Law Commons^™

The Punishment Should Fit The Crime—Not The Prior Convictions Of The Person That Committed The Crime: An Argument For Less Impact Being Accorded To Previous Convictions, Mirko Bagaric

San Diego Law Review

The seriousness of the offense is the main consideration that should determine the severity of criminal punishment. This cardinal sentencing principle is undermined by the reality that often the criminal history of the offender is the most decisive sentencing consideration. Recidivists are frequently sent to imprisonment for long periods for crimes, which, when committed by first-time offenders, are dealt with by a bond, probation, or a fine. This makes sentencing more about an individual’s profile than the harm caused by the offender and has contributed to a large increase in prison numbers. Intuitively, it feels right to punish repeat offenders …

Prevention And Imminence, Pre-Punishment And Actuality, Gideon Yaffe

San Diego Law Review

In a variety of circumstances, it is justified to harm persons, or deprive them of liberty, in order to prevent them from doing something objectionable. We see this in interactions between individuals--think of self-defense or defense of others--and we see it in large-scale interactions among groups--think of preemptive measures taken by countries against conspiring terrorists, plotting dictators, or ambitious nations. We can argue, of course, about the details. Under exactly what conditions is it justified to inflict harm or deprive someone of liberty for reasons of prevention? But in having such arguments we agree on the fundamental idea: there are …

Prevention As The Primary Goal Of Sentencing: The Modern Case For Indeterminate Dispositions In Criminal Cases, Christopher Slobogin

San Diego Law Review

This Article contends that properly constituted, indeterminate sentencing is both a morally defensible method of preventing crime and the optimal regime for doing so, at least for crimes against person and most other street crimes.

More specifically, the position defended in this Article is that, once a person is convicted of an offense, the duration and nature of sentence should be based on a back-end decision made by experts in recidivism reduction, within broad ranges set by the legislature. Compared to determinate sentencing, the sentencing regime advanced in this Article relies on wider sentence ranges and explicit assessments of risk, …

Lifting The Cloak: Preventive Detention As Punishment, Douglas Husak

San Diego Law Review

Most of the scholarly reaction to systems of preventive detention has been hostile. Negative judgments are especially prevalent among penal theorists who hold nonconsequentialist, retributivist rationales for criminal law and punishment. Surely their criticisms are warranted as long as we confine our focus to the existing systems of preventive detention that flagrantly disregard fundamental principles of legality and desert. Nonetheless, I believe that many of their more sweeping objections tend to rest too uncritically on doctrines of criminal theory that are not always supported by sound arguments even though they are widely accepted. I will contend that we cannot fully …

Mental Disorder And The Civil/Criminal Distinction, Grant H. Morris

San Diego Law Review

This essay, written as part of a symposium issue to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the University of San Diego Law School, discusses the evaporating distinction between sentence-serving convicts and mentally disordered nonconvicts who are involved in, or who were involved in, the criminal process–people we label as both bad and mad. By examining one Supreme Court case from each of the decades that follow the opening of the University of San Diego School of Law, the essay demonstrates how the promise that nonconvict mentally disordered persons would be treated equally with other civilly committed mental patients was made and …

Temporal Units Of Prosecution And Continuous Acts: Judicial And Constitutional Limitations

San Diego Law Review

Part II will examine the

historical development and the Supreme Court's application of the so- called rule of lenity when adjudicating cases involving statutes with

unclear units of prosecution Part II will also examine the manner in which unclear draftsmanship has been treated in other areas of law and

will compare those areas of law with the rationale behind the rule of lenity. Finally, Part II will conclude by arguing that the rule of lenity creates a presumption opposing multiple prosecutions for the continuing violation of a statute, unless there is clear legislative intent to the contrary. Part M11 will …

Exiling The New Felons: The Consequences Of The Retroactive Application Of Aggravated Felony Convictions To Lawful Permanent Residents

San Diego Law Review

Aliens who commit serious crimes must undoubtedly be deported. American citizens need neither endure the atrocities committed by alien terrorists nor continue to subsidize the unstoppable river of illegal aliens flowing across the borders. Today, over four million illegal aliens live in the United States; at least a quarter of a million more undocumented aliens enter this country each year,' contributing to the serious immigration problems suffered by the United States. Though the concerns raised by immigration policies have periodically surfaced during the last few decades, both legal immigrants and illegal aliens were largely ignored or tolerated during much of …

Criminal Law At The International Border, Josph A. Milchen

San Diego Law Review

[G]eographical considerations are set forth to indicate the potential scope of legal problems that might arise at an international border. The mere length of the border permits imaginative speculation regarding possible violations of customs laws. Although some aspects of the law applicable at the international border are well settled, neither legislative insight nor fertile imagination nor past experience provide sufficient perception to cover the myriad situations that can arise at the border. Furthermore, new developments in related fields must be examined insofar as the border-crossing situation may affect or be affected by them. As a result, there ate the following …