Criminal Law Commons^™

Sexual Abuse Of Female Inmates In Federal Prisons, Brenda Smith

Congressional and Other Testimony

This Article discusses the modest aspirations of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (“PREA”) that passed unanimously in the United States Congress in 2003. The Article posits that PREA created opportunities for holding correctional authorities accountable by creating a baseline for safety and setting more transparent expectations for agencies’ practices for protecting prisoners from sexual abuse. Additionally, the Article posits that PREA enhanced the evolving standards of decency for the Eighth Amendment and articulated clear expectations of correctional authorities to provide sexual safety for people in custody.

The Language Of Harm: What The Nassar Victim Impact Statements Reveal About Abuse And Accountability, Jamie Abrams, Amanda Potts

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This Article examines 148 Victim Impact Statements that were delivered to the
court in the Larry Nassar criminal sentencing. Larry Nassar was a doctor for the
United States Gymnastics Association and an employee of Michigan State University
who treated elite athletes, predominantly gymnasts. Nassar pleaded guilty to child
pornography and first-degree criminal sexual misconduct charges in Michigan. His
sentencing received worldwide attention as victims delivered impact statements
describing the harm and betrayal of his conduct. Using corpus-based discourse
analysis, this Article examines the complex strategies that the victims deployed to
describe who Nassar was (a doctor, a monster, a friend), …

Human Trafficking Victims' Need For Vacatur: Demolishing Roadblocks To Freedom: An Analysis Of The Current State Laws In The United States, The Current Federal Landscape, And A Call For The United Nations To Amend An Existing Protocol To Allow Victims Of Human Trafficking To Vacate Their Criminal Records, Melissa Owens

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The Bemba Appeals Chamber Judgment: Impunity For Sexual And Gender-Based Crimes?, Susana Sacouto, Patricia Viseur Sellers

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

On June 8, 2018, a majority of the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) reversed the conviction of former military commander Jean-Pierre Bemba for the crimes against humanity of rape and murder and the war crimes of rape, murder, and pillaging committed by his troops in the Central African Republic (CAR) between October 2002, and March 2003. The decision was clearly a disappointment for the victims of the crimes committed by Bemba’s troops, who have been waiting for more than fifteen years for a measure of justice. Significantly, the acquittal also means that sixteen years after the Rome …

Criminalizing The Victim: Ending Prosecution Of Human Trafficking Victims, Jessica Aycock

Criminal Law Practitioner

No abstract provided.

"The Way I Felt": Creating A Model Statute To Address Sexual Offenses Which Utilize Virtual Reality, Ryan Esparza

Criminal Law Practitioner

No abstract provided.

From Criminals To Survivors: Recognizing Domestic Sex Trafficking As Violence Against Women In The District Of Columbia, Alice Mutter

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Pressing Pause: Tolling Statutes Of Limitations For Sex Offenses While Rape Kits Remain Untested, Hunter Grolman

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Policy Review And Development Guide: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, And Intersex Persons In Custodial Settings, 3rd Ed., Brenda V. Smith, Jaime M. Yarussi

Reports

The Project on Addressing Prison Rape (the Project) at American University’s Washington College of Law (WCL) has had a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) to provide training and technical assistance to high-level correctional decisionmakers on key issues in preventing and addressing staff sexual misconduct since 1999. In 2003, with the enactment of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), the Project’s focus shifted to addressing prison rape—both staff sexual misconduct and inmateon- inmate sexual abuse. Beginning in 2006, Smith Consulting began a collaborative effort with the Project and NIC to focus efforts on providing technical assistance to …

Campus Insecurity: Due Process, Proof, And Procedure In Campus Sexual Assault Investigations, Travis Nemmer

Criminal Law Practitioner

No abstract provided.

Deconstructing The Crimeless Gender: Women's Prison Gangs, Emma Burgess Roy

Criminal Law Practitioner

No abstract provided.

Child Sexual Abuse Victims And The Confrontation Clause, Nichole Timmreck

Criminal Law Practitioner

No abstract provided.

