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Full-Text Articles in Law
Thoughts, Crimes, And Thought Crimes, Gabriel S. Mendlow
Thoughts, Crimes, And Thought Crimes, Gabriel S. Mendlow
Michigan Law Review
Thought crimes are the stuff of dystopian fiction, not contemporary law. Or so we’re told. Yet our criminal legal system may in a sense punish thought regularly, even as our existing criminal theory lacks the resources to recognize this state of affairs for what it is—or to explain what might be wrong with it. The beginning of wisdom lies in the seeming rhetorical excesses of those who complain that certain terrorism and hate crime laws punish offenders for their malevolent intentions while purporting to punish them for their conduct. Behind this too-easily-written-off complaint is a half-buried precept of criminal jurisprudence, …
On Strict Liability Crimes: Preserving A Moral Framework For Criminal Intent In An Intent-Free Moral World, W. Robert Thomas
On Strict Liability Crimes: Preserving A Moral Framework For Criminal Intent In An Intent-Free Moral World, W. Robert Thomas
Michigan Law Review
The law has long recognized a presumption against criminal strict liability. This Note situates that presumption in terms of moral intuitions about the role of intention and the unique nature of criminal punishment. Two sources-recent laws from state legislatures and recent advances in moral philosophy-pose distinct challenges to the presumption against strict liability crimes. This Note offers a solution to the philosophical problem that informs how courts could address the legislative problem. First, it argues that the purported problem from philosophy stems from a mistaken relationship drawn between criminal law and morality. Second, it outlines a slightly more nuanced moral …
Outrageous Fortune And The Criminalization Of Mass Torts, Richard A. Nagareda
Outrageous Fortune And The Criminalization Of Mass Torts, Richard A. Nagareda
Michigan Law Review
The case of the blameworthy-but-fortunate defendant has emerged as one of the most perplexing scenarios in mass tort litigation today. One need look no further than the front page of the newspaper to find examples of mass tort defendants said to have engaged in irresponsible conduct - even conduct that one might regard as morally outrageous in character - but that nonetheless advance eminently plausible contentions that they have not caused harm to others. This issue is not merely a matter for abstract speculation. A now-familiar mass tort scenario involves a defendant that markets a product without informing consumers about …
Process, The Constitution, And Substantive Criminal Law, Louis D. Bilionis
Process, The Constitution, And Substantive Criminal Law, Louis D. Bilionis
Michigan Law Review
Criminal law scholars have pined for a substantive constitutional criminal law ever since Henry Hart and Herbert Packer first embraced the notion in the late 1950s and early 1960s. To this day, scholars continue to search for a theory fhat giv:es content to, in Hart's words, "the unmistakable indications that the Constitution means something definite and spμiething serious when it speaks of 'crime.'" To their dismay, the Supreme Court has - with two exceptions - seemingly resisted the notion. The two exceptions are familiar. First came the 1957 case of Lambert v. California, in which the Court came as close …
Are Threats Always "Violent" Crimes?, Jeremy D. Feinstein
Are Threats Always "Violent" Crimes?, Jeremy D. Feinstein
Michigan Law Review
This Note argues that because the generally accepted legal meaning of violence is the use - or the risk of the use - of physical force so as to injure, damage, or abuse, threats only should be considered violent if they involve a risk of the use of physical force. Part I examines the substantive law of threats to determine if they inherently involve a risk of the use of physical force, and concludes that they do not. Part II studies the meaning of the term violence, and argues that both courts and dictionaries understand the term to mean the …
Sales-Criminal Law- Elements Of Unlawful Sale Of Narcotics, Robert W. Shadd
Sales-Criminal Law- Elements Of Unlawful Sale Of Narcotics, Robert W. Shadd
Michigan Law Review
Appellant, known to be peddling morphine, was contacted by a federal narcotic inspector who posed as a prospective purchaser. A price having been agreed upon, appellant permitted the inspector to handle and examine several of the tablets. After stating that he would take the drug, the inspector placed appellant under arrest. From a conviction of selling narcotics in violation of the Harrison Act, appellant appealed. Held, affirmed. A sale of narcotics is not complete without payment of the purchase price or delivery, but the facts here warranted a jury in finding that delivery was made. Barnett v. United States …
Criminal Law-Requisite Mental Element In Criminal Assault, Charles Hansen
Criminal Law-Requisite Mental Element In Criminal Assault, Charles Hansen
Michigan Law Review
Defendant was driving his car after dark at a speed greatly in excess of that prescribed by a local ordinance. While proceeding in this fashion, the car overtook and struck a bicycle, severely injuring a passenger thereon. From a conviction of criminal assault of the passenger, defendant appealed. Held, affirmed. The necessary intent to injure a specific passenger of a vehicle may be inferred from the recklessness evidenced by driving at night at a speed greatly exceeding the statutory limit. Wellons v. State, (Ga. App. 1948) 48 S.E. (2d) 925.
Criminal Law And Procedure - Charging One Theft As Several Larcenies, A Series Of Thefts As A Single Larceny, Michigan Law Review
Criminal Law And Procedure - Charging One Theft As Several Larcenies, A Series Of Thefts As A Single Larceny, Michigan Law Review
Michigan Law Review
The gist of the crime of larceny both at common law and under statutes is a fraudulent taking of the personal property of another with an intent to appropriate it. One taking coupled with the necessary intent normally constitutes a single offense of larceny, and normally the courts limit their inquiry to whether there is such taking and intent; if the finding is in the affirmative the crime of larceny is established. Yet the courts tend to go beyond these limits of inquiry where the problem arises whether a single offense or several distinct offenses have been committed. Two types …
Criminal Law And Procedure - Interpretation Of Statute, Michigan Law Review
Criminal Law And Procedure - Interpretation Of Statute, Michigan Law Review
Michigan Law Review
Convicted of the statutory crime of falsely uttering a bank check, defendant appealed on the ground that the instrument in question was a promissory note. It was in appearance and form a check except for the substitution of "will pay" for "pay" and the addition of the words "payable at" before the name of the bank. Held, affirmed, the court construing the instrument as a check. State v. Doudna, (Iowa, 1939) 284 N. W. 113.