Digital Commons Network^™

A Call To Dismantle Systemic Racism In Criminal Legal Systems, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Margaret C. Stevenson

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: In October 2021, APA passed a resolution addressing ways psychologists could work to dismantle systemic racism in criminal legal systems. The present report, developed to inform APA’s policy resolution, details the scope of the problem and offers recommendations for policy and psychologists to address the issue by advancing related science and practice. Specifically, it acknowledges the roots of modern-day racial and ethnic disparities in rates of criminalization and punishment for people of color as compared to White people. Next, the report reviews existing theory and research that helps explain the underlying psychological mechanisms driving racial and ethnic disparities …

Perception Of Racial Minorities And Police Officers Involving Use Of Force, Linda L. Hester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although police training, codes of ethics, and use of force policies are in place at police departments, the problem is there is a lack of standardization involving use of force by police officers, which is triggering community concerns between police officers and racial minorities. The present study built on the work of Riter by exploring perceptions and lived experiences of racial minorities involving police officers’ use of force based on fear, trust, and confidence. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore whether lived experiences of racial minority citizens differ from police officers regarding use of force in a …

Citizen's Arrest And Race, Ira P. Robbins

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

I begin with a mea culpa. In 2016, I published an article about citizen’s arrest. The idea for the article arose in 2014, when a disgruntled Virginia citizen attempted to arrest a law school professor while class was in progress. I set out to research and write a “traditional” law review article. In it, I traced the origins of the doctrine of citizen’s arrest to medieval England, imposing a positive duty on citizens to assist the King in seeking out suspected offenders and detaining them. I observed that the need for citizen’s arrest lessened with the development of organized and …

Platform-Enabled Crimes: Pluralizing Accountability When Social Media Companies Enable Perpetrators To Commit Atrocities, Rebecca Hamilton

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Online intermediaries are omnipresent. Each day across the globe, the corporations running these platforms execute policies and practices that serve their profit model, typically by sustaining user engagement. Sometimes, these seemingly banal business activities enable principal perpetrators to commit crimes. Online intermediaries, however, are almost never held to account for their complicity in the resulting harms. This Article introduces the concept of platformenabled crimes into the legal literature to highlight the ways in which the ordinary business activities of online intermediaries enable the commission of crime. It then focuses on a subset of platform-enabled crimes—those in which a social media …

Constitutional Law—Penalizing The “Unsightly”: An Argument For The Abolishment Of Laws Criminalizing Life-Sustaining Behaviors Among The Homeless, Carli Ross

Western New England Law Review

Thousands of people across the country suffer from homelessness. Instead of funding more shelters or dealing with the lack of subsidized housing, cities have chosen to rely on the criminal justice system to regulate homeless behavior. Homeless individuals are being punished with fines and potential jail time for sleeping, sitting, gathering, and camping in public. Not only does this practice contribute to the homelessness crisis in the United States, but it also creates an additional obstacle for homeless individuals. Additionally, relying on the criminal justice system is more costly than helping homeless individuals find a permanent shelter. The Ninth Circuit …

A Bonded Case Study Of Missouri Secondary Criminal Justice Program Curricula, James Barnes, James Oren Barnes

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory case study measured the Missouri Secondary Criminal Justice Program instructors' perception on the impact of Missouri technical standards, the Industry Recognized Credential/Technical Skills Assessment (IRC/TSA), Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs), individual cumulative career experience, and advisory boards on their curricula. As a local autonomy state, Missouri has no statutorily mandated curricula to guide instructors. Six secondary criminal justice instructors agreed to be interviewed on their perspectives regarding the factors that impact curricula. The research found that instructor experience had the most substantial impact on curricula. The instructors used the technical standards as a scope and sequence for …

Off The Record: Preserving Statistical Information After Juvenile Expungement, Eve Rips

American University Law Review

Although expungement is often defined as the destruction of an individual’s record., expungement statutes vary tremendously in the extent to which they lead to records being destroyed. In some states, juvenile expungement statutes have impacted the accuracy of data on arrest rates: when the record is destroyed, the state loses access to the statistical information contained in it. Juvenile expungement laws play a critical role in rehabilitation, but completely forgetting the information contained in a record, can also obscure history of criminalizing children and teens and can make it difficult to document inequities accurately.

