Digital Commons Network^™

Equality, I Spoke That Word/ As If A Wedding Vow: Mental Disability Law And How We Treat Marginalized Persons, Michael L. Perlin

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Out Of The Shadows: Preventive Detention, Suspected Terrorists, And War, David Cole

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article examines the appropriate and inappropriate role of "preventive detention" in responding to terrorist threats. It offers a constitutional jurisprudence of preventive detention, maintaining that absent a showing that dangerous behaviour cannot be addressed through criminal prosecution, preventive detention is unconstitutional. But criminal prosecution is not always a realistic option, and in those circumstances, preventive detention, carefully circumscribed and meticulously safeguarded by procedural protections, may be permissible. Familiar examples of accepted preventive detention regimes include civil commitment of dangerous persons who because of a mental disability cannot be held criminally responsible, and detention of enemy soldiers in a traditional …

Eighth Amendment Gaps: Can Conditions Of Confinement Litigation Benefit From Proportionality Theory, Alexander A. Reinert

Articles

The article explores the potential benefits of integrating proportionality theory, traditionally used in sentencing, into litigation challenging harsh prison conditions under the Eighth Amendment. It argues that this approach could offer new avenues for addressing the limitations of current conditions of confinement jurisprudence by reimagining how courts evaluate the constitutionality of prison conditions.

Administrative Detention Of Terrorists: Why Detain, And Detain Whom?, Matthew C. Waxman

Faculty Scholarship

This article aims to reframe the administrative detention debate, not to resolve it. In doing so, however, it aspires to advance the discussion by highlighting the critical substantive choices embedded in calls for legal procedural reform and by pointing the way toward appropriately tailored legislative options. It argues that the current debate’s focus on procedural and institutional questions of how to detain suspected terrorists has been allowed to overshadow the questions of why administratively detain, and whom to detain. Not only are the answers to these questions at least as important as the procedural rules in safeguarding and balancing liberty …

Interrogation Of Detainees: Extending A Hand Or A Boot?, Amos N. Guiora

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The current "war on terror" provides the Bush administration with a unique opportunity to both establish clear guidelines for the interrogation of detainees and to make a forceful statement about American values. How the government chooses to act can promote either an ethical commitment to the norms of civil society, or an attitude analogous to Toby Keith's "American Way," where Keith sings that "you'll be sorry that you messed with the USofA, 'Cuz we'll put a boot in your ass, It's the American Way."

The Sixth Amendment And Criminal Sentencing, Stephanos Bibas, Susan Klein

Cardozo Law Review

This symposium essay explores the impact of Rita, Gall, and Kimbrough on state and federal sentencing and plea bargaining systems. The Court continues to try to explain how the Sixth Amendment jury trial right limits legislative and judicial control of criminal sentencing. Equally important, the opposing sides in this debate have begun to form a stable consensus. These decisions inject more uncertainty in the process and free trial judges to counterbalance prosecutors. Thus, we predict, these decisions will move the balance of plea bargaining power back toward criminal defendants.

The Right To Silence Helps The Innocent: A Response To Critics, Alex Stein

Cardozo Law Review

This Article responds to the numerous critics of Daniel J Seidmann & Alex Stein, The Right to Silence Helps the Innocent: A Game-Theoretic Analysis of the Fifth Amendment Privilege, 114 HARV. L. REV. 430 (2000). Under Seidmann and Stein's theory, the right to silence protects innocents who find themselves unable to corroborate their self-exonerating accounts by verifiable evidence. Absent the right, guilty criminals would pool with innocents by making false self-exonerating statements. Factfinders would consequently discount the probative value of all uncorroborated exculpatory statements, at the expense of those innocents who cannot corroborate their true accounts. The right to …

Rights Without Remedy: The Myth Of State Court Accessibility After The Prison Litigation Reform Act, Alison Brill

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Changing State Laws To Prohibit The Display Of Hangman's Nooses: Tightening The Knot Around The First Amendment?, Allison Barger

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Lessons From Hurricane Katrina: Prison Emergency Preparedness As A Constitutional Imperative, Ira P. Robbins

