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Habeas Corpus Unbound, Sheila Wildeman

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Sites of incarceration present stress tests to our theories and practices of administrative law. They yield insights, too, into how law distributes power across the administrative state. While studying administrative law as prison law reveals certain distinctions between the law that rules in prisons and everyday administrative state operations, it also reveals continuities—for instance, between the surveillance and control characterizing prisons and the routine surveillance and control that police, child welfare, social assistance, mental health, and public health authorities concentrate upon Indigenous, Black, disabled, and poor people in ways that produce and reproduce subordination and disproportionate incarceration. We begin to …

Barred By Their Brains: Inmates With Traumatic Brain Injury (Tbi), Claire Mikita

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

Abstract forthcoming.

"Send Freedom House!": A Study In Police Abolition, Tiffany Yang

Washington Law Review

Sparked by the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the 2020 uprisings accelerated a momentum of abolitionist organizing that demands the defunding and dismantling of policing infrastructures. Although a growing body of legal scholarship recognizes abolitionist frameworks when examining conventional proposals for reform, critics mistakenly continue to disregard police abolition as an unrealistic solution. This Essay helps dispel this myth of “impracticality” and illustrates the pragmatism of abolition by identifying a community-driven effort that achieved a meaningful reduction in policing we now take for granted. I detail the history of the Freedom House Ambulance Service, a Black civilian …

Making The Impractical, Practical: A Modest And Overdue Approach To Reforming Fourth Amendment Consent Search Doctrine, Augustine P. Manga

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

At some point in your life, you may have a personal encounter with a police officer. During that moment, you may feel utterly powerless, especially if you do not know your rights. One important right that police are not required to inform people of is their right to deny an officer’s request to search their property. Forty-eight years ago, the Supreme Court made its position clear in Schneckloth v. Bustamonte that requiring law enforcement to provide citizens with this warning would be “thoroughly impractical.” Since then, the relationship between law enforcement and society—especially communities of color—has gradually deteriorated, and states …

Working On The Other Side Of The Fence: Relief For Incarcerated Individuals After Employment Discrimination, Hannah C. Merrill

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

One of America’s largest workforces, comprised of 1.5 million incarcerated workers, remains unprotected by employment discrimination statutes and vulnerable to abuse from a system designed to exploit their labor. This Note highlights the effects of the lack of protection against employment discrimination for incarcerated workers. This Note will analyze the circuit split regarding the application of employment discrimination statutes to prisoners based on varying understandings of the term “employee” and explain why both approaches fail incarcerated workers. Although one approach bars suit from incarcerated employees altogether, the other only allows suit when the incarcerated individual is working in an “optional” …

#Blacklivesmatter: From Protest To Policy, Jamillah Bowman Williams, Naomi Mezey, Lisa Singh

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

We find that the protests of 2020 did indeed begin a paradigm shift in the social awareness of racialized police violence, and this important and significant social change has in turn already inspired political change and some degree of legal and policy change. However, the movement remains in a precarious position and it is uncertain how enduring these changes will be. While many state legislators and local officials have responded to the protests with policy reforms, policy action at the federal level is mostly stalled. In addition, it is unclear whether the state and local policy changes will lead to …

Cyberterrorism And The Public Safety Exception To Miranda, Mitch Snyder

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Cyberattacks against U.S. targets are becoming increasingly common. To effectively combat these attacks, law enforcement officers need the tools to respond to and prevent cyberattacks before they can occur.

