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Women As Judges At International Criminal Tribunals, Milena Sterio

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article analyzes the presence of female judges within international criminal tribunals, starting with the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals in the 1990s. In particular, the Article discusses specific numbers of female judges at the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the newly created Kosovo Specialist Chambers, and the International Criminal Court.

While the presence of women as prosecutors, defense attorneys, victim representatives, and other professionals at these tribunals is equally important, this Article focuses on the number of female judges, as such data …

Legitimacy Matters: The Case For Public Financing In Prosecutor Elections, Rory Fleming

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Money matters. Given the empirical data presented in this Article, it is fair to draw the assumption that a progressive prosecutor candidate’s viability depends much more on whether one or two billionaires support the candidate, especially George Soros. The Soros effect is undeniable for progressive DA candidates running in Democratic primaries, where it seems to be almost determinative for either victory or defeat. For criminal justice reformers interested in “progressive prosecution” as a way to end mass incarceration, it is crucial that this is acknowledged rather than suppressed. The better option is moving toward a model of public financing for …

Invisible Article Iii Delinquency: History, Mystery, And Concerns About “Federal Juvenile Courts”, Mae C. Quinn, Levi T. Bradford

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

This essay is the second in a two-part series focused on our nation’s invisible juvenile justice system—one that operates under the legal radar as part of the U.S. Constitution’s Article III federal district court system. The first publication, Article III Adultification of Kids: History, Mystery, and Troubling Implications of Federal Youth Transfers, examined the little-known practice of prosecuting children as adults in federal courts. This paper will look at the related phenomenon of juvenile delinquency matters that are filed and pursued in our nation’s federal court system.

To date, most scholarship evaluating youth prosecution has focused on our country’s juvenile …

Habeas Corpus, Conditions Of Confinement, And Covid-19, Allison Wexler Weiss

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Incarcerated individuals, worried about contracting the disease in prison without adequate healthcare and often serious health risks, have filed lawsuits challenging their incarceration in the age of COVID-19. Overall, very few have been successful. This virus has changed our world and the reality for those in prison. The traditional legal avenues available to incarcerated individuals to challenge their continued confinement are often ill-equipped to allow for comprehensive and expedited review. The author argues that during these unprecedented times, courts should recognize that the “duty to defend the Constitution” requires them to grant motions for habeas corpus by the most vulnerable …

Moving The Needle: Two Promising Tools To Attack Arkansas’S Racial Disparity In Criminal Sentencing, Anastasia M. Boles

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dirty Johns: Prosecuting Prostituted Women In Pennsylvania And The Need For Reform, Mckay Lewis

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Prostitution is as old as human civilization itself. Throughout history, public attitudes toward prostituted women have varied greatly. But adverse consequences of the practice—usually imposed by men purchasing sexual services—have continuously been present. Prostituted women have regularly been subject to violence, discrimination, and indifference from their clients, the general public, and even law enforcement and judicial officers.

Jurisdictions can choose to adopt one of three general approaches to prostitution regulation: (1) criminalization; (2) legalization/ decriminalization; or (3) a hybrid approach known as the Nordic Model. Criminalization regimes are regularly associated with disparate treatment between prostituted women and their clients, high …

Metaphysics & Morals In Canadian Criminal Justice: A Pragmatic Analysis Of The Conflict Between Neuroscience And Retributive Folk Psychology, Sarah Greenwood

LLM Theses

The retributive justification of Canadian criminal law contains several assumptions about human nature that conflicts with what neuroscience has established regarding human behavior and the function of rationality. Interdisciplinary discourse on this conflict between law and neuroscience has unnecessarily implicated the free will debate and is further stagnated by epistemic cultural differences between the two disciplines. To avoid these roadblocks, this thesis applies the methodological principles of pragmatic philosophy. Rather than asking which description of human nature is true, pragmatic inquiry focuses on the difference either would make in practice. This analysis reveals that retributive folk psychology in practice causes …

The Curriculum Of The Carceral State, Alice Ristroph

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

No Path To Redemption: Evaluating Texas’S Practice Of Sentencing Kids To De Facto Life Without Parole In Adult Prison, Lindsey Linder, Justin Martinez

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

The Never-Ending Grasp Of The Prison Walls: Banning The Box On Housing Applications, Ashley De La Garza

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

Paying For The Privilege Of Punishment: Reinterpreting Excessive Fines Clause Doctrine To Allow State Prisoners To Seek Relief From Pay-To-Stay Fees, Kristen M. Haight

William & Mary Law Review

Across the country, the criminal justice system is becoming both more private and more expensive. Some prison systems have come to rely on private contractors for electronic monitoring, probation, pretrial services, and incarceration services. At the same time, criminal justice fees are exploding, including fees charged to inmates for their “room and board” while in prison. These fees, sometimes called “pay-to-stay,” are imposed at the state and county level, and how they are applied varies widely. Some take into account inmates’ ability to pay the fees, or the effect on their families. Some do not. Some only apply to prisoners …

