Criminal Law Commons^™

Written Testimony On Correctional Oversight Of The Nys Doccs, Michael B. Mushlin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

I am testifying today on behalf of both myself and my co-chair Michele Deitch, who has submitted written testimony for your consideration. My comments here reflect both the key points in her testimony as well as some of my own thoughts about the importance of external oversight and comments about the critical role played by the Correctional Association of New York, the failure of the State Commission on Correction to provide meaningful regulation of New York’s prisons, and the need to improve access by the media to the public and to the state’s prisons.

Unequal Access To Justice: Solla V. Berlin And The Unprincipled Evisceration Of New York’S Eaja, Armen H. Merjian

Pace Law Review

Solla is noteworthy not merely in light of the baleful effects of its ruling, but because of its reasoning: it is categorically wrong. The decision wholly elides a cornerstone and settled principle of New York welfare law, namely, that in the administration of public assistance, the municipalities act as the agents of the State, while blatantly violating the most fundamental of agency principles, namely, that a principal is vicariously liable for the actions of its agent acting within the scope of its authority. Indeed, this principal/agent relationship is established both by statute and by decades of uniform state and federal …

The State Of The States: The Continuing Struggle To Criminalize Revenge Porn, Justin Pitcher

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rape Of The Mentally Deficient: Satisfaction Of The Nonconsent Element, 15 J. Marshall L. Rev. 115 (1982), Susan Brody

Susan L. Brody

No abstract provided.

Criminal Law And Procedure, Aaron J. Campbell

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

A 'Velvet Hammer': The Criminalization Of Motherhood And The New Maternalism, Eliza Duggan

Eliza Duggan

In 2014, Tennessee became the first state to criminalize the use of narcotics during pregnancy. While women have been prosecuted for the outcomes of their pregnancies and for the use of drugs during pregnancy in the past decades, Tennessee is the first state to explicitly authorize prosecutors to bring criminal charges against pregnant women if they use drugs. This Article suggests that this new maternal crime is reflective of a social and political paradigm called “maternalism,” which enforces the idea that women are meant to be mothers and to perform motherhood in a particular fashion. This concept has developed from …

Mens Rea, Criminal Responsibility, And The Death Of Freddie Gray, Michael Serota

Michigan Law Review First Impressions

Who (if anyone) is criminally responsible for the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old African-American man who died from injuries suffered while in the custody of Baltimore police? This question has been at the forefront of the extensive coverage of Gray’s death, which has inspired a national discussion about law enforcement’s relationship with black communities. But it is also a question that may never be fairly resolved for reasons wholly unrelated to the topic of community policing, with which Gray’s death has become synonymous. What may ultimately hamper the administration of justice in the prosecution of the police officers involved …

Firing Back: State V. Huckelba Takes Aim At Precedent, Impacting The Gun Rights Of North Carolina Citizens, Thomas C. Wolff

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Application Of Ohio Post-Conviction Procedure - Effect Of Prior Judgment On.; Coley V. Alvis, Thomas A. Geraci Jr.

Akron Law Review

In the per curiam decision of Coley v. Alvis' the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed an Ohio District Court decision dismissing Coley's petition for habeas corpus for failure to exhaust his state remedies. The circuit Court remanded, stating that it would be futile for petitioner to attempt to void his conviction under the Ohio post-conviction statute because of the narrow limits placed on it by the state courts and that there was consequently no longer any effective state remedy. Since the grounds that petitioner set forth to sustain his writ did not fall within any …

Ohio's Post-Conviction Appeal Remedy, Timothy J. Murty

Akron Law Review

Ohio has recently adopted legislation intended to provide a prisoner with a means of testing, in the court which originally imposed sentence, the constitutional validity of his sentence. This legislation is intended to provide a remedy which will supplement the writ of habeas corpus. Jurisdiction in habeas corpus proceedings lies in the court of the county in which the prisoner is confined. In recent years the courts located in counties containing state correctional institutions have been deluged with habeas corpus petitions.

Criminal Responsibility: Knowledge, Will And Choice, Robert J. Willey

Akron Law Review

The Court acknowledged that the M'Naghten formula was the recognized test for insanity, that it was a test of criminal responsibility rather than a medical test of insanity, that it has been followed in a classic fashion, that each doctor had compressed his final conclusion into the required M'Naghten strait jacket, and that the defense had proved by the greater weight of the evidence that the defendant was not guilty by reason of insanity.

