Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Eighth Amendment (2)
- Georgia (2)
- Legislation (2)
- "three strikes rule" (1)
- AIDS (1)
-
- Class Action Law (1)
- Criminal Law (1)
- Criminal law (1)
- Criminalization (1)
- Death Penalty Statute (1)
- Disability (1)
- Due process (1)
- Employment (1)
- Evidence (1)
- Ex-Offenders (1)
- Exclusion of Testimony (1)
- Execution (1)
- Exonerated (1)
- Faithful execution (1)
- Faulty Forensics (1)
- Federal courts (1)
- Federalism (1)
- First Circuit (1)
- Forensic evidence (1)
- Fourth Amendment (1)
- Georgia Law (1)
- Georgia Statutes (1)
- HIV (1)
- Law enforcement (1)
- Misdemeanor (1)
- File Type
Articles 1 - 19 of 19
Full-Text Articles in Law
You’Re Out!: Three Strikes Against The Plra’S Three Strikes Rule, Kasey Clark
You’Re Out!: Three Strikes Against The Plra’S Three Strikes Rule, Kasey Clark
Georgia Law Review
As federal court caseloads increased in the twentieth century, concerned jurists and academics pointed their fingers at many potential culprits. One culprit in particular, however, caught the attention of Congress: suits brought by prisoners. To curtail what it believed was an influx of frivolous prisoner litigation, Congress passed the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) in 1996. One provision of the PLRA, known as the “three strikes rule,” prohibits a prisoner from proceeding in forma pauperis if three or more of the prisoner’s prior actions or appeals have been dismissed as frivolous or malicious or for failure to state a claim …
Faithful Execution In The Fifty States, Zachary S. Price
Faithful Execution In The Fifty States, Zachary S. Price
Georgia Law Review
Amid heightened political conflict over criminal-justice policy, norms surrounding prosecutorial discretion have shifted rapidly. Under the prior mainstream approach, prosecutors exercised broad charging discretion, but generally did so tacitly and in case-by-case fashion out of deference to statutory law’s primacy. Under an emerging alternative approach, associated for the moment with progressive politics, prosecutors categorically and transparently suspend enforcement of laws they consider unjust or unwise. The federal government under President Obama employed this theory in high-profile policies relating to marijuana crimes, as well as immigration and the Affordable Care Act. More recently, a number of self-described “progressive prosecutors” have employed …
Unacceptable Risk: The Failure Of Georgia’S “Guilty But Intellectually Disabled” Statute And A Call For Change, Logan Purvis
Unacceptable Risk: The Failure Of Georgia’S “Guilty But Intellectually Disabled” Statute And A Call For Change, Logan Purvis
Georgia Law Review
In 1988, Georgia became the first state in the nation to prohibit the execution of intellectually disabled criminal defendants. At the time, this groundbreaking action played a critical role in shaping the national debate surrounding the criminal justice system’s treatment of this group of individuals, culminating in the United States Supreme Court’s own prohibition in 2002. A drafting error in Georgia’s statute, however, created a highly prejudicial process for determining intellectual disability, all but ensuring that the law’s protections are unattainable for those who seek it. Despite this error, Georgia’s process has remained the same since the statute’s enactment with …
Complicated Mercy: Compensating The Wrongfully Convicted In Georgia, Elizabeth O'Roark
Complicated Mercy: Compensating The Wrongfully Convicted In Georgia, Elizabeth O'Roark
Georgia Law Review
An exoneree’s story does not end when they walk out of prison and back into society. After spending years in prison for a crime they did not commit, the exoneree must rebuild a life with years of lost income, little credit, and no retirement. Georgia is one of the few states that does not have a statute setting out how to fairly and efficiently compensate its exonerees. Exonerees must instead ask state representatives to present a resolution to the General Assembly. If the resolution passes through both chambers of the legislature, then the exoneree can receive some compensation for the …
Hiv No Longer A Death Sentence But Still A Life Sentence: The Constitutionality Of Hiv Criminalization Under The Eighth Amendment, Lauren Taylor
Hiv No Longer A Death Sentence But Still A Life Sentence: The Constitutionality Of Hiv Criminalization Under The Eighth Amendment, Lauren Taylor
Georgia Law Review
When the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the 1980s in the United States, there was mass confusion and hysteria regarding HIV transmission and prevention, leading many states to enact HIV criminalization statutes to prosecute persons living with HIV who either exposed another person to HIV or put someone in danger of being exposed to HIV. Yet, almost forty years later, these statutes are still used to criminalize and control the behaviors of people living with HIV, and in some cases, impose lengthy prison sentences hinging on the possibility of exposure. These HIV criminalization statutes and subsequent criminal cases often do not …
Sacrificing Secrecy, Daniel S. Harawa
Sacrificing Secrecy, Daniel S. Harawa
Georgia Law Review
Juries have deliberated in secret since medieval times. The
historical reason for the secrecy is that it promotes impartiality,
which in turn protects a defendant’s right to a fair trial. But as
it turns out, jurors are not always impartial. Lurid examples
exist of jurors condemning defendants based on the defendant’s
race, sexuality, ethnicity, and religion.