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters ever to strike the United States, in terms of casualties, suffering, and financial cost. Often overlooked among Katrina s victims are the 8,000 inmates who were incarcerated at Orleans Parish Prison (OPP) when Katrina struck. Despite a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, these men and women, some of whom had been held on charges as insignificant as public intoxication, remained in the jail as the hurricane hit, and endured days of rising, toxic waters, a lack of food and drinking water, and a complete breakdown of order within OPP Wien the …

Justice Kennedy's Short-Lived Libertarian Revolution: A Brief History Of Supreme Court Libertarian Ideology, Stephen O'Hanlon

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

This paper contends that Justice Anthony Kennedy did not initiate a libertarian jurisprudential revolution following Lawrence v. Texas. The article begins with an overview of constitutional fundamental rights jurisprudence and examines similarities with libertarian theory.

The paper then assesses the legal decisions of Justice Kennedy but concludes that Justice Kennedy is not a libertarian. This provides the basis for critiquing Professor Randy Barnett's assertion that Justice Kennedy was the instigator of a libertarian revolution in U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence. The fact that Justice Kennedy is not a libertarian is apparent from his reasoning in the recent partial birth abortion …

Exploring The Use Of The Word "Citizen" In Writings On The Fourth Amendment, M. Isabel Medina

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Latinos and Latinas at the Epicenter of Contemporary Legal Discourses. Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, March 2007.

The Constitutionality Of Court-Martialing Civilian Contractors In Iraq, Margaret Prystowsky

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article examines the legal implications of outsourcing military functions to private contractors, focusing on the accountability gap under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). It argues that recent amendments to the UCMJ, particularly the expansion of court-martial jurisdiction over civilian contractors during declared wars and contingency operations, address this gap. The analysis concludes that these changes are constitutionally sound, given Congress's authority under Article I, Section 8, and align with legal precedent. However, the article also highlights practical challenges, such as prosecutorial discretion and limited penalties, which may undermine the effectiveness of these reforms.

Death By A Thousand Cases: After Booker, Rita, And Gall, The Guidelines Still Violate The Sixth Amendment, David C. Holman

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Initiating A New Constitutional Dialogue: The Increased Importance Under Aedpa Of Seeking Certiorari From Judgments Of State Courts, Giovanna Shay, Christopher Lasch

William & Mary Law Review

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) contains a provision restricting federal courts from considering any authority other than holdings of the Supreme Court in determining whether to grant a state prisoner's petition for habeas corpus. Through an empirical study of cert filings and cases decided by the Supreme Court, we assess this provision's impact on the development of federal constitutional criminal doctrine. Before AEDPA and other restrictions on federal habeas corpus, lower federal courts and state courts contributed to doctrinal development by engaging in a "dialogue" (as described by Robert M. Cover and T. Alexander Aleinikoff in a …

Is Military Law Relevant To The "Evolving Standards Of Decency" Embodied In The Eighth Amendment?, Corey Rayburn Yung

NULR Online

No abstract provided.

The Unborn Victims Of Violence Act And Its Impact On Reproductive Rights, April A. Alongi

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Beyond Guantánamo, Obstacles And Options (Part Ii), Gregory S. Mcneal

NULR Online

No abstract provided.

Beyond Guantánamo, Obstacles And Options, Gregory S. Mcneal

NULR Online

No abstract provided.

Child Rape, Moral Outrage, And The Death Penalty, Susan A. Bandes

NULR Online

No abstract provided.

Raising The Bars: A Comparative Look At Treatment Standards For Mentally Ill Prisoners In The United States, United Kingdom, And Australia, Kim P. Turner

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note examines the treatment of mentally ill prisoners in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, highlighting the disparity in mental health care within their prison systems. It argues that while the U.K. and Australia have integrated international human rights standards into their policies, the U.S. lags behind, relying on an outdated Eighth Amendment framework that fails to meet contemporary human rights expectations. The author advocates for the U.S. to reevaluate its approach, aligning it with international standards to ensure adequate mental health care for prisoners.

