Digital Commons Network^™

The Trial Of Bigger Thomas: Race, Gender, And Trespass, Bennett Capers

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Approach To Teaching Criminal Procedure And Its Application To The Post-Investigative Stage, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article addresses why a comparative perspective should be brought into a basic bar course like criminal procedure. American courts and students should be aware of how other countries process their criminal cases to determine whether we can learn from them. It discusses archetypes of criminal procedure as teaching tools, applications of comparative models in the post-investigative stage of criminal procedure, the right to an oral immediate trial and the right to confront witnesses, and the division of labor between lay and professional judges in deciding facts, guilt, and sentencing. By immersing oneself in comparative law and the history of …

Shame And The Meanings Of Punishment, Chad Flanders

All Faculty Scholarship

Debates over shaming punishments have raged over the past few years, with people like Dan Kahan and Eric Posner for them, while James Whitman and Martha Nussbaum have entered the fray strongly against them. This Essay argues that both sides in the shaming punishment debate have it only party right. Those who favor shaming sanctions are correct that we should (all else being equal) favor those punishments which are expressive rather than those that involve some form of hard treatment. And those who reject shaming sanctions are correct that such sanctions involve forms of humiliation and denials of dignity that …

Tennessee Participates In Modern Trend Towards Shame Sentencing, Andrea Hunwick

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

On Justitia, Race, Gender, And Blindness, Bennett Capers

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Procuring Guilty Pleas For International Crimes: The Limited Influence Of Sentence Discounts, Nancy A. Combs

Vanderbilt Law Review

Approximately 90 percent of all American criminal cases are disposed of by means of guilty pleas, and a large percentage of defendants brought before courts in England, Australia, and other countries that use common-law procedures likewise plead guilty. Why do substantial numbers of defendants in national criminal justice systems choose to convict themselves when they are entitled to have their guilt formally adjudicated? The widely accepted primary reason is that they receive sentencing discounts when they choose to selfconvict. Most defendants charged with domestic crimes plead guilty following a process of plea bargaining between defense counsel and prosecutors. Although plea …

Holding Restorative Justice Accountable, Zvi D. Gabbay

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Part I of this Article provides a better understanding of the restorative justice theory and its practical expressions. It describes the values and objectives upon which restorative justice is premised and introduces the three most common restorative justice practices: victim-offender mediation, group conferencing and circles. Part II introduces the democratic experimentalism model and demonstrates its compatibility with the restorative justice theory. Part III introduces four restorative justice programs currently operating in the United States, two operated by courts and two by prosecuting agencies. Part IV demonstrates the inadequacy of the evaluation mechanisms currently employed by these programs and emphasizes the …

Mediating Cases Involving Domestic Violence: Solution Or Setback?, Aimee Davis

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This Note will first explore the psychological and social aspects of domestic violence. It will then examine the appropriateness of mediation for such cases, exploring viewpoints on the topic. Lastly, the Note will propose a standard to guide cases involving domestic violence. Although the victim should always have the final word on whether to mediate, a judge, psychologist, and mediator should collaborate and make a united recommendation as to how they suggest the victim should proceed. This will allow the victim to make a thoughtful and individualized assessment of her situation.

The Road Less Traveled: Using Adr To Help Reform Firsttime Juvenile Offenders, Maggie Gertz

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Section I of this Note details the history of the juvenile justice system, making specific reference to the various developments in juvenile justice policy, concluding with a discussion of the conflicts involved in juvenile offending. Section II examines ADR techniques that have been used in the juvenile justice field, with some success, as an alternative to further prosecution, incarceration or other punishment, highlighting Victim-Offender Mediation and Family Group Conferencing. In Section III, I analyze why ADR techniques are an ideal solution to the ills of the current system, and how these methods meet many of the goals of the traditional …

The Electronic Recording Of Criminal Interrogations, Roberto Iraola

University of Richmond Law Review

Should law enforcement officers be required to record, by video or audiotape, custodial interrogations of suspects? If so, how much, the entire interrogation or just the confession? Many prosecutors and police departments maintain that a recording requirement will hamper law enforcement and discourage suspects from talking. Proponents of this measure argue that the recording of interrogations protects against false confessions, augments the effective administration of justice, and serves to improve the relationship between the public and the police.

