Digital Commons Network^™

The Problem With Direct Collateral Review, Jaden M. Lessnick

Pepperdine Law Review

Federal habeas review of state convictions is sharply circumscribed for a reason: Granting the writ of habeas corpus disrupts the federalism and finality interests that lie at the heart of state sovereignty over criminal law. Both the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and the Supreme Court’s equitable bars to relief reflect the structural dangers inherent in collateral review of state convictions. Given the increasing unavailability of federal habeas relief, state prisoners have turned to another vehicle for collateral federal review, one that bypasses AEDPA’s demanding standard: direct review of state post-conviction proceedings. And regrettably, the Court has entertained …

De-Normalizing Violence: The Bystander Intervention Solution, Megan Rookard, Tabitha Riffe, Becky Davison

Justice Festival at Morehead State University

A PowerPoint presentation, titled "De-Normalizing Violence: The Bystander Intervention Solution," given by Megan Rookard, Tabitha Riffe, and Becky Davison at the Justice Festival held on the campus of Morehead State University on October 8, 2024.

The Constitutional Right To Peremptory Challenges In Jury Selection, Richard Lorren Jolly

Vanderbilt Law Review

The peremptory challenge is one of the oldest and most well-established jury selection procedures. Its use dates back to the earliest days of English common law, and it was a firmly established and protected practice at the United States’ founding and into the early twentieth century. But while peremptory challenges are foundational, they remain perhaps the most controversial aspect of jury selection today. This is because they are regularly used by the government and private parties to advance racist, sexist, and bigoted ends. For this reason, over the last three decades, calls to abolish the practice have been regularly made …

Women On Death Row In The United States, Sandra Babcock, Nathalie Greenfield, Kathryn Adamson

Cardozo Law Review

This Article presents a comprehensive study of forty-eight persons sentenced to death between 1990 and 2022 who were legally recognized as women at the time of their trials. Our research is the first of its kind to conduct a holistic and intersectional analysis of the factors driving women’s death sentences. It reveals commonalities across women’s cases, delving into their experiences of motherhood, gender-based violence (“GBV”), and prior involvement with the criminal legal system. We also explore the nature of the women’s crimes of conviction, including the role of male codefendants and the state’s use of aggravating factors. Finally, we reveal …

Will The New Roberts Court Revive A Formalist Approach To Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence?, Roger Antonio Tejada

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

While all Chief Justices leave behind distinctive periods of judicial thought and practice, the quantitative and qualitative data presented in this article show that the Roberts Court in particular stands out in the development of Fourth Amendment precedent. The key cases that shaped the search and seizure doctrine before and during his rise show that, contrary to what many may expect, Chief Justice Roberts will likely oversee limited, pro-defendant decisions that could grant additional legitimacy to the Court’s crime-control jurisprudence. On the other hand, the new Justices’ voting records and writings suggest that there are several potential coalitions that could …

Terrorism Should Not Be A Crime: How Political Labels Are Dangerous To American Democracy, Abigail S. Grand

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Note calls for a dismantling of the United States’ current method of prosecuting terrorism, rejecting the “terrorism” label as a mechanism for charging crimes. Prosecutors should instead charge individuals in terrorism cases for their underlying criminal actions rather than rely on material support statutes and political innuendos to secure a conviction. By examining the implications of the terrorism label in post-9/11 America, this Note addresses how a moral panic enabled the executive branch to overstep its constitutional restraints and threatened the delicate balance of powers central to American democracy. Next, it proposes, as many have before, that Article III …

Contempt: The Original Judicial Cheat Code, Ryan L. Scott

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The judicial contempt power challenges the fundamental rights enshrined in America’s Constitution. Imagine spending eight years in federal prison with no right to a jury trial or a court appointed attorney. Your only reprieve is the discretion of the judge who is imprisoning you. Meaningful appeals and even habeas corpus actions are generally not available remedies. Instead, what was originally justified as an inherent power of the court, necessary to maintain order and decorum, is increasingly used for trivial offenses or to incarcerate individuals for far longer than their possible crimes would otherwise warrant.

Despite widespread instances of abuse of …

No Need To Wait: Congress Has The Power Under Section Five Of The Fourteenth Amendment To Abolish The Death Penalty In The States, Eric M. Freedman

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Congress has the authority to abolish the death penalty in the states, and good reason to exercise it.

This Article takes as a given the Supreme Court’s view that the death penalty is not itself unconstitutional.

