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State Constitutional Prohibitions Of Slavery And Involuntary Servitude, Michael L. Smith

Washington Law Review

In recent years, the Thirteenth Amendment has drawn sustained criticism for its “Punishment Clause,” which exempts those duly convicted of criminal offenses from the Amendment’s prohibition of slavery and involuntary servitude. Citing the Punishment Clause, courts have struck down challenges by those sentenced to forced labor, arguing that such involuntary servitude is explicitly permitted for those convicted of crimes. Recent criticism draws on concerns over mass incarceration and expansive forced labor practices—urging that the Thirteenth Amendment be revised to remove the Punishment Clause.

Prompted by increased attention to and criticism of the Punishment Clause, some states have taken matters into …

Fair + Equitable June 2024, International Association Of Assessing Officers

Fair + Equitable

The June F+E cover story reviews proposals to eliminate property taxes and how those proposals often ignore the basic facts of life in state and local revenue management. In addition, the issue includes articles on:

• Embracing DEI: A Black woman’s perspective in a predominantly white male field
• Celebrating the nine women IAAO presidents: Dorothy Jacks, 2018
• Meet the new IAAO instructors
• Robert Fisher: My IEW journey
• Why I give to IAAO
• 2024 Legal Seminar heads to Chicago
• Annual Conference news and notes
• Black homeowners start to close gap in property values
• Thought Leader article on integrated work-flows
• 2024 MAVS: ‘Challenges …

Music Of The Law: A Wigmorian Playlist For A Modern Era, Joseph Hummel

Tulsa Law Review

No abstract provided.

Can Too Much Clarity Cause Confusion? A Case Study Of Mccalop V. State, Sutton M. Eggena

Mercer Law Review

In criminal trials, few elements wield as much influence over the outcome as expert testimony. Expert testimony serves as the bridge between complex subject matter and the understanding of lay jurors, often occupying a pivotal position in the pursuit of justice. Indeed, expert testimony can be the lynchpin on which a jury’s verdict turns. Picture a courtroom filled with jurors, each presumed to lack a deep understanding of the intricate dynamics of domestic abuse and the profound effects of battered person syndrome on individuals trapped in violent relationships. In pursuit of justice, these jurors lean on a singular source—an expert …

Tale As Old As Time: The Beauty And The Beast Of Probabilistic Genotyping And Its Use In Georgia, Elizabeth Mcdaniel

Mercer Law Review

Deoxyribonucleic acid or as most of us prefer to call it—DNA—is a molecule in an organism that allows the organism to develop and function by carrying genetic information. DNA is what makes us unique. It was first observed in the late 1800s; however, its significance was not fully known until 1953. The use of DNA as evidence in criminal trials did not begin until the 1980s. Subsequently, the first statutes regarding DNA testing were passed in 1994 and 1997. Despite DNA’s late scientific discovery and its even later use in the legal profession, DNA has existed in organisms since their …

Drug Use And Harm Reduction: Community Readiness As Pathway To Well-Being And Reintegration, Lauretta Ekanem Omale

Dissertations

Drug abuse negatively impacts the life and well-being of those who use drugs; this harm often extends to their loved ones, communities, and society. One presumptive set of psychological explanations for drug abuse is an addictive personality, a psychological susceptibility resulting from challenging family relationships, inadequate reinforcement, the absence of healthy role models, conflicting parental expectations, and a lack of love and respect. Harm reduction is a public health approach that focuses on minimizing the harmful effects of drugs and reducing judgment. It aims to meet people where they are in life and provide judgment-free, empathetic, supportive, and needed medical …

A Program Evaluation Of The Necessary Attributes, Accommodations, And Resources Neurodivergent Students Require For Success In Higher Education, Barbara Muñoz

Dissertations

Without academic resources and accommodations, neurodivergent students with mild to moderate Learning Disabilities (LD) may be unable to navigate the academic challenges and rigor associated with college success. I used a mixed-methods research design to collect data from various stakeholders to determine the supports neurodivergent students with LD need to be successful in college. My findings indicated students need accommodations for their learning differences, access to assistive technology, access to counseling or mental health services, and access to specialized support personnel to be successful. I recommended a policy to ensure neurodivergent students and their caregivers are aware of post-secondary institutions …

