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Expert Evidence, Samuel R. Gross

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It seems that the use of expert witnesses in common law courts has always been troublesome. In his Treatise on the Law of Evidence, first published in 1848, Judge John Pitt Taylor describes several classes of witnesses whose testimony should be viewed with caution, including: enslaved people (which accounts for "the lamentable neglect of truth, which is evinced by most of the nations of India, by the subjects of the Czar, and by many of the peasantry in Ireland"); women (because they are more susceptible to "an innate vain love of the marvelous"); and "foreigners and others ... living out …

Confessions And The Right To Silence In Japan, Daniel H. Foote

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In several highly-publicized recent cases in Japan, individuals convicted of murder and sentenced to death were acquitted in retrials obtained after decades on death row. These so-called "death penalty retrial cases'" generated great controversy and considerable reflection about the criminal justice system in Japan. A central, substantive issue presented by these cases relates to the procurement and use of confessions; each of these cases-and several other major recent Japanese cases in which defendants have been acquitted following bitterly contested trials-turned on the validity of repudiated confessions.

Consequently, much recent commentary has focussed on conf essions and related issues. Not surprisingly, …

Foreword - Vanishing Civil Jury, The The Role Of The Jury In Civil Dispute Resolution - Introduction, Albert Alschuler

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No abstract provided.

Principles Against Executions, David Weissbrodt, Terri Rosen

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The right to be free from extra-legal, arbitrary, or summary ex- ecutions is recognized in a number of international human rights in- struments. Such killings violate article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,' which provides that "every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life."

Comparative Criminal Justice As A Guide To American Law Reform: How Do The French Do It, How Can We Find Out, And Why Should We Care?, Richard Frase

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In the 1970s and early 1980s, legal academics hotly debated the possibility of basing American law reforms on continental procedures, but this voluminous literature produced few conclusions and virtually no sustained research and reform efforts. In this Article, Professor Frase argues that this stalemate was largely due to the fact that the continental procedures most often proposed for borrowing were actually the least feasible transplants, whereas other, more modest possibilities were overlooked or misunderstood. To identify the latter, future researchers must analyze foreign systems comprehensively, in practice as well as in theory, and must subject domestic systems to equally comprehensive …

Just Deserts For Juveniles: Punishment V. Treatment And The Difference It Makes, Barry Feld

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No abstract provided.

Lowering One's Cites: A (Sort Of) Review Of The University Of Chicago Manual Of Legal Citation, Mary I. Coombs

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No abstract provided.

Non-Sexist Teaching Techniques In Substantive Law Courses, Mary I. Coombs

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No abstract provided.

Synthesizing Related Rules From Statutes And Cases For Legal Expert Systems, Layman E. Allen, Sallyanne Payton, Charles S. Saxon

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Different legal expert systems may be incompatible with each other: A user in characterizing the same situation by answering the questions presented in a consultation can be led to contradictory inferences. Such systems can be ”synthesized’ to help users avoid such contradictions by alerting them that other relevant systems are available to be consulted as they are responding to questions. An example of potentially incompatible, related legal expert systems is presented here - ones for the New Jersey murder statute and the celebrated Quinlan case, along with one way of synthesizing them to avoid such incompatibility.

Remembering The 'Old World' Of Criminal Procedure: A Reply To Professor Grano, Yale Kamisar

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When I graduated from high school in 1961, the "old world" of criminal procedure still existed, albeit in its waning days; when I graduated from law school in 1968, circa the time most of today's first-year law students were arriving on the scene, the "new world" had fully dislodged the old. Indeed, the force of the new world's revolutionary impetus already had crested. Some of the change that the criminal procedure revolution effected was for the better, but much of it, at least as some of us see it, was decidedly for the worse. My students, however, cannot make the …

Gideon V. Wainwright A Quarter-Century Later, Yale Kamisar

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In a brief working paper sent to all conference participants, Professor Burt Neuborne suggested that we might consider several themes, among them "Gideon Celebrated," "Gideon Fulfilled," and "Gideon Betrayed." I think these are useful headings.

James K. Robinson—56th President Of The State Bar Of Michigan, John W. Reed

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On September 14, 1990, James Kenneth Robinson became the 56th President of the State Bar of Michigan. The process that has brought him and the Bar to this good hour has produced a fortunate match between man and mission.

Contingent Fees Without Contingencies: Hamlet Without The Prince Of Demark?, Lester Brickman

Articles

According to conventional wisdom virtually all contingent fee percentages exceeding fifty percent are illegal and excessive, but most lower percentages are valid. This Article challenges the conventional wisdom, an amalgam of the unassailability of the standard one-third rate, notions of fairness versus price gouging, lawyer effort versus lawyer' reward, and the right of a lawyer to contract freely for a fee. It advances instead two propositions for determining the legitimacy of contingent fees. The first is that for a contingent fee to be valid, there must be an actual contingency, which means a realistic risk of nonrecovery. Though this proposition …

The Supreme Court And The Jury: Voir Dire, Peremptory Challenges, And The Review Of Jury Verdicts, Albert Alschuler

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No abstract provided.

Legislation And Its Interpretation: A Primer, Richard A. Posner

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No abstract provided.

The Virtues Of A Procedural View Of Innocence--A Response To Professor Schwartz, Scott E. Sundby

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No abstract provided.

