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Prior Crime Impeachment Of Criminal Defendants: A Constitutional Analysis Of Rule 609, Gene R. Nichol Jr.

West Virginia Law Review

The use of prior criminal convictions to impeach the credibility of a witness is an almost universally applied and time-honored tenet of our evidentiary jurisprudence. Past convictions may not be used substantively to demonstrate criminal propensity; i.e., the likelihood that an individual will engage in criminal conduct based upon his past activities. However any witness giving testimony in a court of law is deemed to have placed his credibility in issue. As a result, in almost all American jurisdictions, a witness' character for truth and veracity may be attacked by proof that he has been convicted of a crime. This …

The Process Is The Punishment: Handling Cases In A Lower Criminal Court, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Book Notice about The Process Is the Punishment: Handling Cases in a Lower Criminal Court by Malcolm M. Feeley

Stubborn And Rebellious Children: Liability Of Public Officials For Detention Of Children In Jails, Mark Soler, Michael J. Dale, Kathleen Flake

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reforming The Federal Grand Jury And The State Preliminary Hearing To Prevent Conviction Without Adjudication, Peter Arenella

Michigan Law Review

It is this Article's thesis that the substitution of plea-bargaining for the criminal trial as our primary method for determining legal guilt requires a fundamental reassessment of our pretrial screening processes. In a system where the prosecutor's decision to file charges is usually followed by a negotiated guilty plea, we can no longer pretend that the pretrial process does not adjudicate the defendant's guilt. Accordingly, this Article argues that it no longer makes sense to rely primarily on the trial to safeguard essential accusatorial principles when pretrial screening devices like the preliminary hearing and the grand jury perform the only …

Of Crime - And Punishment: Sentencing The White-Collar Criminal, Alfred S. Pelaez

Duquesne Law Review

No abstract provided.

Criminal Discovery: Experience Under The American Bar Association Standards, Jerry E. Norton

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Property, Privacy, And Deterrence: The Exclusionary Rule In Search Of A Rationale, Steven R. Schlesinger, Bradford Wilson

Duquesne Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Eighth Amendment - Cruel And Unusual Punishment - Length Of Prison Sentences, Albert A. Torrence

Duquesne Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States has held that a mandatory life sentence imposed under a state recidivist statute on a defendant convicted of three nonviolent felonies totaling $229 does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment

Rummel v. Estelle, 100 S. Ct. 1133 (1980).

People V. Perez - Constitutional Implications Of Law Student Representation Of Indigent Criminal Defendants, 13 J. Marshall L. Rev. 461 (1980), Paula Giroux

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Kentucky Law Survey: Criminal Procedure, Wayne F. Collier

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Kentucky Law Survey: Criminal Procedure, Frank T. Becker, Richard W. Hay

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Sentencing, The Dilemma Of Discretion, Jerold H. Israel

Book Chapters

[The following excerpts are taken from Professor Jerold Israel's revision of the late Hazel B. Kerper's Introduction to the Criminal Justice System ( West Publishing Co. 1979), with permission of the author and publisher. Footnotes have been omitted.] As we have seen, judges usually have substantial discretion in sentencing. Most states give them considerable leeway in choosing between probation and imprisonment, in setting the term of imprisonment under either an indeterminate or determinate sentencing structure, in deciding whether a young offender will be given the special benefits of a youthful offender statute, and in determining whether to impose consecutive or …

The Putative Defendant In A Federal Grand Jury Investigation, Edward F. Marek

Cleveland State Law Review

This article will examine substantive and procedural considerations arising in connection with the representation of a putative defendant or a subpoenaed witness who may become exposed to criminal charges or contempt in the course of a grand jury investigation. Subtle as well as obvious applications of the fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination will be addressed. In addition, certain problem areas will be explored such as whether a "target" of a grand jury investigation who is under subpoena can legally avoid an appearance, or whether illegally obtained evidence can be used to obtain an indictment, or whether and under what circumstances …

The Insanity Defense In Juvenile Delinquency Proceedings, Maxine M. Harrington, Ann O'Regan Keary

Faculty Scholarship

The insanity defense in delinquency proceedings poses an important legal dilemma concerning the rights of children in the juvenile justice system. Indeed, beyond the purely legal concerns of the rights of an accused juvenile, the concept of criminal responsibility in the context of juvenile court proceedings raises perhaps an even more important issue of what is the best model for dealing with mentally ill juvenile offenders, both from the juvenile's viewpoint and that of society as a whole. It is our opinion that not only does the insanity defense have an appropriate role in juvenile proceedings, but that legal as …

Exploring The Limits Of Brady V. Maryland: Criminal Discovery As A Due Process Right In Access To Police Investigations And State Crime Laboratories, Walter H. Ohar

University of Richmond Law Review

Why not criminal discovery? This question has been posited by legal scholars and learned jurists alike since the liberalization of discovery methods under the modern codes of civil procedure. As inexact as the term criminal discovery may be and, according to its critics, as inapplicable as discovery may be in the criminal context, there is little doubt that the current trend is the expansion of that which is discoverable by either side prior to a criminal trial. In fact, criminal discovery has developed into something more than a problem of procedure to be resolved by the individual jurisdictions in piecemeal …