In recent years, hackers have launched cyberattacks against infrastructural targets such as power grids, oil and gas distribution computer systems, and telecommunications networks. Cyberattacks have also targeted U.S. government websites, including the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Treasury. Recently, a cyberattack against SolarWinds, a Texas-based I.T. company, compromised the computer and network systems of federal, state, and local governments; critical infrastructure entities; and other private sector organizations. …

Police Or Pirates? Reforming Washington's Civil Asset Forfeiture System, Jasmin Chigbrow

Washington Law Review

Civil asset forfeiture laws permit police officers to seize property they suspect is connected to criminal activity and sell or retain the property for the police department’s use. In many states, including Washington, civil forfeiture occurs independent of any criminal case—many property owners are never charged with the offense police allege occurred. Because the government is not required to file criminal charges, property owners facing civil forfeiture lack the constitutional safeguards normally guaranteed to defendants in the criminal justice system: the right to an attorney, the presumption of innocence, the government’s burden to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, …

#Blacklivesmatter: From Protest To Policy, Jamillah Bowman Williams, Naomi Mezey, Lisa O. Singh

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In summer 2020, mass protests spread across the globe challenging police brutality and racial injustice and demanding change. Fueled by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd, these protests drew 15 million to 26 million participants in the United States alone to participate in late May and June of 2020. The sheer scale of these protests made them the largest movement in U.S. history. While there has been some consensus that this unprecedented protest movement pushed social awareness and changed the national conversation around race, existing research has yet to clearly …

What Is Wrong With Intimate Partner Abuse And Why It's Criminalization Might Not Be Right, Galia Schneebaum

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

Considering a contemporary debate between United States ("US') and United Kingdom ("UK') approaches, this article probes the appropriateness of criminalizing non-violent abuse in intimate partner relationships. Criminal lawyers in the US and the UK are divided on prohibiting intimate partner abuse. Whereas US jurisdictions retain a traditionalfocus on physical injury, England and Wales enforce a novel prohibition on "controlling or coercive behavior," covering conduct such as micromanaging intimate partners'schedules or restricting their behaviors through rules. While the US approach has been criticized as conservative, this article questions the progressiveness of the UK approach. It suggests, first, that in prohibiting "controlling …

Race-Based Remedies In Criminal Law, Ion Meyn

William & Mary Law Review

This Article evaluates the constitutional feasibility of using race-based remedies to address racial disparities in the criminal system. Compared to white communities, communities of color are over-policed and over-incarcerated. Criminal system stakeholders recognize that these conditions undermine perceptions of legitimacy critical to ensuring public safety. As jurisdictions assiduously attempt race-neutral fixes, they also acknowledge the shortcomings of such interventions. Nevertheless, jurisdictions dismiss the feasibility of deploying more effective race-conscious strategies due to the shadow of a constitutional challenge. The apprehension is understandable. Debates around affirmative action in higher education and government contracting reveal fierce hostility toward race-based remedies.

This Article, …

The Right To Education Under State Constitutions As Applied To Juvenile Delinquents, Laurenne Ferber-Kaufmna

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that while the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee a fundamental right to education, many state constitutions, including New York's, explicitly recognize this right for children. It contends that juvenile offenders in New York prisons are entitled to the same educational rights as other children under the state's education clause but are currently not receiving an adequate education that meets state standards. The note advocates for reforms to align New York's juvenile education system with its constitutional obligations and suggests adopting practices from other states, such as Florida and Virginia, to improve educational outcomes for juvenile offenders.

A New Age Of Surveillance: Facial Recognition In Policing And Why It Should Be Abolished, Annslee Perego

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that facial recognition technology in policing is fundamentally flawed due to its racial bias, erosion of privacy, and suppression of democratic participation. It advocates for the abolition of facial recognition in law enforcement, citing its inherent inaccuracies and societal risks, and proposes regulatory measures to limit its use if outright abolition is not feasible.

The Missing Algorithm: Safeguarding Brady Against The Rise Of Trade Secrecy In Policing, Deborah Won

Michigan Law Review

Trade secrecy, a form of intellectual property protection, serves the important societal function of promoting innovation. But as police departments across the country increasingly rely on proprietary technologies like facial recognition and predictive policing tools, an uneasy tension between due process and trade secrecy has developed: to fulfill Brady’s constitutional promise of a fair trial, defendants must have access to the technologies accusing them, access that trade secrecy inhibits. Thus far, this tension is being resolved too far in favor of the trade secret holder—and at too great an expense to the defendant. The wrong balance has been struck.

