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Racial Bias And Death Penalty Cases: A Soar Analysis Of Post-Conviction, Ashley Mcilvaine

Senior Capstone Papers

Racial discrimination is a far-reaching issue that adversely impacts individuals, groups, and communities across multiple domains. It is defined by the Equality and Human Rights Commission as being treated differently because of one’s race. For decades, discriminatory policies have been codified into institutional processes which disadvantage people of color. This is particularly evident in the criminal justice system. Examples of practices that disproportionately impact intentionally marginalized populations include issues of excess force and police brutality, sentencing disparities for minor offenses or drug charges, and state sanctioned capital punishment. While these forms of discrimination are often labeled as explicit and overt …

An Examination Of U.S. And U.K. Procedures Governing Sexual Misconduct Investigations In Universities, Marc Siegel

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note critiques the lack of a unified regulatory framework for addressing sexual misconduct in U.K. universities, contrasting it with the structured, albeit controversial, Title IX system in the U.S. It argues that the U.K.'s voluntary approach has led to inconsistent, unjust outcomes and advocates for the adoption of a comprehensive regulatory regime similar to Title IX to ensure fairness, accountability, and consistency in handling such cases.

Evaluation Of Raman Microspectroscopy And Hyperspectral Imaging As A Screening Tool To Determine Optimal Sampling Sites For Dna Recovery From Human Skeletal Remains, Kathleen M. Smith

Master's Theses

Numerous challenges exist with forensic genetic testing of human skeletal remains due to diagenesis patterns in bone microstructure, DNA degradation, and the presence of PCR inhibitors. Diagenesis is the microscopic breakdown of the bone matrix, which consists primarily of mineralized calcium hydroxyapatite and collagen. The process of diagenesis occurs in a heterogeneous, non-uniform manner along the diaphysis of a long bone, and determining the region with the most intact bone microstructure is not possible with the naked eye. Therefore, taking cuttings from the diaphysis for DNA testing is somewhat of a “blind” process, and decades of research and casework have …

Proposal To Add Human Trafficking Prevention Education Measures In The Ladoc, Lauren Shaw

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Do Callous-Unemotional Traits Change The Association Between Environmental Stressors And Antisocial Behavior In Adolescents, Isabelle Whitfield

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Party Capability And The Decisions Of The South African Constitutional Court, Isabella Rovere

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Study Of How African Americans Perceive Cultural Appropriation By Whites In The Media, Fredlicia Phillips

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Presumptive Use Of Pretrial Risk Assessment Instruments, Christopher Slobogin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

One proposed reform of the pretrial detention system is the adoption of risk assessment instruments to assist courts in determining who is at risk of reoffending or a flight risk. This Response to Professor Melissa Hamilton's Article, Modelling Pretrial Detention, proposes that under most circumstances the results of well-validated instruments should not only inform pretrial outcomes but should dictate them, on the ground that such results are more likely to be accurate than judicial decision-making. The Response also provides evidence that this reform would significantly reduce pretrial detention rates and, consistent with Professor Hamilton's findings, avoid producing racially disparate results.

Disaster Discordance: Local Court Implementation Of State And Federal Eviction Policies, Lauren Sudeall, Elora L. Raymond, Philip M.E. Garboden

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Eviction sits at the nexus of property rights and the basic human need for shelter-the former benefits from a strong framework of legal protection while the latter does not. In most eviction courts across the country, therefore, the right to housing is unrecognized, while landlords' economic interests in property are consistently vindicated.