Boys, Rape And Masculinity: Reclaiming Boys' Narratives Of Sexual Violence In Custody, Brenda V. Smith

Project on Addressing Prison Rape - Articles

This article examines a little studied area at the intersections of masculinity, feminist studies, and criminal justice – sexual abuse of boys in custody by female staff. Professor Smith will outline the scope of the problem and discusses competing narratives that attempt to explain the phenomena: (1) female staff as “mother, sister, friend”; (2) adolescent development theory; (3) complex early childhood trauma; and (4) female authority and power. There is a gap in both masculinity and feminist theory in analyzing sexual aggression and power by women over boys. The talk will colclude with policy and practice prescription and recommendations for …

Adult Rape Victims Should Be Permitted To Testify By Closed-Circuit Television, Matthew Marthaler

Criminal Law Practitioner

No abstract provided.

Training Curriculum: Responding To Sexual Abuse Of Youth In Custody: Addressing The Needs Of Boys, Girls, And Gender Nonconforming Youth - Notification Of Curriculum Use (Facilitator’S Guide), Brenda V. Smith, Jaime M. Yarussi, Rebecca Heinsen, Melissa C. Loomis, Caleb J. Bess, Tonya Davis, Lisa Capers, Kevin Dubose, Takiya Wheeler, Dr. Robert Bidwell

Reports

The enclosed Responding to Sexual Abuse of Youth in Custody: Addressing the Needs of Boys, Girls, and Gender Nonconforming Youth curriculum was developed by the Project on Addressing Prison Rape at American University, Washington College of Law as part of contract deliverables for the National PREA Resource Center (PRC), a cooperative agreement between the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards served as the basis for the curriculum’s content and development with the goal of the Responding to Sexual Abuse of Youth in Custody: Addressing the …

International Law Weekend, American Branch Of The International Law Association Perspectives On Crimes Of Sexual Violence In International Law, Susana Sacouto

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Perspectives On Crimes Of Sexual Violence In International Law, Susana Sacouto

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

INTRODUCTION: Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) during conflict and periods of repression has been a problem in every region of the globe.' Historically, these crimes were rarely prosecuted, particularly when government leaders were responsible for tolerating, encouraging, or orchestrating these crimes. However, the last two decades have seen an incredible transformation in the treatment of SGBV under international law. Great strides have been made in the investigation and prosecution of sexual and gender-based crimes, particular by the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone This essay examines the way …

International Criminal Court's Protection Of Women: The Hands Of Justice At Work, Tina R. Karkera

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Conceptualizing The Law From A Gender Perspective: Conceptions Regarding Victim And Accused, Gladys Acosta Vargas

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Violence Against Women In The United States And The State’S Obligation To Protect: Civil Society Briefing Papers On Community, Military And Custody Submitted To The United Nations Special Rapporteur On Violence Against Women, Rashida Manjoo, In Advance Of Her Mission To The United States Of America, Brenda V. Smith, Ashley Prather, Jaime M. Yarussi

Reports

The Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences visited the United States of America from 24 January to 7 February 2011. In the present report, she broadly examines the situation of violence against women in the country, including such issues as violence in custodial settings, domestic violence, violence against women in the military and violence against women who face multiple, intersecting forms of discrimination, particularly native American, immigrant and African-American women.

The Special Rapporteur highlights the positive legislative and policy initiatives undertaken by the Government to reduce the prevalence of violence against women, including the enactment and …

Introductory Note For The International Criminal Court, Susana Sacouto

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

INTRODUCTION: On February 3, 2010, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its judgment on the appeal of the Prosecutor against the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) denying his application for an arrest warrant against President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir in relation to the crime of genocide. Holding that the PTC had applied an erroneous standard of proof, the Appeals Chamber reversed the PTC's decision and directed it to reconsider whether the warrant should be issued in light of the Appeals Chamber's discussion of the appropriate standard of proof.