Both of these courts claimed to be following M'Naghten, though the Colby court decried its present use, and the Keaton court approved an instruction that included …

Shifting The Burden Of Proving Self-Defense - With Analysis Of Related Ohio Law, Randy R. Koenders

Akron Law Review

Senate Bill Number 42 was introduced into the Ohio General Assembly on February 1, 1977. The bill provides that while the burden of proof for all elements of the criminal offense with which an individual is charged rests upon the prosecution, the burden of proof for affirmative defenses rests upon the defendant, and he must prove his affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence. Because the bill raises serious questions concerning placing the burden of persuasion with respect to affirmative defenses generally, and self-defense in particular, on the defendant, a study of the law and policy involved in shifting …

Death Penalty; Cruel And Unusual Punishment; Individualized Sentencing Determination; Lockett V. Ohio; Bell V. Ohio, James C. Ellerhorst

Akron Law Review

“In Bell v. Ohio and Lockett v. Ohio the United States Supreme Court found the sentencing provisions of the Ohio capital punishment statute to be incompatible with the eighth and fourteenth amendments which prohibit cruel and unusual punishment. These two opinions represent the most recent attempt by the Supreme Court to explain what elements must be included in a constitutionally valid capital punishment statute.”

Motor Vehicles; Driving While Intoxicated; Section 4511.19; Implied Consent; Aurora V. Kepley, Amie Bruggeman

Akron Law Review

With the constant problem of accidents caused by drinking drivers and the fairly reliable results of breathalyzer tests established, judicial decisions have upheld the statutory scheme providing for its use through an era when rights of an accused have been greatly expanded. It has been held that the breathalyzer test results are not testimonial but physical evidence and therefore not protected by the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. Thus, the accused has no constitutional right to refuse to take the test, and the prosecutor may comment at the trial on his refusal relying on its' probative value as to whether …

The Courtroom Status Of The Polygraph, John A. Turlik

Akron Law Review

This comment will inform the reader of the status and various uses of the polygraph available to the criminal attorney, with an emphasis on Ohio law.

Ohio Supreme Court Symposium

Akron Law Review

During the 1981-1982 term the Ohio Supreme Court rendered 250 written opinions on a wide range of topics from wiretapping to the liability of landlords for injuries. In several cases, individuals gained significant legal rights in dealing with business and others. In addition, there were some significant changes in the law governing municipal sovereignty and immunity. This symposium will not attempt to cover all decisions of the Ohio Supreme Court, but rather to highlight some of the major decisions which affect Ohioans.

The High Price Of Poverty: A Study Of How The Majority Of Current Court System Procedures For Collecting Court Costs And Fees, As Well As Fines, Have Failed To Adhere To Established Precedent And The Constitutional Guarantees They Advocate., Trevor J. Calligan

Trevor J Calligan

No abstract provided.

Capital Punishment Of Children In Ohio: "They'd Never Send A Boy Of Seventeen To The Chair In Ohio, Would They?", Victor L. Streib

Akron Law Review

This article presents first an overview of the national legal environment and actual executions in American history and then a focused, in-depth analysis of Ohio as a reasonably representative American jurisdiction. Each of the nineteen verified and documented Ohio cases are examined in some detail to determine, so far as is possible, the reasons they were selected for capital punishment. The cases are discussed within the context of the legal environment existing at the time they were decided.

Ohio's "Sacred Seal Of Secrecy": The Rules Of Spousal Incompetency And Martial Privilege In Criminal Cases, Wilson R. Huhn

Akron Law Review

In the remainder of this essay the rules of spousal incompetency and marital privilege are compared and contrasted, the history of the rules in Ohio is traced, the underlying justifications for the rules are discussed, and a pitch is made for repeal of both rules, substituting the single rule of spousal immunity described above.

The Ohio Supreme Court's Move Toward Quality Control Of Court-Appointed Counsel For Indigent Defendants Charged With Capital Offense Crimes, George J. Ticoras

Akron Law Review

This comment outlines the law in Ohio concerning court-appointed representation of indigent defendants in capital offense cases. A brief look at Ohio's "pre-C.P.Sup.R. 65" period provides the proper backdrop in which to examine C.P.Sup.R. 65's relation to the Ohio Public Defender's Regulations and the impact this rule may have throughout the State.

