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Full-Text Articles in Law
Excluding Coerced Witness Testimony To Protect A Criminal Defendant's Right To Due Process Of Law And Adequately Deter Police Misconduct, Katherine Sheridan
Excluding Coerced Witness Testimony To Protect A Criminal Defendant's Right To Due Process Of Law And Adequately Deter Police Misconduct, Katherine Sheridan
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This Note argues that the Due Process Clause must protect criminal defendants from the admission of an involuntary statement made by a witness. Part I discusses the history of the use of involuntary statements, specifically the justifications for the exclusion of coerced confessions. Part II examines how various courts have addressed the issue and have come to different conclusions. Part III explains why involuntary witness statements should be excluded under the Due Process Clause in criminal trials.
Undertaking The Task Of Reforming The American Character Evidence Prohibition: The Importance Of Getting The Experiment Off On The Right Foot, Edward J. Imwinkelried
Undertaking The Task Of Reforming The American Character Evidence Prohibition: The Importance Of Getting The Experiment Off On The Right Foot, Edward J. Imwinkelried
Fordham Urban Law Journal
The United States Congress and the State Legislatures of Indiana and Missouri have chosen illogical starting points in their experiments to reform the prohibition against introducing character evidence in criminal cases. Rather than start by allowing the introduction of past crimes with high recidivism rates such as burglary, these legislatures have chosen crimes with minimal probative value as predictors of the accused's conduct. By allowing the the introduction of criminal history in regard to criminal sexual conduct and child molestation, these legislatures increase the risk of wrongful conviction due to the disdain with which the average citizen views these types …
Federal Rules Of Evidence And The Political Process, David P. Leonard
Federal Rules Of Evidence And The Political Process, David P. Leonard
Fordham Urban Law Journal
An important tenet of American evidence law is the strict regulation on the introduction of character evidence. This principal has begun to be chipped away at through the adoption of amendments that allow character evidence to be introduced in certain types of cases. The Federal Rules of Evidence were subject to very little amendment during their first 20 years of use, and have always represented a blend of conservatism about evidence law and political compromise. This tension has been kept in check until the proposal of Rules 413-415, which represents a concession to the politicization of the rules. Before imposing …
Criminal Discovery In New York: The Effect Of The New Article 240 , Thomas N. Kendris
Criminal Discovery In New York: The Effect Of The New Article 240 , Thomas N. Kendris
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Despite the many persuasive reasons for criminal discovery, its development in New York took place in a gradual, ad hoc manner. This led the New York State Legislature to enact the original article 240 in the Criminal Procedure Act (CPL) in 1971 which provided the courts with a consistent framework to discovery and significantly expanded an accused rights to evidence. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the original article 240, some significant problems that arose under it, and how the new enacted article 240 attempted to address the problems. The author then argues that the new statute could have …