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Full-Text Articles in Law
Beyond Finality: How Making Criminal Judgments Less Final Can Further The Interests Of Finality, Andrew Chongseh Kim
Beyond Finality: How Making Criminal Judgments Less Final Can Further The Interests Of Finality, Andrew Chongseh Kim
Andrew Chongseh Kim
Courts and scholars commonly assume that granting convicted defendants more liberal rights to challenge their judgments would harm society’s interests in “finality.” According to conventional wisdom, finality in criminal judgments is necessary to conserve resources, encourage efficient behavior by defense counsel, and deter crime. Thus, under the common analysis, the extent to which convicted defendants should be allowed to challenge their judgments depends on how much society is willing to sacrifice to validate defendants’ rights. This Article argues that expanding defendants’ rights on post-conviction review does not always harm these interests. Rather, more liberal review can often conserve state resources, …
No Prisoner Left Behind? Enhancing Public Transparency Of Penal Institutions, Andrea Armstrong
No Prisoner Left Behind? Enhancing Public Transparency Of Penal Institutions, Andrea Armstrong
Andrea Armstrong
Prisoners suffer life-long debilitating effects of their incarceration, making them a subordinated class of people for life. This article examines how prison conditions facilitate subordination and concludes that enhancing transparency is the first step towards equality. Anti-subordination efforts led to enhanced transparency in schools, a similar but not identical institution. This article argues that federal school transparency measures provide a rudimentary and balanced framework for enhancing prison transparency.
Punishment And Rights, Benjamin L. Apt
Punishment And Rights, Benjamin L. Apt
Benjamin L. Apt
Prevalent theories of criminal punishment lack a rationale for the precise duration and nature of state-ordered criminal punishment. In practice, too, criminal penalization suffers from inadequate evidence of punitive efficacy. These deficiencies, in theory and in fact, would not be so grave were the state to enjoy unfettered power over the disposition of criminal penalties. However, in societies that recognize legal rights, criminal punishments must be consistent with rights. Efficacy, even where demonstrable, does not suffice as a legal justification for punishment. This article analyzes the source of rights and how they function as primary rules in a legal system. …
Oppositional Politics In Criminal Law And Procedure, Janet Moore
Oppositional Politics In Criminal Law And Procedure, Janet Moore
Janet Moore
There is a democracy deficit at the intersection of crime, race, and poverty. The causes and consequences of hyperincarceration disproportionately affect those least likely to mount an effective oppositional politics: poor people and people of color. This Article breaks new ground by arguing that the democracy deficit calls for a democracy-enhancing theory of criminal law and procedure that modifies traditional justifications of retributivism, deterrence, and rehabilitation by prioritizing self-governance. Part I contextualizes the argument within cyclical retrenchments across movements for racial and economic justice. Part II sketches the contours of a democracy-enhancing theory. Part III turns that theoretical lens on …
The Widening Maturity Gap: Trying Juveniles As Adults In An Era Of Extended Adolescence, David Pimentel
The Widening Maturity Gap: Trying Juveniles As Adults In An Era Of Extended Adolescence, David Pimentel
David Pimentel
Cultural shifts and evolving parenting norms have dramatically changed society’s perception and expectations of adolescence and young adulthood. Intensive, highly-protective parenting is now the norm, with parents playing a larger role in late-teens’ and young adults’ lives than ever before. Even the young adults do not perceive themselves to be fully grown-up yet, and do not expect to be fully responsible for themselves, until well into their mid-twenties. Consistent with this, neuroscientists are finding that the relevant brain development is not complete before the age of twenty-five, so it may be unreasonable to expect a late teen to behave like …