Digital Commons Network^™

The Durability Of Prison Populations, John F. Pfaff

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Relative Doubt: Familial Searches Of Dna Databases, Erin Murphy

Michigan Law Review

The continued growth of forensic DNA databases has brought about greater interest in a search method known as "familial" or "kinship" matching. Whereas a typical database search seeks the source of a crime-scene stain by making an exact match between a known person and the DNA sample, familial searching instead looks for partial matches in order to find potential relatives of the source. The use of a familial DNA search to identify the alleged "Grim Sleeper" killer in California brought national attention to the method, which has many proponents. In contrast, this Article argues against the practice of familial searching …

Street Stops And Broken Windows Revisited: The Demography And Logic Of Proactive Policing In A Safe And Changing City, Jeffrey A. Fagan, Amanda Geller, Garth Davies, Valerie West

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter examines the development of “order maintenance policing” in New York City. It studies the stop-and-frisk activities of New York City police officers by examining temporal and spatial patterns of stops from 1999, 2003, and 2006. Findings reveal that stop rates have increased by 500 percent since 1999 despite little change in crime rates Stop activity was greatest in poor and minority communities, and stop patterns were more closely tied to demographic and social conditions than to disorder or crime. The efficiency of stops, measured as “hit rates,” dropped considerably, with the sharpest declines occurring in minority neighborhoods. Overall, …

Meditaciones Postmodernas Sobre El Castigo: Acerca De Los Límites De La Razón Y De Las Virtudes De La Aleatoriedad (Una Polémica Y Un Manifiesto Para El Siglo Xxi), Bernard E. Harcourt

Faculty Scholarship

In Spanish
Durante la Modernidad, el discurso sobre la pena ha girado circularmente en torno a tres grupos de interrogantes. El primero, surgido de la propia Ilustración, preguntaba: ¿En qué basa el soberano su derecho de penar? Nietzsche con mayor determinación, pero también otros, argumentaron que la propia pregunta implicaba ya su respuesta. Con el nacimiento de las ciencias sociales, este escepticismo hizo surgir un segundo conjunto de interrogantes: ¿Cuál es, entonces, la verdadera función de la pena? ¿Qué es lo que hacemos cuando penamos? Una serie de críticas ulteriores – de metanarrativas, funcionalistas o de objetividad científica – debilitaron …

The American Inquisition: Sentencing After The Federal Guidelines, Ricardo J. Bascuas

Articles

No abstract provided.

Deadly Dilemmas Ii: Bail And Crime, Larry Laudan, Ronald J. Allen

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This is another in a series of papers examining the interaction between the implications of the deadly dilemma of governing that virtually all governmental action involves unavoidable conflict between equally laudatory goals and the conventional way of thinking about social errors. Typically the pursuit of any particular goal has as its consequence precisely the kind of harm that is desired to be avoided. For example, serious felons are sent to prison in part to protect innocent parties from their future predations, but those same felons often prey upon fellow prisoners, including murder. Moreover, felonies committed in prison only begin the …

Replacing The Exclusionary Rule: Fourth Amendment Violations As Direct Criminal Contempt, Ronald J. Rychlak

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The exclusionary rule, which bars from admission evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures, is a bedrock of American law. It is highly controversial, but there seems to be no equally effective way to protect citizens' rights. This paper proposes that an admissibility standard be adopted that is in keeping with virtually every jurisdiction around the world other than the United States. Thus, before ruling evidence inadmissible, the court would consider the level of the constitutional violation, the seriousness of the crime, whether the violation casts substantial doubt on the reliability of the …

Incarceration American-Style, Sharon Dolovich

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In the United States today, incarceration is more than just a mode of criminal punishment. It is a distinct cultural practice with its own aesthetic and technique, a practice that has emerged in recent decades as a catch-all mechanism for managing social ills. In this essay, I argue that this emergent carceral system has become self-generating—that American-style incarceration, through the conditions it inflicts, produces the very conduct society claims to abhor and thereby guarantees a steady supply of offenders whose incarceration the public will continue to demand. I argue, moreover, that this reproductive process works to create a class of …

Repression And Punishment In North Korea: Survey Evidence Of Prison Camp Experiences, Stephan Haggard, Marcus Noland