The public health crisis unleashed by COVID-19 temporarily upended that (im)balance. Emergency federal and state eviction prevention policies issued in response to COVID-19 prioritized public health-and the need for shelter to prevent the spread of disease-over typically dominant property rights. In doing so, they presented courts with an …

Exploring The Relationship Between Civil Legal Assistance And The Outcomes Of Domestic And Intimate Partner Violence Victims: A Literature Review, Kailena E. Anderson

Honors Thesis

While there are a variety of services available to victims of Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence, the civil legal needs of victims often go unmet. In addition to this, these is a relatively small body of research from which programs that provide civil legal aid can discover best practices and use evidence-based approaches. This article aims to begin addressing these issues by examining available literature and program evaluations, connecting program factors to client outcomes. The two main conclusions found from the evaluation are that full representation provides the most benefits and that the type of law being practiced (i.e. protective …

Legal Order At The Border, Evan J. Criddle

Faculty Publications

For generations, the United States has grappled with high levels of illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border. This Article offers a novel theoretical framework to explain why legal order remains elusive at the border. Drawing inspiration from Lon Fuller’s “interactional view of law,” I argue that immigration law cannot attract compliance unless it is general, public, prospective, clear, consistent, and stable; obedience with its rules is feasible; and the law’s enforcement is congruent with the rules as enacted. The flagrant violation of any one of these principles could frustrate the development of a functional legal order. Remarkably, U.S. immigration law …

Quest: Spring 2023, Lynn University

Quest Literary & Arts Journal

Quest: Lynn University Literary & Arts Journal

Racial Justice And Marijuana, Steven Bender

Faculty Articles

Current legalization approaches for recreational marijuana fall short of performing and delivering racial justice as measured by materiality and outcomes rather than promises of formal legal equality. As a small first step for unwinding the War on Drugs, this Article considers how legalizing recreational marijuana can help move law and society toward true racial justice, measured by material and actual outcomes for systemically subordinated groups. In the same way that criminalization of marijuana was one of the tools for racial control, legalization of marijuana can be a revenue-based tool toward an anti-subordination future of material equality. While recognizing the shortcomings …

3rd Place Contest Entry: Using The Scientific Method To Combat The Biological And Sociological Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Aspiring Healthcare Professional’S Perspective, Isabelle Dhindsa

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Isabelle Dhindsa's submission for the 2023 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won third place. It contains their essay on using library resources, their bibliography, and a sample of their research project on using the scientific method to combat the biological and sociological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Isabelle is a fourth-year student at Chapman University, majoring in Biology. Their faculty mentor is Dr. Carmichael Peters.

A Threat To Valid Guilty Pleas: The Impact Of Guilt Status, Acute Stress, And Plea Knowledge On Plea-Bargaining Decisions, Grace Hanzelin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The most common route through the US criminal justice system is through plea-bargaining, with over 95% of criminal cases ending in a guilty plea. Previous studies have found different factors (e.g., plea discounts; Wilford et al., 2021) that can increase the likelihood of a false guilty plea. This study aimed to further investigate the effect of guilt status on plea decisions, but also to see how guilt may work alongside acute stress and pre-existing knowledge of the plea process to drive plea-bargaining decisions. Participants (N = 188) were assigned to complete either a stressful or a non-stressful version of the …

The Effects Of Identity Conflict And Identity Salience On Job Satisfaction And Vocational Connectedness In Minority Law Enforcement Officers, Kityara James

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Law enforcement agencies are having trouble recruiting, hiring, and maintaining ethnic minority officers. Although the Department of Justice identified multiple issues minorities face while pursuing and engaging in the profession, there have been few efforts to determine the source of these problems and how to overcome them. In a stressful profession that doesn't historically align with being a minority, the difference between staying with that job or going to another one may lie in how connected to the job and how satisfied with that job minority law enforcement feel. The current study explores how ethno-racial and police identity salience and …

Substance Use Disorder Treatment Among African American Men Living In The Rural South Of The United States, Serge Raoul Wandji

Theses and Dissertations

Substance use disorders (SUD) affect more than 40 million Americans. African American (AA) men are disproportionally affected by the negative health and social consequences of SUD, and men in rural areas may be particularly at risk due to disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions and persistent race-related stressors such as perceived discrimination. The overall purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of factors associated with SUD treatment acceptance and relapse potential among Southern rural AA men.