This …

Ramirez V. Collier: Brief Of Scholars Of The Plra And Prison Grievance Systems As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, Margo Schlanger

Appellate Briefs

Amici are academic experts on the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) and prison grievance systems and legal scholars who teach and write on constitutional law, civil rights, and prison issues. This Court has asked the parties to address whether petitioner John Ramirez adequately exhausted his audible prayer claim under the PLRA. Amici aim to assist the Court in analyzing this question.<\p>

Amici have decades of experience interpreting, studying, and analyzing the PLRA and the grievance process. They understand how the PLRA is written and how it is applied. And, although amici seek the same result as the petitioner, they also …

Forms Of International Legal And Organizational Interaction In The Field Of Counteraction Illicit Drug Trafficking, Psychotropic Substances And Precursors, Musaev Djamaliddin Kamalovich

ProAcademy

The author raises the problem of international cooperation of states in the field of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. References are given to the main conventions related to this problem, signed in different years. The mechanisms of adoption and the form of practical application of these conventions are disclosed, as well as an analysis of the situation in the world in relation to drug trafficking is given, options for resolving the problem by strengthening the international system for controlling drug trafficking are proposed. A comprehensive analysis of international cooperation on legal and organizational approaches to combating the …

The Constitutionalization Of Parole: Fulfilling The Promise Of Meaningful Review, Alexandra Harrington

Journal Articles

Almost 12,000 people in the United States are serving life sentences for crimes that occurred when they were children. For most of these people, a parole board will determine how long they will actually spend in prison. Recent Supreme Court decisions have endorsed parole as a mechanism to ensure that people who committed crimes as children are serving constitutionally proportionate sentences with a meaningful opportunity for release. Yet, in many states across the country, parole is an opaque process with few guarantees. Parole decisions are considered “acts of grace” often left to the unreviewable discretion of the parole board.

This …

2021 Annual Campus Security And Fire Safety Report, Otterbein Police Department

Otterbein Police Department

2021 Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report from the Otterbein Police Department. The crime and arrest statistics compiled by OPD are from calendar years 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Blue Racing: The Racialization Of Police In Hate Crime Statutes, Christopher Williams

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Content warning: this Article discusses police brutality.

The relationship between race, law, and policing is one that has been analyzed by many scholars throughout U.S. history. The vast majority of research about police has highlighted policing in relation to groups they police, focusing on areas such as policing practices, policies, or involvement in the racialization of minority groups. This scholarship has far outpaced research on actions taken by law enforcement on behalf of law enforcement— specifically, how law enforcement engages in racialization out of self-interest. A better understanding of the ways in which law enforcement engages in racialization that is …

A Decarceral Cadence: Neurologic Music Therapy As An Abolitionist Project, Mallori D. Thompson, Richard A. Kirby

Connecticut Law Review

Because police and prison abolition must be approached while simultaneously improving quality of life, and thus reducing harm, abolitionist discourse should include health policies that regard the (de)regulation, use, and culture of addictive substances. This Essay calls for research into neurologic music therapy as a response to addiction, improving quality of life and paving the way for police and prison abolition.

Rethinking Prosecutorial Discretion In Immigration Enforcement, Nicole Hallett

Cardozo Law Review

Prosecutorial discretion in immigration enforcement stands at a crossroads. It was the centerpiece of Obama’s immigration policy after efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform failed. Under the Trump administration, it was declared all but dead, replaced by an ethos of maximum enforcement. Biden has promised a return to the status quo ante, but the record of using prosecutorial discretion to accomplish humanitarian goals in immigration enforcement under Obama was, at best, mixed. Moreover, it is unclear whether Biden can depend on the availability of programs such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Obama’s signature prosecutorial discretion program. Although the …

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Lvmpd) Budget Review, Fiscal Years 2018-2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s (LVMPD) annual budget increased every fiscal year (FY) from 2018 to 2021. Using data provided by the LVMPD’s final budget reports for FY 2018 to 2021, this Fact Sheet details LVMPD funding increases and summarizes budget expenditures by unit and area command.