Determining Factors For Improved Uptake Of Harm Reduction Services In The United States: A Study Of Inclusive, Culturally Sensitive Messaging, Lauretta Ekanem Omale

Dissertations

Harm reduction refers to public health policies and programs aimed at decreasing the adverse consequences associated with drug use. While harm reduction services (e.g., syringe exchange programs) can mitigate health risks, marginalized groups face barriers to service access and utilization, partially due to ineffective messaging approaches that fail to align with cultural values and experiences. A one-size-fits-all approach to messaging can negatively impact service utilization, health outcomes, and health disparities. Ineffective communication can lead to poor adherence to treatment, poorer health outcomes, and increased adverse events.

Culturally insensitive communication contributes to stigma, mistrust, and lack of perceived relevance, discouraging service …

Strengthening U.S. Jail Systems’ Response To Infectious Diseases: An Evaluation Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Erinn Bacchus

Dissertations and Theses

Jails across the United States were struck with increased infections and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have shown the structural make up of jails, lack of preparedness plans, and overcrowding contributed to health risks and poor health outcomes both inside jails and local communities. Yet little research has been dedicated to strengthening jail responses to infectious disease outbreaks spanning prevention measures, data collection, and reentry planning. Gaps include information on the (1) myriad infectious disease mitigation strategies used in jails and adherence to CDC prevention guidelines, (2) development of a standardized epidemiologic surveillance system, and (3) experiences working at …

Publications Of The Faculty Of New York Law School 2020-2024, New York Law School

Bibliographies of Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Just Me, Myself, And I: Georgia Trial Courts May Consider Pro Se Motions Filed By Represented Criminal Defendants, Mckayla A. Doss

Mercer Law Review

For decades, Georgia’s trial courts have applied the absolute rule that pro se motions filed by represented (or presumably represented) criminal defendants were a legal nullity. In essence, hybrid representation was not permitted—legal representation precluded criminal defendants from acting as “co-counsel” or filing their own pro se motions.The application of this absolute rule substantially affected the time-sensitive period that follows a criminal conviction, as defendants in Georgia have a limited period of time to file a notice of appeal or a motion for new trial before the window of direct appeal closes. Failure to file these motions results in the …

Vol. 101, No. 4: Full Issue, Denver Law Review

Denver Law Review

No abstract provided.

Debt And Financial Insecurity In The Modern Economy: Foreword, Emily Sexton

Denver Law Review

No abstract provided.

The President’S Criminal Immunity, Amandeep S. Grewal

SMU Law Review Forum

This Article addresses a monumental question that the Supreme Court will soon decide: does the President enjoy criminal immunity for her official acts? This Article argues that she does.

The potential criminal immunity for official acts has drawn exceptionally sharp critiques. Some scholars believe that the immunity is nonsensical, absurd, or downright offensive. Judge Florence Pan of the D.C. Circuit even posited that criminal immunity would allow the President to murder her political enemies with SEAL Team Six.

This Article shows that the critics are profoundly mistaken. Criminal immunity for a president’s official acts finds a strong foothold in Supreme …

Firearms Carceralism, Jacob D. Charles

Minnesota Law Review Vols. 106:2 onward (2021-present)

Gun violence is a pressing national concern. And it has been for decades. Throughout nearly all that time, the primary tool lawmakers have deployed to stanch the violence has been the machinery of the criminal law. Increased policing, intrusive surveillance, vigorous prosecution, and punitive penalties are showered on gun offenders. This Article spotlights and specifies this approach--what it calls “firearms carceralism”--and details how a decades-long bipartisan consensus generated a set of state-centered solutions to gun violence that has not meaningfully impacted the problem. Instead, those policies have exacerbated racial inequity and compounded civic and community harms. The Article traces the …

The Needless Search For A Founding-Era "Hearsay" Definition, Jeffrey Bellin

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Modern Confrontation Clause doctrine permits only unconfronted “out-of-court statements that would have been admissible in a criminal case at the time of the founding.” To operationalize this concept, the Supreme Court identifies “testimonial hearsay” as the Clause’s primary concern. Its opinions regularly dive into the historical record to refine what counts as “testimonial” but ignore that record in defining “hearsay.” This omission cannot last. Cases in the lower courts, and one on the Court’s recent docket, concern testimonial but (arguably) non-hearsay statements. And while confrontation jurisprudence is supposed to be tied to founding-era evidence law, the “hearsay” definition, casually referenced …

