Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Law
Why Do We Admit Criminal Confessions Into Evidence?, David Crump
Why Do We Admit Criminal Confessions Into Evidence?, David Crump
Seattle University Law Review
There is an enormous literature about the admissibility of criminal confessions. But almost all of it deals with issues related to self-incrimination or, to a lesser extent, with hearsay or accuracy concerns. As a result, the question whether we ever admit criminal confessions into evidence has not been the subject of much analysis. This gap is odd, since confessions are implicitly disfavored by a proportion of the literature and they often collide with exclusionary doctrines. Furthermore, the self-incrimination issue sometimes is resolved by balancing, and it would help if we knew what we were balancing. Therefore, one might ask: Why …
The Character Of The Business: Looking Through "Broken Windows" For Liability In Mass Shootings & Other Third-Party Criminal Acts, Madison Shepley
The Character Of The Business: Looking Through "Broken Windows" For Liability In Mass Shootings & Other Third-Party Criminal Acts, Madison Shepley
Seattle University Law Review
Mass violence and third-party criminal acts are increasing in prevalence, and Washington State's current prior incidents liability analysis does not fully address public policy concerns of safety. This Comment argues for an expansive standard of the definition of character of the business that incorporates a sociological understanding of the effects of an atmosphere of crime. It provides an overview of the various state analyses for determining liability for third-party criminal conduct and breaks down how states have incorporated the concept of character of the business as a factor in liability analysis, ultimately turning to a discussion of how the implementation …
The Communication Decency Act Gone Wild: A Case For Renewing The Presumption Against Preemption, Ryan J.P. Dyer
The Communication Decency Act Gone Wild: A Case For Renewing The Presumption Against Preemption, Ryan J.P. Dyer
Seattle University Law Review
Since its inception, the Internet has disseminated the most vital commodity known to man—information. But not all information is societally desirable. In fact, much of what the Internet serves to disseminate is demonstrably criminal. Nevertheless, in the effort to unbind the “vibrant and competitive free market” of ideas on the Internet, Congress enacted section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which essentially grants immunity to interactive computer service providers from liability for information provided by a third party. This Comment suggests that, in certain contexts, courts applying section 230 immunity should reexamine the preemptive effect Congress intended section 230 to …
O.P.P.: How "Occupy's" Race-Based Privilege May Improve Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence For All, Lenese C. Herbert
O.P.P.: How "Occupy's" Race-Based Privilege May Improve Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence For All, Lenese C. Herbert
Seattle University Law Review
This Article submits that Occupy’s race problem could, ironically, prove to be a solution if protesters grow more serious about exposing the injury of political subordination and systems of privilege that adhere to the criminal justice system. Privilege is a “systemic conferral of benefit and advantage [as a result of] affiliation, conscious or not and chosen or not, to the dominant side of a power system.” Accordingly, now that police mistreatment affects them personally, Occupy may finally help kill a fictitious Fourth Amendment jurisprudence that ignores oppression through improper policing based on racial stigma. Occupy may also help usher in …
Washington's New Sexual Offender Civil Commitment System: An Unconstitutional Commitment System And Unwise Policy Choice, Brian G. Bodine
Washington's New Sexual Offender Civil Commitment System: An Unconstitutional Commitment System And Unwise Policy Choice, Brian G. Bodine
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment will discuss the portion of the legislation that established the system of involuntary civil commitment of violent sexual predators [hereinafter Violent Sexual Predator Commitment System]. This Comment will explore whether the Violent Sexual Predator Commitment System could withstand procedural and substantive due process challenges. Additionally, because the system is premised on a mental disorder of the sexually violent person, the commitment scheme will also be compared with the Involuntary Treatment Act's civil commitment system, to determine whether the Violent Sexual Predator Commitment System violates the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. After …
Survey Of Washington Search And Seizure Law: 1988 Update, Justice Robert F. Utter
Survey Of Washington Search And Seizure Law: 1988 Update, Justice Robert F. Utter
Seattle University Law Review
This is a revision of the original Search and Seizure Survey published in The University of Puget Sound Law Review volume 9, number 1 (Fall 1985). This Survey, as did the first Survey, summarizes the predominant treatment of search and seizure issues under the fourth amendment and under article I, section 7 to the extent that this state provision is interpreted differently from the federal. The Survey focuses primarily on substantive search and seizure law in the criminal context; it omits discussion of many procedural issues such as retroactivity.
A Constitutional Right To An Appeal: Guarding Against Unacceptable Risks Of Erroneous Conviction, James E. Lobsenz
A Constitutional Right To An Appeal: Guarding Against Unacceptable Risks Of Erroneous Conviction, James E. Lobsenz
Seattle University Law Review
The many consequences of "constitutionalizing" the right to appeal become evident only when one answers certain underlying questions about the nature of an appeal. What are the essential elements of an appeal? Why should we view the criminal defendant's right to appeal as an element of due process of law? Part II of this Article seeks to develop a theoretical due process framework for use in deciding when the right to appeal under article I, section 22 of the Washington Constitution has been unconstitutionally abridged or denied. Part III contains an analysis of oral argument as an essential element of …