This purpose was achieved by determining differences in treatment acceptance and relapse potential by race and gender among rural residents admitted in a SUD treatment …

Commodified Inequality: Racialized Harm To Children And Families In The Injustice Enterprise, Daniel L. Hatcher

All Faculty Scholarship

This article addresses the systemic racialized harm of a vast injustice enterprise, with a focus on the symbiotic operations of agencies and justice systems monetizing vulnerable children and families, including the impact of contractual revenue schemes uncovered in my new book, Injustice, Inc. Our foundational justice systems are permeated by a history of racial injustice, and that history reverberates into factory-like operations that churn children and the poor into revenue. The revenue-generating mechanisms used by juvenile and family courts, prosecutors, probation departments, police, sheriffs, and detention facilities all draw the concerning historical connection—interlinked with the practices of child and …

The Economics Of Mass Incarceration: How Imprisonment Due To Drug Offenses Impacts The Economy Of Texas, Leah N. Letterhos

Senior Theses

I begin by addressing drug use and how it impacts individuals’ economic outcomes, through psychological substance abuse disorders, income, and employment, where I discuss how each factor is impacted by drug use. Next, I undergo the same process for how incarceration and how it affects economic outcomes of individuals, through the debt cycle, the drain of household resources, limited/lack of pay while in prison, and difficulty in finding employment after release from prison. I follow this by connecting incarceration to drug use by writing about the background on the United States’ incarceration rates and link to drug enforcement and systemic …

The Future Of Bail Reform In The United States, Mary Gorham

Senior Theses

This thesis examines bail reform, specifically cash bail reform, across several jurisdictions in the United States. The goal of this research is to provide a synthesis of the literature and reform efforts at the state and federal levels. Importantly, this thesis will examine recent modifications to the cash bail systems in four states. in order to get a balanced perspective on the success of these reform efforts. In the pages that follow, there will be a presentation of the literature review and a discussion of the reforms that have been undertaken since 2015. Additionally, this thesis will discuss how the …

The Widened Hearthstone Urban Playgrounds As The Infrastructure Of Public Mothering, 1900-1930, Alexandra Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the limitations on their formal political involvement, women across the United States took control of the Progressive Era playground movement, and playground advocates nationwide argued that urban play spaces constructed motherhood into the city. While many mothers used playgrounds for child care, playground directors used the maternal authority constructed into playgrounds to promote their ideas about ideal citizenship. One playground director, Mabel E. Macomber, called this aspect of playground work the “'mother' element,” believing, as did other workers and advocates, that playgrounds were part of the apparatus of urban mothering, and in the case of many poor working women, …

Employed Desistance: Identifying Best Employment-Focused Interventions And Practices For Gang Desistance, Jacob Fergen Albert

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This study examined those employment-focused interventions (services, programming, mentorship, other supports) most effective in supporting an individual’s desistance from gang involvement. Utilizing a qualitative approach (interviews, document analysis and nonparticipant observation), this study engaged with individuals and organizations involved in the critical work of gang desistance to learn what makes their practices most effective. The criticality of gang desistance work lies in its efforts to address the thousands of lives continually lost each year as a result of gang-involvement and activity. Where gangs exist in cities, towns and communities across the country (and world, for that matter), the approaches of …

Giving The Green Light: Corporate Environmental Crimes, The Treadmill Of Production, And Environmental Justice, Matthew J. Greife

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

In addition to legal considerations, what other factors correlate with and seem to affect fines companies are assessed when they commit an environmental crime? Relying upon the treadmill of crime theoretical framework we hypothesize that companies committing environmental crimes in poor and minority dominated communities will receive lower relative fines because the harms are viewed as less serious by prosecutors and judges, thus resulting in environmental injustice. In addition, from a green criminological framework, a company’s economic situation may be considered in setting fines so as not to slow down the treadmill of production. Using a unique dataset of firms …