Criminal Legal Reform In New Hampshire: One Law Professor's Activism, Albert E. Scherr

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

Criminal legal reform is a perpetual work in progress. The system itself is, at best, maddeningly imperfect. It too often fails to produce anything close to justice. Structural problems afflict the system in a way that incarcerates too many people, particularly people of color. For example, over the last thirty years, the Innocence Project has demonstrated imperfections in the system caused by faulty eyewitness identification procedures by ineffective assistance of counsel, by prosecutorial misconduct, by shoddy forensic practices and by police behavior that produced false confessions.

That the United States has well over fifty-one independent criminal legal systems frustrates efforts …

How To Handle The Truth: Avoiding Improper Sentencing Argument In Courts-Martial, Cooper C. Millhouse, Stephen Paul

Hofstra Law Review

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has identified a variety of sentencing arguments as improper. These arguments are improper because they encourage courts-martial to abandon disinterested impartiality or because they ask courts-martial to consider facts or opinions unrelated to the accused’s culpability. This Article catalogs and classifies the improper arguments that violate these principles for use by the JAG Corps.

The Criminal Trajectory Of Paraphilic Noncontact Sexual Offenders: An Exploratory Study In An Incarcerated United States Sample, Emma F. Collie

Student Theses

Despite the misconception, many sexual offenses do not involve physical contact with a victim. Research indicates that exhibitionism, a noncontact offense, is the most reported sex crime. While some research has demonstrated the escalation from noncontact to contact offending, much of the data is outdated or used small samples. This study seeks to build upon the literature by examining archival records of 3,175 sex offenders incarcerated in the U.S. This study examined the number of offenders who progressed from noncontact to contact offenses and compared the demographic, crime, and risk characteristics of those convicted of noncontact offenses and those convicted …

Incarceration Vs Treatment: Is One More Effective Than The Other In Preventing Recidivism For Drug Abuse?, Scott G. Kang

Student Theses

This study aims to determine the most effective approach for reducing recidivism among drug offenders, comparing incarceration with treatment. Two hypotheses were formulated for this research: 1) Drug offenders undergoing residential treatment will experience lower recidivism rates compared to those sentenced to incarceration. 2) Extended therapeutic treatment is more likely to positively influence behavior change among drug abusers compared to longer prison sentences. These hypotheses were tested using data from 263 participants in the Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison (DTAP) program, analyzed through logistic regression in SPSS. The results indicate that therapeutic interventions, specifically rehabilitative treatment, are more effective than incarceration in …

Exploring Grit Among Hispanic Undergraduates At A South Texas Hispanic-Serving Institution, Lorraine Pedroza

Theses and Dissertations

Although an increasing number of Latinx students are enrolling in higher education, only a small percentage graduate from two and four-year universities compared to their counterparts. This study explored the relationship between demographic variables and grit scores among undergraduate students. Grit, defined as the perseverance and passion for long-term goals (Duckworth, 2009), has gained significant attention in education research due to its association with academic success and performance. This study utilized a quantitative research design to compare grit scores between junior and senior undergraduate students. A total of 166 participants were included in the analysis, with 69 respondents classified as …

Protocol: Street Outreach Conflict Mediation Programs For Reducing Violence, Edward R. Maguire, Cody W. Telep, Thomas Abt, Ericka Adams

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: This systematic review will synthesize the available evaluation research on the effectiveness of street outreach conflict mediation programs. The review seeks to answer the following primary question: Are street outreach worker strategies that use conflict mediation and/or violence interruption strategies effective at reducing violence? Assuming a sufficient number of eligible studies, this review will also address two additional questions: Are there certain program elements that render these strategies more or less effective? Are there certain conditions under which these strategies are more or less effective? As …