The Putative Defendant In A Federal Grand Jury Investigation, Edward F. Marek

Cleveland State Law Review

This article will examine substantive and procedural considerations arising in connection with the representation of a putative defendant or a subpoenaed witness who may become exposed to criminal charges or contempt in the course of a grand jury investigation. Subtle as well as obvious applications of the fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination will be addressed. In addition, certain problem areas will be explored such as whether a "target" of a grand jury investigation who is under subpoena can legally avoid an appearance, or whether illegally obtained evidence can be used to obtain an indictment, or whether and under what circumstances …

Federal Habeas Corpus: Greater Protection For "Innocent" State Prisoners After Jackson V. Virginia, Jennie L. Montgomery

University of Richmond Law Review

In Jackson v. Virginia, the Burger Court recently made an apparent "about face" with regard to the scope of powers extended to a federal habeas corpus court reviewing a state court conviction. On the basis of this ruling, habeas corpus petitioners may now demand federal court examination of whether the evidence produced at their trials was sufficient to justify a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson is, therefore, a significant step beyond the Warren Court rule that due process is violated only when the record is totally devoid of any evidence to support the conviction.

Search And Seizure: A Treatise On The Fourth Amendment, William H. Erickson

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Search and Seizure: A Treatise on the Fourth Amendment by Wayne R. LaFave

Filling In The Gaps Of Virginia Bail Reform, R. Bryan Hatchett

University of Richmond Law Review

The 1960's and early 1970's witnessed an unprecedented reform of the bail laws of this country. The reform has made it possible for a greater percentage of criminal defendants to be released before trial thereby avoiding the stigma and considerable prejudice flowing from incarceration. Even though the reform has also produced a modest increase in the number of persons who fail to appear for trial, on balance critical response to the reform has been favorable.

Due Process Versus Data Processing: An Analysis Of Computerized Criminal History Information Systems, Donald Doernberg, Donald H. Zeigler

Articles & Chapters

This article, based on a comprehensive empirical study of New York's computerized criminal history information system and on national surveys of similar systems, concludes that current regulations governing the dispersion of criminal history information are grossly inadequate. Although information drawn from computerized criminal history files is often inaccurate, incomplete, ambiguous or inappropriate, criminal justice officials and judges routinely use such information in making decisions affecting defendants' liberty. This practice is unconstitutional, and the article suggests ways to regulate criminal history information systems that would protect a defendant's right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law.

Constitutional Law - Due Process Clause - Where New Prosecution Is Initiated For Additional Criminal Activity Not Specified In An Original Indictment, Actual Vindictiveness Is The Proper Standard To Determine Whether Such Prosecutorial Conduct Is Constitutionally Permissible, Peter R. Kahana

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Federal Courts - Civil Rights Action Under Section 1983 - Collateral Estoppel Does Not Bar Federal Litigation Under Section 1983 Of Search And Seizure Claims Following A State Court Decision Upholding Constitutionality Of The Search And Seizure, Linda M. Rohloff

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Criminal Law - Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel - Burden On Defendant To Demonstrate That Serious Incompetency, Falling Measurably Below The Performance Ordinarily Expected Of Fallible Lawyers, Was Likely To Have Affected The Outcome Of Trial, Clifford H. Lange

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Criminal Procedure In Alaska, Jeff M. Feldman

Articles

Two years ago this review published an article which reviewed search and seizure law in Alaska. Because the local barand bench seem to have found that article to be useful, it appeared worthwhile to put together a similar review of the remainder of Alaska's law of criminal procedure. Like its predecessor, this article will review and analyze the law of criminal procedure in Alaska, isolating those areas in which the Alaska Legislature or the Alaska Supreme Court has departed from the prevailing approach to procedure in criminal cases and predicting probable outcomes to procedural issues still unresolved in Alaska.

Rape Victim Shield Laws And The Sixth Amendment, J. Alexander Tanford, Anthony J. Bocchino

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Corporate Crime And Punishment: A Non-Chicago View Of The Economics Of Criminal Sanctions, John C. Coffee Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

In this article, Professor Coffee argues that fines are an inefficient means by which to deter organizational crimes. Instead, he urges a focus on the individual decision-maker and a system of competitive bids with respect to the choice of a fine as an alternative punishment.

Race And Sentencing Equality In Kentucky, Robert L. Hurley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Disparity in sentencing felons based on racial considerations has long has been considered a problem for civil libertarians and scholars alike. Examining data gathered in Kentucky, this thesis addresses this issue through the application of recently developed methodological techniques. Utilizing an index of sentencing equality, this study shows that while differences do exist in black and white offender offense characteristics, these differences do not account for the variations in sentences rendered in cases of white as opposed to black felons. This exploratory research reviews and critiques previous research and provides evidence which should prove useful in resolving the problem of …

Land Without Plea Bargaining: How The Germans Do It, John H. Langbein

Michigan Law Review

The present Article demonstrates the error of this universalist theory of plea bargaining by showing how and why one major legal system, the West German, has so successfully avoided any form or analogue of plea bargaining in its procedures for cases of serious crime. The German criminal justice system functions without plea bargaining not by good fortune, but as a result of deliberate policies and careful institutional design whose essential elements are outlined in Part I. Part II addresses the American claims that a clandestine plea bargaining system lurks behind veils of German pretense.

Specific Enforcement To Ensure Due Process In Plea Bargaining, Kevin D. Norwood

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law-Criminal Law-Pretrial Detainees May Be Subjected To Conditions Of Confinement Reasonably Related To Legitimate Government Objectives-Bell V. Wolfish, 99 S. Ct. 1861 (1979).

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.