This article generally examines the developing case law on this question. Because of the incriminating nature of confessions, the article, by way …

Sentencing Guideline Law And Practice In A Post-Booker World: Introduction, Michael Vitiello

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Innocent Of A Capital Crime: Parallels Between Innocence Of A Crime And Innocence Of The Death Penalty, Linda Carter

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Reconceptualising Female Trafficking: The Inhuman Trade In Women, Alison Cole

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that female trafficking must be reconceptualized under international criminal law as a crime against humanity to establish a uniform legal framework for combating this global issue. It critiques existing international approaches for lacking coherence and enforcement, emphasizing the need for a clear definition and standardized measures to address the severity of trafficking. The UN Trafficking Protocol, while authoritative, leaves significant discretion to states, resulting in varied domestic policies that hinder effective international cooperation. By classifying female trafficking as a crime against humanity, the article proposes a more robust legal basis for universal jurisdiction and individual liability, aligning …

Transnational Criminal Law And Procedure: An Introduction, Sadiq Reza

Faculty Scholarship

What is “transnational” criminal law? One possibility is foreign criminal law, meaning the scope and substance of what is deemed criminal behavior in other lands and the theories that ostensibly justify punishing for such behavior, indeed deeming it criminal in the first place. Another is foreign criminal procedure, the “how” of foreign criminal law’s “what” and “why”: the rules and practices of investigating crime, prosecuting suspected criminals, and adjudicating criminal cases in other lands or systems. More common meanings, judging from articles in U.S. law reviews, are comparative criminal law and comparative criminal procedure, though these might differ from their …

Indecent Standards: The Case Of U.S. Versus Weldon Angelos, Eva Nilsen

Faculty Scholarship

In today's highly punitive culture, perhaps Weldon Angelos' fifty-five-year sentence does not seem unusual. He's a 25-year-old man who was convicted in December 2003 of selling marijuana, possessing firearms while drug dealing, and money laundering. ³ The facts proven at trial are that on three occasions in June and July, 2002, Angelos sold eight one-ounce bags of marijuana for $350 each to a government informant. ⁴ The purchaser testified that a firearm was visible during two of these drug sales.⁵ Police seized another gun from Angelos' home five months later pursuant to a warrant.⁶ At no time was …

Judicial Participation In Plea Negotiations: A Comparative View, Jenia I. Turner

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Current rules in most U.S. jurisdictions prohibit judges from becoming involved in plea negotiations and limit the judges' role to reviewing a plea bargain once it is presented by the parties. The enclosed article surveys three systems that provide for more significant judicial involvement - Germany, Florida, and Connecticut - and suggests that a judge's early input into plea negotiations can render the final disposition more accurate and procedurally just. Based on interviews with practitioners and a review of the case law, the article outlines a model for greater judicial involvement in plea negotiations.

Turning Jails Into Prisons--Collateral Damage From Kentucky's "War On Crime", Robert G. Lawson

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Procuring Guilty Pleas For International Crimes: The Limited Influence Of Sentencing Discounts, Nancy Amoury Combs

Faculty Publications

International tribunals prosecuting those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes face many of the same resource constraints that bedevil national criminal justice systems. Consequently, international tribunals have begun to utilize various procedural devices long used by national prosecutors to speed case dispositions. One such procedural device is the guilty plea. National prosecutors induce criminal defendants to plead guilty and waive their rights to trial through a process of plea bargaining; that is, by offering defendants sentencing concessions in exchange for their guilty pleas. International prosecutors who seek to engage in plea bargaining, however, face a host of …

Barry Scheck Lectures On Wrongful Convictions, Barry Scheck

Articles

The article discusses the systemic issues leading to wrongful convictions, emphasizing the role of mistaken eyewitness identification and flawed forensic science. It highlights the importance of postconviction DNA exonerations in revealing these injustices and advocates for reforms to improve the criminal justice system.