Police Officer Years Of Service: Does It Play A Role In Officer Displays Of Empathy?, Rachel Jeffries

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In the 2019 National Crime Victimization Survey, only 52.2% of domestic violence (DV) incidents were reported to the police (Morgan & Truman, 2020). With significantly low reporting rates, policing agencies may be asking themselves what they can do to encourage victims of DV to come forward and report their victimizations. Research on DV victims’ perceptions of police response suggests that, when police provide empathy-like responses to victims of DV, there are numerous benefits for the victim and the policing agency (Birdsey & Snowball, 2013; Johnson, 2007; Stephens & Sinden, 2000). Thus, empathy could be a central component to improving reporting …

Meek Mill’S Trauma: Brutal Policing As An Adverse Childhood Experience, Todd J. Clark, Caleb Gregory Conrad, André Douglas Pond Cummings, Amy Dunn Johnson

Law Faculty Scholarship

Meek Mill’s life and career have been punctuated by trauma, from his childhood lived on the streets of Philadelphia, through his rise to fame and eventual arrival as one of hip hop’s household names. his 2018 track "Trauma," Meek Mill describes, in revealing prose, just how the traumatic experiences he endured personally impacted and harmed him. He also embodies a role as narrator in describing the same traumas and harms that impact the daily lives of countless similarly situated young Black people in the United States. As a child, Mill’s lived experience was one of pervasive poverty and fear, as …

"Not For Human Consumption": Prison Food's Absent Regulatory Regime, Amanda Chan, Anna Nathanson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Prison food is poor quality. The regulations which govern prison food are subpar and unenforceable by prisoners, due in large part to Sandin v. Conner and the Prison Litigation Reform Act. This Article aims to draw attention to the dire food conditions in prisons, explain the lax federal administrative law that permits these conditions, highlight the role of Sandin v. Conner and the Prison Litigation Reform Act in curtailing prisoners’ rights, and criticize the role of the private entity American Correctional Association in enabling mass neglect of prison food. The authors recommend that the Prison Litigation Reform Act be repealed, …

The Truth(S) Behind “True Crime”: Examining The Role Of Narrative In The Retellings Of The Rafay Family Murders, Samantha L. Richard

FIMS Major Projects and Creative Projects

In April of 1995, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) launched their second ever “Mr. Big” operation: one that involves an intricate interrogation technique designed to elicit a confession from suspected criminals in cases where physical evidence cannot link the accused to the crime. The targets of this operation were suspected murderers Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay. The highly publicized case was discussed extensively through traditional news coverage, as well as in various stories of the true crime genre. Through the use of narrative theory, this paper examines the role of narrative in the retelling of the Rafay family murders. …

A Legacy Of Slavery: The Citizen's Arrest Laws Of Georgia And South Carolina, Roger M. Stevens

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Victims, Right?, Anna Roberts

Cardozo Law Review

In criminal contexts, a “victim” is typically defined as someone who has been harmed by a crime. Yet the word commonly appears in legal contexts that precede the adjudication of whether a crime has occurred. Each U.S. state guarantees “victims’ rights,” including many that apply pre-adjudication; ongoing “Marsy’s Law” efforts seek to expand and constitutionalize them nationwide. At trial, advocates, judges, and jury instructions employ this word even though the existence or not of crime (and thus of a crime victim) is a central question to be decided. This usage matters in part because of its possible consequences: it risks …

Law Enforcement Perspectives On Public Access To Misconduct Records, Rachel Moran, Jessica Hodge

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Taking Restorative Justice Seriously, Adriaan Lanni

Buffalo Law Review

Those seeking to reduce mass incarceration have increasingly pointed to restorative justice—an approach that typically brings thoseaffected by a criminal offense together in an attempt to address the harmcaused by the offense rather than to mete out punishment. This Article is an attempt to think seriously about incorporating restorative justice throughout the criminal legal system. For restorative justice proponents, expanding these practices raises a host of questions: Does the opportunity to alleviate mass incarceration justify collaboration with a deeply flawed criminal legal system? Will the threat of criminal prosecution destroy the voluntariness and sincerity that is essential for a successful …