Law Commons^™

Modifying Unjust Sentences, E. Lea Johnston

E. Lea Johnston

The United States is in the midst of an incarceration crisis. Over-incarceration is depleting state budgets and decimating communities. It has also led to the overfilling of prisons, which has degraded conditions of confinement, increased violence, and reduced access to needed medical and mental health care. Judicial sentence modification offers a means to address both the phenomenon of over-incarceration and harsh prison conditions that threaten unjust punishment. Indeed, some legislatures have framed states’ early release provisions as fulfilling goals of proportionality and just punishment. Proportionality is also an express purpose of the proposed Model Penal Code provisions on judicial sentence …

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.

Believe It Or Not: Mitigating The Negative Effects Personal Belief And Bias Have On The Criminal Justice System, Sarah Mourer

Sarah Mourer

This article examines the prosecutor’s and defense attorney’s personal pre-trial beliefs regarding the accused’s guilt or innocence. This analysis suggests that when an attorney does hold pretrial beliefs, such beliefs lead to avoidable bias and errors. These biases may alter the findings throughout all stages of the case. The procedure asking that the prosecution seek justice while having nothing more than probable cause results in the prosecutor’s need to have a belief in guilt before proceeding to trial. While this belief is intended to foster integrity and fairness in the criminal justice system, to the contrary, it actually contributes to …

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.

The Theatre Of Punishment: Case Studies In The Political Function Of Corporal And Capital Punishment, Bryan H. Druzin

Bryan H. Druzin

Criminal Forfeiture Procedure In 2015: An Annual Survey Of Developments In The Case Law, Stefan D. Cassella

Stefan D Cassella

This is another in a series of articles on developments in the federal case law relating to criminal forfeiture procedure. It covers the cases decided in 2014 and early 2015.

Like the earlier articles in this series, this one does not attempt to address every topic related to criminal forfeiture, nor all of the exceptions and nuances that apply to the topics that are addressed; rather, it covers only those matters on which there was a significant development in the case law in the past year. Thus a basic familiarity with federal criminal forfeiture procedure is assumed.

The Article begins …

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

Rebecca Sharpless