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In These Times Of Compassion When Conformity’S In Fashion: How Therapeutic Jurisprudence Can Root Out Bias, Limit Polarization And Support Vulnerable Persons In The Legal Process, Michael L. Perlin Jan 2023

In These Times Of Compassion When Conformity’S In Fashion: How Therapeutic Jurisprudence Can Root Out Bias, Limit Polarization And Support Vulnerable Persons In The Legal Process, Michael L. Perlin

Articles & Chapters

In this paper, I consider the extent to which caselaw has – either explicitly or implicitly – incorporated the precepts of therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ), a school of legal thought that focuses on the law’s influence on emotional life and psychological well-being, and that asks us to assess the actual impact of the law on people’s lives. Two of the core tenets of TJ in practice are commitments to dignity and to compassion. I conclude ultimately that, with these principles as touchstones, TJ can be an effective tool – perhaps the most effective tool - in rooting out bias, limiting polarization, …


Prosecutorial Nonenforcement And Residual Criminalization, Justin Murray Sep 2022

Prosecutorial Nonenforcement And Residual Criminalization, Justin Murray

Articles & Chapters

In recent years a small but influential group of locally elected prosecutors committed to criminal justice reform have openly refused to enforce various criminal laws—laws prohibiting marijuana possession, sentence enhancements, laws authorizing the death penalty, and much more—because they see those laws as unjust and incompatible with core reform objectives. Condemned by many on the political right for allegedly usurping the legislature’s lawmaking role and praised by many on the left for bypassing dysfunctional state legislatures in favor of local solutions, these prosecutorial nonenforcement policies are commonly said to have the same effect as nullifying, or even repealing, the laws …


"Insanity Is Smashing Up Against My Soul": The Fifth Circuit And Competency To Be Executed Cases After Panetti V. Quarterman, Michael L. Perlin, Talia Roitberg Harmon Apr 2022

"Insanity Is Smashing Up Against My Soul": The Fifth Circuit And Competency To Be Executed Cases After Panetti V. Quarterman, Michael L. Perlin, Talia Roitberg Harmon

Articles & Chapters

One of the open secrets of death penalty law and policy is the astonishingly high percentage of individuals on death row with serious mental disabilities. This is well known to lawyers who represent this cohort (and presumably, equally well known to the district attorneys who nevertheless prosecute them and the judges who try and sentence them), but is not generally discussed in the press nor, certainly, in political discourse. In the aggregate, this is far beneath society’s radar.

It is now over 14 years since the US Supreme Court decided a case that clarified the underlying issues. In Panetti v. …


"Pistol Shots Ring Out In The Barroom Night": Bob Dylan's "Hurricane" As An Exam (Or Course) In Criminal Procedure, Michael L. Perlin Apr 2021

"Pistol Shots Ring Out In The Barroom Night": Bob Dylan's "Hurricane" As An Exam (Or Course) In Criminal Procedure, Michael L. Perlin

Articles & Chapters

Bob Dylan wrote the song Hurricane to draw the public’s attention to the conviction of the boxer, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, for a crime (multiple murders) which Carter did not commit. Dylan’s song – and its performance as a part of Dylan’s fabled Rolling Thunder Tour – brought significant public attention to this case (and the miscarriage of justice it reflected), and eventually led to the granting of federal habeas corpus (a decision affirmed by the Third Circuit) and the freeing of Carter from state prison in New Jersey. The song takes the listener from the facts of the crime, through …


“I See What Is Right And Approve, But I Do What Is Wrong”: Psychopathy And Punishment In The Context Of Racial Bias In The Age Of Neuroimaging, Alison Lynch, Michael L. Perlin Jan 2021

“I See What Is Right And Approve, But I Do What Is Wrong”: Psychopathy And Punishment In The Context Of Racial Bias In The Age Of Neuroimaging, Alison Lynch, Michael L. Perlin

Articles & Chapters

Criminology research has devoted significant attention to individuals diagnosed either with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) or psychopathy. While in the past, the two terms were used somewhat interchangeably, researchers today are starting to see that the two terms in fact represent two very different personality types and offending patterns. In this article, we examine this development from a legal perspective, considering what this might mean in terms of punishment for these two personality types based on the different characteristics they display in their actual offenses and their responses to punishment and rehabilitation. Specifically, we will focus on how the use …


Access Denied: How 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1915(G) Violates The First Amendment Rights Of Indigent Prisoners, Molly Guptill Manning Jan 2021

Access Denied: How 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1915(G) Violates The First Amendment Rights Of Indigent Prisoners, Molly Guptill Manning

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.