Richmond Law Magazine: Spring 2023, University Of Richmond

Richmond Law Magazine

Rules of (Civic) Engagement

The More You Give

100 Years of Women at Richmond Law

The Risk Of Protection: Examining The Contextual Effects Of Child Protective Services On Child Maltreatment Fatalities In The U.S., Cosette Morgan Mccullough

Theses and Dissertations

Much research has been done in the field of child homicide. While child homicide is a statistically rare event, it is especially pervasive in the United States. A subsection of research in the child homicide literature is the topic of child maltreatment fatalities, defined as when a child is killed through the means of maltreatment, such as physical abuse or neglect. What has been less so researched, however, is the combination of factors that can affect a child’s fatality risk. The current study seeks to expand on the previous research using the 2019 Child File of the National Child Abuse …

Racial Equity Analysis: Access To Permanent Housing And The Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assessment Tool (Vi-Spdat), Mary Ann Priester

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This study aimed to replicate and extend national research within the local context of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Continuum of Care by using propensity score methods to examine the relationships between race, program outcome, and housing prioritization among subpopulations of individuals experiencing homelessness.

Methods: This study used secondary data analysis and propensity score methods to examine deidentified client-level Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data collected from January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2021 by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Continuum of Care (CoC).

Results: Findings indicate that Whites are more likely to exit homeless services programs to temporary or institutional destinations vs. permanent housing …

The Hyper-Incarceration Of Female Minority Juvenile Offenders Within The Juvenile And Criminal Justice Systems, Ruth C.A. Philippe

Selected Honors Theses

Young women are the fastest-growing portion of the juvenile justice system population. Girls experience risk factors at higher rates than boys, exhibit mental health issues at higher rates than boys, suffer more negative consequences from justice system involvement than system-involved boys, and are less likely to access treatment than boys. Girls are also more likely to become involved with the justice system for minor offenses such as running away or skipping school. In particular, young women of color receive unfair treatment than their counterparts. Girls of color are disadvantaged and treated differently within both the juvenile and criminal justice systems …

Addressing The Recidivism Challenge In San Diego County: Learning From Lived Experience Approaches, Andrew Blum, Alfredo Malaret Baldo

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

The problem is as old as the justice system itself—how to reduce the chance that an individual reoffends after they commit an offense and become involved with the justice system. This challenge of reducing recidivism remains critical. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, there are over 120,000 individuals in state prisons in California. Another 380,000 cycle through jails in California every year. In 2021, roughly 25,000 individuals were released from prison in California each year. This is the scope of the challenge.

In San Diego County, a wide variety of agencies and organizations are working to address the recidivism challenge. …

A Critical Analysis Of Discrepancies In Behavioral Health Program Ratings By Evidence-Based Practice Registers For Behavioral Health, Miranda Jade Lee-Easton

Dissertations

Decision makers in the behavioral health disciplines are under increasing pressure to identify and implement evidence-based practices (EBPs). These decision makers often do not have the time or expertise to assess primary studies of program efficacy or effectiveness. They could benefit from tools to assist them in identifying and implementing EBPs. One tool is an evidence-based practice register (EBPR). Prior studies have documented that when multiple EBPRs rate a given program, they may come to seemingly conflicting program ratings. The prior research concerning the reason for these conflicts is sparse. The purpose of the present study is to understand how …

Reflections On Fees And Fines As Stategraft, Rebekah Diller, Mitali Nagrecha, Alicia Bannon

Articles

In A Theory of Stategraft, Bernadette Atuahene advances the concept of “stategraft” to describe situations in which “state agents transfer property from persons to the state in violation of the state’s own laws or basic human rights.” This Essay delineates the ways in which criminal legal system fees and fines can be characterized as stategraft and explores the value of this concept for social movements. In many ways, the stategraft frame, with its focus on illegality, fits well with much of the litigation and advocacy against unconstitutional fees-and-fines practices that have occurred over the last decade. Exposing illegal practices …