Prosecutors And Mass Incarceration, Shima Baughman

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

It has long been postulated that America’s mass incarceration phenomenon is driven by increased drug arrests, draconian sentencing, and the growth of a prison industry. Yet among the major players—legislators, judges, police, and prosecutors—one of these is shrouded in mystery. While laws on the books, judicial sentencing, and police arrests are all public and transparent, prosecutorial charging decisions are made behind closed doors with little oversight or public accountability. Indeed, without notice by commentators, during the last ten years or more, crime has fallen, and police have cut arrests accordingly, but prosecutors have actually increased the ratio of criminal court …

Re: The Pretrial Risk Assessment-How New Jersey's Bail Overhaul Is Shaping Bail Reform Across The Country, Andrea Coppola

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that cash bail systems disproportionately affect low-income and minority defendants, leading to unnecessary pretrial detention. It advocates for the adoption of risk-based algorithms, such as New Jersey's Public Safety Assessment (PSA), to determine pretrial release, promoting fairness and efficiency. The PSA uses nine factors, excluding socioeconomic elements, to assess flight risk and public safety. The note also highlights Alaska's tailored approach, demonstrating the effectiveness of such tools when adapted to specific state needs. It concludes that widespread adoption of these algorithms, with proper safeguards, could reduce incarceration rates and enhance justice system equity.

Medication-Assisted Treatment: Statutory Schemes & Civil Rights Implications, Melissa Koppel

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that the denial of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) to prisoners with opioid use disorder (OUD) violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It contends that states must implement MAT programs in prisons to comply with federal law, reduce recidivism, and improve public health outcomes. The analysis emphasizes that MAT is a medically recognized standard of care for OUD and that withholding it constitutes discrimination and cruel and unusual punishment.

Expanding The Reach Of Progressive Prosecution, Jeffrey Bellin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This Symposium comes at a critical juncture for America's prosecutors. One important question-"Is there room for a new kind of prosecutor?"- has already been answered. Self-styled "progressive prosecutors" are flourishing in jurisdictions across the country. The question remains whether the progressive prosecutor movement will have a lasting impact and, if so, what that impact will be. One way this question will be answered is through the movement's influence on the many prosecutors who are open to reform but unlikely to adopt the "progressive" label or accompanying rhetoric. This Essay explores this theme by discussing, first, the rise of progressive prosecution …

The Changing Role Of The American Prosecutor, Jeffrey Bellin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The following is a November 2019 presentation to the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, Fall Meeting of Elected District Attorneys ("DA'). The invited presentation was part of an agenda that included remarks from the Governor of Louisiana and the Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author. These remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity. Some discussion specific to Louisiana, as well as the speaker introduction, and exchanges with the audience during and after the talk are excluded. A short postscript follows the remarks.

"Toughen Up, Buttercup" Versus #Timesup: Initial Findings Of The Aba Women In Criminal Justice Task Force, Maryam Ahranjani

Faculty Scholarship

"Practicing criminal law as a woman is like playing tackle football in a dress.” Andrea George, Executive Director of the Federal Public Defender for Eastern Washington and Idaho, began her testimony to the American Bar Association’s Women in Criminal Justice Task Force with that powerful observation. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, the ABA has focused on ways to enhance gender equity in the profession and in the justice system. The Criminal Justice Section of the ABA has invested significant resources in the creation of the Women in Criminal Justice Task Force (WCJ TF), which launched its work in …

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

Seattle University Law Review Online

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 …

When Prosecutors Politick: Progressive Law Enforcers Then And Now, Bruce Green, Rebecca Roiphe

Articles & Chapters

A new and recognizable group of reform-minded prosecutors has assumed the mantle of progressive prosecution. The term is hard to define in part because its adherents embrace a diverse set of policies and priorities. In comparing the contemporary movement with Progressive Era prosecutors, this Article has two related goals. First, it seeks to better define progressive prosecution. Second, it uses the historical example to draw some lessons for the current movement. Both groups of prosecutors were elected on a wave of popular support. Unlike today’s mainstream prosecutors who tend to campaign and labor in relative obscurity, these two sets of …

Restoring The Historical Rule Of Lenity As A Canon, Shon Hopwood

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In criminal law, the venerated rule of lenity has been frequently, if not consistently, invoked as a canon of interpretation. Where criminal statutes are ambiguous, the rule of lenity generally posits that courts should interpret them narrowly, in favor of the defendant. But the rule is not always reliably used, and questions remain about its application. In this article, I will try to determine how the rule of lenity should apply and whether it should be given the status of a canon.