Generally speaking, courts cannot hear evidence of what
transpired during deliberations. In 2017, however, the U.S.
Supreme Court created an exception to this rule, holding that
the Sixth Amendment requires courts to hear evidence of jurors
making racially biased statements. But this exception means …
Probation And Monetary Sanctions In Georgia: Evidence From A Multi-Method Study, Sarah Shannon
Probation And Monetary Sanctions In Georgia: Evidence From A Multi-Method Study, Sarah Shannon
Georgia Law Review
Georgia leads the nation in probation supervision, which has been the subject of recent legislative reforms. Probation supervision is the primary mechanism for monitoring and collecting legal financial obligations (LFOs) from people sentenced in Georgia courts. This Article analyzes how monetary sanctions and probation supervision intersect in Georgia using quantitative data from the Department of Community Supervision as well as interviews with probationers and probation officers gathered as part of the Multi-State Study of Monetary Sanctions between 2015 and 2018. Several key findings emerge: (1) there is substantial variation between judicial districts in the amount of fines and fees ordered …
Faulty Forensics: Bolstering Judicial Gatekeeping In Georgia Courts, Miranda S. Bidinger
Faulty Forensics: Bolstering Judicial Gatekeeping In Georgia Courts, Miranda S. Bidinger
Georgia Law Review
Forensic evidence is widely used in criminal cases
across the country and is accorded great weight by
juries. But critics have begun to question its reliability.
Its use has contributed to numerous wrongful
convictions, and though some individuals have been
exonerated, many remain incarcerated for crimes they
did not commit.
This Note explores a variety of forensic science
disciplines and their associated problems, the recent
push for forensic reform, and the current standards
governing the admissibility of forensic evidence at the
federal level and in Georgia courts, highlighting the
lenient standard embodied in the Georgia Code and
elaborated upon in …
Boots And Bail On The Ground: Assessing The Implementation Of Misdemeanor Bail Reforms In Georgia, Andrea Woods, Sandra G. Mayson, Lauren Sudeall, Guthrie Armstrong, Anthony Potts
Boots And Bail On The Ground: Assessing The Implementation Of Misdemeanor Bail Reforms In Georgia, Andrea Woods, Sandra G. Mayson, Lauren Sudeall, Guthrie Armstrong, Anthony Potts
Georgia Law Review
This Article presents a mixed-methods study of misdemeanor bail practice across Georgia in the wake of reform. We observed bail hearings and interviewed system actors in a representative sample of fifty-five counties to assess the extent to which pretrial practice conforms to legal standards clarified in Senate Bill 407 and Walker v. Calhoun. We also analyzed jail population data published by county jails and by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. We found that a handful of counties have made promising headway in adhering to law and best practices, but that the majority have some distance to go. Most counties …
Heating Up And Cooling Down: Modifying The Provocation Defense By Expanding Cooling Time, Ariel J. Pinsky
Heating Up And Cooling Down: Modifying The Provocation Defense By Expanding Cooling Time, Ariel J. Pinsky
Georgia Law Review
This Note argues for expanding the provocation
defense for criminal defendants by broadening the
applicability and recognition of both cooling time and
rekindling. This expansion can be accomplished by
transforming cooling time and rekindling into subjective
standards that focus on the unique internal and external
qualities of the defendant. Doing so would not only be
consistent with the underlying purpose of the defense but
also appropriate considering our modern understanding
of the psychological effects of trauma and reactivity to
provoking stimuli. Accordingly, courts should practice
leniency with respect to cooling time and rekindling. The
best approach to provocation is one …
Pretrial Detention Of Indigents: A Standard Analysis Of Due Process And Equal Protection Claims, Robert William G. Wright
Pretrial Detention Of Indigents: A Standard Analysis Of Due Process And Equal Protection Claims, Robert William G. Wright
Georgia Law Review
Over the past several years, criminal justice activists
have sought to reform misdemeanor bail policies that
condition pretrial release on an arrestee’s ability to pay
a predetermined cash bond. Activists have challenged
such bail polices by filing lawsuits on behalf on indigent
persons who have been exposed to such policies. Often,
these lawsuits allege that bail policies violate both the
Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the
Fourteenth Amendment. While due process and equal
protection analyses are generally well-defined, U.S.
Supreme Court precedent does not offer a clear analysis
for courts to apply to due process and equal protection …
The Meaning Of A Misdemeanor In A Post-Ferguson World: Evaluating The Reliability Of Prior Conviction Evidence, John D. King
The Meaning Of A Misdemeanor In A Post-Ferguson World: Evaluating The Reliability Of Prior Conviction Evidence, John D. King
Georgia Law Review
Despite evidence that America’s low-level courts are
overburdened, unreliable, and structurally biased,
sentencing judges continue to uncritically consider a
defendant’s criminal history in fashioning an
appropriate punishment. Misdemeanor courts lack
many of the procedural safeguards that are thought to
ensure accuracy and reliability. As with other stages of
the criminal justice system, people of color and poor
people are disproportionately burdened with the
inaccuracies of the misdemeanor system.
