposium co-sponsored by the New York City Commission on Human Rights and the Fordham Urban Law Journal includes transcripts of panel discussions on topics at the intersection of law and policy. These topics include mediation, domestic violence, disability law, hate crimes legislation, sexual harassment, and sexual orientation law.


Risk Reduction In Office Workplace Encounters Between Newly-Disabled Employees And Management Of New York City Companies, Marta B. Varela Jan 2000

Risk Reduction In Office Workplace Encounters Between Newly-Disabled Employees And Management Of New York City Companies, Marta B. Varela

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article describes potential pitfalls for employers arising from the ADA protections afforded to employees with no prior record of disability returning to work after medical certification of a disability requiring accommodation. The Article describes Federal laws protecting disabled employees from unnecessary intrusion in their private lives (such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, and the Occupation Health and Safety Act of 1970) and sets out the requirements imposed on employers. The Article also describes New York City disability laws enforced by the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Finally, …


Developments In Housing Law And Reasonable Accommodations For New York City Residents With Disabilities, John P. Herrion Jan 2000

Developments In Housing Law And Reasonable Accommodations For New York City Residents With Disabilities, John P. Herrion

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Essay examines the New York Human Rights Law, which prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of a housing accommodation and provides persons with disabilities the right to request and receive reasonable accommodations from their housing providers. The Essay concludes that the recent interpretation of this law by New York City Commission on Human Rights Law is a move toward protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and removing unnecessary discrimination from their lives.


The Fourth Amendment: Relaxing The Rule In Child Abuse Investigations, Jillian Grossman Jan 2000

The Fourth Amendment: Relaxing The Rule In Child Abuse Investigations, Jillian Grossman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Note considers the Fourth Amendment concerns raised by strip searches of children in child abuse investigations. The Note first describes the evolution of children's rights and identifies the interests of the child and parents in child abuse investigations. The Note then analyzes the two exceptions under which a nude search of a child's body may be conducted - consent and exigent circumstances, as well as the qualified immunity defense with respect to social workers and police officers. Finally, this Note concludes that a child should possess the authority to consent to a strip search in a child abuse investigation …