Billions (Yes, With A B) For Prevention, Victim Services, Law Enforcement, Underserved Populations And The Courts, And Looking Ahead To Vawa Iv, Leslye Orloff, Claudia Bayliff, Lisalyn Jacobs, Lynn Hecht Schafran, Juley Fulcher

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

[panelist] I feel like I have gone on a trip down memory lane. I want to take us back in time to give you an idea of what it looked like for immigrant women, women of color, and underserved communities in 1994, in terms of access to services and assistance for domestic violence and sexual assault. In those days there were very few programs-and we could probably count them on two, maybe four hands nationally-that were working specifically and had expertise working with immigrant victims, non-English-speaking victims, and women of color victims. Those programs were isolated from each other. In …

The Katanga Complementarity Decisions, Susana Sacouto

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

On 25 September 2009, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a seminal decision on the subject of complementarity in the case Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga. The outcome of the Chamber's decision is that, even if a state has initiated an investigation or prosecution against an individual, the ICC may prosecute that individual for the same crimes or even a more selective range of crimes, so long as the state is willing to close the ongoing investigation or prosecution at the request of the ICC Prosecutor. While this decision is defensible under the language of the Rome …

Introduction To Panel On Gender Crimes At The International Level Proceedings Of The Third International Humanitarian Law Dialogs, Susana Sacouto

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

INTRODUCTION: On February 3, 2010, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its judgment on the appeal of the Prosecutor against the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) denying his application for an arrest warrant against President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir in relation to the crime of genocide. Holding that the PTC had applied an erroneous standard of proof, the Appeals Chamber reversed the PTC's decision and directed it to reconsider whether the warrant should be issued in light of the Appeals Chamber's discussion of the appropriate standard of proof.

Girls Gone Wild And Rape Law: Revising The Contractual Concept Of Consent & (And) Ensuring An Unbiased Application Of Reasonable Doubt When The Victim Is Non-Traditional , Michele Alexander

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Failure To Arrest: A Pilot Study Of Police Response To Domestic Violence In Rural Illinois , Sara R. Benson

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Giving Birth In Shackles: A Constitutional And Human Rights Violation, Dana L. Sichel

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Effective Investigation Of Sexual Violence And Gender-Based Crimes At The International Criminal Court, Susana Sacouto

Feminist Scholarship

INTRODUCTION: Several provisions in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC or the Court) indicate that the statute's drafters intended sexual violence and gender-based crimes to be given specific attention during the investigation of potential cases before the Court. For instance, Article 54(1)(b) requires that, in ensuring the "effective investigation and prosecution of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court," the Prosecutor "take into account the nature of the crime, in particular where it involves sexual violence, gender violence or violence against children."' The Rome Statute also provides that States Parties, which are responsible for nominating and electing …

The Importance Of Effective Investigation Of Sexual Violence And Gender-Based Crimes At The International Criminal Court, Susana Sacouto

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

INTRODUCTION: Several provisions in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC or the Court) indicate that the statute's drafters intended sexual violence and gender-based crimes to be given specific attention during the investigation of potential cases before the Court. For instance, Article 54(1)(b) requires that, in ensuring the "effective investigation and prosecution of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court," the Prosecutor "take into account the nature of the crime, in particular where it involves sexual violence, gender violence or violence against children."' The Rome Statute also provides that States Parties, which are responsible for nominating and electing …

Immigration Relief For Survivors Of Domestic Absue, Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking, And Other Crimes: A Violence Against Women Act 2005 Update, Leslye Orloff, Joanne Lin, Ericka Echavarria

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (VAWA 2005), which President Against and Department Women Bush signed into law on January 5, 2006, built on the 1994 Violence Against Women Act (Title IV of the Violence Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994) and the 2000 Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act (part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act) by expanding immigration relief to new categories of crime victims.' In this article we discuss the eligibility requirements for VAWA self-petitioning, VAWA cancellation of removal, "U" interim relief for certain immigrant crime victims, …