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Mend It Or End It? What To Do With The Independent Counsel Statute, Julian A. Cook
Mend It Or End It? What To Do With The Independent Counsel Statute, Julian A. Cook
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The tenure of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr has generated much debate among scholars, politicians, and the media in recent years regarding the efficacy of the independent counsel statute, which is scheduled to expire in June 1999. Enacted in response to the Watergate saga, and particularly the infamous “Saturday Night Massacre,” the independent counsel statute was designed to remove politics from the prosecution of executive branch officials and to foster public confidence in the prosecutorial process. Advocates claim that the statute, though flawed, is the best system available to address alleged criminal wrongdoing by high-ranking executive branch officials, as well as …
The Newly Found "Compassion" For Sexually Violent Predators: Civil Commitment And The Right To Treatment In The Wake Of Kansas V. Hendricks, Elizabeth Weeks
The Newly Found "Compassion" For Sexually Violent Predators: Civil Commitment And The Right To Treatment In The Wake Of Kansas V. Hendricks, Elizabeth Weeks
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In light of heart-wrenching stories of sexual abuse and public demands for safety, the Kansas v. Hendricks case presented the Supreme Court with compelling facts on which to uphold the Kansas commitment strategy. After all, the statute prevented the release of a man whose history of sex crimes, incarceration, and institutionalization spanned nearly two decades, and who admitted he still had sexual desires for children but could not control his urges. Faced with that evidence, the Court would have been hard-pressed to strike down the Kansas statute by finding that such a predator received inadequate treatment for his disorder, or …