But under existing law Congress would have no difficulty in compiling a record that would support the use of its enforcement power under Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment to enact a statute forbidding the imposition of capital punishment by those states that retain the practice. The statute would be congruent and proportional legislation to remedy and prevent an amply documented history of violations …

Constitutional Disorder, Robert L. Tsai

Faculty Scholarship

This is a review essay inspired by two books: Yuval Levin's American Covenant (2024) and Erwin Chemerinsky's No Democracy Lasts Forever (2024). I make the following points. First, all treatments of the U.S. Constitution can be mapped on a continuum from the worshipful to the diagnostic. Second, Levin's account, which inclines toward the devotional, extols certain features deemed both originalist and virtuous: social unity over untidiness, consensus over dissent, fear and loathing of mass politics. Third, such accounts may not be sufficiently nimble to grapple with contemporary problems such as new forms of oligarchy or movement capture of traditional parties. …

Brief Of Criminal Law Scholars As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, Ira P. Robbins

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

Amici are law professors who teach and research criminal law and procedure. They have no personal interests in this case. Their sole interest is in the protection and preservation of the constitutional rights of criminal defendants.

Constitutional Law Through Co-Curricular Civic Engagement, Jason M. Leggett

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Interview Of Professor John Brittain, Donny R. Williams

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

University Of The District Of Columbia Law Review, University Of The District Of Columbia Law Review

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Black Lives Still Matter: The Unconstitutionality Of The Reasonableness Standard In The Doctrine Of Qualified Immunity, Angela D. Minor, Esq.

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Statehood: The Bridge To Transforming The District Of Columbia's Criminal Justice System, Shelley Broderick

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mental Health Response To 911 Calls: Defunding The Police, Now With All Of The Danger And None Of The Protection, Marcia M. Ziegler

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Amicus Brief Of Legal Scholars Lee Kovarsky Et Al. In Support Of Petitioner, Ira P. Robbins

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

QUESTION PRESENTED: Whether a second-in-time habeas claim filed while an appeal from the judgment on an initial habeas claim is still pending counts as a second or successive habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)

INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE: Amici curiae are law professors and legal scholars who study federal post-conviction law and civil procedure. Amici curiae have no personal interest in the outcome of this case. They all share an interest in seeing habeas law applied in a way that ensures the just and timely adjudication of claims while preserving the traditional and intended operation of the Federal Rules …

Confrontation, The Legacy Of Crawford, And Important Unanswered Questions, Paul F. Rothstein, Ronald J. Coleman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The right to confront has a long history. In the United States, the Confrontation Clause provides: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right… to be confronted with the witnesses against him[.]” One of the most troublesome areas of Confrontation Clause jurisprudence has been the Clause’s application to “hearsay statements offered against a criminal defendant pursuant to a hearsay exception or exemption[.]” The Supreme Court’s confrontation analysis in this situation once hinged on the statement’s reliability, with the traditional hearsay rule and its exceptions and exemptions as a guide. But in Crawford v. Washington, the Court considered …

Perlindungan Hukum Bagi Pers Dalam Melaksanakan Kebebasan Pers Di Indonesia Dan Australia, Roshita Anggun Trisnaningrum, Adhitya Widya Kartika

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

The press and democratic life are two inseparable things. The existence of the press has a crucial role in conveying information, providing education to the public, and as a means of social control. Freedom of the press is not only recognized internationally, but every country is obliged to provide legal protection for it. The urgency of this research from a constitutional law perspective is that the press is the fourth pillar of democracy (the fourth of estate). This issue is discussed to discover the similarities and differences in press law provisions between Indonesia and Australia as well as to improve, …

Problematika Pemenuhan Hak Konstitusional Pekerja Migran Indonesia Yang Bekerja Sebagai Awak Kapal Perikanan Migran Dalam Pemilu 2024, Retno Damarina, Heru Susetyo

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Setiap Warga Negara Indonesia memiliki hak konstitusional sebagaimana amanat konstitusi. Hak Konstitusional menurut Pasal 51 ayat (1) jo penjelasan Pasal 51 ayat (1) UU No.24/2003 diubah dalam menjadi Undang-undang Nomor 7 Tahun 2020 UU No.7/2020, hak konstitusional adalah “hak-hak yang diatur dalam Undang-undang Dasar Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 1945”. Membahas hak konstituional ini dimiliki oleh semua Warga Negara Indonesia baik itu yang berada dalam wilayah teritorial Indonesia maupun yang berada di luar wilayah teritorial Indonesia, dalam hal ini adalah Pekerja Migran Indonesia (PMI) yang bekerja menjadi Anak Kapal Perikanan (AKP) migran. Tahun 2024 menjadi tahun untuk peralihan kepemimpinan pemerintahan, utamanya …

Genocide Memorialization Through Law In Bosnia And Herzegovina: Reconciling The Irreconcilable?, Carna Pistan

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article focuses on the law banning genocide denial and other war crimes and the glorification of convicted war criminals imposed in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the former High Representative Valentin Inzko in mid-2021 to facilitate the country’s reconciliation process. It first positions the genocide denial ban into the vast category of memory laws by examining its content and scope, as well as the reactions and consequences it has provoked up to now. The article maintains that an internationally imposed memory law cannot create reconciliation in a deeply divided society. It shows, on the contrary, that the imposed legislation has …