This Article examines how to protect …

Delusions, Moral Incapacity, And The Case For Moral Wrongfulness, E. Lea Johnston

UF Law Faculty Publications

Responsibility is a legal—not medical—construct. However, science can be useful in exposing faulty assumptions underlying current doctrine or practice, illuminating changes in practice or evidentiary standards to better effectuate the law’s animating purpose, and even suggesting updates to legal standards to account for modern understandings of functionalities of concern. This Article uses the science of delusions to assess the law regarding, and practice of establishing, criminal irresponsibility for defendants with psychosis. Over the last two decades, researchers from the cognitive sciences have compiled strong evidence that a host of cognitive and emotional impairments contribute to the origin and maintenance of …

The Racial And Partisan Underpinnings Of Attitudes Toward Police In A Time Of Protest, Andrew Thompson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Racial and ethnic differences in policing attitudes have generally been examined through the group position or other conflict perspectives. This perspective contains a limitation, especially when considering recent trends in racial and policing attitudes. Racial attitudes have been liberalizing for over a decade among White political liberals and moderates, while Republicans’ racial attitudes have been relatively stagnant. These divergent trends may have accelerated since the murder of George Floyd. While racial attitudes (including attitudes about the police) have been polarizing along political lines, the group position model suggests that racial attitudes and policy preferences among dominant group members, regardless of …

Modelling Pretrial Detention, Melissa Hamilton

American University Law Review

Pretrial detention has become normative in contemporary criminal justice, rather than the exception to a rule of release for individuals not convicted of any crime. Even the opportunity for release with a bond amount often eludes the many individuals who are unable to afford, to pay. Defendants detained, pending trial suffer numerous negative consequences to their own legal cases, such as being more likely to feel pressured to plead guilty and to receive a prison sentence. The high numbers of those detained appear to disproportionately impact minorities and. have contributed to mass incarceration. As a. result, of these issues, the …

Free-Ing Criminal Justice, I. Bennett Capers

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Schoolhouse Rap, Andrea L. Dennis

Scholarly Works

Rap on Trial, the treatment of rap music as evidence in the American criminal legal process, is well-documented and increasingly scrutinised. Research has shown that – with little restraint – police, prosecutors, probation officers and judges use rap lyrics to investigate, prosecute and punish individuals. Less noticed is that a similar phenomenon is occurring in the American K–12 educational system, which disciplines school-age youth who participate in rap culture and sometimes refers them to the juvenile or criminal legal systems for additional punishment. This article describes and analyses a small set of identified cases of this scenario, demonstrating that rap …

Building Fierce Empathy, Binny Miller

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

In this Article I explore the process of building and sustaining empathy with clients in the context of representing juvenile lifers-- people convicted of serious crimes as children and sentenced to life or sentences that ensure that they spend most of their lives in prison--in a law school clinic. Before turning to my own lawyering experiences and those of my clinic students, I ground the discussion of empathy in the competing theories of Charles Ogletree and Abbe Smith about the value of empathic lawyering for public defenders. These theories, together with the contributions of other scholars, provide a springboard for …

Criminal Law Exceptionalism, Benjamin Levin

Publications

For over half a century, U.S. prison populations have ballooned and criminal codes have expanded. In recent years, a growing awareness of mass incarceration and the harms of criminal law across lines of race and class has led to a backlash of anti-carceral commentary and social movement energy. Academics and activists have adopted a critical posture, offering not only small-bore reforms, but full-fledged arguments for the abolition of prisons, police, and criminal legal institutions. Where criminal law was once embraced by commentators as a catchall solution to social problems, increasingly it is being rejected, or at least questioned. Instead of …