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The penal system has played a central role in the North Korean government’s response to the country’s profound economic and social changes. Two refugee surveys—one conducted in China, one in South Korea—document its changing role. The regime disproportionately targets politically suspect groups, particularly those involved in market-oriented economic activities. Levels of violence and deprivation do not appear to differ substantially between the infamous political prison camps, penitentiaries for felons, and labor camps used to incarcerate individuals for misdemeanors, including economic crimes. Substantial numbers of those incarcerated report experiencing deprivation with respect to food as well as public executions and other …

How (Not) To Think Like A Punisher, Alice G. Ristroph

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article examines the several and sometimes contradictory accounts of sentencing in proposed revisions to the Model Penal Code. At times, sentencing appears to be an art, dependent upon practical wisdom; in other instances, sentencing seems more of a science, dependent upon close analysis of empirical data. I argue that the new Code provisions are at their best when they acknowledge the legal and political complexities of sentencing, and at their worst when they invoke the rhetoric of desert. When the Code focuses on the sentencing process in political context, it offers opportunities to deploy both practical wisdom and empirical …

Prisoners For Sale: Making The Thirteenth Amendment Case Against State Private Prison Contracts, Ryan S. Marion

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

No Rational Basis: The Pragmatic Case For Marijuana Law Reform, Eric D. Blumenson, Eva Nilsen

Faculty Scholarship

This article presents a critique of marijuana prohibition and suggests some alternative regulatory approaches that would be more productive and consonant with justice. Part I relies on a forty-year empirical record to demonstrate that (1) reliance on a law enforcement approach has aggravated rather than mitigated the risks involved with marijuana use, and (2) criminalization, which results in the arrest of more than 700, 000 Americans annually for possession of any amount of marijuana, is an inhumane and destructive response to an act that almost 100 million Americans have committed. Part II assesses the relative merits of several alternative reform …

A Comparison Of The Treatment Of Transgender Persons In The Criminal Justice Systems Of Ontario, Canada, New York, And California, Ally Windsor Howell

Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Door Closed: The Right To Full Appellate Review Of Sentences Of Life Imprisonment Without Parole In West Virginia, Linnsey Evick

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Police Paternalism: Community Caretaking, Assistance Searches, And Fourth Amendment Reasonableness, Michael R. Dimino, Sr.

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Policing In Schools: Developing A Governance Document For School Resource Officers In K-12 Schools, India Geronimo Thusi, Catherine Y. Kim

Books & Book Chapters by Maurer Faculty

This White Paper argues that a formal governance document is necessary to ensure that law enforcement, school officials, and the communities they serve have a shared understanding of the goals of the SRO program, and that these officers receive the necessary support and training prior to their deployment.6 Absent specific guidelines, SROs may not have a clear understanding of their role within the larger educational context or the rights and needs of the children they are intended to serve; they may inadvertently, and indeed counterproductively, create an adversarial environment that pushes students, particularly at-risk students, out of school rather than …

Thug Life: Hip Hop’S Curious Relationship With Criminal Justice, André Douglas Pond Cummings

Law Faculty Scholarship

I argue that hip hop music and culture profoundly influences attitudes toward and perceptions about criminal justice in the United States. At base, hip hop lyrics and their cultural accoutrements turns U.S. punishment philosophy upon its head, effectively defeating the foundational purposes of American crime and punishment. Prison and punishment philosophy in the U.S. is based on clear principles of retribution and incapacitation, where prison time for crime should serve to deter individuals from engaging in criminal behavior. In addition, the stigma that attaches to imprisonment should dissuade criminals from recidivism. Hip hop culture denounces crime and punishment in the …

Examining Re-Entry Challenges And Needs Of Trinidad And Tobago Offenders, Kamhya M. Milan

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This research examines the challenges and needs that Trinidad and Tobago offenders face upon release from prison. The purpose of this research is to provide a foundation for policy recommendations to improve successful reintegration for prisoners corning home. Although there is a lack of re-entry literature based on Trinidad and Tobago offenders, the findings in this study show that Trinidad and Tobago offenders experience the same challenges and needs revealed by America research on offender re-entry. Study results show that policy intervention should be designed to ensure offenders returning home receive assistance with finding shelter, employment, educational resources, counseling and …

