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Criminal Law

Journal

Fordham Urban Law Journal

1999

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Law

Starr, Singleton, And The Prosecutor's Role, David A. Sklansky Jan 1999

Starr, Singleton, And The Prosecutor's Role, David A. Sklansky

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article discusses the lessons contained in States v. Singleton and the system that has been adopted for investigating and prosecuting high executive officers. After describing Singleton and the tumult it triggered in Part I of this Article, Part II returns to the Starr Referral and poses a question that may at first seem idle: what distinguishes Starr's promises to Lewinsky in exchange for her testimony from the efforts he charges the President made to help find her a job? Part III of the Article broadens the focus. It argues there has been a general failure to think rigorously about …

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Working Outside The Rules: The Undefined Responsibilities Of Federal Prosecutors, Laurie L. Levenson Jan 1999

Working Outside The Rules: The Undefined Responsibilities Of Federal Prosecutors, Laurie L. Levenson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article discusses the undefined responsibilities of federal prosecutors. For purposes of example, the essay focuses primarily on five situations in which federal prosecutors are often expected to operate "outside" of the rules, including: charging and investigative decisions, discovery, plea bargaining, dealing with the press, and sentencing decisions. While there are "rules" in each of these areas, they take a back seat to the discretionary powers prosecutors are expected to exercise wisely when performing their duties. In judging whether there has been an appropriate exercise of those powers, it is not the rules that will govern society's judgment. Rather, the …

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We Have Seen The Enemy: Scenes From A Trial, Robert E. Precht Jan 1999

We Have Seen The Enemy: Scenes From A Trial, Robert E. Precht

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines two traps that are particularly likely to undermine prosecutorial decision-making--the confirming-evidence trap and the anchoring trap. During the World Trade Center bombing trial, at which the author served as defense counsel, prosecutors stumbled into both of these traps. Part I of this Article examines the confirming-evidence trap in the context of the prosecution's failure to accept contradictory evidence regarding the material used in the bomb. Part II similarly examines the anchoring trap in light of the debacle that occurred during testimony by the prosecution's main witness. In addition to examining these episodes, the Article concludes that prosecutors …

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Thinking Strategically: How Federal Prosecutors Can Reduce Violent Crime, Elizabeth Glazer Jan 1999

Thinking Strategically: How Federal Prosecutors Can Reduce Violent Crime, Elizabeth Glazer

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Part I of this Article discusses how, in their traditional role, fed- eral prosecutors have limited their function to case-processing and accordingly reduced their natural ability to fashion effective crime- fighting techniques. Part II explores how certain features of the prosecutor's function make him well-placed to act as the federal agencies' strategic thinker. Finally, the Article suggests how the strategic potential of the prosecutor's role could be realized.

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Why Should Prosecutors "Seek Justice"?, Bruce A. Green Jan 1999

Why Should Prosecutors "Seek Justice"?, Bruce A. Green

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article discusses how prosecutors should conduct themselves in light of the principle that has traditionally ben thought to define the prosecutor's professional ethos: "the duty to seek justice." Part I sketches the outlines of this concept, both historically and in its contemporary incarnation. Part II offers two reasons for asking why prosecutors should seek justice. Part III examines alternative justifications for the duty--first, that the duty derives from prosecutors' extraordinary power, and second, that the duty derives from their role on behalf of a sovereign whose own interest is in achieving justice--and explains why the second provides the more …

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Panel Discussion: The Expanding Prosecutorial Role From Trial Counsel To Investigator And Administrator Jan 1999

Panel Discussion: The Expanding Prosecutorial Role From Trial Counsel To Investigator And Administrator

Fordham Urban Law Journal

MODERATOR: Daniel C. Richman PANELISTS: Laurie L. Levenson, GerardE. Lynch, Honorable John S. Martin, Jr., Julie R. O'Sullivan, Mary Lee Warren, Mary Jo White

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Panel Discussion: The Regulation And Ethical Responsibilities Of Federal Prosecutors Jan 1999

Panel Discussion: The Regulation And Ethical Responsibilities Of Federal Prosecutors

Fordham Urban Law Journal

MODERATOR: Bruce A. Green PANELISTS: John Q. Barrett, Michael R. Bromwich, Rory K. Little, Mark F. Pomerantz, Robert E. Precht

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The Federal Death Penalty: History And Some Thoughts About The Department Of Justice's Role, Rory K. Little Jan 1999

The Federal Death Penalty: History And Some Thoughts About The Department Of Justice's Role, Rory K. Little

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article provides a detailed exegesis and evaluation of the federal death penalty, including its 209-year history, recent developments in federal death penalty case law, and the process for national administration of the federal death penalty implemented by Attorney General Janet Reno in 1995. Part I of the article presents the history of the federal death penalty, the recent statutes and relevant case law, and the DOJ's procedures for administering federal death penalty prosecutions. It also describes the 1988 and 1994 statutory procedures for imposing the federal death penalty, and briefly reviews some of the case law leading to, and …

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A District Attorney's Decision Whether To Seek The Death Penalty: Toward An Improved Process, Jonathan Demay Jan 1999

A District Attorney's Decision Whether To Seek The Death Penalty: Toward An Improved Process, Jonathan Demay

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The most important variable affecting whether a defendant will be subject to the death penalty is often the particular ideology of the district attorney of a respective county. More subtle forms of arbitrariness, such as bias based upon race, gender and class, also pervade the process. Arguing that the dangers inherent in the present situation justify the imposition of controls over the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in the decision whether to seek the death penalty, Part I presents the nature and scope of prosecutorial discretion judicial review of that discretion and the influence that individual prosecutors can have in the …

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Keynote Address, Louis Freeh Jan 1999

Keynote Address, Louis Freeh

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Keynote address given by Louis Freeh.

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Panel Discussion: The Federal Prosecutor's Role In The Regulatory Process Jan 1999

Panel Discussion: The Federal Prosecutor's Role In The Regulatory Process

Fordham Urban Law Journal

MODERATOR: CharlesM. Carberry PANELISTS: Honorable John S. Martin, Jr., Robert B. Fiske, Jr., Mary Ellen Krist, Ronald K. Noble, Honorable Jed S. Rakoff, Mary Spearing

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