Law Commons^™

The Trouble With Time Served, Kimberly Kessler Ferzan

BYU Law Review

Every jurisdiction in the United States gives criminal defendants "credit" against their sentence for the time they spend detained pretrial. In a world of mass incarceration and overcriminalization that disproportionately impacts people of color, this practice appears to be a welcome mechanism for mercy and justice. In fact, how ever, crediting detainees for time served is perverse. It harms the innocent. A defendant who is found not guilty, or whose case is dismissed, gets nothing. Crediting time served also allows the state to avoid internalizing the full costs of pretrial detention, thereby making overinclusive detention standards less expensive. Finally, crediting …

Abolishing The Evidence-Based Paradigm, Erin Collins

BYU Law Review

The belief that policies and procedures should be data-driven and “evidence-based” has become criminal law’s leading paradigm for reform. This evidence-based paradigm, which promotes quantitative data collection and empirical analysis to shape and assess reforms, has been widely embraced for its potential to cure the emotional and political pathologies that led to mass incarceration. It has influenced reforms across the criminal procedure spectrum, from predictive policing through actuarial sentencing. The paradigm’s appeal is clear: it promises an objective approach that lets data – not politics – lead the way and purports to have no agenda beyond identifying effective, efficient reforms. …

The Prudential Standing Quandary When Discriminatory, Facially Neutral Laws Allegedly Cause Collateral Damage, Richard Luedeman

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

On Criminalizing Violent Speech, Amitai Etzioni

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

There is an increasingly high number of threats to kill, made by citizens against each other, and against public officials. These threats terrorize people, force them to take protective measures, make them reluctant to assume public office, and, when they do, make them feel as though they have to act cautiously. State and federal laws currently exist that prohibit such threats. This article examines the ways the courts have affected how these laws function. It concludes by suggesting ways these laws can be rendered more effective. Drawing on liberal communitarianism, this article seeks to offer practical recommendations for how the …

Corruption In University Admissions And The Administrative Allocation Of Scarce Goods, L. Burke Files, Roger E. Meiners, Andrew P. Morriss

BYU Law Review

The Varsity Blues investigation uncovered a seamy side of university admissions. Multiple wealthy parents were indicted for securing their children s admission to selective institutions through bribery. Despite the publicity the indictments and guilty pleas received, and the public schadenfreude over the sight of celebrities being arrested, the investigation is most notable for what it did not do: it did not deploy the federal government's arsenal of anti-money laundering and anti-corruption tools against the universities involved. This represents a significant missed opportunity to address the serious problems that arise from rationing access to selective institutions via opaque, easily manipulated admissions …

Obstruction Of Justice: Redesigning The Shortcut, Ellen S. Podgor

BYU Law Review

When one looks to accomplish consistency and predictability in the criminal justice system — important goals tied to achieving deterrence — the architecture of obstruction of justice remains important. It is insufficient to suggest that we have consistency in sentencing by using federal sentencing guidelines, when the charging process is undermined by its failure to provide uniformity. Achieving a consistent charging framework for federal obstruction of justice needs to be individualized, remain true to the contextual setting, and provide consideration for the specific processes of a trial, sentencing, or impeachment. But it also needs to have a structure that is …

Re-Victimization Of Domestic Violence Victims, Angela De La Garza

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

“My Computer Is My Castle”: New Privacy Frameworks To Regulate Police Hacking, Ivan Škorvánek, Bert-Jaap Koops, Bryce Clayton Newell, Andrew Roberts

BYU Law Review

Several countries have recently introduced laws allowing the police to hack into suspects’ computers. Legislators recognize that police hacking is highly intrusive to personal privacy but consider it justified by the increased use of encryption and mobile computing—both of which challenge traditional investigative methods. Police hacking also exemplifies a major challenge to the way legal systems deal with, and conceptualize, privacy. Existing conceptualizations of privacy and privacy rights do not always adequately address the types and degrees of intrusion into individuals’ private lives that police hacking powers enable.

Traditional privacy pillars such as the home and secrecy of communications do …

Kill Me Through The Phone: The Legality Of Encouraging Suicide In An Increasingly Digital World, Sierra Taylor

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Changing The Narrative: Sex Trafficking And Its Victims, Danica Baird

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Restoring Reputational Rights Through A Government Publication Of A Declaration Of Innocence, Brent Miller

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

In a society that has become increasingly interconnected through advancements in technology, the stig matizing consequences of a false criminal accusation or conviction ca n be devastating. Ironically, unlike the technological advancements societ y has experienced, the ability to protect one’s reputation from such harm requires using the same limited remedies that existed decades ago. With few effective remedies available, those who have been falsely accused or convicted of a crime are without adequate ways to restore their reputations. To fill this remedial void, the federal government should create a forum whereby an individual’s innocence might be published as government …

Restoring Reputational Rights Through A Government Publication Of A Declaration Of Innocence, Michael M. Berger

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

In a society that has become increasingly interconnected through advancements in technology, the stig matizing consequences of a false criminal accusation or conviction ca n be devastating. Ironically, unlike the technological advancements societ y has experienced, the ability to protect one’s reputation from such harm requires using the same limited remedies that existed decades ago. With few effective remedies available, those who have been falsely accused or convicted of a crime are without adequate ways to restore their reputations. To fill this remedial void, the federal government should create a forum whereby an individual’s innocence might be published as government …