Truth. Regardless Of Reconciliation?, Michael Moffitt

Nevada Law Journal

Formal responses to historical injustices have typically taken one of two fundamental forms in the past hundred years. The first form is familiar to legal systems—a retributive process in which an adjudicative body measures the conduct of alleged wrongdoers against some set of established standards (think Nuremberg Trials). The second form is often labeled “alternative,” particularly in Western legal systems, despite its long history and increasing prevalence within the past few generations. It focuses on broad inclusion, shared responsibility for the outcomes, and a forward-looking perspective on the next steps beyond or in lieu of traditional criminal sanctions (think South …

On Academic Lawyers In The U.S. Government: Walter’S Wisdom, Harold Hongju Koh

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Relationship Between Malingering And Institutional Misconduct: Is Psychopathy The Link?, Lily A. Reed

Student Theses

Despite the established relationships between psychopathy and malingering, and psychopathy and risk for institutional misconduct, little empirical literature has been devoted to examining the interaction of these three constructs. The current study aimed to clarify this relationship by examining data from a sample of male criminal defendants within a federal prison located in a metropolitan area of the Southern United States. Data including the MMPI-2, PCL-R, diagnostic, institutional records, and demographic information was collected. Statistical analyses reinforced previous literature and theoretical conceptualizations that posit a relationship between psychopathy and malingering behaviors, as well as institutional misconduct. Preliminary findings suggest links …

Bystander Intervention In The Workplace Sexual Harassment, Yunjung Lee

Student Theses

Despite increased global attention since the #MeToo movement of 2017, workplace sexual harassment remains a pervasive issue. This is because victims of workplace sexual harassment often react passively, meaning that approaches primarily reliant on victim reporting are less likely to succeed. Given this, bystander intervention has emerged as a promising way to prevent sexual harassment and protect victims. Adopting the previous theoretical framework (Bowes-Sperry & O’Leary‐Kelly, 2005), this study aimed to investigate the decision-making process of bystanders responding to workplace sexual harassment, and to identify the relative frequencies of intervention types and influencing factors. 170 participants from various occupations in …

Principles Of Prosecutor Lenience, Jeffrey Bellin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Once "the Darth Vader of academic writing,"' American prosecutors are making a comeback. In recent years, "progressive prosecutors" have leveraged prosecutors' one true superpower-lenience-to "reform the criminal justice system from the inside." There is so much scholarly enthusiasm for this project that the existing commentary can be summarized as offering a one-word principle to govern considerations of prosecutorial lenience: yes. But there is surely more to say. American criminal law covers a broad array of offenses with vast differences in punitiveness across jurisdictions and courts. And even harsh critics of the system's severity tend to pivot when it comes to …

We Cannot Police Systemic Racism And Systemic Poverty: Why Policing Is Not A Solution To Our Public Health Crisis, Semir Bulle

Utah Law Review

From drug addiction to issues with homelessness, the mental health crisis, community disputes, traffic violations and more, there does not seem to be any evidence that increased police budgets and spending are the best use of limited resources. Criminalization in substitution for measured and targeted interventions has not worked in structurally vulnerable and marginalized communities and it is far past the time to accept tangible alternatives, such as funding initiatives like TCCS. Instead of perpetually increasing our police budget, let’s instead invest in healing our communities. Let’s invest this money in education, recreation, childcare, housing, health; measures that are proven …

Understanding Threats To Public Officials, Peter Simi, Christopher Bader, Seamus Hughes

Reports, Projects, and Research

Threats against public officials are on the rise. It’s a disturbing trend that NCITE researchers at Chapman University are charting by tracking federal cases that involved threats against officials working in the criminal justice system, elections, politics, health care, and education.

Corner Revolution: Beyond “Skynet”, Brightening Grey Space And Building Security, Caimin Shen

Masters Theses

The existence of surveillance areas restricts many bad behaviors, but why do we still feel vague anxiety and uneasiness when walking through street corners and promenades in a city protected by a network of cameras? As China has implemented grid management of cities through the establishment of the “Skynet”—— a system that uses facial recognition and surveillance cameras to strengthen public safety, the crime rate has dropped significantly. But public safety doesn’t just mean fewer criminal activities. Reducing people’s perceived insecurity and anxiety has become a new challenge in China today. “Corner Revolution” explores the transformative power of architectural design …