Criminal Procedure Commons^™

America’S “Kia Boys”: The Problem, Responses, And Recommendations, Drew Thornley

Seattle University Law Review SUpra

The landscape of automobile theft in the United States has undergone a dramatic transformation, marked by a notable surge in the theft of Kia and Hyundai vehicles. Once regarded as a routine occurrence, car thefts have taken on a novel dimension, propelled by a phenomenon driven by digital culture and social media virality. The thefts of these specific car brands have evolved into what is now widely recognized as the "Kia Challenge," a term echoing across popular platforms like TikTok. In this challenge, young teenage individuals, often referred to as the "Kia Boys" or variations thereof, orchestrate daring car heists, …

Excessive Force: Justice Requires Refining State Qualified Immunity Standards For Negligent Police Officers, Angie Weiss

Seattle University Law Review SUpra

At the time this Note was written, there was no Washington state equivalent of the § 1983 Civil Rights Act. As plaintiffs look to the Washington state courts as an alternative to federal courts, they will find that Washington state has a different structure of qualified immunity protecting law enforcement officers from liability.

In this Note, Angie Weiss recommends changing Washington state's standard of qualified immunity. This change would ensure plaintiffs have a state court path towards justice when they seek to hold law enforcement officers accountable for harm. Weiss explains the structure and context of federal qualified immunity; compares …

Don’T Blame Crawford Or Bryant: The Confrontation Clause Mess Is All Davis’S Fault, Deborah Ahrens, John Mitchell

Faculty Articles

In Michigan v. Bryant, a dying victim lying in a parking lot provided responding officers with the identity of the man who shot him. In determining whether the subsequent use of the deceased declarant’s statement at trial violated the Confrontation Clause, the Bryant Court applied the testimonial versus nontestimonial analysis established in the Court’s previous decision, Crawford v. Washington. Holding that testimonial hearsay covered statements involving past events, while nontestimonial statements were directed at an “ongoing emergency,” the Bryant Court applied a multi-factor, totality of the circumstances analysis and found that the deceased declarant’s identification had been directed …

Race, Brain Science, And Critical Decision-Making In The Context Of Constitutional Criminal Procedure, Christian M. Halliburton

Faculty Articles

This article surveys current and emerging neuroscience research that is uncovering deep cognitive-level and unconscious connections between race or racial constructs, perception, and decision making. Using those findings as a platform for consideration, the article addresses several implications that these cognitive patterns might have for the particular kinds of perceptual experiences and decision making opportunities that are relevant in the context of criminal law enforcement and police procedure, and begins to evaluate the influence that these cognitive trends may have on the development of specific legal regulatory mechanisms and their application to the larger law enforcement complex.

In (Slightly Uncomfortable) Defense Of ‘Triage’ By Public Defenders, John B. Mitchell

Faculty Articles

This article argues that triaging is necessary for public defenders and is a response to the work of Professor Freedman. Because states lack money in areas of greater community concern, the defense of indigent criminals is neglected and substantial resources are not likely to be forthcoming. The author previously set out a solution of triaging, which can be conducted either haphazardly or according to some set of rational principles based on ethical theory. The author concurs with Professor Freedman to the extent that the United States Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington effectively ensures that Sixth Amendment Constitutional guarantees will …

Youth Justice In A Unified Court: Response To Critics Of Juvenile Court Abolition, Janet Ainsworth

Faculty Articles

In this article, Professor Ainsworth argues that a unified criminal justice system is preferable to our present two-tiered adult-juvenile court system. In fact, she contends that the cultural and ideological assumptions that underpin the current two-tiered justice system not only engender many of the serious shortcomings of the juvenile justice system, but also serve to exacerbate the very policies and practices of the adult criminal justice system that make it so abhorrent to defenders of the juvenile court. Critics of juvenile court abolitionists thus miss the point when they argue that juveniles would be worse off than they are at …

The Role Of The Legislature In Guidelines Sentencing In The "Other Washington", David Boerner

Faculty Articles

Washington's legislature crafted a sentencing system which structures but does not eliminate discretionary decisions affecting sentences. Washington has a Sentencing Guidelines Commission which functions as an agent of the legislature and not as an independent actor. Data collected by the Sentencing Guidelines Commission since 1985 demonstrate the effectiveness of Washington's sentencing guidelines in translating the legislature's sentencing policy judgments into reality. The legislature's role in formulating and refining sentencing policies is examined in detail, as well as Washington's Sentencing Reform Act of 1981 and its effect on sentencing.

Plea Bargaining: The Experiences Of Prosecutors, Judges, And Defense Attorneys, James E. Bond

Faculty Articles

James E. Bond reviews Heuman’s Plea Bargaining: The Experiences of Prosecutors, Judges, and Defense Attorneys.