Corpus Linguistics And The Criminal Law, Carissa Byrne Hessick

BYU Law Review

This brief response to Ordinary Meaning and Corpus Linguistics, an article by Stefan Gries and Brian Slocum, explains why corpus linguistics represents a radical break from current statutory interpretation practice, and it argues that corpus linguistics ought not be adopted as an interpretive theory for criminal laws. Corpus linguistics has superficial appeal because it promises to increase predictability and to decrease the role of judges’ personal preferences in statutory interpretation. But there are reasons to doubt that corpus linguistics can achieve these goals. More importantly, corpus linguistics sacrifices other, more important values, including notice and accountability.

Addressing Conflicts Of Interest In The Context Of Campus Sexual Violence, Talcott J. Franklin, Dennis C. Taylor, Ann Beytagh

Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Criminals Behind The Veil: Political Philosophy And Punishment, Chad Flanders

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

The State Of The States: The Continuing Struggle To Criminalize Revenge Porn, Justin Pitcher

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

How To Incite Crime With Words: Clarifying Brandenburg’S Incitement Test With Speech Act Theory, Bradley J. Pew

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Justice Deferred Is Justice Denied: We Must End Our Failed Experiment In Deferring Corporate Criminal Prosecutions, Peter R. Reilly

BYU Law Review

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, deferred prosecution agreements are said to occupy an “important middle ground” between declining to prosecute on the one hand, and trials or guilty pleas on the other. A top DOJ official has declared that over the last decade, the agreements have become a “mainstay” of white collar criminal law enforcement; a prominent criminal law professor calls their increased use part of the “biggest change in corporate law enforcement policy in the last ten years.”

However, despite deferred prosecution’s apparent rise in popularity among law enforcement officials, this Article sets forth the argument that …

Criminalizing Non-Evacuation Behavior: Unintended Consequences And Undesirable Results, Brandon Curtis

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Best Interest Is The Child: A Historical Philosophy For Modern Issues, Lahny R. Silva

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

A little over a century after the creation of the first juvenile court in America, the states and the federal government continue to try to find an effective and practical solution to juvenile delinquency. Beginning with the “Best Interest of the Child Standard” in 1899, juvenile justice policy has evolved into a mixed bag of philosophies. State statutes littered with “Best Interest” rhetoric, have interestingly resulted in state policies that are retributive in nature and disproportionately affect minority communities. The disconnect between theory and practice is the product of decades of socio-political influence on juvenile justice policy as well as …

Title Ix And The Dear Colleague Letter: An Ounce Of Prevention Is Worth A Pound Of Cure, Nick Rammell

Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Creating Crimmigration, César Cuahtémoc García Hernández

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mercy In Immigration Law, Allison Brownell Tirres

BYU Law Review

What role should mercy play in immigration law? This Article draws on the robust debate in the criminal law about the role of mercy in the hopes of starting a conversation among immigration law scholars and practitioners. Mercy skeptics argue that mercy contravenes justice, while advocates argue that mercy is a necessary countermeasure to the unrelenting harshness of criminal law today. I argue that the problems of mercy in the criminal law are amplified in the immigration law context. The lack of procedural and substantive protections for immigrants, the acceptance of unfettered discretion and lack of oversight of agency action, …

Taking Mistakes Seriously, Paul J. Larkin Jr.

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

Part I of this article discusses the principle that mistake or ignorance of the law is no excuse. It is settled law that no one can defend against a criminal charge on the grounds that he did not intend to flout the law and, at worst, made only a reasonable, honest mistake as to what he was free to do. Part II examines several areas in which the law does precisely the opposite by repeatedly manifesting a willingness to forgive reasonable mistakes by one or more actors in the criminal justice system. Part III then asks whether the developments discussed …

Punishing Pimps And Johns: Sex-Trafficking And Utah's Laws, Michelle Jeffs

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

This article will focus on the problem of women being forced into prostitution and then coerced into staying, also known as sex trafficking. This Article will focus specifically on what Utah can do to improve its approach to sex trafficking, in light of actions taken by other states and nations. Part II of this article provides background and definitions of sex trafficking and the players involved. Part III discusses the legal history of the criminalization of sex trafficking. Part IV talks about incidents of sex trafficking in Utah. Part V discusses the current laws against sex trafficking in Utah. Part …

Defending The Preponderance Of The Evidence Standard In College Adjudications Of Sexual Assault, Amy Chmielewski

Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Constitution Limits Of The "National Consensus" Doctrine In Eighth Amendment Jurisprudence, Kevin White

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Violence Against Women Act, Federal Criminal Jurisdiction, And Indian Tribal Courts , Paul J. Larkin Jr., Joseph Lupino-Esposito

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

United States V. Ruiz-Gaxiola: When Criminal Defendants Say No To Drugs, Adam Dayton

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

United States V. Renzi: Reigning In The Speech Or Debate Clause To Fight Corruption In Congress Postrayburn, A.J. Green

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.