Victims’ Rights Revisited, Benjamin Levin

Publications

This Essay responds to Bennett Capers's article, "Against Prosecutors." I offer four critiques of Capers’s proposal to bring back private prosecutions: (A) that shifting power to victims still involves shifting power to the carceral state and away from defendants; (B) that defining the class of victims will pose numerous problems; C) that privatizing prosecution reinforces a troubling impulse to treat social problems at the individual level; and (D) broadly, that these critiques suggest that Capers has traded the pathologies of “public” law for the pathologies of “private” law. Further, I argue that the article reflects a new, left-leaning vision of …

Authenticity, Care, And Relationships: Ethical Decision-Making In Criminal Justice Education, Robert B. Lehmann

Theses and Dissertations

Many events in recent history have demonstrated the need for addressing the training of law enforcement and other public servants commonly referred to as criminal justice professionals in the United States. Reckoning with the imperfect history of the criminal justice system, specifically the history of problematic relations with marginalized people, and developing a system that is better equipped to meet the needs of an equitable and just society is at the forefront of many discussions of criminal justice reform. Improving ethical decision-making training in criminal justice education is one avenue to addressing these needs for current and future professionals. Conceptually, …

“Cancel Culture” And Criminal Justice, Steven Arrigg Koh

Faculty Scholarship

This Article explores the relationship between two normative systems in modern society: “cancel culture” and criminal justice. It argues that cancel culture—a ubiquitous phenomenon in contemporary life—may rectify deficiencies of over- and under-enforcement in the U.S. criminal justice system. However, the downsides of cancel culture’s structure—imprecise factfinding, potentially disproportionate sanctions leading to collateral consequences, a “thin” conception of the wrongdoer as beyond rehabilitation, and a broader cultural anxiety that “chills” certain human conduct—reflect problematic U.S. punitive impulses that characterize our era of mass incarceration. This Article thus argues that social media reform proposals obscure a deeper necessity: transcendence of blame …

Public Perceptions Of Indecent Image Offenders, Joshua Samuel Taylor-Smith

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Indecent images of children (IIOC) offences are on the rise year by year, in part due to the easy accessibility to this content with the augmentation of the internet. This has led to increased attention from the public and those involved with law enforcement. However, research into the public perceptions of these offences is very limited. While they do not directly dictate law enforcement, the views of the public have become dominant in penal policymaking and therefore, understanding their current perceptions and beliefs is paramount. One of the only items of research into this area was conducted by Lam et …

The Trial Of Anthony Sims, Jeff Winter

Capstones

This capstone is an investigation into the wrongful conviction of Anthony Sims.

Challenging Solitary Confinement Through State Constitutions, Alison Gordon

University of Cincinnati Law Review

Eighth Amendment jurisprudence has resulted in limited scrutiny of solitary confinement despite the known harms associated with the practice. The two-part test established by the federal courts to evaluate Eighth Amendment claims and limitations on challenging prison conditions under the Prison Litigation Reform Act can make it difficult to establish that solitary confinement is cruel and unusual punishment.

State constitutional challenges to solitary confinement are underexplored. Nearly all state constitutions contain an equivalent provision to the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. State courts need not be bound by federal jurisprudence in interpreting the scope of the state …

The Understanding Of Digital And Multimedia Evidence (Dme) By Attorneys And Digital Forensic Examiners (Dfe) Within The United States Criminal Justice System, Joseph Levi White

Dissertations

One goal of this research was to determine potential themes that may influence the understanding of Digital and Multimedia Evidence (DME) by attorneys and Digital Forensic Examiners (DFE) within the United States Criminal Justice System. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather information from experienced criminal attorneys and DFEs regarding potential influences on their understanding of DME. The results of these interviews were transcribed, and the data coded to allow for qualitative analysis. Five themes were developed from this data and are thought to play a role in understanding of DME by attorneys and DFEs: motivation for involvement in the …

Criminal Justice Majors Get Credit For Deputy Program, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Program Review: Criminal Justice Department, Timbre Wulf, Julie Campbell, Jessica Peterson, Kyle Harshbarger

Academic Program Reviews

No abstract provided.