United States V. Herman, Tyler Wilkerson Jan 2021

United States V. Herman, Tyler Wilkerson

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


The “Critical Stage” Of Plea-Bargaining And Disclosure Of Exculpatory Evidence, Gabriella Castellano Jan 2021

The “Critical Stage” Of Plea-Bargaining And Disclosure Of Exculpatory Evidence, Gabriella Castellano

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


When Prosecutors Politick: Progressive Law Enforcers Then And Now, Bruce Green, Rebecca Roiphe Oct 2020

When Prosecutors Politick: Progressive Law Enforcers Then And Now, Bruce Green, Rebecca Roiphe

Articles & Chapters

A new and recognizable group of reform-minded prosecutors has assumed the mantle of progressive prosecution. The term is hard to define in part because its adherents embrace a diverse set of policies and priorities. In comparing the contemporary movement with Progressive Era prosecutors, this Article has two related goals. First, it seeks to better define progressive prosecution. Second, it uses the historical example to draw some lessons for the current movement. Both groups of prosecutors were elected on a wave of popular support. Unlike today’s mainstream prosecutors who tend to campaign and labor in relative obscurity, these two sets of …


A Fiduciary Theory Of Prosecution, Bruce A. Green, Rebecca Roiphe Feb 2020

A Fiduciary Theory Of Prosecution, Bruce A. Green, Rebecca Roiphe

Articles & Chapters

Scholars have failed to arrive at a unifying theory of prosecution, one that explains the complex role that prosecutors play in our democratic system. This Article draws on a developing body of legal scholarship on fiduciary theory to offer a new paradigm that grounds prosecutors’ obligations in their historical role as fiduciaries. Casting prosecutors as fiduciaries clarifies the prosecutor’s obligation to seek justice, focuses attention on the duties of care and loyalty, and prioritizes criminal justice considerations over other public policy interests in prosecutorial charging and plea-bargaining decisions. As fiduciaries, prosecutors are required to engage in an explicit deliberative process …


Through The Lens Of Restorative Justice: A Re-Humanizing, Susan Abraham Jan 2020

Through The Lens Of Restorative Justice: A Re-Humanizing, Susan Abraham

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Hard Truths Of Progressive Prosecution And A Path To Realizing The Movement’S Promise, Seema Gajwani, Max G. Lesser Jan 2020

The Hard Truths Of Progressive Prosecution And A Path To Realizing The Movement’S Promise, Seema Gajwani, Max G. Lesser

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


Learning To Heal: Integrating Restorative Justice Into Legal Education, Natasha S. Vedananda Jan 2020

Learning To Heal: Integrating Restorative Justice Into Legal Education, Natasha S. Vedananda

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


Accountability And Repair: The Prosecutor’S Case For Restorative Justice, Miriam Krinsky, Taylor Phares Jan 2020

Accountability And Repair: The Prosecutor’S Case For Restorative Justice, Miriam Krinsky, Taylor Phares

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


Restorative Prosecution? Rethinking Responses To Violence, Olivia Dana, Sherene Crawford Jan 2020

Restorative Prosecution? Rethinking Responses To Violence, Olivia Dana, Sherene Crawford

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Strings In The Books Ain't Pulled And Persuaded: How The Use Of Improper Statistics And Unverified Data Corrupts The Judicial Process In Sex Offender Cases, Heather Ellis Cucolo, Michael L. Perlin Jan 2019

The Strings In The Books Ain't Pulled And Persuaded: How The Use Of Improper Statistics And Unverified Data Corrupts The Judicial Process In Sex Offender Cases, Heather Ellis Cucolo, Michael L. Perlin

Articles & Chapters

An examination of a range of judicial decisions involving sexual offender determinations reveals that, frequently, courts rely improperly on inaccurate and under-developed statistics as well as unverified and outdated information. This reliance, too often, underlies rulings that subject the sex offender to significant sanctions and loss of liberty. Additionally, the continuation of the testimonial script that all sex offenders are high recidivists, dangerous, compulsive and untreatable, contributes to the anti-therapeutic effect of shaming and humiliation. This results in isolation, seclusion, lack of dignity; also, it further trivializes the judicial process, and violates the tenants of therapeutic jurisprudence. Despite the “frightening …


Jail Time For South African Woman Using Racist Slur Sets New Precedent, Penelope Andrews, Chantelle Feldhaus, René Koraan Mar 2018

Jail Time For South African Woman Using Racist Slur Sets New Precedent, Penelope Andrews, Chantelle Feldhaus, René Koraan

Other Publications

No abstract provided.