Engaging Capital Emotions, Douglas A. Berman, Stephanos Bibas

NULR Online

No abstract provided.

The Terrorist Is A Star!: Regulating Media Coverage Of Publicity-Seeking Crimes, Michelle Ward Ghetti

Federal Communications Law Journal

Publicity-seeking crimes, including terrorism, almost by definition depend on the media for their effectiveness. Twenty-five years ago, when the bulk of this article was written, critics both within and outside the news industry had begun to voice an awareness, if not a concern, for the ease with which such criminals obtained publicity on both a national and international platform and it looked as if something might be done within the media establishments to thwart this manipulation of the press. Today, it is possible to look back and see that, in fact, nothing has been done and, so, individuals such as …

An Evaluation Of The Need For And Functioning Of The Federal Sentencing Guidelines In The United States And Nigeria, Victoria T. Kajo

Cornell Law School Inter-University Graduate Student Conference Papers

The United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines, in use since 1987, was set up to reduce disparity in sentencing and its application was made mandatory. Though there are a few who are in favor of the guidelines, the guidelines as mandatory have been severely criticized and many have called for their abolition. Consequently, in the twin cases of United States v. Booker and United States v. Fanfan (2005) 125 S.Ct. 738, the US Supreme Court delivered judgment that had the effect of making the guidelines discretionary.

While the Nigerian legal system shares a Common Law background with the United States, Nigeria …

The Constitutional Dimension Of Immigration Federalism, Clare Huntington

Vanderbilt Law Review

In Farmers Branch, Texas, the city council enacted a measure to fine landlords who rent their premises to unauthorized migrants,' and in Arizona, the state legislature passed a law imposing stiff penalties on employers who intentionally or knowingly hire unauthorized migrants. In San Francisco, the board of supervisors passed a measure that bars law enforcement officers from inquiring into the immigration status of an individual in the course of a criminal investigation. In Alabama and Florida, state officials have entered into agreements with the federal government permitting state law enforcement officers to arrest and detain non-citizens on immigration charges. Other …

Rethinking Child Advocacy After Roper V. Simmons: "Kids Are Just Different" And "Kids Are Like Adults" Advocacy Strategies, Elisa Poncz

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article examines the tension between two competing arguments in juvenile law: "kids are just different" and "kids are like adults." It critiques the binary approach often used in child advocacy and proposes a more nuanced, patchwork strategy that combines both perspectives to better serve the diverse needs of juveniles. The analysis focuses on key legal contexts, including the death penalty, life without parole, and minors' rights in medical decision-making, education, and internet access. The author argues that a balanced approach is essential to address the complexities of juvenile rights and responsibilities.

Overcoming Necessity: Torture And The State Of Constitutional Culture, Thomas P. Crocker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Insanity Of The Mens Rea Model: Due Process And The Abolition Of The Insanity Defense, Jean K. Gilles Phillips, Rebecca E. Woodman

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

Political Judges And Popular Justice: A Conservative Victory Or A Conservative Dilemma?, George D. Brown

William & Mary Law Review

Most of the judges in America are elected. Yet the institution of the elected judiciary is in trouble, perhaps in crisis. The pressures of campaigning, particularly raising money, have produced an intensity of electioneering that many observers see as damaging to the institution itself. In an extraordinary development, four justices of the Supreme Court recently expressed concern over possible loss of trust in state judicial systems. Yet mechanisms that states have put in place to strike a balance between the accountability values of an elected judiciary and rule of law values of unbiased adjudication are increasingly invalidated by the federal …

Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger And The Law, Ira Robbins

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The middle finger is one of the most commonly used insulting gestures in the United States. The finger, which is used to convey a wide range of emotions, is visible on streets and highways, in schools, shopping malls, and sporting events, in courts and execution chambers, in advertisements and on magazine covers, and even on the hallowed floor of the United States Senate. Despite its ubiquity, however, as a number of recent cases demonstrate, those who use the middle finger in public run the risk of being stopped, arrested, prosecuted, fined, and even incarcerated under disorderly conduct or breach of …