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Full-Text Articles in Law
Criminal Caselaw Notebook 2024, Hon. Ronald Kessler
Criminal Caselaw Notebook 2024, Hon. Ronald Kessler
Washington State Books
This publication from King County Superior Court judge Ronald Kessler is updated semi-annually and is distributed free of charge. It includes citations to Washington state case law on a variety of criminal law topics.
After The Criminal Justice System, Benjamin Levin
After The Criminal Justice System, Benjamin Levin
Washington Law Review
Since the 1960s, the “criminal justice system” has operated as the common label for a vast web of actors and institutions. But as critiques of mass incarceration have entered the mainstream, academics, activists, and advocates increasingly have stopped referring to the “criminal justice system.” Instead, they have opted for critical labels—the “criminal legal system,” the “criminal punishment system,” the “prison industrial complex,” and so on. What does this re-labeling accomplish? Does this change in language matter to broader efforts at criminal justice reform or abolition? Or does an emphasis on labels and language distract from substantive engagement with the injustices …
Gone Fishing: Casting A Wide Net Using Geofence Warrants, Ryan Tursi
Gone Fishing: Casting A Wide Net Using Geofence Warrants, Ryan Tursi
Washington Law Review
Technology companies across the country receive requests from law enforcement agencies for cell phone location information near the scenes of crimes. These requests rely on the traditional warrant process and are known as geofence warrants, or reverse location search warrants. By obtaining location information, law enforcement can identify potential suspects or persons of interest who were near the scene of a crime when they have no leads. But the use of this investigative technique is controversial, as it threatens to intrude upon the privacy of innocent bystanders who had the misfortune of being nearby when the crime took place. Innocent …
Revocation And Retribution, Jacob Schuman
Revocation And Retribution, Jacob Schuman
Washington Law Review
Revocation of community supervision is a defining feature of American criminal law. Nearly 4.5 million people in the United States are on parole, probation, or supervised release, and 1/3 eventually have their supervision revoked, sending 350,000 to prison each year. Academics, activists, and attorneys warn that “mass supervision” has become a powerful engine of mass incarceration.
This is the first Article to study theories of punishment in revocation of community supervision, focusing on the federal system of supervised release. Federal courts apply a primarily retributive theory of revocation, aiming to sanction defendants for their “breach of trust.” However, the structure, …
Inheritance Crimes, David Horton, Reid Kress Weisbord
Inheritance Crimes, David Horton, Reid Kress Weisbord
Washington Law Review
The civil justice system has long struggled to resolve disputes over end-of-life transfers. The two most common grounds for challenging the validity of a gift, will, or trust— mental incapacity and undue influence—are vague, hinge on the state of mind of a dead person, and allow factfinders to substitute their own norms and preferences for the donor’s intent. In addition, the slayer doctrine—which prohibits killers from inheriting from their victims—has generated decades of constitutional challenges.
But recently, these controversial rules have migrated into an area where the stakes are significantly higher: the criminal justice system. For example, states have criminalized …
Never Mistake Law For Justice: Releasing Indigent Defendants From Legal Purgatory, R.K. Brinkmann
Never Mistake Law For Justice: Releasing Indigent Defendants From Legal Purgatory, R.K. Brinkmann
Washington Law Review
Washington courts impose two mandatory legal financial obligations (LFOs) on almost anyone who pleads guilty to or is convicted of a crime: a $100 DNA sample fee and a crime victim penalty assessment of $250 for misdemeanors and $500 for felonies. These fines run afoul of the Social Security Act, which bars attachment of Social Security benefits to pay debts, including LFOs. As a result, defendants whose sole source of income is Social Security benefits are not obligated to pay their mandatory LFOs. But such defendants cannot obtain certificates of discharge to clear their conviction records and thus complete their …
Mattress Tags And Pillow Cases, Mary Whisner
Mattress Tags And Pillow Cases, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
A simple question about the origins of the law prohibiting the removal of mattress tags led Ms. Whisner on a whirlwind tour of state and federal law, regulations, and history. In the end she not only found the answer, she also learned a few new lessons about legal research.