The Value Of Plea Bargaining, Scott W. Howe

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Article 85: If Someone Is Wrongfully Detained Or Convicted, What Recourse Does He Have? What Compensation Is He Entitled To? Is This Monetary, And If So, Where Does The Money Come From? What Should The Court Take Into Consideration When Deciding On Compensation?, Robert C. Bliss

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

As For Self-Representation In The International Criminal Court, Is There An International Right To Self-Representation In War Crimes Trials, Or Should Defense Counsel Be Imposed From The Outset Of The Trial At The Icc? How Should The Icc Deal With A Defendant-Lawyer Who Uses Self-Representation To Disrupt The Orderly Trial Proceedings?, Chelan Bliss

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

Public Attitudes About The Culpability And Punishment Of Young Offenders, Elizabeth S. Scott, N. Dickon Reppucci, Jill Antonishak, Jennifer T. Degennaro

Faculty Scholarship

Conventional wisdom holds that the public supports harsh punishment of juvenile offenders, and politicians often argue that the public demands tough policies. But public opinion is usually gauged through simplistic polls, often conducted in the wake of highly publicized violent crimes by juveniles. This study seeks to probe public opinion about the culpability of young offenders as compared to adult counterparts through more nuanced and comprehensive measures in a neutral setting (i.e. not in response to a high profile crime or during a political campaign when the media focuses on the issue). The opinions of 788 community adults were individually …

A Tribute To Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Roger Fairfax

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

I recall vividly how, as a junior at Harvard College, I landed a coveted position on Professor Ogletree's office hours list. My ostensible purpose for taking an office hours slot away from a deserving law school student was to discuss the college seminar paper I was writing on the District of Columbia statehood movement. Although I did leave that meeting with several fruitful research leads, I was much more satisfied with achieving my true aim-to meet in person this man about whom I had heard so many wonderful things. The professor did not disappoint. As I sat in his office-the …

Multicultural Feminism: Assessing Systemic Fault In A Provocative Context, Camille Nelson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

INTRODUCTION Strictly speaking, the cultural defense is really no defense at all. Instead, it is the moniker attached by defense attorneys to their advocacy which seeks to personalize the accused in one of two ways: First by injecting a reasonable doubt into the mens rea intent requirement - this would result in acquittal, or second, by contextualizing an affirmative defense, like provocation, by the provision of cultural information about the accused - this would result in mitigated sentencing. Central to defense attorneys' uses of the cultural defense is the criminal defendant's perceived "foreignness." This much has been recognized by scholars …

"Reasonably Predictable:" The Reluctance To Embrace Judicial Discretion For Substantial Assistance Procedures, India Geronimo Thusi

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Comment focuses on the nuances of post-Booker cooperation departures and sentence variances. Section 5K1.1 of the Guidelines governs the provision of cooperation, or substantial assistance, departures. This provision was the primary method for defendants to receive cooperation departures prior to Booker. The section 5K1.1 provision allowed substantial assistance departures where the prosecution actually benefited from the defendant’s cooperation.

First, Part I.A of this Comment will provide an overview of the original goals of the Sentencing Commission and the section 5K1.1 substantial assistance provision. Part I.B of the Comment summarizes United States v. Booker and its impact on cooperation departures. …

The Death Penalty's Future: Charting The Crosscurrents Of Declining Death Sentences And The Mcveigh Factor, Scott E. Sundby

Articles

No abstract provided.

Revisiting The Legal Link Between Genetics And Crime, Deborah W. Denno

Faculty Scholarship

Unwarranted constraints on the admissibility of genetics evidence in death penalty cases can undercut some defendants' efforts to fight their executions. For example, genetics evidence can help validate some traditionally accepted mitigating factors (such as certain psychiatric or behavioral disorders) that can otherwise be difficult for defendants to prove. By imposing unreasonable limitations on genetics arguments, the criminal justice system may be undermining the very principles and progressive thinking the cap on genetics evidence was originally intended to achieve. Part II of this article briefly reviews the facts and legal arguments in Mobley v. State. Part III addresses the primary …

Adolescence And The Regulation Of Youth Crime, Elizabeth S. Scott

Faculty Scholarship

I am delighted to be a part of this Symposium on Law and Adolescence. My talk today is about adolescent development and juvenile justice policy. Specifically, I will focus on why a legal regime that is grounded in scientific knowledge about adolescence and the role of criminal activity during this developmental period is better for young offenders and for society than the contemporary policy, which often pays little attention to differences between adolescents and adults.

My talk is based on a book on juvenile justice policy I am currently writing with Larry Steinberg, a developmental psychologist who is a leading …

Toward A Balanced Equation: Advocating Consistency In The Sentencing Of Serial Killers, Talitha Ebrite

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.