United States V. Benally, Kasey Kimball Jan 2018

United States V. Benally, Kasey Kimball

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


Park Slope Tragedy Must Become An Example To Deter Drivers Who Endanger Others, Robert Blecker Jan 2018

Park Slope Tragedy Must Become An Example To Deter Drivers Who Endanger Others, Robert Blecker

Other Publications

No abstract provided.


Trouble Counting To Three: Circuit Splits And Confusion In Interpreting The Prison Litigation Reform Act's Three Strikes Rule, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1915(G), Molly Guptill Manning Jan 2018

Trouble Counting To Three: Circuit Splits And Confusion In Interpreting The Prison Litigation Reform Act's Three Strikes Rule, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1915(G), Molly Guptill Manning

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.


People V. Marian, Jakub D. Brodowski Jan 2017

People V. Marian, Jakub D. Brodowski

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


Ankle Monitors For Everyone: The Plight Of Eyewitness Identifications In Louisiana, Quinn Rapp-Ellis Jan 2017

Ankle Monitors For Everyone: The Plight Of Eyewitness Identifications In Louisiana, Quinn Rapp-Ellis

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


#Stopimmunizing: Why Social Networking Platform Liability Is Necessary To Provide Adequate Redress For Victims Of Cyberbullying, Michael S. Isselin Jan 2017

#Stopimmunizing: Why Social Networking Platform Liability Is Necessary To Provide Adequate Redress For Victims Of Cyberbullying, Michael S. Isselin

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


United States V. Ermoian, Anisa Bartholomew Jan 2017

United States V. Ermoian, Anisa Bartholomew

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


People V. Marian, Caroline Galda Jan 2017

People V. Marian, Caroline Galda

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Cost Of Comfort: Protecting A Criminal Defendant’S Constitutional Rights When Child Witnesses Request Comfort Accommodations, Angela Nascondiglio Jan 2017

The Cost Of Comfort: Protecting A Criminal Defendant’S Constitutional Rights When Child Witnesses Request Comfort Accommodations, Angela Nascondiglio

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.


Brief On Behalf Of The National Black Law Students Association As Amicus Curiae In Buck V. Davis, Aderson Francois, Deborah N. Archer, Daniel Warshawsky Jan 2017

Brief On Behalf Of The National Black Law Students Association As Amicus Curiae In Buck V. Davis, Aderson Francois, Deborah N. Archer, Daniel Warshawsky

Other Publications

No abstract provided.


Book Review Of Law And The Modern Mind: Consciousness And Responsibility In American Legal Culture, Edward A. Purcell Jr Jan 2017

Book Review Of Law And The Modern Mind: Consciousness And Responsibility In American Legal Culture, Edward A. Purcell Jr

Other Publications

No abstract provided.


A Contextual Approach To Harmless Error Review, Justin Murray Jan 2017

A Contextual Approach To Harmless Error Review, Justin Murray

Articles & Chapters

Harmless error review is profoundly important, but arguably broken, in the form that courts currently employ it in criminal cases. One significant reason for this brokenness lies in the dissonance between the reductionism of modern harmless error methodology and the diverse normative ambitions of criminal procedure. Nearly all harmless error rules used by courts today focus exclusively on whether the procedural error under review affected the result of a judicial proceeding. I refer to these rules as “result-based harmlesserror review.” The singular preoccupation of result-based harmless error review with the outputs of criminal processes stands in marked contrast with criminal …


God Said To Abraham/Kill Me A Son: Why The Insanity Defense And The Incompetency Status Are Compatible With And Required By The Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities And Basic Principles Of Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Michael L. Perlin Jan 2017

God Said To Abraham/Kill Me A Son: Why The Insanity Defense And The Incompetency Status Are Compatible With And Required By The Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities And Basic Principles Of Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Michael L. Perlin

Articles & Chapters

Interpretations of the General Comments to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) — that command the abolition of the insanity defense and the incompetency status — make no theoretical or conceptual sense, disregard the history of how society has treated persons with serious mental disabilities who are charged with crime, and will lead to predictable torture of this population in prison, at the hands of both prison guards and other prisoners. Such interpretation also flies in the face of every precept of therapeutic jurisprudence. Support of this position exhibits a startling lack of understanding of the …