First, I argue that federal courts should apply the historical rule of lenity (also known as the rule …

Pengaturan Dan Praktek Praperadilan Tindak Pidana Pajak Di Indonesia, Ahmad Sofian, Batara Mulia Hasibuan

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Pretrial is an institution to control and correct law enforcement which are deemed to have violated mechanisms established in procedural laws. The correction is not aimed to look into the aspects of the alleged criminal case but determine whether “rules of the game” established in the formal criminal law have been implemented properly or not. In practice, tax payers being involved in tax criminal cases often file pretrial motion although tax investigators actually have applied the principles of formal criminal law in legal measures they take. There are often different interpretations of laws and regulations used in pretrial institution for …

Same Grid, Different Results: Criminal Sentencing Disparities Between Arkansas Counties, Alexis Stevens

Arkansas Law Review

Abraham Davis is a resident of Fort Smith, Arkansas—and a convicted felon. In May of 2017, the Sebastian County Circuit Court, Fort Smith District, charged Davis with criminal mischief in the first degree, as a Class D felony, for purposely destroying the property of another. Davis’s charge resulted in a criminal sentence ranging from as little as probation to as much as 6 years jail time and/or up to $10,000.00 in fines. This sentencing determination is generally allocated to the judge and prosecutor. However, victim intervention persuaded the court to release Davis on probation, sparing him from a much harsher …

A Colonial Castle: Defence Of Property In R V Stanley, Alexandra Flynn, Estair Van Wagner

Articles & Book Chapters

In 2016, Gerald Stanley shot 22-year-old Colten Boushie in the back of the head after Boushie and his friends entered Stanley’s farm. Boushie died instantly. Stanley relied on a hangfire defence, rooted in the defence of accident, and was found not guilty by an all-white jury. Throughout the trial, Stanley invoked concerns about trespass and rural crime (particularly property crime) that raised much evidence of limited relevance to whether or not the shooting was an accident. We argue that the assertions of trespass, without formerly raising the defence of property or trespass, shaped the trial by providing a racist, anti-Indigenous-tinged …

Homicide And Drug Trafficking In Impoverished Communities In Brazil, Elenice De Souza Oliveira, Braulio Figueiredo Alves Da Silva, Flavio Luiz Sapori, Gabriela Gomes Cardoso

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Many studies demonstrate that homicides are heavily concentrated in impoverished neighborhoods, but not all socially disadvantaged neighborhoods are hotbeds of violence. Conducted in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, this study hypothesizes that the association between high rates of homicide and impoverished areas is influenced by the emergence of a specific type of street drug-dealing common to favelas (slums). The study applies econometric techniques to police data on homicides and drug arrests from 2008 to 2011, as well as 2010 Census data, to test its hypothesis. The findings provide insight into the development of crime prevention policies in areas of high social vulnerability.

Lawrence Friedman's Crime Without Punishment: Aspects Of The History Of Homicide, Guyora Binder

Book Reviews

No abstract provided.

Explaining The Recent Homicide Spikes In U.S. Cities: The 'Minneapolis Effect' And The Decline In Proactive Policing, Paul Cassell

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Recently major cities across the country have suffered dramatic spikes in homicides. These spikes are remarkably large, suddenly appearing, and widespread. At this rate, 2020 will easily be the deadliest year in America for gun-related homicides since at least 1999, while most other major crime categories are trending stable or slightly downward.

This article attempts to explain why so many cities have seen extraordinary increases in murder during the summer of 2020. A close analysis of the emerging crime patterns suggests that American cities may be witnessing significant declines in some forms of policing, which in turn is producing the …

Greening The Desert, Pamela R. Metzger, Kristin Meeks, Jessica Pishko

Deason Center Reports

Greening the Desert brings a criminal justice lens to the phenomenon of legal deserts in small, tribal, and rural (STAR) communities—vast areas with few, if any, practicing attorneys. The report explores STAR criminal justice communities and describes strategies and initiatives to green these criminal law deserts. Using case studies, the report offers concrete examples of successful innovations. It also includes cautionary notes about risks that may arise with the implementation of strategies to recruit, train, and retain STAR practitioners.

Ethical And Aggressive Appellate Advocacy: The Decision To Petition For Certiorari In Criminal Cases, J. Thomas Sullivan

Law Faculty Scholarship

Over the past six decades, United States Supreme Court decisions have dramatically reshaped the criminal justice process to provide significant protections for defendants charged in federal and state proceedings, reflecting a remarkable expansion of due process and specific constitutional guarantees. For criminal defendants seeking relief based on recognition of new rules of constitutional criminal procedure, application of existing rules or precedent to novel factual scenarios, or in some cases, enforcement of existing precedent, obtaining relief requires further action on the Court’s part. In those situations, the Court’s exercise of its certiorari jurisdiction is the exclusive remedy offering an avenue for …

Against Prosecutors, I. Bennett Capers

Cornell Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Costs Of Justice In Domestic Violence Cases : Mapping Canadian Law And Policy, Jennifer Koshan, Janet Mosher, Wanda Wiegers

Articles & Book Chapters

Domestic violence cases in Canada present unique access to justice challenges due to complex power dynamics, structural inequality, and the fact that victims, offenders, and children must often navigate multiple legal systems to resolve the many issues in this context. The complexity of these cases has both personal and systemic impacts. Different legal systems – for example, criminal, family, child protection, social welfare, and immigration – have differing objectives and personnel with varying levels of expertise in domestic violence. Conflicting decisions by different courts and tribunals with overlapping jurisdiction may impair the safety of victims and children, and may require …