Aids: Testing Democracy - Irrational Responses To The Public Health Crisis And The Need For Privacy In Serologic Testing, 19 J. Marshall L. Rev. 835 (1986), Michael L. Closen, Susan Marie Connor, Howard L. Kaufman, Mark E. Wojcik

Mark E. Wojcik

No abstract provided.

Notice To Minors Under The Illinois Juvenile Court Act: An Anomaly Of Due Process, 36 Depaul L. Rev. 343 (1987), Susan L. Brody

Susan L. Brody

No abstract provided.

Free, But Still Behind Bars: Reading The Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act To Allow Any Person Convicted Of A Crime To Raise A Claim Of Actual Innocence, Hugh M. Mundy

Hugh Mundy

As the number of wrongfully convicted prisoners who are subsequently exonerated continues to rise, the importance of access to post-conviction relief also increases. Under the Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act, this access is restricted to petitioners who are currently imprisoned or otherwise facing a restraint on their liberty. Persons convicted of a crime who have completed their sentence are barred from pursuing post-conviction relief under the Act, regardless of the existence of exculpatory evidence that supports their innocence. Removing this procedural roadblock and interpreting the Act broadly to allow any person convicted of a crime to raise a claim of actual …

Proportional Response: The Need For More—And More Standardized—Veterans’ Courts, Claudia Arno

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Over the past two decades, judges and legislators in a number of states have recognized significant shortcomings in the ways traditional systems of criminal corrections address cases involving criminal offenders who are veterans of the U.S. armed services. This recognition has come at a time when policy-makers have similarly recognized that, for certain subsets of criminal offenders, “diversionary” programs may achieve better policy results than will traditional criminal punishment. In accordance with these dual recognitions, some states have implemented systems of veterans’ courts, in which certain offenders, who are also U.S. veterans, are diverted into programs that provide monitoring, training, …

I Did My Time: The Transformation Of Indiana’S Expungement Law, Joseph C. Dugan

Indiana Law Journal

This Note evaluates the transformation of Indiana’s expungement law. Part I addresses the socioeconomic impacts of a criminal record. Part II presents normative arguments both for and against expungement, concluding that the balance tips in favor of forgiveness. Parts III–IV discuss Indiana’s original expungement provisions, the 2013 statute, and the 2014 amendments. Part V explores the reaction to the new law. Finally, Part VI offers recommendations to improve the statute so that its second-chance promise is equitable, accessible, and robust.

Contact That Can Kill: Orders Of Protection, Caller Id Spoofing And Domestic Violence, Gabriella Sneeringer

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The Illinois Domestic Violence Act (IDVA) was created as a means of providing protection and remedies to domestic violence victims through orders of protection. The orders of protection can insulate victims from abusers through a variety of ways such as mandating that the abuser be prohibited from contacting the victim by any means. Under the IDVA, any violation of the order is a crime. As technology advances, abusers begin using more and more technology as a means to circumscribe orders of protection. One such technology, Caller ID spoofing, is particularly problematic. This technology enables abusers to easily contact, stalk and …

Truth Stories: Credibility Determinations At The Illinois Torture Inquiry And Relief Commission, 45 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 1085 (2014), Kim D. Chanbonpin

Kim D. Chanbonpin

This is the first scholarly Article to investigate the inner workings of the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission (“TIRC”). The TIRC was established by statute in 2009 to provide legal redress for victims of police torture. Prisoners who claim that their convictions were based on confessions coerced by police torture can utilize the procedures available at the TIRC to obtain judicial review of their cases. For those who have exhausted all appeals and post-conviction remedies, the TIRC represents the tantalizing promise of justice long denied. To be eligible for relief, however, the claimant must first meet the TIRC’s strict …

An Analysis Of Illinois' New Offense Of Second Degree Murder, 20 J. Marshall L. Rev. 209 (1986), Timothy P. O'Neill

Timothy P. O'Neill

No abstract provided.

Illinois' Latest Version Of The Defense Of Voluntary Intoxication: Is It Wise? Is It Constitutional?, 39 Depaul L. Rev. 15 (1989), Timothy P. O'Neill

Timothy P. O'Neill

No abstract provided.

Illinois Courts And The Law Of Miranda Waivers: A Policy Worth Preserving, 30 N. Ill. U. L. Rev. 429 (2010), Timothy P. O'Neill

Timothy P. O'Neill

No abstract provided.