Criminal Law Commons^™

The Death Of The Legal Subject, Katrina Geddes

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The law is often engaged in prediction. In the calculation of tort damages, for example, a judge will consider what the tort victim’s likely future earnings would have been, but for their particular injury. Similarly, when considering injunctive relief, a judge will assess whether the plaintiff is likely to suffer irreparable harm if a preliminary injunction is not granted. And for the purposes of a child custody evaluation, a judge will consider which parent will provide an environment that is in the best interests of the child.

Relative to other areas of law, criminal law is oversaturated with prediction. Almost …

Rapt Admissions: Comparing Proposed Federal Rule Of Evidence 416 “Rap Shield” With The Rule 412 “Rape Shield”, Patience Tyne

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Creative expression depicting illicit activity can cause jurors to infer improper conclusions about a defendant, even when the jurors attempt to analyze such evidence objectively. When the government seeks to admit a defendant’s creative work into evidence in a criminal trial, courts use existing evidentiary rules to balance the work’s probative value against its risk of unfair prejudice. These rules are supposed to prevent unfair prejudice, but various scholars have shown that courts do not always appreciate how unfairly prejudicial art can be. Rap music presents unique challenges because jurors may fail to discern the work’s literal versus symbolic meaning. …

Gambling On The Blockchain: How The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act Has Opened The Door For Offshore Crypto Casinos, Samuel H. Brown Vii

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Online cryptocurrency casinos have seen a dramatic rise in popularity over the past thirty years as the rate of ownership of cryptocurrencies has risen almost as quickly as the US monetary value of a single Bitcoin. Current US laws and regulations are outdated; the only piece of federal legislation that provides oversight in the area of virtual gambling originated in 2006, more than fifteen years before the publication of this Note. Previous scholarship suggests that a lack of federal action has resulted in a surge of criminal activity, such as money laundering and tax evasion, as well as significant missed …

Barriers To Criminal Enforcement Against Counterfeiting In China, Daniel C.K. Chow

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Multinational companies (MNCs) with valuable trademarks in China seek criminal enforcement against counterfeiting because other available avenues of relief, such as administrative and judicial remedies, have proven to be ineffective. While MNCs prefer enforcement through China’s Police, the Public Security Bureau (PSB), many MNCs are unaware of the significant hidden dangers of using the PSB.

Most MNCs will delegate enforcement of trademark rights to their Chinese subsidiaries. These subsidiaries are known to make illegal payments to the PSB that may violate the laws of the PRC as well as the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). These acts expose …

Confronting The Biased Algorithm: The Danger Of Admitting Facial Recognition Technology Results In The Courtroom, Gabrielle M. Haddad

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

From unlocking an iPhone to Facebook “tags,” facial recognition technology has become increasingly commonplace in modern society. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and call for police reform in the United States, it is important now more than ever to consider the implications of law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology. A study from the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that facial recognition algorithms generated higher rates of false positives for Black faces—sometimes up to one hundred times more false identifications—than white faces. Given the embedded bias of this technology and its increased prevalence, the …

When Discretion To Record Becomes Assertive: Body Camera Footage As Hearsay, Natalie P. Pike

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

As police body camera footage pervades courtrooms across the country as evidence in criminal trials, courts must reevaluate whether, and under which evidentiary frameworks, they will admit the footage to prove that what the footage depicts is true. This Note analyzes the frameworks under which courts have historically admitted filmic evidence: namely, through authentication and as demonstrative evidence. It concludes that body camera footage is distinct from evidence traditionally admitted through those frameworks because body camera footage is akin to an officer's assertive statement--the officer has discretion to activate and aim the body camera. Courts should therefore exclude the footage …

Keep America Exceptional! Against Adopting Japanese And European-Style Criminalization Of Contributory Copyright Infringement, Salil K. Mehra

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This brief Article, written in connection with a Symposium hosted by the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law, addresses nascent criminal enforcement against contributory copyright infringement in connection with P2P file sharing. Using Judge Posner's analysis in the Aimster case as a lens, it discusses recent cases in Japan and Sweden. This Article contends that criminalization involves an inherent uncertainty involving an innovator's knowledge of, and intent for, the future uses of the platform by others. Despite the difficulty of this task, since Japan and the E.U. have seen criminal prosecutions brought against contributory infringers, it should not evoke …

Fantasy Crime: The Role Of Criminal Law In Virtual Worlds, Susan W. Brenner

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article analyzes activity in virtual worlds that would constitute crime if they were committed in the real world. It reviews the evolution of virtual worlds like Second Life and notes research which indicates that more and more of our lives will move into this realm. The Article then analyzes the criminalization of virtual conduct that inflicts "harm" in the real world and virtual conduct that only inflicts "harm" in the virtual world. It explains that the first category qualifies as cybercrime and can be prosecuted under existing law. Finally, it analyzes the necessity and propriety of criminalizing the second …

Crossing The (Blue) Line: Is The Criminal Justice System The Best Institution To Deal With Violence In Hockey?, John Timmer

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note argues that the criminal justice system is ill-equipped to, and thus should refrain from, prosecuting professional hockey players for violent acts committed during the course of play. Part II examines professional hockey and provides background regarding the nature of violence in the sport. Part III then discusses the history of prosecution of violent acts committed during professional hockey games, both in Canada and in the United States, providing some context for the type of violent actions that are prosecuted. Part IV examines some of the problems that arise in the prosecution of professional hockey players, including all applicable …