Criminal Law Commons^™

The Citizens Were Heard, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Victory In Rhode Island, Donna M. Hughes Dr., Michael Horowitz

Donna M. Hughes

Testimony For Trafficking Bill, Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee, Oct 2009, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Contingent Constitutionalism: State And Local Criminal Laws And The Applicability Of Federal Constitutional Rights, Wayne A. Logan

Scholarly Publications

Americans have long been bound by a shared sense of constitutional commonality, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly condemned the notion that federal constitutional rights should be allowed to depend on distinct state and local legal norms. In reality, however, federal rights do indeed vary, and they do so as a result of their contingent relationship to the diversity of state and local laws on which they rely. Focusing on criminal procedure rights in particular, this Article examines the benefits and detriments of constitutional contingency, and casts in new light many enduring understandings of American constitutionalism, including the effects of …

Protect Our Children, Jenny Meyen, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Updates From Middletown, Melanie Shapiro Esq, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Action Alert For Senate: Comments On Human Trafficking Bills, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Governor Carcieri Calls For Passage Of Prostitution Bill, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

The Abolition Of The Death Penalty In New Jersey And Its Impact On Our Nation's "Evolving Standards Of Decency", Aaron Scherzer

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

In 2007, New Jersey became the first state in over forty years to abolish the death penalty legislatively. Twenty-five years earlier, in 1982, New Jersey had followed a state-level trend by reinstating its death penalty. However, during the twenty-five years between reinstatement and abolition, New Jersey did not conduct a single execution. Instead, the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed numerous death penalty cases and consistently narrowed the class of cases eligible for the death penalty. This Note posits that the supreme court's narrowing of eligible cases was one of the factors that prevented executions from taking place in New Jersey. …

Developments In Connecticut Criminal Law: 2008, Timothy Everett

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Taking Aim At The Virginia Triggerman Rule: A Commentary On House Bill 2358, Anisa Mohanty

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

This Comment will examine the legislative history of the triggerman rule in Virginia in Part I. Part II will explore the justifications and criticisms of an expansion to the triggerman rule. Part III will present a short study of American jurisprudence with respect to the death penalty and non-triggermen. Finally, Part IV will discuss the future implications for Virginia's criminal justice system if the expansion to the triggerman rule eventually becomes law.

The Unconstitutionality, Ineffectiveness, And Alternatives Of Gang Injunctions, Thomas A. Myers

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Gang violence across America puts in jeopardy the peace and tranquility of neighborhoods. Cities are challenged to keep their communities safe from gang violence. One common way in which cities attempt to combat violent gang activity is by using gang injunctions. Gang injunctions are court orders that prohibit gang members from conducting already-illegal activities such as vandalism, loitering, and use or possession of illegal drugs or weapons within a defined area. These injunctions, however, also prohibit otherwise legal activity such as associating with others within the restricted area of the injunction, using words or hand gestures, and wearing certain clothing. …

Choosing Those Who Will Die: The Effect Of Race, Gender, And Law In Prosecutorial Decision To Seek The Death Penalty In Durham County, North Carolina, Isaac Unah

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

District prosecutors in the United States exercise virtually unfettered power and discretion to decide which murder cases to prosecute for capital punishment. According to neoclassical theory of formal legal rationality, the process for determining criminal punishment should be based upon legal rules established and sanctioned by the state to communicate the priorities of the political community. The theory therefore argues in favor of a determinate mode of decision-making that diminishes the importance of extrinsic elements such as race and gender in the application of law. In the empirical research herein reported, I test this theory using death eligible cases in …

Taking Aim At The Virginia Triggerman Rule: A Commentary On House Bill 2358, Anisa Mohanty

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

This Comment will examine the legislative history of the triggerman rule in Virginia in Part I. Part II will explore the justifications and criticisms of an expansion to the triggerman rule. Part III will present a short study of American jurisprudence with respect to the death penalty and non-triggermen. Finally, Part IV will discuss the future implications for Virginia's criminal justice system if the expansion to the triggerman rule eventually becomes law.

The Expanding Use Of The Res Gestae Doctrine, H. Patrick Furman, Ann England

Publications

This article provides a brief history of the doctrine of res gestae and an analysis of its current usage in both Colorado state and federal courts.

International Terrorism: The Legitimization Of Safe Harbor States In International Law, Carol A. Bahan

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rethinking The Federal Role In State Criminal Justice, Joseph L. Hoffmann, Nancy J. King

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Essay argues that federal habeas review of state criminal cases squanders resources the federal government should be using to help states reform their systems of defense representation. A 2007 empirical study reveals that federal habeas review is inaccessible to most state prisoners convicted of non-capital crimes, and offers no realistic hope of relief for those who reach federal court. As a means of correcting or deterring constitutional error in non-capital cases, habeas is failing and cannot be fixed. Drawing upon these findings as well as the Supreme Court's most recent decision applying the Suspension Clause, the authors propose that …

Place Mattters (Most): An Empirical Study Of Prosecutorial Decision-Making In Death-Eligible Cases, Katherine Y. Barnes, David L. Sloss, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article investigates prosecutorial discretion in death penalty prosecution in Missouri. Based upon an empirical analysis of all intentional-homicide cases from 1997-2001, this article concludes that Missouri law gives prosecutors unconstitutionally broad discretion in charging these cases. This article also finds that prosecutors exercise this broad discretion differently, leading to geographic and racial disparities in sentencing, and concludes with proposals for statutory reform.