This Article examines instances in which sentencing
courts have looked behind the mere fact of a prior
conviction and assessed whether that prior conviction
offered any meaningful insight for the subsequent
sentence. …
Confronting Memory Loss, Paul F. Rothstein, Ronald J. Coleman
Confronting Memory Loss, Paul F. Rothstein, Ronald J. Coleman
Georgia Law Review
The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment grants
“the accused” in “all criminal prosecutions” a right “to be
confronted with the witnesses against him.” A particular
problem occurs when there is a gap in time between the
testimony that is offered and the cross-examination of it, as
where—pursuant to a hearsay exception or exemption—
evidence of a current witness’s prior statement is offered and,
for some intervening reason, her current memory is impaired.
Does this fatally affect the opportunity to “confront” the
witness? The U.S. Supreme Court has, to date, left unclear the
extent to which a memory-impaired witness can …
Is Vagueness Choking The White-Collar Statute?, David Kwok
Is Vagueness Choking The White-Collar Statute?, David Kwok
Georgia Law Review
No abstract provided.
Give It To Me, I'M Worth It: The Need To Amend Georgia's Record Restriction Statute To Provide Ex-Offenders With A Second Chance In The Employment Sector, Bonita A. Huggins
Give It To Me, I'M Worth It: The Need To Amend Georgia's Record Restriction Statute To Provide Ex-Offenders With A Second Chance In The Employment Sector, Bonita A. Huggins
Georgia Law Review
In the era of mass criminalization, where over 70
million Americans and almost four million Georgians
have a criminal record, the collateral consequences that
accompany criminal records have become barriers to
employment for many ex-offenders trying to reenter the
workforce. Blanket exclusionary hiring policies that
apply to all individuals with a record regardless of the
nature of the offense or time since its commission have
left a portion of the population with little to no
opportunity to act as productive, contributing members
of society.
Georgia's current statutory scheme built to alleviate
the effects of the collateral consequences of a criminal …
Trans-Lating The Eighth Amendment Standard: The First Circuit's Denial Of A Transgender Prisoner's Constitutional Right To Medical Treatment, Bethany L. Edmondson
Trans-Lating The Eighth Amendment Standard: The First Circuit's Denial Of A Transgender Prisoner's Constitutional Right To Medical Treatment, Bethany L. Edmondson
Georgia Law Review
In December of 2014, the First Circuit Court of Appeals
held, en banc, that the Massachusetts Department of
Corrections was not constitutionally obligated to provide
Michelle Kosilek, a transgender prisoner, with sexual
reassignment surgery. Kosilek sued the prison, arguing
that her Eighth Amendment rights against cruel and
unusual punishment were violated. The First Circuit held
that Kosilek did not have a serious medical need, due to
the prison's alternative treatment, and that the prison was
not deliberately indifferent to that need. This Note argues
that the First Circuit erred in applying the "serious
medical need" prong of the cruel and …
An Aggravating Adolescence: An Analysis Of Juvenile Convictions As Statutory Aggravators In Capital Cases, Lesley A. O'Neill
An Aggravating Adolescence: An Analysis Of Juvenile Convictions As Statutory Aggravators In Capital Cases, Lesley A. O'Neill
Georgia Law Review
In death penalty cases there is a requirement that
certain statutory aggravators must be present in order to
reach a death verdict. One such statutory aggravator in
most states is the defendant having previously committed
a felony, which can include crimes committed as a
juvenile. While the Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that
sentencing a defendant to death for crimes they committed
as a juvenile is unconstitutional, many states' death
penalty statutes allow for the possibility that the sole
aggravator relied on for a verdict of death is a previous
juvenile conviction. This Note argues that based on the
Court's …
Mass Suppression: Aggregation And The Fourth Amendment, Nirej Sekhon
Mass Suppression: Aggregation And The Fourth Amendment, Nirej Sekhon
Georgia Law Review
The FourthAmendment's exclusionary rule requires that
criminal courts suppress evidence obtained as a result of
an unconstitutionalsearch or seizure. The Supreme Court
has repeatedly stated that suppression is purely
regulatory, not remedial. Its only purpose is to deter
future police misconduct, not to remedy past privacy or
liberty harms suffered by the defendant. Exclusion, in
other words, is for the benefit of community members who
might, sometime in the future, be subject to police
misconduct like that endured by the defendant.
Exclusion's regulatory purpose would be greatly aided if
criminal courts could identify when a suppression motion
involved Fourth Amendment …
"Clientless" Prosecutors, Russell M. Gold
"Clientless" Prosecutors, Russell M. Gold
Georgia Law Review
Class counsel and prosecutors have a lot more in
common than scholars realize. Because these lawyers
have to make decisions on their client's behalf that clients
would make in other contexts, they prompt substantial
concerns about lawyers' accountability to their clients.
Accordingly, there is a lot that each context can learn from
the other about how to hold these lawyers accountable.
This Article considers what criminal law can learn from
class action law. Its central insights are first that diffuse
entities comprised largely of apathetic individuals cannot
be expected to hold their lawyers accountable. And second,
to combat that accountability …