Digital Commons Network^™

A Review Of South Dakota Criminal Justice: A Study Of Racial Disparities By Richard Braunstein And Steve Feimer, Frank Pommersheim, Elsie Meeks

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A New Framework For Law Firm Discipline, Elizabeth Chambliss, David B. Wilkins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Retribution For Rats: Cooperation, Punishment, And Atonement, Michael A. Simons

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

To mobsters, he is a "rat"; to drug dealers, a "snitch." To school children, he is a "tattletale"; to corporate executives, a "whistleblower." To cops, he is an "informant"; to prosecutors, a "cooperator." By whatever name he is known, the person who betrays his associates to the authorities is almost universally reviled. In movies, on television, in literature, the cooperator embodies all that society holds in contempt: he is disloyal, deceitful, greedy, selfish, and weak.

The cooperator, though, has long been a mainstay of our criminal justice system. For centuries, criminal defendants have received leniency in return for testimony …

Nullification At Work? A Glimpse From The National Center For State Courts Study Of Hung Juries, Paula Hannaford-Agor, Valerie P. Hans

Faculty Publications

In 1998, the National Institute of Justice awarded a grant to the National Center for State Courts ("NCSC") to examine the frequency and various causes of hung juries. One of the factors that the NCSC project staff investigated was jurors' perceptions of the fairness of the law they were asked to apply in felony trials as well as jury and case characteristics that are often associated with jury nullification. The project also asked judges and other court actors to rate the strength of the evidence in the case. Thus, the project enabled researchers to examine jurors' views, the evidence, and …

Mr. District Attorney: The Prosecutor During The Golden Age Of Radio, David Ray Papke

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

International Decisions: Prosecutor V. Plavsic, Nancy Amoury Combs

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Establishing The International Criminal Court, Nancy Amoury Combs

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Politics And Principle: An Alternative Take On Seth P. Waxman's Defending Congress, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights Plaintiffs And John Doe Defendants: A Study In § 1983 Procedure, Howard M. Wasserman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

War: Rhetoric And Norm-Creation In Response To Terror, Tawia Baidoe Ansah

Faculty Publications

Everything is very simple in war," said Carl von Clausewitz, "but the simplest thing is difficult." This essay will suggest that the resort to the language of war, as "natural" and "starkly simple" as it is, nevertheless has a profound impact on how the law's intervention is shaped, or how the laws governing the transnational use of force are interpreted to accommodate a "war" on terrorism. I argue that although "war" is absent from the principal international legal instruments by which states are guided (and obligated) in their relations with other states, the concepts suppressed by this elision have an …

Affirming Brahimi: East Timor Makes The Case For A Model Criminal Code, Megan A. Fairlie

Faculty Publications

In August of 2000, the Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (the “Brahimi Report”) considered the issue of transitional civil administration as an element of United Nations field operations. The Brahimi Report recommended the creation of an interim legal code as part of a U.N. justice package so that any future UN transitional administrations would be able to address the issue of “applicable law” in the early stages of its mission. Using the experience of the United National Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) as a case study, this article establishes how and why a complete model …

Due Process Erosion: The Diminution Of Live Testimony At The Icty, Megan A. Fairlie

Faculty Publications

Shortly after its creation in 1993, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) adopted an adversarial construct and advocated a preference for the presentation of direct evidence, or live witness testimony, in its criminal trials. In the wake of that decision and under considerable pressure to expedite its proceedings, the ICTY judges responded with efforts to streamline the trial process, amending the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence so as to incrementally increase the admissibility of written evidence. This article tracks the relevant rule changes and questions the merit of the decision to move away from live testimony. …

Drug Wars In Black And White, Joseph E. Kennedy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Factors Related To The Disproportionate Representation Of Children Of Color In Santa Clara County’S Child Welfare System: Child And Family Characteristics And Pathways Through The System Phase 2, Alice Hines, Peter Lee, Laurie Drabble, Lonnie Snowden, Kathy Lemon Osterling

Faculty Publications

While child abuse and neglect appears to affect children of all racial and ethnic origins (US Department of Health and Human Services, 1998; Sedlack & Broadhurst, 1996), an analysis of national, California and Santa Clara County data on the ethnicities of children in out of home placement reveals that, compared to their presence in the general population, there is a disproportionate involvement of children of color in the public child welfare system (CWS). In Santa Clara County, in particular, when compared to the general population, African American, Hispanic/Latino and Native American children are overrepresented in the CWS, while Asian American/Pacific …

Are Hung Juries A Problem?, Paula Hannaford-Agor, Valerie P. Hans, Nicole L. Mott, G. Thomas Munsterman

Faculty Publications

Providing an empirical picture of hung juries was the principal objective for this 4-year study by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) with funding by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The research methodology was envisioned as a two-phase process. In the first phase, the NCSC proposed to conduct a broad-based survey of hung jury rates in state and federal courts while the second phase consisted of an in-depth examination of jury behavior in 10 jurisdictions to compare case and jury characteristics in felony trials that result in a verdict to those that result in jury deadlock. The types …

A Metadata Approach To Preservation Of Digital Resources: The University Of North Texas Libraries' Experience, Daniel Gelaw Alemneh, Samantha K. Hastings, Cathy Hartman

Faculty Publications

Preserving long-term access to digital information resources is one of the key challenges facing libraries and information centers today. The University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries has entered into partnership agreements with federal and state agencies to ensure permanent storage and public access to a variety of government information sources. As digital resource preservation encompasses a wide variety of interrelated activities, the UNT Libraries are taking a phased approach to ensure the long-term access to its digital resources. Formulation of preservation policy and creation of preservation metadata for electronic files and digital collections are among the most important steps. This …