The Dna Of An Argument: A Case Study In Legal Logos, Colin Starger

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article develops a framework for analyzing legal argument through an in-depth case study of the debate over federal actions for post-conviction DNA access. Building on the Aristotelian concept of logos, this Article maintains that the persuasive power of legal logic depends in part on the rhetorical characteristics of premises, inferences, and conclusions in legal proofs. After sketching a taxonomy that distinguishes between prototypical argument logo (formal, empirical, narrative, and categorical), the Article applies its framework to parse the rhetorical dynamics at play in litigation over post-conviction access to DNA evidence under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, focusing in particular on …

Reservations About Extending Bivens To Reservations: Seeking Monetary Relief Against Tribal Law Enforcement Officers For Constitutional Violations, Blake R. Bertagna

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Swinging Pendulum Of Sentencing Reform: Political Actors Regulating District Court Discretion, Lydia Brashear Tiede

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Felon Disenfranchisement: A Call For Legislative Reform, Timothy P. Gilligan

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Felon Disenfranchisement And The Systemic Racism Of The Criminal Justice System, Matthew D. Itkin

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

City Of Las Vegas Detention And Enforcement Commission On Accreditation Of Law Enforcement Accreditation Program Evaluation Report, Karen Kelly, Cecelia Mcneely, Sandy Seda

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The City of Las Vegas Detention and Enforcement (CLVDE) is a highly efficient, professionally managed, unique law enforcement agency. The CLVDE has a multifaceted mission and is responsible for providing diverse law enforcement, patrol, code enforcement and support services for the City of Las Vegas. The agency is comprised of several operational divisions: A city Jail, an Animal Control division, Parking Enforcement and the Marshals (police). For many years, the CLVDE, has enjoyed the unique distinction of being a "Triple Crown" accredited agency1. The agency currently has attained accreditation status from several nationally recognized professional organizations such as: The American …

Felon Disenfranchisement As A Legitimate State Regulation, Boyoung Kang

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

"One Of The Dirty Secrets Of American Corrections": Retaliation, Surplus Power, And Whistleblowing Inmates, James E. Robertson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Retaliation is deeply engrained in the correctional office subculture; it may well be in the normative response when an inmate files a grievance, a statutory precondition for filing a civil rights action. This Article, the first to address comprehensively the sociological and constitutional aspects of retaliation, argues for protecting grievants through safeguards much like those accorded whistleblowers. Part I of the Article provides a socio-legal primer on correctional officer retaliation by addressing the frequency of retaliation, its causes, and its constitutional taxonomy. Part II describes the elements of a prima facie case of unconstitutional retaliation under § 1983. Part III …

Policy, Uniformity, Discretion, And Congress’S Sentencing Acid Trip, Mark Osler

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Perceived Justice And Barriers And Facilitators To The Attainment Of Leadership Positions In Local And County Law Enforcement Organizations In The State Of Florida, Delsa R. Bush

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Disparity in leadership positions within organizations continue to exist along racial and gender lines even as organizations become more diverse. The numerous studies investigating race, ethnicity, gender, and the attainment of leadership positions within organizations focus primarily on the glass-ceiling effect. Few have empirically addressed the issue of the glass-ceiling effect in law enforcement organizations. Previous research suggested that several factors might affect leadership positions, i.e., human capital assets, demographic characteristics, organizational characteristics, procedural justice, distributive justices, barriers and facilitators to career advancement, institutional values, racism, and organizational culture. The glass ceiling effect, which encompasses a majority of these factors, …

Conceptualizations Of Legalese In The Course Of Due Process, From Arrest To Plea Bargain: The Perspectives Of Disadvantaged Offenders, Shiv Narayan Persaud

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Retention And Job Satisfaction Among Local Law Enforcement, Lisa N. Parron

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This thesis is an exploratory study which examines the retention of police officers in the Norfolk Police Department. Focus group interviews with nine police officers provided the data for this study. Participants described aspects of their job that they enjoy and aspects of their job that could be improved. Themes identified include working conditions, supervisor relationships, interpersonal relationships, pay, responsibility, achievement and recognition, and appeal of the job.

This research was aimed at revealing what officers like and dislike about their job in order to reduce voluntary turnover and increase retention.

The findings from this study indicate that job satisfaction …