State-Sanctioned Slavery: The Political Economy Of Prison Labor, Avneet Sidhu

University Honors Theses

This thesis explores the interconnected relationship between the political institution of government and economic development with a particular focus on the United States Constitution’s role in explicitly legalizing coerced carceral labor and the direct impact this has on various economic aspects. The Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution has long been hailed as a guiding light of freedom and justice, and yet, still to this day, it contains a paradoxical loophole that explicitly permits involuntary servitude as punishment for crime. This exemption has long been exploited in order to perpetuate a system of state-sanctioned slavery, in which incarcerated laborers are exploited …

State Constitutional Prohibitions Of Slavery And Involuntary Servitude, Michael L. Smith

Washington Law Review

In recent years, the Thirteenth Amendment has drawn sustained criticism for its “Punishment Clause,” which exempts those duly convicted of criminal offenses from the Amendment’s prohibition of slavery and involuntary servitude. Citing the Punishment Clause, courts have struck down challenges by those sentenced to forced labor, arguing that such involuntary servitude is explicitly permitted for those convicted of crimes. Recent criticism draws on concerns over mass incarceration and expansive forced labor practices—urging that the Thirteenth Amendment be revised to remove the Punishment Clause.

Prompted by increased attention to and criticism of the Punishment Clause, some states have taken matters into …

Perspectives On The Constitution Of The War On Drugs: A Collection Of Posts From The Balkinization Blog, Douglas A. Berman, Rachel Barkow, Louis Michael Seidman, Kimani Paul-Emile, Jennifer D. Oliva, Shaun Ossei-Owusu, Katherine Shaw, Paul Butler, David E. Pozen

Faculty Scholarship

This collection of essays provides extended commentary from multiple law professors on David Pozen’s 2024 book, The Constitution of the War on Drugs. Pozen’s book provides a rich and astute perspective on a wide array of dynamic legal, political, and social stories at the intersection of constitutional jurisprudence and drug policy. The work is the first book in Oxford University Press’s Inalienable Rights series to be fully open access. Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin, recognizing the book engaged many historical and cutting-edge issues in the fields of constitutional law, criminal law and health law, invited professors in these fields …

The Poor Man's Problem In Bankruptcy, Rylee Stanley

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Federal Inmate’S Right To Stay Home, Jordan Thorn

Texas A&M Law Review

Since the start of the COVID–19 pandemic, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) has, for the first time in history, placed tens of thousands of inmates onto home confinement. Likely due to the unprecedented nature and rapid release of inmates to contain the virus, the BOP failed to timely update their policies and procedures surrounding the disciplinary system of inmates on home confinement. This failure to update resulted in the BOP removing inmates from home confinement and placing them back in prison for minor violations. Furthermore, when the BOP chose to remove an inmate from home confinement, it did so …

Computationally Assessing Suspicion, Wesley M. Oliver

Law Faculty Publications

Law enforcement officers performing drug interdiction on interstate highways have to decide nearly every day whether there is reasonable suspicion to detain motorists until a trained dog can sniff for the presence of drugs. The officers’ assessments are often wrong, however, and lead to unnecessary detentions of innocent persons and the suppression of drugs found on guilty ones. We propose a computational method of evaluating suspicion in these encounters and offer experimental results from early efforts demonstrating its feasibility. With the assistance of large language and predictive machine learning models, it appears that judges, advocates, and even police officers could …

No Need To Wait: Congress Has The Power Under Section Five Of The Fourteenth Amendment To Abolish The Death Penalty In The States, Eric M. Freedman

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Reformers currently proposing the abolition of capital punishment by federal legislation have only targeted the federal death penalty. They are aiming too low. Concerns about the roughly 50 prisoners facing execution by the federal government should not cause advocates to ignore the approximately 2,400 on the combined Death Rows of the states. Congress has the authority to abolish the death penalty in the states, and good reason to exercise it.

This Article takes as a given the Supreme Court’s view that the death penalty is not itself unconstitutional.

But under existing law Congress would have no difficulty in compiling a …

Influences Of Social Media, Samuel Whatley Ii

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The Internet is a double-edged sword because it provides easy access to information of both good and bad intentions. Censorship justifications under whoever deems something misinformation, provide little oversight on being a neutral public forum. For instance, the influence of elections by not covering a story and censoring opposing views does not promote the notion of being a neutral public forum. Artificial intelligence being applied to many technological applications have fueled the censorship machine. In some instances, artificial intelligence can generate stories to media sites (i.e., ChatGPT) with no verification of the details. From science fiction to science reality, taking …

The Unconstitutionality Of Underfunded Public Defender Systems, Braden Daniels

Senior Honors Theses

When a defendant is ineffectively represented by a public defender due to an underfunded public defender system, a defendant whose public defender provides him only cursory representation is entitled to a new trial only if blatantly innocent. The U.S. Supreme Court should follow its precedent and declare systemically underfunded public defender systems unconstitutional, with cases meriting reversal when the underfunding is to blame for unreasonable attorney errors, regardless of prejudice. This stems logically from the Court’s holdings in Gideon v. Wainwright, Strickland v. Washington, and United States v. Cronic. Many have argued for the reversal or modification …