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Asymmetries And Incentives In Plea Bargaining And Evidence Production, Saul Levmore, Ariel Porat Dec 2012

Asymmetries And Incentives In Plea Bargaining And Evidence Production, Saul Levmore, Ariel Porat

Ariel Porat

Legal rules severely restrict payments to fact witnesses, though the government can often offer plea bargains or other nonmonetary inducements to encourage testimony. This asymmetry is something of a puzzle, for most asymmetries in criminal law favor the defendant. The asymmetry seems to disappear where physical evidence is at issue. One goal of this Essay is to understand the distinctions, or asymmetries, between monetary and nonmonetary payments, testimonial and physical evidence, and payments by the prosecution as opposed to the defense. Another is to suggest ways in which law could better encourage the production of evidence, and thus the efficient …


Close Test Scores And Epigenetics In Atkins Cases, Robert M. Sanger Dec 2011

Close Test Scores And Epigenetics In Atkins Cases, Robert M. Sanger

Robert M. Sanger

In the Atkins case, the United States Supreme Court held that it was unconstitutional to execute a person who was intellectually disabled (mentally retarded). An IQ score is evidence that can be considered in making the determination of whether a particular individual is intellectually disabled. Certain prosecution experts seek to add points to the scores of African Americans as a form of "ethnic adjustment" making those individuals more susceptible to being put to death. This article examines the molecular biology issues that may have an effect on whether such points should properly be added.