Habeas Review Of Perfunctory State Court Decisions On The Merits, Scott Dodson

Faculty Publications

This article discusses the appropriate standard of review a federal habeas court should use to review a state-court determination of federal law unaccompanied by a federally-based rationale. In other words, what standard of review does the federal court employ when the state court’s opinion is wholly composed of the phrases: “The claims are without merit. Denied.”? The Supreme Court has not explicitly resolved the issue, and various federal judges around the country have reached different opinions. This article argues that a close scrutiny of the controlling habeas corpus statute, relevant case law, and policy considerations leads to the conclusion that …

A Compendium Of Clever And Amusing Law Review Writings -- An Idiosyncratic Bibliography Of Miscellany With In Kind Annotations Intended As A Humorous Diversion For The Gentle Reader, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

The world of the American law review resembles Middle Earth for all its strange inhabitants, secret rituals, and foreboding folklore. The depth and breadth of law review literature defies facile characterization, but it can be stated without fear of contradiction that the truly clever or amusing law review article is the quintessential rara avis. Law review articles - and the people who write them and the people who read them - are serious to a fault.

Indeed, whenever a judge, a lawyer, a law professor, or a law student writes something truly funny he or she runs the risk …

The New Politics Of Sentencing, Michael M. O'Hear

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Tribute To Justice Stanley Mosk, Gerald F. Uelmen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Cleansing Moments And Retrospective Justice, Margaret M. Russell

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Toward A Great Sioux Nation Judicial Support Center And Supreme Court: An Interim Planning And Recommendation Report For The Wakpa Sica Historical Society’S Reconciliation Place Project, Frank Pommersheim, John Lavelle

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Looking Forward And Looking Back: The Promise And Potential Of A Sioux Nation Judicial Support Center And Sioux Nation Supreme Court, Frank Pommersheim

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Departing Ways: Uniformity, Disparity And Cooperation In Federal Drug Sentences, Michael A. Simons

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

In 1995, this law review sponsored a symposium entitled The Sentencing Controversy: Punishment and Policy in the War Against Drugs. That symposium's focus on sentencing was appropriate because, as one of the participants noted, "[s]entencing is the bottom line of the criminal justice system."  Six years later, as this current symposium makes clear, we are still waging "war" on drugs. And although this symposium is not devoted exclusively to punishment, sentencing is still a central—and vexing—battlefield in that war.

The war on drugs is fought on multiple fronts: education, treatment, interdiction, diplomacy and law enforcement. Law enforcement, however, …

Enron's Legislative Aftermath: Some Reflections On The Deterrence Aspects Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002, Michael A. Perino

Faculty Publications

Since Enron's implosion, an astounding string of accounting scandals have stunned the securities markets. Global Crossing, WorldCom, Adelphia, and a host of other companies have seen plummeting share prices and SEC and criminal investigations. Congress's reaction has been equally stunning and surprisingly swift. It passed with near unanimity the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "SOA" or the "Act"), and President Bush quickly signed it into law. The President billed the Act as one of the "the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt." While the SOA is certainly lengthy, with eleven titles and …

Current Status Of Federal Law Concerning Violent Crimes Against Women And Children: Implications For Cult Victims, Robin Boyle

Faculty Publications

The author presents key provisions of The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, which is federal legislation divided into two Acts. In Parts I and II of this article, the author describes how The Violence Against Women Act of 2000 reauthorized critical grant programs created by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, established new programs, and strengthened federal laws. In Part III of this article, the author explains that The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 prevents the trafficking of women and children. In Part IV the author suggests how both Acts have implications for cult …

Past Violence, Future Danger?: Rethinking Diminished Capacity Departures Under Federal Sentencing Guidelines Section 5k2.13, Eva E. Subotnik

Faculty Publications

Under section 5K2.13 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, a judge is permitted to reduce a defendant's sentence on the grounds of diminished capacity. Most courts construing this provision have ruled that defendants whose offenses involved violence or the threat of violence are ineligible for a reduction in sentence. This Note argues that such an interpretation, which makes past violence a proxy for predicting future dangerousness, is problematic. Medically or psychologically treated, defendants may no longer pose a danger to society. This Note urges that, in accordance with section 5K2.13's language and history, courts should focus more broadly on whether the …

Hard-Nosed Idealism And U.S. Human Rights Policy, David Sloss

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Empirical Research Report: The Use Of Technology In The Jury Room To Enhance Deliberations, Fredric I. Lederer

Faculty Publications

Modern courtroom technology permits the use of technology in the jury deliberation room to enhance deliberations in both traditional trials and technology-augmented cases. SJI-funded research conducted by the Courtroom 21 Project surveyed the law of the United States with respect to statutory and case law governing the use of exhibits during deliberations; surveyed the state courts and, with the assistance of the Federal Judicial Center, the United States district courts concerning their deliberation practices and courtroom technology use; and conducted two controlled studies of the use of deliberation room technology in both traditional and technology-augmented trials. The Courtroom 21 protocol …

Speaking Rights: Evaluating Juror Discussions During Civil Trials, Paula Hannaford-Agor, Valerie P. Hans, G. Thomas Munsterman

Faculty Publications

The Arizona Supreme Court endorsed the objective that jury trials "allow for a more demo­cratic juror experience" and "are more educational and less adversarial" and urged judges and trial attorneys to be "open to doing some old things in new ways, to be more receptive to the jurors' needs to learn better and to actively par­ticipate to a greater degree in the fact-finding process. Acting on 55 recommendations of its Committee on the More Effective Use of Juries, the court enacted new rules. But one reform--permitting jurors in civil cases to discuss the evidence among themselves before final delib­erations--proved to …