Criminal Procedure Commons^™

How The Justice System Fails Us After Police Shootings, Caren Morrison

Caren Myers Morrison

No abstract provided.

Why It's Time For Pervasive Surveillance...Of The Police, Russell Dean Covey

Russell D. Covey

No abstract provided.

Praise Defenders, Not Just Prosecutors, Stephen E. Henderson

Stephen E Henderson

Rules, Standards, Sentencing, And The Nature Of Law, Russell D. Covey

Russell D. Covey

Sentencing law and practice in the United States can be characterized as an argument about rules and standards. Whereas in the decades prior to the 1980s when sentencing was largely a discretionary activity governed only by broad sentencing standards, a sentencing reform movement in the 1980s transformed sentencing practice through the advent of sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimum provisions. As a result, sentencing became far less standard-like and far more rule-like. Although reform proponents believed that this "rulification" of sentencing would reduce unwarranted sentencing disparities and enhance justice, it is far from clear that these goals were achieved. Indeed, the …

Fixed Justice: Reforming Plea-Bargaining With Plea-Based Ceilings, Russell D. Covey

Russell D. Covey

The ubiquity of plea bargaining creates real concern that innocent defendants are occasionally, or perhaps even routinely, pleading guilty to avoid coercive trial sentences. Pleading guilty is a rational choice for defendants as long as prosecutors offer plea discounts so substantial that trial is not a rational strategy regardless of guilt or innocence. The long-recognized solution to this problem is to enforce limits on the size of the plea/trial sentencing differential. As a practical matter, however, discount limits are unenforceable if prosecutors retain ultimate discretion over charge selection and declination. Because the doctrine of prosecutorial charging discretion is immune to …

Gender Injustice: System-Level Juvenile Justice Reforms For Girls, Francine Sherman, Annie Balck

Francine T. Sherman

Despite decades of attention, the proportion of girls in the juvenile justice system has increased and their challenges have remained remarkably consistent, resulting in deeply rooted systemic gender injustice. The literature is clear that girls in the justice system have experienced abuse, violence, adversity, and deprivation across many of the domains of their lives—family, peers, intimate partners, and community. There is also increasing understanding of the sorts of programs helpful to these girls. What is missing is a focus on how systems—and particularly juvenile justice systems—can be redesigned to protect public safety and support the healing and healthy development of …

Testimony On Oklahoma Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform, Stephen E. Henderson

Stephen E Henderson

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 …

What's Guilt (Or Deterrence) Got To Do With It?: The Death Penalty, Ritual, And Mimetic Violence, 38 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 487 (1997), Donald L. Beschle

Donald L. Beschle

No abstract provided.

Why Do People Support Capital Punishment? The Death Penalty As Community Ritual, 33 Conn. L. Rev. 765 (2001), Donald L. Beschle

Donald L. Beschle

No abstract provided.

Reflections On When "We, The People" Kill, 34 J. Marshall L. Rev. 713 (2001), Michael P. Seng

Michael P. Seng

No abstract provided.

Vagrants In Volvos: Ending Pretextual Traffic Stops And Consent Searches Of Vehicles In Illinois, 40 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 745 (2009), Timothy P. O'Neill

Timothy P. O'Neill

No abstract provided.

Crime And Punishment, A Global Concern: Who Does It Best And Does Isolation Really Work?, Melanie M. Reid

Melanie M. Reid