Law Commons^™

Suspicious Person Ordinances - Due Process Standards; Columbus V. Thompson, Joel R. Campbell

Akron Law Review

In the absence of circumstances involving First Amendment rights, we are left without guidelines as to the conduct which may be made criminal by local suspicious person ordinances. Because of this lack of adequate standards, a case by case determination of criminal conduct under the various ordinances is necessary. In Thompson the defendant's conduct was questionable and the court found the ordinance unconstitutionally vague. We can only hope that this decision has a sufficient impact upon law enforcement officials and local courts to minimize the injury resulting from vagueness.

Suspicious Person Ordinances - Due Process Standards; Columbus V. Thompson, Joel R. Campbell

Akron Law Review

In the absence of circumstances involving First Amendment rights, we are left without guidelines as to the conduct which may be made criminal by local suspicious person ordinances. Because of this lack of adequate standards, a case by case determination of criminal conduct under the various ordinances is necessary. In Thompson the defendant's conduct was questionable and the court found the ordinance unconstitutionally vague. We can only hope that this decision has a sufficient impact upon law enforcement officials and local courts to minimize the injury resulting from vagueness.

Book Review: Psychiatric Justice, Alice M. Batchelder

Akron Law Review

In an era in which extensive judicial emphasis has been placed on "due process of law" in criminal proceedings, both in the federal courts and in the state courts, Dr. Szasz's book serves as a jarring reminder that in at least one vital area of the concept of due process, much remains to be done. The emerging definition of due process has enunciated the rights guaranteed the individual by the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments; and viewed within that framework, this book, although published in 1965, remains particularly timely, for Szasz, speaking as a psychiatrist, endeavors to demonstrate how …

Rights Of State Prisoners - Federal Court Intervention In State Prison Administration; Jones V. Wittenberg, Ronald L. Collins

Akron Law Review

The path to federal court intervention into state prison administration has been a tortuous and rocky one.... Jones v. Wittenberg carries federal court intervention into state prison administration to new lengths. Until more basic and lasting changes are made on the part of society and the states, such intervention seems to be the best chance for ameliorating conditions in our state penal systems.

The Involuntary Confession And The Right To Due Process: Is A Criminal Defendant Better Protected In The Federal Courts Than In Ohio?, Barbara Child

Akron Law Review

OHIO CIVIL LIBERTARIANS have long claimed that a criminal defendant is likely to have his due process rights better protected in the federal courts than in Ohio courts. One measure of that protection is how the courts respond when a defendant alleges that his confession was involuntary and thus not properly admissible as evidence at his trial. The central issue then is whether the Ohio courts have kept as much in step with the United States Supreme Court as have the federal courts in their revisions of what is the proper test of voluntariness of a confession.

The Involuntary Confession And The Right To Due Process: Is A Criminal Defendant Better Protected In The Federal Courts Than In Ohio?, Barbara Child

Akron Law Review

OHIO CIVIL LIBERTARIANS have long claimed that a criminal defendant is likely to have his due process rights better protected in the federal courts than in Ohio courts. One measure of that protection is how the courts respond when a defendant alleges that his confession was involuntary and thus not properly admissible as evidence at his trial. The central issue then is whether the Ohio courts have kept as much in step with the United States Supreme Court as have the federal courts in their revisions of what is the proper test of voluntariness of a confession.

Affirmative Defenses; Defendant's Burden Of Proof: Defense Of Extreme Emotional Disturbance; Due Process; Patteron V. New York, Lee Ann Johnson

Akron Law Review

The United States Supreme Court in Patterson v. New York upheld the constitutionality of a New York murder statute which places on the defendant the burden of proving extreme emotional disturbance. The Court thereby determined that New York courts in applying the statute against defendant Gordon Patterson had not violated his right to due process of law

The Constitutional Right Of The Indigent Facing Involuntary Civil Commitment To An Independent Psychiatric Examination, Scott F. Uhler

Akron Law Review

The recently established constitutional right to an independent psychiatric examination for a criminal defendant, when the defendant's sanity is at issue,' has not been extended to the involuntary civil commitment process However, for the following reasons, the right should be so extended.

First, the interpretation of due process in the involuntary commitment procedure, as construed by lower federal courts and state courts to require an exam, shows greater uniformity and logical cohesiveness than that defined by applicable Supreme Court decisions. Second, the area of juvenile adjudication presents great similarity of purpose to civil commitment, yet the due process protections deemed …

Ohio's Administrative License Suspension: A Double Jeopardy And Due Process Analysis, Max Kravitz

Akron Law Review

This Article examines whether Ohio's imposition of an administrative license suspension "ALS" immediately upon arrest for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol "OMVI" bars a subsequent prosecution for the substantive offense.' Traditionally, administrative license suspensions have been considered civil, administrative and primarily remedial. However, increasingly punitive amendments to Ohio's ALS statutory scheme raise the substantial question of whether an ALS is truly remedial, or whether the imposition of an ALS constitutes punishment triggering double jeopardy and due process protection.

Bray V. Russell: The Constitutionality Of The "Bad Time" Statute, Erin Kae Cardinal

Akron Law Review

This Note analyzes the Court’s decision in Bray. Part II presents an overview of sentencing systems in the United States, the bad time penalty, and a brief background of the doctrine of separation of powers. Part III presents the facts, procedural history, and holding of Bray. Part IV analyzes the Court’s holding pursuant to the Due Process Clause rather than the doctrine of separation of powers. This Note concludes that although the bad time statute is unconstitutional as a violation of the doctrine of separation of powers, the court could have alternatively decided that the bad time statute also violates …

Charles Demore V. Hyung Joon Kim: Antoher Step Away From Full Due Process Protections, Brian Smith

Akron Law Review

Part II of this note traces the development of substantive due process protections for aliens, including general due process jurisprudence, the statutory authority for detaining criminal aliens, significant Supreme Court decisions, and approaches taken by the circuit courts. Part III examines the Supreme Court’s decision in Hyung Joon Kim. Part IV evaluates the due process analysis used by the Court and addresses the implications of this decision. Part V of this note concludes that the Court’s strained departure from strict scrutiny and its failure to provide an adequate explanation of the departure will have implications for aliens, citizens, and future …

Implicated But Not Charged: Improving Due Process For Unindicted Co-Conspirators, Raeed N. Tayeh

Akron Law Review

This Comment posits that the practice of publicly naming unindicted co-conspirators before trial violates due process and that unless preventative measures are adopted to halt this practice, such due process violations will continue. This conclusion is buttressed by the text that follows, which surveys the relevant case law on the rights of unindicted co-conspirators, highlights the types of harm that a sample of unindicted co-conspirators have suffered as a result of being publicly named, and proposes procedures and rules that, if adopted, would conform with due process and help prevent these harms.

In this Comment, I will expand on the …