Beyond Binary Thinking: Addressing The Biases That Threaten The Progressive Prosecution Movement, Olwyn Conway

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

A society that regularly and systematically dehumanizes citizens of color will continue to wield the most punitive aspects of its criminal system against those citizens, so long as they are legally available. The racial discrimination that pervades the American criminal system drives its punitiveness and fosters excessive punishments that increase harm and criminal wrongdoing.

An Analysis Of Effects Of Vicarious Trauma Among Attorneys: A Descriptive Qualitative Approach To Develop Training Programs Focused On Reducing Vicarious Trauma Among Attorneys, Kyla Eileen Gray

Masters Theses

Vicarious trauma refers to exposure to another person's traumatic experience. Professionals working within the criminal justice system, policing, courts, or mental health are regularly exposed to traumatic events. The idea or expectation that a person can be exposed to this every day and not be affected is unrealistic. A new approach to mitigating and preventing exposure to adverse impacts of vicarious trauma is vital to these employees' mental health. This article focuses on attorneys who work with vulnerable populations and how vicarious trauma affects their everyday professional and personal lives. This paper will discuss the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), what …

Career Preparedness: Perspectives From C&Cj Alumni At An Scu, Tracey Woodard, Courtney Mcdonald

Teacher-Scholar: The Journal of the State Comprehensive University

State comprehensive universities (SCUs) feature degree programs designed to help graduates achieve their career aspirations. Criminology and Criminal Justice (C&CJ) programs have become popular at SCUs, in part because students are inspired by media portrayals of law enforcement to work in the criminal justice field. Yet little is known about how C&CJ alumni of SCUs perceive their educational experiences. For this exploratory study, an online survey was distributed to alumni of a Southern SCU C&CJ program. Alumni were asked about their perceptions of their own career preparedness following graduation and their satisfaction with the C&CJ program. Overall, alumni were satisfied …

Commercial Sex And Exploitation, Judge Barbara Mack, Dana Raigrodski

Chapters in Books

Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), including sex trafficking, mainly targets women, children, young adults (up to age 24), and individuals identifying as LGBTQ+, primarily in communities in poverty, Indigenous communities, and communities of color. Economic and social marginalization drives people into the commercial sex industry and exploitation, which in turn perpetuates that economic and social marginalization. The most targeted and marginalized populations have been doubly harmed by exploitation and by poor treatment within the legal system.

While data is limited, CSE is widespread in the sex industry in Washington State and nationally. State and national data show significant disparities based on …

From Rulay To Rules: Perceptions Of Prison Life And Reforms In The Dominican Republic’S Traditional And New Prisons, Jennifer Peirce

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project explores the implementation of reforms to the prison system in the Dominican Republic, with an emphasis on how incarcerated people perceive their conditions and daily life in confinement. In 2003, the Dominican Republic established a New Prison Management Model, focused on international human rights standards and rehabilitation. This model now manages over half of the prison facilities and a third of the incarcerated population, while the previous, “traditional” model continues to operate in tandem. The “new” and reformed facilities (Centers for Correction and Rehabilitation) feature new buildings, programs, and correctional officer staff with multi-disciplinary training. In contrast, 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.

Recreation And Realization: Reported Motivations Of Use Among Persons Who Consume Psychedelics In Non-Clinical Settings, Cindy Brooks Dollar

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Psychedelic research is said to be going through a renaissance with widespread public and political attention on psychedelics’ ability to clinically resolve various medicalized issues. The prevailing cultural narrative of psychedelics almost touts it as a panacea when used in regulated, clinical settings under the supervision of a trained guide. While clinical studies are certainly informative, it is important to recognize that most psychedelic use takes place in social settings, not clinical ones. This paper seeks to expand the narrative on psychedelic research by presenting in-depth interview data on a diverse sample of 30 persons who report using psychedelic substances …