The Right To Counsel In Juvenile Court: An Empirical Study Of When Lawyers Appear And The Difference They Make, Barry C. Feld

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No abstract provided.

Bad Law Makes Hard Cases: Reflections On Teen-Aged Axe-Murderers, Judicial Activism, And Legislative Default, Barry C. Feld

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Waiver legislation in Minnesota, as in most other States, typically requires juvenile court judges to make individualized determinations as to a juvenile's amenability to treatment and danger to society as the basis for deciding whether to transfer the juvenile to adult court for disposition. Disposition in adult court allows for a more severe sanction than that permitted under the maximum sentence that can be dispensed in juvenile court. The difficulty and disparity in applying this waiver law lies in the discretion given to juvenile justice judges and the diverse criteria applied in judicial decisionmaking, both in the juvenile court and …

Capital Punishment: A Disputation, Peter Lushing

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The article critiques the use of capital punishment, arguing that it is morally flawed, ineffective as a deterrent, and disproportionately applied to marginalized groups. Through a dialogue between a judge and a clerk, it highlights the emotional and societal complexities surrounding the death penalty, ultimately advocating for its abolition in favor of life imprisonment and systemic reforms.

The Reasonable Doubt Rule And The Meaning Of Innocence, Scott E. Sundby

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No abstract provided.

Diagnosis Of The Current Code Of Criminal Procedure, Daniel H. Foote

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Approximately 35 years have passed since the current Code of Criminal Procedure went into effect, and today the manner in which that Code is interpreted and applied appears nearly stable. In truth, for most of the provisions and systems under the current Code about which there had been many questions of interpretation and application (e.g., interpretation of the provisions concerning hearsay evidence, discovery, exclusion of illegally-obtained evidence, and abuse of the authority to prosecute), some sort of conclusion (ichid no ketsuron) has been reached. In that sense, matters have "stabilized." However, in my view much more deep-seated problems remain unresolved. …

Summary Of Tokugawa Criminal Justice, Daniel H. Foote

Articles

The summary set forth below is derived principally from the late Professor Yoshiro Hiramatsu's-comprehensive study of Tokugawa criminal justice. Hiramatsu's work focusses on the period from the promulgation of the Osadamegaki by the Shogun Yoshimune in 1742 through the end of the Tokugawa era in 1867. (As described by Professor Dan F. Henderson, Conciliation and Japanese Law, Tokugawa and Modern (1965), Vol. 1, at 7, fn. 26, the Osadamegaki, which consisted of two books, constituted "a compilation and rough codification of prior decrees and precedents", and "was the only such official attempt to systematize the law in the Tokugawa period." …

Appellate Review Of Refusals To Depart, David Yellen

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No abstract provided.

Coming Of Age Some More: "Law And Literature" Beyond The Cradle, Richard H. Weisberg

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The article explores the historical development and significance of the Law and Literature movement, emphasizing the importance of literature in understanding legal reasoning, judicial writing, and professional ethics. It highlights how literature provides unique insights into the legal profession and advocates for its integration into legal education and practice to enhance ethical understanding and communication skills.

The Ubiquity Of Prophylactic Rules, David A. Strauss

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No abstract provided.

The Depiction Of Law In The Bonfire Of The Vanities, Richard A. Posner

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No abstract provided.

Crime In The Stacks, Or A Tale Of A Text: A Feminist Response To A Criminal Law Textbook, Mary I. Coombs

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No abstract provided.

The 39th Session Of The Un Sub-Commission On Prevention Of Discrimination And Protection Of Minorities, Sonia Rosen, David Weissbrodt

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The 39th session of the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (Sub-Commission) was held from 10 August through 4 September 1987 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Sub-Commission, established in 1947 as a subsidiary body of the Commission on Human Rights (Commission), is composed of 26 experts who are elected by the Commission. The experts are elected in their individual capacities rather than as representatives of their governments. The Sub-Commission meets annually in August-September to undertake studies and make recom- mendations to the Commission on a wide range of human rights

Enforcement Of The Domestic Abuse Act In Minnesota: A Preliminary Study, Beverly Balos, Katie Trotzky

Articles

The Minnesota Department of Corrections latest figures esti- mate that over 63,000 incidents of domestic battering occur each year in the state of Minnesota.1 Due to the inefficiencies and gaps in the reporting system, in Minnesota and across the United States, the true magnitude of the problem is difficult to document. Researchers have estimated, however, that over 1.7 million people in the United States have at some time faced a spouse with a gun or a knife, and that well over two million have experienced a beating by their spouse.2 Thus, while accurate documentation is difficult due to the severe …

The Juvenile Court Meets The Principle Of Offense: Punishment, Treatment, And The Difference It Makes, Barry C. Feld

Articles

The United States Supreme Court's decision In re Gault 1 transformed the juvenile court into a very different institution than that envisioned by its Progressive creators. 2 Judicial and legislative efforts to harmonize the juvenile court with Gault's constitutional mandate have modified the purpose, process, and operation of the juvenile justice system. The Progressives envisioned a procedurally informal court with individualized, offender-oriented dispositional practices. The Supreme Court's due process decisions impose procedural formality on the juvenile court's traditional, individualized-treatment sentencing schemes. As the juvenile court system deviates from the Progressive ideal, it increasingly resembles, both procedurally and substantively, the adult …